I’m always looking for something unique to do with my kids especially this year and especially outside. These three fun summer activities have been HUGE WINNERS!
Toy Vehicle Car Wash
Each kid gathered up 10 cars and their imagination and spent 2 hours washing cars. TWO. HOURS. I wish I could express how magical this was (for me!). I sat outside with them and finished up a variety of projects while they played and played.
What we used:
- 10 vehicles
- a larger flat plastic container
- old mechanical toothbrushes
- washcloths
- a bucket of water
- the hose
- a spray bottle with water and dish soap
- a can of shaving cream
- a laundry basket and a cooler to have a higher “table”
- plastic chairs
Age: my 3 (almost 4) year-old and 6-year-old LOVED this.
Water Balloons AND Frisbees
Water balloons are not typically a win in our house. Someone always ends up hurt and crying and I end up yelling. Time out is usually involved. However, fellow QC Moms Blogger, Rachel Gustafson and her family were gifted this combination and it was a huge win! Her kids had a blast with the addition of the Frisbees: catching and throwing with a Frisbee, using them as shields, etc.
What they used:
- water balloons (of course, we recommend the easy fill ones)
- container for balloons
- a flying disc/Frisbee
- rules: no throwing the balloons directly at each other like a baseball
- a warm sunny day
Age: Rachel’s kids are 15, 14, and 9 and they LOVED it! I think my age ranges of 3 to 11 would as well.
Frozen Items “Archaeology” Dig
We gathered a bunch of little toys from around the house. Somehow we have dozens and dozens of these. Everything from mini-cars to legos to action figures to rocks to rings to bouncy balls to fake bugs to plastic animals…the options are end less!!
We took all of these and froze them. I froze them in 3 separate layers. So, I put an initial layer of water and about 1/3 the toys and waited for that to freeze, then did that two more times so the toys wouldn’t all be in one layer. Two pieces of advice: some of the items float/sink so I could have been more strategic (though I’m not totally sure it mattered), I was not patient enough in waiting for the layers to freeze so I ended up with a few layers that mixed together more than I had planned (also not the end of the world).
A note about the pans: I used those flexible pans because I thought they would be easier to get the ice chunks out of when it was time to do so. This was true…it was handy; however, when the pans only had water in them they didn’t hold their form so I found myself dumping water both on the floor and in my freezer. Not the smoothest of moves. So, perhaps just use a regular 9×13 or 9×9 and then before your project turn it upside down under the water and I bet the “chunk of fun” will loosen on the sides and fall right out…then you won’t have the water mess I did.
We waited for a nice warm day and set up “archaeology” stations. Using clay crafting tools and hammers, the kids happily chipped their toys out of the ice for almost an hour (you can see a theme to the things I love…those that entertain my boys for more thanfour minutes). The ice does melt, too so that helped with the project.
What we used:
- lots of small toys and other items from around the house
- water
- pans
- small tables and chairs
- clay crafting tools
- hammers
- towels/rags
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