Opt Outside: Toddler & Baby Edition
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Sticky, humid, hot, midwest summer: It’s HERE! There are tons of things to do on those hot-as-dog summer days without ever leaving your neighborhood. My toddler (3 year old) and baby (8 month old) go outside every day. Here are activities you can do with both in tow!
Stay Hydrated
First and foremost, it’s flippin hot out, so be sure you’re staying hydrated. Here’s our favorite ways to stay hydrated:
Water Bottle: my toddler always has her water bottle, which keeps her water really cold. It’s a flip top- easy for her to open and close independently. AND dishwasher safe (a must in our house).
Teether: pop an ice cube or frozen banana in this mesh teether, and my 8 month old is happy as a clam. Keeps him cool and hydrated.
Popsicles: we make our own! LOVE this mold. Individually frozen, so you don’t have to take out the whole mold when you just want one. Our favorite is frozen lemonade Ultimia (it’s been cleared by our doctor for our kids, but, obviously, ask your pediatrician if you have any doubts).
Walks
Double Bob to the rescue- seriously, my favorite stroller. Amazon carries them, but look on buy, sell, trade websites and pages. They go quick on those sites, so tell your family and friends you’re looking for one and to keep an eye out for you.
STAY COOL- our favorites for staying cool while walking:
clip on fan for baby with rechargeable batteries
mister fan for toddler with rechargeable batteries
large flexible ICE PACKS to put against their back while they ride in the stroller- keeps them cool the whole time. (Ice packs can be hot or cold and are for adult use, too!) Be sure to wrap ice packs in a towel
Pro Tip: Make walks purposeful: Walks can get realllly boring really fast, as most of us have probably already realized because we’ve all been taking 5 million walks a day… thank you quarantine. BUT, if you have a different purpose for your walk each time, it makes it a little more enjoyable.
1. Binoculars- go bird watching! or go on a tree hunt.. or whatever! Don’t have binoculars? no worries. grab two empty toilet paper rolls (or cut an empty paper towel roll in half) and tape them together. WA-LAH! You can even have your toddler decorate their new binoculars with stickers or makers.
2. Collection- rocks, sticks, tiny flowers, etc. Don’t want to haul 1,394 sticks? Tell your toddler he/she can only keep the longest (or smallest) one. AND math skills are being practiced here, too! Double win.
3. Sensory- touch the trunks of all the trees, smell the flowers, listen to the birds, look for and count the cars that pass by, etc, etc.
Traditional Outdoor Activities
Our go-to activities when we only have a little bit of time outside and trying to kill a couple minutes.
Sidewalk chalk - a classic. Hopscotch, drawing, tracing bodies. Practice drawing shapes, letters, numbers. When I taught kindergarten, we would trace shadows in the morning-ish time and then come outside in the afternoon, stand in the exact same spot and trace shadows again to see how much they changed.
Bubbles- another classic. You can also make your own wands with pipe cleaners
Water Table
Here’s a similar one to the one we have. Simple, doesn’t need to be super fancy, but it’s nice that they can stand around it and play.
I’ve heard water beads are also a hit at the water table (just ordered some).
Pro Tip: save scoops! Protein scoops, formula scoops, whatever you got. Measuring cups work, too.
Bikes, Scooters, and Games
Red light/Green light. Can be done with or without scooters
Bikes: we love our Radio Flyer 4-in-1 (linked one that is on sale). We also have a balance bike, although she’s not super interested in biking these days. Again, look on buy, sell, trade websites for these.
Mother, May I
Tag, Freeze tag, toilet tag (toilet tag: when you get tagged, you have to sit in a squat with one arm up. To get “unfrozen” you have to get “flushed” or someone has to come put your arm down).
Simon says
Shadow tag
Marco Polo
Freeze Dance
Water Balloons
Is your kid old enough to fill up and tie water balloons on their own? Awesome- Then get the traditional water balloons and they will spend the entire afternoon filling them. They can’t? Then, get these kind! They fill up SUPER quick and no tying is involved. You attach the hose and they fill up AND tie in 2.4 seconds
TIP: Earth friendly option offered here on etsy. Or you can just search “reusable water balloons.” They are crocheted!
Wash EVERYTHING
I really mean everything. Get out the hose and go to town. Grab a sponge or a squirt bottle and the fun is never-ending. Use a tray or cookie sheet for baby to play (supervised, of course). We use his tray on his seat (which also doubles as his high chair) and put him in the shade.
Car Wash- traditional fun. Benefit for you, the bottom third of your car will be clean-ish.
Toys- grab any toy that can get wet and clean it. Grab an old toothbrush to really get a detailed clean.
Driveway- remember that chalk you kid played with for 2 seconds earlier? Have them scrub it away with their sponge.
“Gardening”
Water the plants with a toddler watering can
Dig in the dirt/plant flowers- you can make a real garden with your toddler, which we plan on doing next summer, but when I’m outside solo with both baby and toddler, its not going to happen this year, BUT she does like to play in the dirt and find “seeds” from plants, “plant” and water them.
Cut the grass with scissors- for real… with scissors. It’s a GREAT and safe way to practice cutting skills.
BUGS! Turn over rocks, dig, go on an scavenger hunt. My toddler isn’t fond of touching bugs (I can’t blame her), but she will pick them up with sticks.
SWING!
With so many playgrounds closed right now, it forced us to finally put up our little tike swing. Our toddler and baby love this swing. We hung it from a tree branch and use it everyday.
We’ve also been eyeing a simple playground- we don’t need anything elaborate- just something for them to climb and slide. My friend has a similar one to this aaannddd we may just pull the trigger on it soon.
Create!
Outdoor kitchen: Mud pies with stick candles... and pine cone soup... Yum yum! Search buy, sell, trade websites for an inexpensive plastic kitchen. OR, if you’re really ambitious, you can make your own mud kitchen!
Bird feeders (pine cones, peanut butter, and bird seed)
Build fort using lawn furniture
Bring paints outside- easy cleanup!
Create (a little more messy):
As a parent, I haven’t braved most of these yet because I usually have a baby on my hip, but here are some projects that were a HIT when I taught kindergarten.
Shaving cream- great sensory. Kids can just play OR practice drawing letters, numbers, shapes, etc. Can also been done in the bathtub, too!
Vinegar, baking soda, food coloring
Tons more messy science experiments linked here