This is a VERY random list, full of things that worked for us, most of which involved very little parental involvement.
If you're feeling the heat, perhaps it will give you a few ideas. And in the comments, please include your own EASY ideas. I'm always looking for suggestions . . .
Happy Wednesday, and don't forget to enter the Lensbaby giveaway!
I. OUTSIDE
1. Set Up A "Clubhouse" (aka, Sun Tent) - Put various buckets and shovels inside. Let them think it's their own secret place.
2. Fly a Kite
3. Go Fishing
4. Look for Sand Crabs. For extra fun, bring a dog.
5. Fill a Baby Pool with Water - Have the kids fill the pool, which requires numerous trips back and forth to the ocean. All while you sit in a lawnchair. Lazy wonderfulness.
6. Check out the Sunset (or, If You're Motivated, the Sunrise)
7. Learn to Bodysurf - I use the term "learn" loosely
8. Fly a Paratrooper
9. Search for Mermaid's Purses - The beach is always full of these, but they didn't seem that cool until we learned that some of them contain shark's eggs. Then the kids couldn't stop trying to find more and more.
10. Make a "Bad Guy" Trap - I'm not sure how this works, but T spent over an hour putting it all together. Apparently the nets are key.
11. Sandcasting - Instructions here.
12. Cartwheels - P basically never stops doing cartwheels. Just watching her exhausts me.
II. INSIDE
13. Burpee Contests (or Yoga) - Don't know what a burpee is? Click here. Try for as many as you can do in 10 minutes. I promise this will EXHAUST most children. If you're feeling more Zen, then yoga also works. I like the easy-to-follow routines in Morning Yoga Workouts
14. Karaoke - Be careful, this becomes annoying fast.
15. Categorize Seashells - I checked out Smithsonian Handbooks: Shells from the library. So when the kids became bored, we'd go through the bucket and try to figure out what we had.
16. Dance Party - Taylor Swift seems to have replaced Katie Perry. Poor Katie.
17. Swimming Pool/Pirate Boat - Sort of like a box. But better.
18. Tell Ghost Stories in the Closet - P informed me that this works best if NO ADULTS are present, so just hand them a flashlight and bolt.
19. Become Pirates - Watch for bad guys out the window, use poker chips for booty. Count your booty, defend your boat, repeat.
20. Read Books
21. Celebrate - Kids love a party. Buy a cake. If you don't have an occasion, then make one up.
22. Mad Libs - If you ever want to hear F laugh at the top of her lungs, this is the trick.
23. When At Your Wits End, Take Out the Electronic Devices - Laptops, Kindles, Ipads, Iphones, Roku . . . this is why you own them.
I. ARTS AND CRAFTS:
24. Paint Seashells - My friend set up this activity and all the kids LOVED it (aged 3-8). I thought it would bore them after awhile, but all week more and more seashells became technicolor. If you don't feel like setting up paint, markers also work.
25. Melissa & Doug Paint With Water Books - The pages come with paint already on them. Just add water. Easy peasy.
26. Make Beach Art - We brought along Land of Nod's Everyday Art Kit (the gift that keeps on giving) and when the kids complained of boredom we asked them to create beach souvenirs for our walls.
27. Paint & Decorate Mini-Beach Chairs (or anything else three-dimensional) - My friend bought the beach chairs at a craft store. All of the kids loved decorating them.
28. Sticker Art Mosaics (similar to these) - Always a sure thing.
29. Line Drawings - Take a blank piece of paper. Use one marker to draw a frame. And then, using only one marker and never lifting it from the paper, make a continuous line drawing. Color in the different spaces when you finish.
30. Rely on Various Other Store Bought Activities - Here are photos of some of our emergency supplies (all of which are also great for car trips). The invisible ink books were a huge hit, as were the Barbie paper dolls. For additional ideas, check out the Island Bookstore in Corolla, which has one of the best kids' sections I've ever seen - lots of wonderful stuff, including doodle books.
well this is a WHOLE LOT OF FUN!!!!!!!!! great ideas here. and oh my your photos, they take my breath away! :)
ReplyDelete