As things start to heat up, we look for ways to keep cool while playing outside. Here are several ideas to have fun with this summer beyond the standard bucket of water or swimming pool to splash in:
Ice Excavation - check out this great idea at Counting Coconuts. Freeze a bunch of toys in a plastic bin and let the kids experiment with ways to get them out!
Ice Cube Collecting Game – Scatter a bunch of ice cubes in a small pool and have the kids gather them in a bucket. The one who brings out the most ice cubes wins!
Sidewalk Paint – give the kids a bucket of water and a big paintbrush. Show them how to paint the sidewalk or patio with the water and watch it change color.
Sponge Toss - soak a big sponge in a bucket of water and then play catch!
What are your favorite outside games for keeping cool during the summer heat?
10 Ways to Cool Kids off When It’s Hot
It’s a warm summer morning and the grand girls are coming over in a few minutes to spend the day. The forecast is hot, hot, hot with a chance of thunder showers. (Which means hot and humid.) Since heat, in general, is hard on kids and it makes me cranky, I know that I have to get a plan to keep the girls and I cool.
Here are 10 activities for those hot summer days:
1. Anything with WATER. It cools them off but doesn’t make a mess.
2. Wear your swim suit all day long. Leave it on wet.
3. Clean the kitchen with “water.” I give them water bottles, a bucket of water, the mop, some rags and paper towels and we are good-to-go for about an hour and a half to two hours!
4. Of course the old standbys run through the sprinklers, soak in a blow-up kiddy pool or take a cool bath.
5. Make snow-cones* with a blender. I use strong, Red Zinger Celestial Seasonings Iced Tea to flavor them. It makes them red and sweet but not sticky.
6. Plan quiet activities that don’t use a lot of energy like reading. Read stories about Eskimos, polar bears and snow storms.
7. Make snow men and snow balls with marshmallows and toothpicks. (For 3 years and above)
8. Have a squirt gun and/or water balloon fight. (Be prepared for sore balloon tying fingers! UGH)
9. Give them each a little hand held battery operated fan. You can get them at Dollar Tree!
10. Make sure they have access to plenty of cool water and encourage them to drink.
*We bought Ashley a small electric snow-cone maker for her 7th birthday. It has been a great thing to have around the house during hot summer months. I recommend it as a great gift for grand kids! You can get them for about $30 at Bed Bath and Beyond.
With the 2 little ones getting the ice out of the freezer and Ashley operating the machine, it makes for great teamwork and keeps them busy and cool with minimal supervision!
This Snow Cone Machine is the perfect gift for grandchildren!