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Our kids already spend time in our full-sized pool. At this point, however, it’s not exactly easy. My toddlers are still learning to swim, so my husband and I spend most of the time dog paddling like water polo Olympians, with our babies in tow. They love playing in their kiddie pool too, but we may have played that tune too many times. They’ve taken to just finding unique ways to dump out the water.
We’ve had to get a little creative, so our “work” is your gain. Here are four summer activities for toddlers that are fun, inexpensive, can be whipped up last minute, and are definite crowd-pleasers — at least for our kids.
1. Create a Water Balloon Pinata
You will need a bunch of water balloons, string, scissors, somewhere to hang the pinata, and a piece of tubing or a soft bat. To create the water balloon pinata, fill a bunch of water balloons. Once all the balloons were filled, we tied a long piece of string around a pergola we have in our backyard. Once you hang the string, cut 2-3 inch pieces of string and tie each individual balloon onto the long string.
Just make sure to double-knot the string so the balloons don’t slip out. Surprisingly, I had no issue with balloons falling through. I tied the knot below the balloon knot to secure the balloons to the string. I used about a dozen balloons. If you have older kids or you anticipate having a large group of kids playing with it, you might want to add more.
Using water balloons is probably one of my favorite toddler summer activities. Also, my son had the best time throwing all of the leftover balloons I didn’t use in the pinata at his dad and me. As my husband was taking pictures, he was dodging balloon splashes. It was pretty entertaining for my three-year-old!
2. Make Ice Cream Sundaes
To create your own sundae bar, you’ve got to have toppings. Ice cream and toppings are better together! For my sundae bar, I chose Smucker’s caramel flavored and chocolate fudge spoonable ice cream toppings (you can earn cash back on Smucker’s ice cream toppings with the free Ibotta app!). To complete my sundaes, I also added whipped cream, sprinkles, and topped them off with maraschino cherries.
3. Construct a DIY Sprinkler
In addition, I found this genius idea and directions for a homemade sprinkler here. You can easily make a DIY sprinkler at home using a 2-liter bottle. In order to create your own, you will need a push pin, a bamboo skewer, a clean empty 2-liter soda bottle, 3/4 inch female x 3/4 female swivel hose adapter (that’s what they call them at the hardware store, google it!). You can get yours at any hardware store in the plumbing section. If you can’t find them, just ask someone and they’ll direct you to the right area.
To make the sprinkler, first attach the female swivel hose adapter to the bottle; it will screw right on. Next, poke 8 holes using the push pin on the top of the bottom. Use the bamboo skewer to make the holes bigger. That’s it! Attach your sprinkler to a hose and enjoy!
4. Set up a Tricycle Wash
Your kids will get a kick out of sponge cleaning their trikes or bikes. Plus, they will enjoy using the hose to (or watching you) spray down the vehicles. This is a fun and easy way for your kids to play with water, accomplish a chore (without knowing they’re working!) and they will even get clean in the process. All you need is a bucket, water, soap and sponges or rags!
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That water balloon piñata looks like so much fun! And homemade sundaes are the best! -client
Thank you for this post. Sports activities for kids