10 Ways to Play With Your Kids This Summer

Interaction with our kids is key to healthy relationships. Here are some creative ideas for playing with your kids this summer.

Photo by Victoria Bayer
  1. Grab some boats (or make some simple floating ones with bark or paper) and spread out a tarp, shower curtain or plastic tablecloth in the yard.  Drizzle water on it with the hose and sit right smack in the middle of it — getting cool, floating boats, making little island getaways, you name it.
  2. Have a photo shoot outside.  Be sure to let the kids take your picture too!
  3. Shoot some hoops — even if that means tossing balled up socks into a bowl on the coffee table because it’s 115 degrees outside.
  4. Go on a sprinkler walk.  Head to an area of town where people have their sprinklers going and sidewalks that go through them, and try to walk through as many sprinklers to cool down as possible.
  5. Make some real fruit slushies.  Toss frozen fruit like strawberries in the blender with some water and sugar to taste.  Blend like crazy and enjoy.  Make it extra fun by playing chef with a big variety of frozen fruit choices.
  6. Freeze lots of ice cube trays and muffin tins full of colored water and then put all your multi-colored ice treasures in a big bowl.  Head out to the kiddie pool and grab some buckets of water to melt and color mix like crazy.
  7. Take blocks of ice to the top of a grassy hill and go ice blocking.  Here’s more info on this activity that’s on our bucket list this year! (This is new to me!)
  8. Make mud pies.
  9. Play balloon volleyball.
  10. Go camping.  Can’t do that?  Camp in the back yard.  Can’t do that?  Camp in the living room.
Have any great summer activity ideas,  would love to hear them.

Ideas courtesy of Magical Childhood

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