Looking for ways to keep your children engaged this summer? Try out some of these activities that are sure to be fun for both you and your children!
- Visit your local farmer’s market. Why not bring your children to the market and let them interact with local farmers and learn more about various fruits and vegetables?
- Plant a veggie or herb garden. Your children will have fun tending to the plants and watching them grow. Once they’re ready to harvest you’ll be able to enjoy them in a fun family meal.
- Make a birdhouse. Do your children love crafts? They’re bound to love building and decorating a birdhouse (a simple one can be made from Popsicle sticks). Find a spot in a nearby tree where they’ll be able to see the birds come and feed. You could even make a game out of trying to identify all the birds that come by for a snack!
- Plan a Picnic. Pack a basket and find a beautiful local park or just lay out a blanket in your backyard. Let your children explore the outdoors and do what they do best, play!
- Write a special note. Why not explore the backyard for some beautiful materials such as leaves, flower petals, etc. and use them to decorate a special note or card for someone they love.
- Put on a summer concert. Create instruments from found materials around the house and have a summer concert in your backyard! Water bottles with dried beans can make great shakers, and a pot turned upside down with a wooden spoon will make the perfect drum.
- Pick berries. Take a trip out to a local berry farm and enjoy collecting some delicious fruit. You can even find some recipes incorporating the berries you just gathered and have a fun day of baking with the whole family afterwards!
- Build a fort. Ordered a new fridge and just about to break down the cardboard box? Keep it! Your child will love making a fort, you can even help them cut out some windows and decorate it like a home. It’s hard to deny that we all loved doing this when we were young!
- Go camping. Enjoy the outdoors and sleep under the stars. No need to go far, setting up a tent in the backyard can be just as fun!
- Paper Bag. Find what used to be a boring brown paper bag and prepare to be amazed. Work with your children to brainstorm different ways to use the paper bag. They say that children think much more creatively than adults do, so this is a great chance to get their juices flowing!
While the above list includes mostly organized activities, don’t forget that children also love to just simply play and explore. You can create an environment that fosters this curiosity by finding some open ended materials for them to play with or taking them to a local park and letting them explore the natural outdoors.
Enjoy a fun and safe summer!