Summer Playlists for Kids & Families
Isn’t everything more fun with music? At our house, you can usually find us rocking out to our favorite tunes while we do the dishes, make dinner, drive in the car, or just because! Summertime means even more time together, whether it’s at home hanging out or on the road, and a Summer Playlist is a super fun way to enjoy that time together!
I’m a huge fan of playlists. All of the holidays, seasons, girls’ trips, races, and pretty much any party are all great reasons to create one, and summertime is no different! Everything is more fun with music. ☺ Summer Playlists for Kids is one for the bucket list! I just created our Summer 2014 Playlist as a surprise for my kids, and I’m so excited to play it for them!
The beauty of creating a playlist for your kids is that you can tailor it their ages, and what all of your interests are. My kids are mostly young, so I focused on songs that would be appropriate for ages 1-8, but fun for the whole family. I like introducing my kids to a lot of different types of music, so it has everything from country to musical hits to favorite songs from the 1950’s.
You could also work on a playlist together, and make it a fun family event. Ask everyone for their top three favorite songs, and use them on your playlist. Or…have a vote! You could even create a different playlist every month, or have each child create one for the whole family. Another thing I’ve done for a girls’ trip playlist, that would also work for the tween/teen age group, is to ask questions to gather songs for your playlist. For example: What song do you listen to when you want to be cheered up? What song reminds you of ______? What song makes you want to stand up and dance? Once you have all the songs, create your playlist, and when you play it, have everyone in the family guess whose song it is! It can be a great way to connect with your teens.
You can really have fun with it, and make it something they look forward to. It’s a GREAT rainy day activity!!
Here’s a peek at our summer playlist:
Take Me Out to the Ballgame, Lonestar
Splish Splash, Bobby Darin
In the Good Old Summertime, Nat King Cole
The Lion Sleeps Tonight, The Tokens
Surfin’ USA, The Beach Boys
YMCA, Village People
Barbara Ann, The Beach Boys
We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock, Bill Haley & His Comets
Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry
Happy, Pharrell
The Hoppity Song, John Ondrasik
Touch the Sky, Brave Soundtrack
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, Julie Andrews & Dick Van Dyke
 If you are looking for ideas for your own playlist, and are curious about what songs might work for your kids and their ages, one of the resources I use that you may want to check out is Common Sense Media. It lists songs in a ton of different categories, what’s in them, and then gives an approximate age that it would be appropriate for. I use it as a guideline, then check the song out for myself before making a final decision. It has some fun songs on there that I wouldn’t have thought of, and reminded me of songs forgotten.
So—here’s to great music…dancing…singing along…and SUMMER!!!
Here are a few other summer ideas you might like!
The Ultimate Guide: Road Trips with Kids // Peanut Butter Cookie S’mores // Easy Summer Bucket List (Free Printables)
