Summer 2021 was a summer for the books for the Hayes Family.
We took our first family vacation (blog coming soon) and it was the summer after being on lockdown for months! So it definitely felt great to be outside and doing activities again (safely and responsibly of course).
But even if we didn’t travel, there’s so many different activities to do with kids locally and some you can do year round! The best thing is they’re all super easy and inexpensive because … that’s what I love!
Here’s 10 things we did this summer:
- DIY Sand – Bringing sand right to your home. This is so easy to make and it smells great. All you need is flour, baby oil, and toys and you’ll have hours of playtime!
2. Magic Milk Experiment – Aeryn loves doing this one. It’s milk in a container with drops of food coloring. You take a cotton swab with a tiny bit of dish soap and watch what happens. It’s amazing! They can watch over and over again!
3. Zoo Day – I planned a science week for Aeryn and a trip to the Zoo where we learned and studied animals. I let her tell me read and tell me what she learned about them… she actually informed me about a few of the animals. We also caught a live show and a few animal feedings.
Look on the website for admission discount days. We picked a Wednesday because it was half price admission!
4. Imaginative Play at Peek n Play – This place was always a favorite of mines. It’s so cute and has so many imaginative things for Kids. I’ve seen places like these a lot so find one near you.
5. DIY Unicorn Bubble Foam – So this one was super fun and pretty easy to make. This was probably their favorite activity this summer. It’s amazing what you can make with food coloring, bath soap, and a mixer. We mixed it and put it in the bath tub which makes for the easiest bath time fun ever, but it also works in a big container. Here’s the recipe!
6. Inside Play Place – We went to It’s Recess Time for a little fun away from the sun. It’s not super big to where you have to yell to find your kid but it’s big enough for your kids to run through foam obstacle courses and slide down the cool slides. They even had a toddler/baby area for Addysn which she loved the slide as well.
Here’s the things that we have not gotten to yet but are on the list!
7. Outside Feet Painting – Just as it sounds. We’re going to take some easel paper and lay it out outside, put some paint on plates and let them get messy! I saved this one for end of summer because of how messy it can get… especially with a toddler.
8. Paint Watergun Art with Goblies – We picked up some Goblies paint at Michaels on clearance and plan to put some easel paper on the fence and put the paint in waterguns. It’s a fun twist to painting.
9. Science Lab Kit – Aeryn got this Science Lab Kit for her birthday last month and it has some really cool experiments that she wants to try. It comes with all the accessories and you may just have to get a few supplies to complete the experiments. Here is the one we have!
10. DIY Koolaid Slushies! – Who doesn’t like slushies and making these is literally too easy and all you need is Koolaid packets whichever flavor you like (or you could mix flavors), water, ice, sugar, and a blender! You can find the instructions here. This is a good way to end summer sitting outside on the patio with a good snack and your Sonic or 7/11 inspired slushie!
I hope you had a great summer!
