Writing up this post I consulted with an expert of the subject, my three (almost four year old if you ask him) for advice! Of course we want our children to have a fun summer, and I am by no means a screen- free parent. However, in the summer when my son doesn’t have preschool I need to limit how much screen time he gets. Here is a list of our family’s top 20 Screen- Free Summer Toddler Activities.
Rock Painting
My son loves to find and rehide painted rocks, so we started making some of our own. They are tricky and I am amazed and how beautiful some people can make theirs! Mine are very simple, but a very inexpensive craft to do with kids in the backyard this summer.
Finger Painting
My son loves art so much! Finger painting or even using paintbrushes to make his art makes his day! It is a great activity for him while BBQing outside or doing yard work he cant be included in. If you have floors inside the washable paints will come off of easily it is also great for while you clean!
Chalk Art
My son loved helping my husband redo the backyard this year. We started him off small with a little pot we planted and he had to water with his paw patrol watering can every other day! He was so proud he said quick get my picture! and grabbed his corgi for the photo.
Nature Walks or Hiking
Bike Rides
Frisbee
Swimming
Water Balloon Fight
Tie Die Shirts
Canvas Art
We have tried a couple different versions of this. The first one we tried was melting crayons and now we are into acrylic paint pours. The paint pours are definitely my sons favorite. He loves watching the colors mix and stretch across the canvas. These canvases are perfect above his art table where he can admire his work and show them off to people that come over.
Lego Building
Bird watching on Hikes or Walks
Soccer
Basketball
Park Trips
In the summer time parks are a big hit! There is generally more kiddos to play with, plus a lot of them have water features that turn on during the summer. If you live in the Eugene area like I do, for favorite parks are Skinner’s Butte park and Oakmont Park.
Picnics
Cooking
I absolutely LOVE cooking! Getting my son involved in the kitchen is one of our favorite activities regardless of season. From helping me make pancakes for breakfast to baking muffins, he loves prepping, stiring the mix and his personal favorite cracking the eggs!
Fort Building
Science Experiments
This was one I had never thought of much until my son’s preschool gave us a picture of him doing an experiment and I saw the joy on his face. There are so many simple experiments to do at home with your littles! A few suggestions are vinegar and baking soda volcanoes, eggs soaked in vinegar, food dye and celery, and homemade slime.
THE INFORMATIONS ARE VERY HELPFUL AND INFORMATIVE.
Great list! I definitely want to try rock painting and canvas art.
Holly recently posted…All About Honey Extractors
those might be my favorite as well!
Great list of activities. I am always looking for new things we can do especially outdoors when the temps go down in the evening.
These are all such great ideas! My kids love helping out in the garden because I let them get dirty!!
The perfect time to let them play in the dirt! lol
Some much needed ideas here for the summer hols. Love the idea of fort building and rock Painting
rock painting has got to be my childs favorite! He really loves when he gets to hide them or finds them somewhere in town!
Lots of fun activities. So often as moms, we forget about the simple things that make our kids happy!
I’m not sure what it is about kids and chalk, but my kids can’t get enough of it! Our driveway is always soooo colorful when it’s nice enough to go outside!