This is a guest post from Allison Davis.
The kids are out of school for the summer! Keep the family entertained and active by embarking on these fun summer activities.
Backyard Camping Trip
Pitch a tent and pull out the sleeping bags, flashlights and lanterns. If you’ve got a fire pit or portable grill, you can cook your meals over a real fire. Don’t forget the chocolate bars, marshmallows and graham crackers! Sit around the fire at night and tell ghost stories or sing campfire songs while indulging in S’mores. While sitting fireside, play educational games about health such as Kool Smiles dental bingo or download coloring pages from oncoloring.com.
Down and Dirty in the Vegetable Garden
The North Dakota State University “Food Wi$e” page and the Family Nutrition Program promote hands-on experiences for kids. Gardening teaches kids about science, reading, math, organization and responsibility. Kids may be more interested in eating the vegetables they grew themselves because of a sense of pride and accomplishment. Choose veggies kids are likely to try such as carrots, tomatoes, green beans and peas. Add fruits such as melons, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries if you have the gardening space. If you’re feeling really ambitious and live in the right climate, plant fruit trees.
Bring lessons from the backyard into the kitchen. Encourage kids to help with cooking and teach them the value of using nutritional ingredients.
Cooling Off
Heading to an outdoor community swimming pool or vacationing at the beach is a summertime must. Kids love to swim and play in the water, and it’s excellent exercise with multiple benefits . Make sure they wear plenty of sunscreen and stay hydrated. Before you arrive at the pool, establish rules with your kids. Explain the dangers of wandering off without permission and why they should never be in the water without supervision.
Neighborhood Games
Plan a scavenger hunt for hidden treasures around the yard. While searching for items, kids learn teamwork and collaboration. Invite neighborhood families to participate by hiding objects in back and front yards as well as on decks and patios. Create a list of what kids need to find and make sure adults are supervising, especially if you do a nighttime treasure hunt.
Plan an outdoor potluck-style cookout to celebrate when the hunt is complete. Other ideas include jump-rope contests, hula-hoop tournaments and these top 10 neighborhood outdoor games.
Whatever you do, summer is the season for getting outside!
About the Author: Allison Davis is a stay-at-home mom who guest posts for several mommy blogs. She likes to write about green topics and how mothers can encourage a green lifestyle.
