Long gone are the days of lounging by the pool to beat the heat. Now with a toddler and a baby, I’m always looking for easy and fun ways to stay cool when the water table and sprinklers just aren’t cutting it. toddler activities
I sometimes get overwhelmed scrolling through Pinterest or skimming parenting magazines with awesome ideas that are way too elaborate ideas for me to pull off. I’m not crafty, and I don’t have a lot of prep time, so the simpler the better. Plus, I feel like when I do put a lot of effort into an activity, my kids don’t care. Am I the only one?!?
So here are a few simple activities to help you beat the heat this summer. They use mostly things you can find around the house, take little preparation, and can hold a toddler’s attention for more than five minutes!
Rescue the dinosaurs from the ice!
Take some toys, (I used mini dinosaurs) throw them into a large container, fill with water and freeze. Then give your kids a toy hammer and other tools needed to rescue the toys from the ice. This one was a success with my toddler. It kept his attention for quite some time and he was able to play independently.
Ice cube painting
Mix together food coloring and water and pour into an ice cube tray. Half way through freezing, add Popsicle sticks for handles. Then take the frozen cubes and water color paper to paint outside. You need water color paper for this to work. I didn’t have the sticks, so we just held the ice cubs and it was fine. This didn’t keep my toddler’s attention very long, but I’ve known it to work well with other friends. Maybe his hands were too cold!
Water Balloon Basketball
This is pretty self explanatory, but I will say filling up water balloons is not as much fun as I remembered as a kid. However, my toddler loved this activity. We also made it a game to clean up all of the busted balloons.
Car/Toy Wash
Get out the hose, a bucket, soap and sponge. Then let your kids go to town washing their bikes, scooters, tractors etc. It’s even more fun when you’re able to get everything muddy first. I’ve also done this inside on a smaller scale with mini dinosaurs and match box cars. My toddler loves this, especially when he gets to squirt mom and sister with the hose.
What are your no-fail ways to beat the heat?
*This post was originally written in 2016
