Now the little ones have broken up for the summer holidays, it can be overwhelming to think of new ideas to keep them entertained for the coming weeks. A good idea is to have a list of activities ready to go for when you have a spare day at home, especially if you’re hosting a play date. To help you out, we’ve put together six fun activities you can do with your children this summer. What’s more, is that they won’t break the bank and can be done in the garden to help encourage your family to spend more time outdoors!
1. Get Friendly with Wildlife
A fantastic way to not only teach your children about the natural world but to also engage them with it is to get hands-on with the wildlife in your garden. You could set challenges to find as many different bugs and insects in ten minutes and to try to identify them too. Make sure you get them looking under stones and rocks, in your plant beds and near any bushes or trees. A magnifying glass is also a great addition for getting up close and personal with their finds.
2. Make a Fairy Garden
For this activity, you’ll need a few simple items, a washing up bowl or tub, glitter or food colouring and some dollhouse accessories. Use the glitter or food colouring to create a colourful bowl of water that will magically become home to fairies and trolls! Encourage your little ones to run with their imagination and have their fairies explore the garden and complete quests together.
3. Create Some Art
There are so many crafts and pieces of art you can create outdoors with just some simple equipment and your garden. Plus, any mess you create along with the way is safely kept away from your curtains, carpets and cushions! Here are just a couple of our favourite outdoor art activities to give you inspiration:
Rock Painting
This an easy and quick idea for children of a range of ages, even the big kids in your family who enjoy their creative side. Find a selection of smooth stones from your garden, or local park if you don’t have any at home. Then get out the paints and create patterns, faces or landscapes. You can then showcase these around your garden once the paint has dried, or they even make fun presents.
Leaf Printing
Another budget-friendly idea is to create printings from leaves and petals. You could go on a walk to collect a range of interesting looking leaves to get your children involved and excited. Simply coat the petals or leaves in a thin layer of paint and then press these down onto some paper. You could also use potatoes to carve out designs and shapes too.
4. Enjoy Some Gardening
Of course, one of the more obvious ways you can spend time in the garden is to partake in some green-fingered fun. You can help your children to gain an interest in the garden by involving them in the process, from choosing which seeds and flowers to plant to making sure the beds stay watered and healthy. And teach them some useful tips as well, such as how to remove weeds and how to tell if a plant is ready for harvesting. Why give them a corner of the garden to grow their own vegetables which can then be used during dinner times.
5. Partake in Some Active Fun
One way to keep your children busy and to help use up some of that seemingly endless energy they have is to get them up and on their feet. There are lots of fun games you can play together, like tennis, football or rounders in your garden at your local playground. This also gives them the opportunity to develop some of their sporting skills, from throwing and catching to developing their stamina levels. Or for more of a traditional workout, you could all follow a family exercise video by bringing your laptop or tablet outside.
6. Host a Tea Party
If you’re looking for something a bit more relaxing and calming then you could organise and plan a tea party outside. To make it into a special occasion, you could dress up and write out invitations. If you don’t have any tea sets at home, you can find cheap cups and saucers at most charity shops. You could bake some easy recipes together, scones and cupcakes are a good option for all baking abilities.
So there you have it, six fun ways to spend the summer together out in the garden. However you choose to enjoy the day, make sure you and your children are staying safe in the sun. Regularly apply sun cream, drink plenty of water and spend time in the shade away from the sun.