Summer fun?

[ktg]

I'm totally casually/desperately looking for ideas for summer fun that is cheap/easy. What are your plans this summer with your kids?

[ktg]

I have a toddler (2 at the end of July) and an infant. Last summer my daughter wasn't quite walking even, so activities were minimal. This summer, she actually wants to play and do stuff. The nerve! I love in a not-huge town (no close zoo, no children's museum) and library story time is at nap time.

I have stuff at home to do, but I'm kind of drawing a blank still on doing anything outside of my house. Besides getting groceries and such. She's too little for playgrounds without a spotter, which I can't do with the infant.

[kitev]

This probably isnlt doable with them being so young, but I'm planning lots of camping trips this summer with my 2 and 4 year old. And lots of lake and beach trips. Both of them could spend all day finding pretty rocks and fishing lures to bring home, looking at gross bugs and throwing rocks into the water. Even if it's just for a short picnic, it's nice to get them out of the house for a little while.
We also spend a lot of time in the backyard and I'll fill up their wagon with water and give them a bunch of cups and scoops to make mud ice cream. I hope you get a lot of replies because I need some ideas too!

[poppyc8]

Here is a general list of what we do in the summer:

-Spray park
-Beach
-picnic in a park

If we are at home here are some ideas:

-I put tons of ice cubes in a bowl or large pan with little trucks or toys and have them play with that on our back deck

-we garden together with toy shovels and rakes. Usual it means my youngest digs up what I planted 😳

-I fill up water balloons and put them in a large bowl of water. It entertains them for a while.

-playdough

[randomosity]

I have a toddler and two that are 4 & 5 so our activities are going to possibly look different but I'm planning lots of park & walk time, chillin at the beach (I mean, as much as you can chill with 3 little ones in tow), play dates, zoo trips, and blowing up the bounce house in our backyard.

Those are the plans, anyway. I'm sure the reality will be much more lazy 😉

[ktg]

kitev yes, camping will have to wait, for my own sanity! Definitely on the plans for coming years.

poppyc8 oh man, all the water activities, over here. I plan on liberal use of the kiddie pool and slide, water table, and all manner of everything wet.

[poppyc8]

I remember still going to playgrounds when DD was an infant and DS was 2. I think I just either spotted him while DD was in the ergo or DD was napping in the stroller. You could also set up a blanket in a park for the baby and then have the toddler run in the grass.

[jnetx]

ktg I think going to the park is definitely doable at this age. I mean, of course it depends on the park equipment (there are some things I won't let him on alone) and the kid, but T is up and down whatever equipment I will let him on. We bring tractors and dig in the mulch or rocks or sand too.

[younglove]

Do you have any splash pads near you? That is something we will be doing a lot this summer.

Maybe take some bubbles up to the park or playground and find an open space for running, baby could hang in the stroller for a bit.

[ktg]

So leaving your infant unattended to spot your toddler on equipment is kosher? He'd have to be probably 20-30 feet from me and I wouldn't be able to keep an eye on him while also watching the toddler. She wants to climb everything and take all the slides.

I'm honestly asking. Two small kids has me questioning everything.

[jnetx]

May 26, 2017 10:53:13 GMT -6 ktg said:

So leaving your infant unattended to spot your toddler on equipment is kosher? He'd have to be probably 20-30 feet from me and I wouldn't be able to keep an eye on him while also watching the toddler. She wants to climb everything and take all the slides.

I'm honestly asking. Two small kids has me questioning everything.

I wouldn't question leaving him in a safe spot for a minute while you help her with something. I don't do a lot of spotting though. My kids are both running around a park right now while I sit on a bench. I only step in if he's on a one really scary ladder or near a drop off. He climbs and does slides and swings on his belly all on his own. If you leave them to their own devices (obviously while watching), they tend to stick to what they can do independently.

[ktg]

jnetx my rule is always that she can do what she wants but she has to get down on her own. My concern is that a lot of the playgrounds here have openings from the climbing structures that she'd fall out of in a heartbeat. So climbing up/down, no problem. Paying attention and going in the direction she's looking, kind of a problem.

I haven't ventured out even with my husband in quite a while, though, so she might be better about it now.

[jnetx]

May 26, 2017 11:23:36 GMT -6 ktg said:

jnetx my rule is always that she can do what she wants but she has to get down on her own. My concern is that a lot of the playgrounds here have openings from the climbing structures that she'd fall out of in a heartbeat. So climbing up/down, no problem. Paying attention and going in the direction she's looking, kind of a problem.

