Camp Mom: Summer activities for toddlers

The post over at Kelly's Korner could not be more appropriately timed because I am starting to feel like an activities director on a cruise ship, what with trying to come up with activities each week.

In the spring, we decided to take the Be Outside challenge from the National Wildlife Federation and committed to spending even more time out of doors.

The heat has been our biggest hurdle this summer so many of our activities have included water. We have the obligatory children's pool, of course, but we have also discovered the simpler things in life... the lawn sprinkler. I have incorporated the sprinkler into our regular outdoor play by simply having the sprinkler connected, and our girls simply play in or around it with their regular toys to stay cool.

I thought about upgrading our sprinkler to this lovely oversized beach ball from Pottery Barn Kids, but then I read a lot of reviews that pointed to some functionality problems. Many of the reviews stated that they returned to their lawn sprinkler so that is what we are sticking with for durability.

But, admittedly, this is much prettier:



... maybe I'll paint our sprinkler pink to jazz it up a little.


We have also discovered the conveniences of the library for a host of indoor (read: air conditioned) activities (movies, crafts, stories, shows), and we further recommend any facilities through the parks and recreation department (i.e., pool, splash pad, etc.) Lastly, many towns have movie night at the park where a feature movie is shown at sundown. So far that has been past the girls' bedtimes, but we are looking forward to attending at some point.

Lastly, don't forget your local YMCA for pool access.

I soooo welcome additional ideas and look forward to perusing everyone else's posts! Have a great weekend!