Summer always reminds me of being a little kid. I always get super nostalgic for the times of swimming in our pool pretty much all day and running around with my neighbors until sunset. It was definitely a much simpler time in life. We didn’t exactly have the technology that kids do now. It sounds weird to say but it’s true.

So what exactly did kids from a small town in Ohio do for fun in the summer before the days of iPads?

1. Bonfires

We still had bonfires well into high school. When we were little it meant we got to stay up way later than we normally do. Bonfires were a summer favorite for sure.

2. Flashlight Tag

This usually went hand in hand with bonfires. Since we were allowed to stay up later we could play flashlight tag and hide and go seek in the dark (AKA the best summer games ever).

3. Bike Rides

I seriously think I have gone around my neighborhood like a million times on my bike. I never managed to learn how to ride my bike without holding onto the handle bars though.

4. Rec. Soccer

I seriously think every kid in my town, no matter what their athletic ability was, played rec. soccer as a kid. It was the best when one of your friends ended up on your team and when your team color was your favorite color.

5. Camping out in the backyard

We even did this in high school a couple times. We would pitch a tent in the backyard and stay up way too late playing games.

Like I said before, it was a much simpler time in life. We took advantage of the long summer days. We knew that the longer the sun stayed out the longer we could play. We would run around outside without shoes on until our feet were so dirty our mom would yell at us to wash them off in the sink or with the hose outside. I didn’t realize it then, but I’m really grateful I grew up in a time when we played pretend more than we played video games.