13 easy ways to entertain young kids this summer

plus doen-vibe shirts without doen-vibe prices

Hi from the first week of my kids’ summer break!

We had a great first summer weekend — we went to the cabin and swam, hiked, and George and I laid on the couch and honestly just caught up for hours and hours after the kids went to sleep. It’s funny to be in this life phase where we do really have to take the time to “catch up,” versus pre-kids when we just chatted nonstop and always knew every single detail of each other’s life. But with busy careers and parenting, so often we’ll find ourselves being like, “wait, how did that big meeting go two weeks ago!?” I know it’s just the current phase of life we’re in, and what a rewarding, beautiful, chaotic phase it is.

the lands end tote we take to the cabin; we had leftover corn pasta with an arugula chicken balsamic salad for dinner one night; and all three boys finally like burgers — this is a huge development

The other day, Molly from What To Cook, Jillian from What to Cook, and I got to chatting about how the heck we plan to entertain our kids this summer (the three of us have a combined eight children between the ages of 10 months and 6 years old). Day camps and cartoon mornings are definitely part of the equation, but there are lots of hours at home to fill right now — many of which we’ll also be working and/or, in my case, taking care of a newborn during! — so we started compiling ideas for ways to occupy our kids outside of Danny Go, Planet Earth, Bluey, and movies. We know a lot of you are in the same boat, so wanted to share what we’ve come up with. Keep reading for our list — and share your ideas in the comments, too!

1. In the Clean Kitchen Reset, I mentioned that I've swapped all my plastic cutting boards out for Epicurean's paper composite cutting board, and it's since become the most popular product I've recommended — ever! To reduce our exposure to microplastics, I've been trying to eliminate as much plastic throughout my kitchen and cooking as possible, and these paper composite boards have been a huge help with that. I really love their Gourmet Series board (pictured above), which has a deep groove that catches all the juice when I'm slicing steaks, tomatoes, melons, etc. It’s dual-sided, doesn't require oiling or any special care, is durable enough for daily use (yet also doesn't dull my knives!), and — most important in my mind — is dishwasher safe, just like their other paper composite boards. It's also pretty! So I often use it for serving meat, appetizers, and/or cheeses when I'm hosting. Thanks to Epicurean for sponsoring this edition of So Into That!

2. Last week my friend Katie of Beach Reads & Bubbly was in Carmel and we got together for a two-person book club that we live-streamed here on Substack! We chatted all about Carley Fortune’s One Golden Summer, plus much more (like cowboy romance and our other favorite reads so far in 2025). Click here to watch us yap!

3. J. Crew summer is giving major Doen vibes at a fraction of the cost. I want it all once I evict this child from my body.

4. But in the meantime, I'm living in these high-waisted shorts, oversized tee, and either my Bliss bra or this super comfy sports bra. I just discovered FP movement and can't get enough! Living in these dresses, too.

5. Lily (my high school bff who is a designer) and I are deep into our mini-reno (we do not have the time nor the budget for a full renovation of the new house, but we are making some upgrades to make the house function better for our family of six before we move in), and we’re trying to figure out a way to use one of these colorful toilets from Kohler. We might use the teal and go super moody in the half bath?

6. We are so into this recipe mashup WTCer Lauren Gibson DMed me yesterday! She hosted dinner and cooked cookout chicken, creamy corn pasta, and the best Caesar. YUM.

7. George and I are headed down to celebrate our beloved babysitter and friend’s college graduation from Cal Poly this Saturday! Quinn has been babysitting for us since Mattis (who is now 6 1/2) was teeny tiny, and our boys honestly have no idea that she’s a babysitter — she’s like a big sister to them. I mean they ADORE her. And she adores them right back. Words can’t even describe how special she is to our family, so I have been STRESSING out over the perfect graduation gift for months. I landed on getting her this Cuyana system tote that will fit her laptop plus a change of clothes plus whatever other things Gen Z babies carry around these days — because don’t you remember being 22 and rolling straight from the office to drinks to dinner and needing to cram everything into one bag?! I also got her the system flap bag that snaps into the bigger bag for organization but can be removed and used as a clutch or shoulder bag! I’m really excited to give it to her.

8. From Molly: This is my first summer owning the ultimate detangling brush (Caro introduced me to it!) and, wow, it truly does make brushing my hair after a day at the beach or on a boat a breeze. It works great for my boys’ crazy bed head, too!

9. From Molly: I recently spent a long weekend in Amelia Island, Florida, with a group of girlfriends and every day we gathered in the living room to get ready together before dinner. It felt like college again, getting to raid each others’ makeup bags and closets! I’ve been in the market for some new mascara so test drove a bunch and this $5 tube won out. From Caro: 390K 5-star Amazon reviews, dang.

What To Cook launched in December 2020, which means there are more than 250 recipes in the archives. To help you cook through them, let’s revisit what we cooked this week over the last few years!

1. tandoori chicken bowls, 2024

Grilling out this weekend? Here’s what to cook! You’ll marinate the chicken in yogurt and spices, then load your bowls up with yellow rice (you can follow my recipe for that, or buy a box of pre-seasoned yellow rice from the store), veggies, greens, and a minty-lime dressing that makes everything sing. Don’t skip the pickled onions! You can also make tandoori chicken salads, as pictured above.

