Most of my bigger kids are gone to “Camp Contented” at their grandparents’ house and that means I have a lot more responsibility when it comes to entertaining my younger children. It’s HOT outside! The temperatures have been soaring above 100 on most days. What can you do during the day to make life a little more fun and interesting for these little ones? I don’t want to drench myself in sweat by spending the day outside. AND, I don’t want the spending the whole day with them in front of the television.
Beat the Heat: Fun TV Free Entertainment for Small Children
Here’s some ideas to keep you going:
- Read Books, lots and lots of them – Children can learn so much by reading books. It’s so important to take the time to read to them every day. We recently visited the library and brought home a new to us selection.
- Go Swimming in the Bath Tub – Or just take a regular bath. (some kids may get upset if they realize they’re in their swim gear and not going to an actual pool) Most little ones think taking a bath is fun! Give them some toys to play with while they’re in there and let them splash away! Or better yet, let them use bath markers to draw all over the bath tub.
- Bake Cookies – I know what you’re thinking. Um….that would heat up the house a lot more! You could try no bake cookies or you could do what we did a few weeks ago and bake the cookies in your car!
- Do Craft Projects – My little ones love making crafts. Our favorites are the ones that you can trace around their hands. It just puts a little bit more of them into the project! We especially enjoyed this lily flower craft.
- Play at the Sink – My children have always loved playing in the water at the sink at this age. Give them some measuring cups and utensils and they fill and pour to their heart’s content!
- Play a Sorting Game – Toddlers love to sort things. Let them put all the reds in one container all the blues in another, etc.
- Make a Maze out of Chairs – Let them walk or crawl through them. Or better yet, clean out from under your couch by flipping it upside down and let them crawl through while it’s still bottom side up.
- Play with Tape – Little kids love tape! You can give them several pieces and let them play around with it, sticking it and unsticking it. Be prepared to go through tape though. You also may want to make sure you don’t have any important papers around that they can tape together.
- Balloon Bounce – Blow up a balloon and bounce it around the room. Play soccer with it. See who can keep it in the air the longest. There’s all kinds of fun to be had with balloons!
- What do you see? Game – What do you see that is red? blue? green? OR you could change it up a bit and tell them you found something red and they have to guess what it is.
If you’d like more ideas, visit Preschoolers & Peace where she shares about how to keep them busy.
Leave a Reply