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Summer is such a great time to play and enjoy time with your kids.  There are so many fun activities for kids on these hot summer days!  A wonderful activity to try with your kids is to go to the beach and explore for crabs, fish and shells and other fun things!  (Of course you need to be able to get to a beach to do this.  Although, if you don’t have a beach you can go to the park or woods and search for bugs and animals! ) We have a beach that has rocks by it and crabs love to hide under them!  Kids can spend hours searching through the rocks for crabs to fill their buckets!  Make sure to have a bucket with a handle and a net and you will be ready to go searching.    You can fill up the buckets with a little sea water and once you find a crab, starfish or little fish you can put them in the bucket.  This way kids get an up close and personal view of the crabs/sealife. Once they are done checking the sealife out they can let them go in the ocean.

It’s always fun to do some reading before you go on an adventure like this.  You can read about  some of the sealife they might find at the ocean.  Make sure to bring a camera so you can take pictures of the crabs, starfish etc they find.  Then they can look at the pictures afterwords and relive the fun they had.  You can even get adventurous and have your kids create a book about their adventure.  They can draw pictures of what they saw, and glue in pictures you took.   You will certainly have some great memories and a fun day after spending a day at the beach like this!

photo credit: sebilden

10 Fun and Cheap Summer Activities

Summer is such a fun time for kids, and one of my personal favorite seasons!  I love the warm weather and being able to go outside and enjoy the beach and parks.  Whatever your interest there is something fun to do in the summertime!  Here are my top 10 summer activities for kids and best of all, they don’t cost much if anything!.

1. If you have a backyard, get a blow up pool, some boogy boards, and let them run wild!  You really don’t need a lot of “stuff” to make a pool fun!  Kids create all kinds of games on their own and love splashing and getting wet.  They can take turns “jumping” in, pretend they are a shark, practice swimming, create an elaborate imaginary game where perhaps they are a fish be chased by a shark etc (as my son often does!) the skies the limit.
2. Get a hose, some ride toys you have(like the plastic tricycles or bigwheels) and have a carwash!  Get a pail, some soap, sponges and fill up the bucket with some soapy water and let them wash down and rinse their “cars”.  My kids have done this for hours and love it!
3. Get sidewalk chalk: Draw games on the ground like hopscotch.  Draw a race track and race your cars through it, draw an obstacle course-make circles to hop in, triangles to jump to, squares to run to etc, Create some chalk master pieces and take pictures of it  so you can remember it.
4. Put out a sprinkler and let the kids run through it, if you have a swingset put it by the slide and swings, instant water slide, and it is so much fun to sing into the water!!
5. If you have a water table, put it outside with a variety of cups, boats and objects to test out and experiment with in the water,  If you don’t have one, make one by using some big tupperware and plastic bowls on a kids table or the ground.  Fill with water and bring out some cups, spoons, boats etc to play with.
6. Go to the park, bring a picnic lunch and make a day out of it!  If you have a variety of parks to choose from, pick a different one each time to add some variety.
7. Go to the beach, pack lunch, plenty of pails, shovel, sunscreen and you are good to go! Collect some shells and rocks while you are there for a fun summer project.  Oh and don’t forget a chair for you!  Bring some baby powder to help get the sand off before going in the car, works like a charm!!
8. Go for a hike, explore a park or forest  near you, look for plants, animals, collect sticks, leaves and other cool things you find.  Pack a picnic and find a fun spot to sit and eat.
9. Have a water park! Break out every water thing you have, sprinkler, pool, water table, set them all up, and invite a few friends with kids over.  Have a picnic outside and have fun!
10. Work on gardening with your kids, If you have a garden have them help you pick the plants, water the flowers, pick weeds.  Get some seeds for them to plant!  They have so much fun watching their plants grow!

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What are your favorite summer activities?

photo credit: wsilver

Fun Summer Projects to Keep Toddlers Entertained

Keeping kids occupied in the summer is easy with the right tools and a little imagination. If you’re having trouble coming up with new projects and activities for young kids, here are some suggestions that can be fun for both your little ones and you.

• Scavenger hunts: At home or out in the park, this can be a fun way to keep kids active and engaged with the world around them. Give them a simple list of things to find and go with them as they collect rocks, dandelions or other things found in nature.

• Chalk drawing. What kid doesn’t love to draw with chalk? A big bucket of it won’t set you back much and can keep kids busy for hours. Draw with them and create roads and cities they can use their other toys to play with as well.

• Mini-Olympics. Embrace the athleticism in your child by holding a mini-Olympics with a few toddler-appropriate events. Obstacle courses, races, jumping competitions and even water balloon tosses can be fun ways to get kids outside and moving around. Make rewards for the kids out of construction paper or pick up some inexpensive things at the dollar store.

• Nature walks. Since the weather is generally nicer in the summer, why not get out and enjoy it? Take your child on a walk in a forest or open prairie and see how many birds and animals they can point out. If you know a little bit about nature you can have fun teaching them about all the natural things they’ll encounter.

• Small garden. Even the tiniest garden of one plant can be a source of pride and accomplishment for a small child. Whether you plant a bean you sprouted indoors during colder weather or start from seed, this is a great way to build your child’s confidence and let them learn more about how plants grow. Some easy plants to start with are green beans, sunflowers and carrots.

No matter what you choose to do, remember to keep kids hydrated and out of the hottest parts of the day so they won’t get sunburned. These activities and whatever other ones you cook up will make your summer fun and keep your toddler or young child learning and creative.

This post was contributed by Meredith Walker, who writes about the online associate degree. She welcomes your feedback at MeredithWalker1983 at gmail.com.  Thank you Meredith for this great guest post!