I haven't ventured out even with my husband in quite a while, though, so she might be better about it now.

T doesn't really do that any more. Definitely worth a shot.

[mrspants]

I follow busy toddler on IG and she posts everyday/almost everyday a new toddler approved activity and has tons of lists listed for different kinds of activities and different levels of messiness. I've done some of the activities and DD loves them.

[imapenguin]

DDs preschool sent home an enrichment calendar for the summer. It has activities like

Look for colors in nature
Find 5 items that start with the letter D
Make pipe cleaner fireworks
Read a new book
Play I spy
Pick up Pom poms with tongs
Play hopscotch
Have a picnic
Blow bubbles

[imapenguin]

Here's the calendar we have and will occasionally reference.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[imapenguin]

It is very weird that those are all different colors because they are on the same piece of paper 😳


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jnetx]

May 26, 2017 14:06:18 GMT -6 imapenguin said:

It is very weird that those are all different colors because they are on the same piece of paper 😳


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

creepy!

[poptarts]

When my son was a toddler and I had DD, we did a lot of walks in the summer, the splash pad, playing with our hose and a tote full of water with toys in it. When I went to the playgrounds, I'd stay close to DS and would push DD in the stroller. On rainy days, we went to the library or would walk around the mall.

[imapenguin]

May 26, 2017 15:19:20 GMT -6 jnetx said:

May 26, 2017 14:06:18 GMT -6 imapenguin said:

It is very weird that those are all different colors because they are on the same piece of paper 😳


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

creepy!

What part of Texas are you in? I'm in the Houston area.

[jnetx]

May 26, 2017 17:11:56 GMT -6 imapenguin said:

May 26, 2017 15:19:20 GMT -6 jnetx said:

creepy!

What part of Texas are you in? I'm in the Houston area.

Same!

[peacock]

I'm struggling with this. DS is three and he's INSANE. Getting him outside Ida a challenge because:

I don't have a car.
My town is not walkable.
Apartment complex so no yard.
Baby will only be 3-6 month over summer, and that's to little for the pool. (Isn't it?)

[randomosity]

peacock I think it depends on your comfort level, re: the pool. I brought both of my daughters into the pool with me when they were teeny tiny but it was a saltwater pool and I kept them out of the sun. I'm not sure how I'd feel about chlorinated pools when they're so little. Maybe it's not too bad if they're not drinking it?

[NamasteBirches]

DS is gonna be super busy with camps & such, thank jeebus. It's also festival/community events season so on the weekends we're typical busy as well. We usually plan a few day/overnight trips out of town & we just got ds his passport so we want to get to Niagara Falls at some point (the Canada side) too.

[NamasteBirches]

I mean, there's really not a ton they could do at 2. We did the playground but had our own little tikes one so I preferred just staying home so I didn't have to worry about older kids trampling him. Splashpad is a good idea if you have any. Some libraries have super cool kiddie areas as well even if not for storytime, just to play.

[younglove]

NamasteBirches can you message me with any super awesome festivals? I want to do more of them this summer.

[pesto]

We do a lot of picnics. Preferably at a park with a playground. It's nice because the two year old can go play and I can sit with the baby on the blanket.

If you have a yard a baby pool can provide lots of easy cheap entertainment.

[jess213]

We're going to spend a lot of time at the playground and splash pad. DD1 is 2 in August and when we're at the playground I just push DD2 around in the stroller if I need to follow/assist DD1. We walk around the neighborhood, play in the backyard, etc. Sidewalk chalk, bubbles and a dollar store beach ball have all been huge! We also do drop in time at a local gymnastics place. You can either register for a class or pay $5 and drop in to play on certain days...that's been good for rainy days!

[sexychairdontcare]

I just discovered this yesterday - fill up a storage tub of water and let them play in it with a few measuring cups. My 3 kids did this for 2 hours yesterday while I lounged on the patio with a cocktail. Big win! We will be doing this weekly during summer.

[sexychairdontcare]

May 26, 2017 17:21:30 GMT -6 peacock said:

I'm struggling with this. DS is three and he's INSANE. Getting him outside Ida a challenge because:

I don't have a car.
My town is not walkable.
Apartment complex so no yard.
Baby will only be 3-6 month over summer, and that's to little for the pool. (Isn't it?)

for the pool get this for the baby so you have your hands free to chase the 3 year old.

They have these at bed bath and beyond, amazon and Wal-Mart for around $20-$30