2. weeknight vongole, 2023

This clam pasta comes together in under 30 minutes and feels like a mini vacation. It’s a great entry point for cooking with seafood, if that’s been on your bucket list!

3. summery pork and peach bowls, 2022

This meal is an amalgamation of WTC stars: Crash’s pork tenderloin (though you can easily sub in chicken or tofu if you want), coconut rice, peanut sauce, and a quick-pickled cucumber salad. Fresh summer peaches make it over-the-top delicious. Double the sauce so that you have leftovers to serve with grilled chicken or an easy frozen dumpling dinner later in the week.

4. one-pot cheesy rice and beans, 2021

This one is pantry- and budget-friendly — it’s also delicious and packed with plant-based protein. Eat it as is, or use it as a filling for burritos, quesadillas, or tacos. Grab a big pot and double the recipe — freeze half for future you, or keep the leftovers in your fridge for easy lunches all week!

… that require minimal amounts of adult effort.

• Dinner prep. Have them husk corn, pinch the ends off of green beans, wash fruits and vegetables, and use a salad spinner to prep greens. For pre-school and grade-school kids — and when you have the ability to supervise more closely — here are the kids’ knives Mattis and Calum use to help me slice fruit and vegetables. —Caro

• I bought a pack of balloons and it’s been so fun to see all the creative ways they come up with using them, from games like dodgeball and keep in the air to water balloon fights, freezing water balloons, and making weird shapes! Endless potential here. —Jillian

• Speaking of… freezing stuff deserves its own bullet point. I remember being obsessed with freezing things as a kid, and it hasn’t gone out of style! You can get fun molds or just let them use paper cups with popsicle sticks, or bowls and containers you already own to freeze food-dyed water, juice, or mashed-up fruits. They love to check in on it and see how long it takes to finally freeze. Then they can eat it afterward! —Jillian

  • Yes! We’re big into making popsicles together. Blend together some fruit (fresh or frozen), juice or water, maybe a little yogurt, maybe some honey, and freeze in a fun mold. —Caro

  • Same! I also freeze spinach-filled smoothies in popsicle molds and the kids eat them for breakfast all summer. My boys also like to do “experiments” by freezing water plus random stuff (acorns, mulch, food scraps) then ice-picking away at them using butter knives. —Molly

• My kids are very into classic board games right now — Pictionary, Trouble, Sorry, Chutes and Ladders. The most recent addition to our collection is Jenga and it’s been a huge hit. We play the actual game during game nights, but outside of that the older boys use them as blocks to build whatever, and the wooden blocks are big and safe enough for my 10 month old to bang around and chew on. I store them in this bin under our coffee table. —Molly

• Chaos gardening! I gave my kids a little patch of our yard to go crazy in. They spread random seeds, plant small plants they pick out from the nursery — whatever they want (within reason) goes in there. They get to check on it every day, look for bugs, and water it — easy ways to kill time and teach responsibility. —Jillian

• We’ve had kinetic sand and Picasso Tiles for years and they still have not lost their appeal! —Molly

• I love baking with my boys, but full recipes are not always the best, time and attention wise, so I love using baking mixes. Now that Mattis is reading, he can basically do the entire thing by himself, and it makes him feel so empowered in the kitchen. I love Go Nanas banana breads, Hey Sweetie! mixes, and Miss Jones mixes (less sugar and totally delicious). —Caro

• Cutting things. I give my 4- and 6-year-olds kid-safe scissors and let them go to town on paper, grass, old magazines, etc. —Molly

  • Scissors are huge at our house, too. Do you have the squiggly-shaped scissors? Those are a hit over here! Squiggly scissors and a roll of tape are a fantastic babysitter. —Caro

• If they’re of reading age, get them a new book series! I got Mattis “The Last Kids on Earth” series as a last day of school present and he’s devouring it. My favorite thing ever is when he’s like, “Mom, do you want to read together?” YES, I DO. —Caro

• There is just no understating the power of water. For babies and toddlers, bowls and cups of water with ladles, spoons, and paint brushes will do the trick. For older kids, water squirters, a sprinkler, and buckets of water for the “will it sink or float?” game are great. —Molly

  • Paint-dyed water is on my list for activities this summer! —Jillian

• Suggest… nothing. During a particularly “BORING!!!” afternoon last week, my boys invented their new favorite game: “worm.” They get in their sleeping bags and wiggle around the house “eating things” lol. —Molly (Caro: this is so weird and so amazing.)

We want to send one of you a How To Entertain Your Kids When You Don’t Feel Like Entertaining Your Kids Kit (ha!) complete with Go Nanas banana bread mix, popsicle molds, kinetic sand, and a pack of kids’ knives (OK, those will take some adult supervision, but they really are great for getting kids ages 4 and up involved in the kitchen). PLUS we’ll send you Carley Fortune’s One Golden Summer, which you’ll actually be able to read since your kids will be so entertained. To enter to win¹, comment on this post by end of day Monday, June 16, with one of your favorite low stakes kid activities. One winner will be chosen at random and notified by Substack DM on Tuesday, June 17!

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1. Giveaway open to paid subscribers of this newsletter who are at least 18 and live within the U.S.