Summer is finally here! We love to be outside enjoying the beautiful weather, but going for walks and heading to the park everyday can get repetitive after a while. If you don’t have a car, or want to limit activity time so you can keep to a nap schedule, we’ve got some ideas to keep your kids busy this summer!
Sidewalk Chalk/Paint
What you will need:
- Squirt bottles
- ½ cup of cornstarch
- ½ cup of baking soda
- ¼ cup of water
- Non-toxic paint
Mix the baking soda and cornstarch together and add a little bit of your water to the bowl. You want the consistency to be much like paint. Once you have the right consistency you can add a paint colour of your choice. Pour the mixture into a squirt bottle and close the lid. Repeat with as many colours as you wish!
The next step is to go outside and let your children decorate a masterpiece on the driveway! You can give them some paper and paintbrushes as well and allow them to paint their own pictures.
Don’t want to get that messy? Paint with Water!
If you have young toddlers, they can still enjoy painting- give them a bucket (with free refills!) of water and a few paint brushes and let them paint the fence, the walkway, wherever. On a hot day it will dry fast and they can keep on ‘painting’ the same spots over and over again!
Cardboard Box Painting
What you will need:
- Boxes! (of all different shapes and sizes)
- Paint
- Tape
- Scissors
- Imagination
Gather cardboard boxes of all different sizes and put them in the back yard. Provide paint, tape, scissors and let your and their imaginations run wild. Encourage them to build a school bus or an airplane!
Create a Fairy Garden Home
If you’ve got some older children to keep busy, have them create a Fairy Garden Home with organic supplies they can find themselves! Bring a bucket to the park and have them collect their supplies:
- A bucket or plant pot- this will be used to contain the fairy garden home, so make sure it’s something you don’t mind them using for a while
- Some dirt, rocks and sand- for the base of the fairy home
- Small twigs- these will be used to create little fences, the home’s structure, etc. Make sure they collect as many as they can!
- Twine or string- this will be used to tie up the twigs
- Pieces of cardboard, leaves or anything they can use to create a door, roof and sides for the garden home. A few empty tissue boxes and other items from the recycle bin can also be used!
Allow them to get creative and use their skills to build the home. You might just be amazed at what they come up with!
Washing the Car
What you will need:
- Buckets
- Sponges, rags
- A little bit of soap if desired
- Towels
Washing the car, washing their outdoor toys and really anything to do with soapy water can entertain your little one for hours. Be prepared to get wet and have some fun!
Build A BirdFeeder
With a few simple supplies and you can make your own bird feeder.
- Milk carton
- Scissors
- Tape
- Paint
Hang from a branch or roof overhang, add some bird seed which you can buy in small quantities from your local bulk food store (like Bulk Barn) and watch the birds come and feed!
Slime Silliness
What you will need:
- A large pot
- A wire whisk
- Psyllium husks or a fibre supplement with psyllium
- 1 cup of water
- Food colouring or juice crystals for added colour and scent
How to do it:
- Whisk 1 tablespoon of the psyllium husks, food colouring and water in a pot. Mix it very well and boil it for 5 minutes, stirring often so that it does not stick or overflow.
- Pour into a bowl and let cool for a few minutes before allowing your children to play. Next step is to let them go to town!
- Slime is something fun that little ones do not often get the chance to play with. It’s a great sensory activity and is a lot of fun for everyone involved. It can also be a great indoor activity if you can contain it to a bucket or sensory bin.
Other ideas?
Build a fort or tent outside- give them blankets, sheets, rope and patio furniture to use.
Decorate their bikes or wagons! Do you remember splitting straws and putting them on your bike spokes? Let them find recyclables to decorate with and let them go to town decorating. Just remember you don’t want anything that will get caught in the wheels. Maybe they can make their own parade with their decorated bikes and wagons!
Have a clothesline in your yard? Give them some sheets to hang to use as curtains, and encourage them to come up with a play or a talent show! Or hang some artwork for an outdoor art gallery they can share with friends.
Adding activities that are not a part of their daily life routine can really engage your child in play. The time you take to focus on the activity can also go a long way in creating that special time that your children need. We hope you are inspired by these ideas to help you be creative with your kids! Do you have some ideas you would add to our list?
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