5 Activities, One Great Day {Back Yard Fun Part 2}

YEA! It’s Summer time!

(At least it is for our school!! You?)

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Creating a whole Outdoor Classroom Playroom is my favorite ways to spend some family fun during summer. I hope you picked up the items from the previous post! Let's prepare our Playroom and get started!

First Things First:

• After a hearty, healthy breakfast, dress everyone in a swimsuit, t shirt and water safe shoes every day. APPLY SUNSCREEN before you go outside, after lunch and then later in the afternoon. Make this a daily routine and keep a bottle of sunscreen outside to help cut down on the inside/outside traffic.
• If you have a pool in your backyard, be sure to have it fenced off and be present to supervise play.
• Fill a cooler with ice water and have a labeled plastic cup for everyone.
• Bring out the tub suggested in the last blog post and LET THE FUN BEGIN!

These Five Simple Activities make for One Fun Day:

1. Paint the Fence: Give each child a bucket with water and a large paint brush and ask them to paint the fence, brick or patio.

The water will make the material appear darker when wet. (Magic?) The large arm motions of up and down and left to right will help develop the shoulder muscles, upper arms and wrists which are so needed for writing in later years. It will also encourage eye/ hand coordination.

2. Shaving Cream Play: Next, squirt a handful of shaving cream at a time and let the children paint it on the fence or house or walkway with paint brushes or fingers.

Be ready, they love to paint each other with shaving cream, as well. Mmmmmm… Mmmmmm smells great! Now, think about the senses being stimulated. Smell, touch, sight, even the sound of the squirting. I wouldn’t try to taste though. YUCK!

3. Shaving Cream Balloons: String a line of yarn at your child’s waist height. Then blow up about 5 to 6 balloons and tie them to the yarn so that they hang down next to each other. Let your child smear shaving cream all over the balloons and then give them the squirt bottle of water and have them wash the balloons clean.

They will enjoy this activity and will ask to repeat it over and over again!

4. Sidewalk Chalk: Sidewalk chalk has been around for many years. Hours of creative art on the fence or patio are great developers of fine and large motor skills. It is easily washed away for a new canvas on another day.

ENJOY! We all have budding artists in our home.

5. Rainbow paint: Hang a white sheet over the fence or between trees and give children spray bottles with washable liquid water colors. Let them spray the sheet with the water colors. (You can even take the inside of a washable marker and stick it into the water bottle.)

They will enjoy the activity and the outcome. This activity not only develops their fine motor skills with the squeezing of the squirt bottle but also their creativity. They will also be able to see the effects of blending colors and making others. The best part is that a little bleach in the washing machine will make the same sheet into a whole new, fresh canvas for the next day.

ENJOY and make memories! More Fun to follow…..

P.S. If you've tried out these activities or a variation, let us know, we love to link to you in this post!

AND

If you have ANY outdoor fun activities...link up below!!