With school out of session during the summer months, you’ve got to keep your kids busy and entertained. Sitting them in front of a screen may seem like the solution, but there are loads of ways you can keep your kids’ attentions focused at home without the aid of a television or iPad.

We’ve got a few ideas that will keep you and your kids happy at home during these lazy summer months.

Card Tricks: Remember when all it took was a pack of cards to while away an afternoon? Grab a deck of cards and maybe a book of tricks and challenge your kids to learn some sleight of hand maneuvers. Or throw a blanket on the ground outside and teach them how to play the classics, like Go Fish and Crazy Eights. Start the learning HERE.

Forts: Build a fort in your backyard or on your patio with blankets, pillows, string, and tarps – a clubhouse for kids and their friends.

Gardening: This is the perfect opportunity to get your kids interested in growing flowers, vegetables, or fruits. Create a little garden plot or a series of pots for them to nurture plants. Gardening for Kids offers lots of ideas.

Books: Stock up on books from the library. Have your older kids write their own stories and share them out loud with you. Work your way through the best children’s books of 2016.

Sports: If you have a backyard, toss in all the balls, bats, and other equipment and inspire your kids to create new games. Make sure they write down the rules and know how to keep score.

Ice Cream: How about making some homemade ice cream? Here are some recipes from Prevention that you can make in your blender.

Check out these summer activity sheets for more ways to keep kids occupied.

And if you want the kids out of your hair, the City of Surrey has some fun Day Camps for kids… and so does Langley.