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Summer Fun
Fast and Frugal Activities to Entertain Your Preschooler By Crystal Patriarche
When I was a kid, summer meant a lot of things: yard sales, plastic lawn chairs, water hoses, catching lightning bugs, thunderstorms, ice cream cones and sunbathing.
Now that I'm a parent, summer means trying to keep a preschooler occupied all day, all summer long! Below is a list of fun and inexpensive ways to keep kids from getting bored and blue during the summer.
Outdoor Fun
Add these fun outdoor activities to your summer to-do list!
Water
Never underestimate the power of water! Let your kids run around the sprinklers or through the water hose. Put them to use helping you wash the car, or let them wash their bikes or other outdoor toys that have collected dust since last summer. Get some big sponges in different colors and shapes to make it fun.
Picnic
You don't have to go far to have a nice picnic lunch. Head out to your front yard or even to the park with a basket, a blanket and a bucket of toys: shovels, water guns, balls, a Frisbee or a wind toy if it's a windy day. Let your kids help out from picking out the lunch to packing the basket.
Camp Out
Pitch a tent in your backyard, and let the kids pretend they are camping. Build a pretend fire or a real one if they are old enough roast marshmallows, look at the stars and tell stories around the fire.
Bug Walk
Go for a walk, and make it an insect adventure. Bring along a magnifying glass, and help your preschooler spot different insects from ants to ladybugs to spider webs.