How To Play with Your Kids This Summer
Summer holidays are coming – and it’s a great opportunity for parents to engage with their children in creative and fun play. For kids, summer means having the luxury of enjoying their time unrestricted by school. It’s a chance for families to spend quality time together and enjoy the outdoors.
How parents can plan for summertime activities:
Starting a summer calendar with weekly themes for the family is a good way to visually plan and organize daily activities for the kids that they can look forward to every day. Themes can intrigue and interest children to engage in creative play ideas. Ideas for themes include: Oh Canada, the outdoors, under the sea, and around the world. Activities can be simple and can include:
- Water play in the yard or at the local splash park
- Scavenger hunt to search for nature items for craft making
- Obstacle course created by you
- Garden area for the kids to plant and maintain
- Family nature walks and bike rides
- Berry picking
- Making a scrapbook with children’s art or family photos
- Painting a picture or mural
- Building models out of craft supplies
- Signing up for the public library reading club
- Family swims at the community pool
- Planned summer trips
- Packing a picnic and spending the day at the park
- Charity family garage sales and lemonade stands
- Play dates with friends
- Cooking and baking different foods
Having back-up activities planned for rainy days helps for an easy shift to Plan B when needed.
For more ideas on local activities, the Record.com website provides an updated daily and weekly calendar of events outlining local events taking place in the Waterloo region.
