Summer Time Garden Play
Summer Time Garden Play – Here are some ideas of things you can do with your children during the summer holidays. For days when you are at home make use of your garden as much as possible for hours of enjoyment.
Balls
- Footballs, sponge balls, tennis balls, beach balls, bouncy balls, cricket balls, golf balls, basketballs, and more. Balls provide hours of fun and can be played with by all ages.
- For babies, this could be rolling or chasing to encourage crawling, and for older children can be anything from a mini-game of football to garden tennis.
- Ball pools – you can buy a pop-up type ball pit or use a small paddling pool and fill it with plastic balls.
- Count how many bounces or bats they can do, or keepy-uppies (not sure of the spelling of that one).
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- Can be played individually or with friends.
- Again along the same lines as with balls, you could count how many skips and each person try and beat their own score.
- Skipping games. I was an avid skipper as a child, but not a single rhyme comes to mind but I’m sure that your children will be able to get you up to speed on the latest playground songs.
Sandpits
Sandpits for small children are great fun. As well as buckets and spades give them bottles, cups, teapots, and other things that they can put the sand into and pour out.
Paddling Pools
Again make bottles, cups, and other fillable items available. Great for hot days, but don’t forget that the hottest part of the day 11 am – 3 pm would be best in the shade.
Garden Toys
This includes everything from slides, swings and ride-on toys. Whilst a lot of garden toys are a costly outlay, you really will get your money’s worth. Most garden toys are extremely durable and will last for as long as your children will play with them. Head on down to your local Car Boot Sale as people tend to sell this type of thing at this time of year and you can pick up a few items for a fraction of the price.
Make a Den
Provide your children with blankets and cushions and leave them to their own imagination.
Gardening
This has become very popular of late with everybody having a pop at growing their own vegetables whether in an allotment or on their kitchen windowsill. You can buy child-specific gardening kits which includes everything to get you started or you could start with some plant pots, soil, and seeds. I recommend sunflowers to get you started and don’t forget to keep a record of the highest one.
Painting and drawing
During the summer months, you can transfer any painting activities out into the garden. We also had enormous chalk sticks for drawing on the patio which can be easily washed away.
Picnics
Turn your usual lunch into a picnic by letting the children sit on a blanket in the garden.
Trampolines
A trampoline is probably the best thing we’ve bought to date for the kids. It gets so much use.
These are just a few summertime garden play ideas you can do with your children this summer. Our little girl who is 10 months old has just been introduced to the paddling pool and already it’s a huge hit. Don’t forget to get stuck in and re-introduce yourself to the hula hoop and skipping rope. Go on, you know you want to!
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