5 Home Summer Activities To Bring The Family Together

The summer months should be a time when we can go outside and enjoy the sun – but with countless electrical distractions and indoor attractions taking you away from the sunshine, it can be difficult to spend some good quality time together as a family. But, there's a lot more families can do than just sunbathe. Many summer activities can help to strengthen a family bond for - and get us away from relying on the TV as our main source of entertainment! This latest guest post runs through five unique and inventive ways to spend time together as a family, without a tablet or smartphone in sight!

Keeping Chickens 
Looking after chickens can be an enjoyable experience for all members of the family. They not only make great pets, but they pay for their keep through producing eggs! The best time of the year for chickens is the summer, when they love getting outside to sunbathe or have dust baths. All chickens have unique characteristics, and individual members of the family can take turns in feeding them, and cleaning out their coop or house.
Before adding chickens to your family the first major consideration is ensuring that your chickens will have a home that is conducive to their good health, and which properly protects them from potential predators. A company such as Eggshell Online  are specialists when it comes to chicken coops, houses, and runs.  

egg-laying hens in the yard from Shutterstock

Blackberry Picking 

Blackberry bushes are fairly easy to grow in the garden, and once they start flowering they can grow very quickly. Blackberry picking can be a fun thing to do in the countryside, but having a blackberry bush at home is much more convenient, and can give the family a regular food source throughout the second half of the summer. A happy consequence of blackberry picking is obviously eating them, and, to that end, making blackberry tarts together can also involve the whole family! 

Create A Wildlife-Friendly Habitat 

With many of Britain's birds, butterflies and bees sadly suffering a serious decline in numbers in recent decades, building a habitat in your garden is one way of restoring the balance. Creating an attractive habitat can be a combined family effort, and be a way of helping children in particular to appreciate nature. Buddleia bushes will attract a variety of butterflies and bees, while berry bearing plants will attract different species of birds.  

Little Boy painting from Shutterstock

Photography And Art  

A pleasant summer's day can be an inspiration to creativity, whether it's capturing beautiful plants, birds and insects with a camera, pencil, or brush. Drawing supplies are relatively inexpensive if you’re not after professional-grade kit, and the same can be said for most cameras – although most phones come well enough equipped for some family photography. As well as being a rewarding activity, it is also a good way for each member of the family to record aspects of the garden for posterity.  

Puzzles And Quizzes 
Though often thought of indoor activities the summer months offer a good excuse to take puzzles and quizzes outside. A jigsaw puzzle, for instance, could be something that stimulates co-operative behaviour, with each member of the family taking it turns to add a piece. While quizzes should be seen as just a bit of fun rather than being too competitive, and should help underline just how enjoyable spending time together can be for a family.

Armed with these five great activities, it’s time to embrace the sunshine and spend some family time together this summer – you’ll be glad you did!

Disclosure: This was a collaborative post for Eggshell online