As the school year comes to an end, parents are already be worrying about how to keep their children entertained. While sending your child off to the camp seems like an exciting option to many, we understand why some parents might have some reservations about it. Many families find summer camps a little unaffordable, while others are still worried about covid19.
If you’re not headed off to camp and find yourself wracking your brain over how to make your child’s holiday fun with activities, take a look at these ideas that might work for your family! You can also plan one activity per day for an entire whole week, and have something to look forward to every day!
Movie Marathon On The Balcony/ Backyard
Children of all ages enjoy watching movies, especially when they are snuggled up with their parents. It will also give the parents a much needed down time. Bring out your mattresses, sheets, and pillows and set them up on your balcony or your backyard. You can make a fort out of sheets, or just watch your favorite movie under the stars. You, as a family, can make a day out of it by making a list of all the movies, and preparing easy snacks like popcorn, nachos, pizza, or cookies!
A Dance/Yoga Party
This can be fun for both the parents and the kids. All you have to do is, put on some flashy lights, wear your party hats, put on some dance music and let your hair down for a bit. Dancing is a great energy releasing activity for kids, and will also release some happy hormones for the parents too. You can have each family member show off their favorite move. Trust us, you will end up with endless giggles, and tummy aching laughter. It will leave the kids tired, which is a bonus! For those parents who enjoy yoga, there are many parent and toddler yoga videos on YouTube. You can put on the one you like on your laptop, and do it barefoot on the grass with your kids. It is fun, healthy, and a great bonding routine.
Good Old Board Games
As they say, the family that plays board games together, stays together. Pictionary is a very interesting game enjoyed by people of all ages. Write down names of different objects on different pieces of paper and put them all in a bowl. One person will pick out a piece of paper randomly, and try to make the people in their team guess it correctly. The team that makes the most correct guesses wins. Other games such as Jenga, Sequence, and monopoly are available at Dollarama, that will make budget friendly games to play at home with the whole family.
A Trip To Your Local Library
Now that the libraries have opened again at full capacity, you can walk to your nearest one, and have your children explore different genres of books. Read some, and borrow some, and read them together at home with your favorite cup of hot cocoa. You can have your child make a list of all the books they read in the summer and put them up in their room. Keep the list growing and the mind learning.
Picnic At The Park
The monotonous routine at home can get a little boring for the kids. You can make lunch time more fun by packing it up, along with your picnic essentials, and heading over to your local park. Children can enjoy playing on the swings, and then ending enjoying lunch outdoors.
Car Wash Day
What can be more fun than some water activities in the summer. Get your sponges out and have the kids help washing the car. The activity can be ended with filling up balloons with water and having a water fight in your backyard. This activity will have your kids busy for a good couple of hours. A clean car is a bonus for the parents!
Plant a Garden!
Kids love to play in dirt, what better way to encourage messy play! Gardening teaches kids how to grow and respect their food, the environment and sets them up with a great life skill! Check out these gardening pintables to help get the learning started. And don’t forget Mabel’s Labels has these cute garden markers!
Revisiting Old Memories
Children love looking at videos of their parents before they had them. If you have your wedding video, or a video or picture of when you were simply enjoying life, you can have a night where you show your children the life you had before you had them. Having your children watch the person you were before you had them will make them look at you from a different perspective, which would be amusing to watch. Revisiting your children’s baby videos is also a great idea, where they can watch themselves doing silly things, and being loved.
Enjoy your summer!
