Safe and fun summer activities for kids at home

Summer time in the Kingdom can be a tiresome period for many families who aren’t traveling. The heat can be a big downturn for so many activities and an even bigger disappointment for children who have their hopes up for a fun summer vacation after a long grueling school year.
With the ever so crowded malls and traffic jams and long waiting periods at restaurants, many have opted to stay at home and find ways to entertain their kids without hassle.
There are many fun arts and craft ideas for the young ones to enjoy. Forget the iPads, iPhones, iPods, the Wii and the Play Station, it’s time to get down and messy with handmade projects. Almost all projects require basic material found at home, from egg cartons, to kitchen and toilet paper rolls to empty tin cans.
Many parents feel the need to always entertain their children by visiting malls and theme parks and most of the time these require long hours of being stuck in traffic or loud and noisy malls and restaurants, but some have opted for better choices. With some creativity and patience, home activities can be most fun.
Children love creating havoc and mess everywhere they go; it’s their nature. How about channeling that and turning it into something creative; paint is the best way to go. An option would be to tape a large piece of paper the length of a wall and not to forget plastic wrap on the floor. Have the kids choose the paint they want and give them the option of brushes or simply their hands, stand back and watch. You can create columns for them so they can paint for a couple of days, this way they won’t be bored and it’ll give them time to enjoy their masterpiece in the end. Another paint idea would be printing their feet and turning them into butterflies. All you need is a canvas, large paper to create a mixture of beautiful colors (the child’s choice of course) and guide your kid onto the canvas and mismatch both feet to create a butterfly. Monogram their initials next to it so he or she would know it’s their own creation. Hand prints are also very helpful in channeling your child’s imagination. Try printing your child’s hands and let them draw around the print and turn it into any bird your child likes. Add some trees or a tree branch and some leaves and you’ve got yourself some owls perched on a branch or a parrot or peacock. It’s all about imagination.
For families with different age groups such as toddlers and young children, there are activities that your young one can do for their younger siblings to enjoy. Tummy time bottle toy is a cute way to do so, all you need is an empty plastic water bottle and some trinkets (glitter, colorful buttons, sequins, ribbons) and just add water. Be sure to glue the top so it wouldn’t spill. All children love to collect small toys and trinkets and it can drive a parent crazy finding them thrown all over the place.
A smart DIY would be to collect them all and place them in an “I spy with my eye” bottle. All you need are some of these trinkets (make sure you take a picture of them first), an empty plastic bottle, rice and glue. Place all the items inside and add the rice, add glue and close the bottle cap tight. Shake shake shake, and let your child enjoy discovering the items out.
It’s always best to accompany your child during their hours of creative fun, one of the best summer activities is to hit the pool. What child doesn’t enjoy some pool time fun? Said no child ever. If the summer sun is just too hot, night time pool breaks can be even more fun than during the daytime, how? Two words, glow sticks. Just buy a couple dozen glow sticks and throw them in the pool, they glow in the dark and the colors will look beautiful with the water movement. You can also use a glow stick and place it inside a balloon, creating balloon lanterns that float on top of the water.
The kitchen can be a young child’s chemistry lab, whether it be baking cookies with mommy or creating your own play dough. Jello can be eaten and be used in this fun project, your choice, either choose something jiggly wiggly or colorful and squishy. This project is not for kids to try on their own, an adult must supervise. The ingredients include 1 cup of white flour, 2tbs of salt, 2tbsp of cream of tartar, 2tbsp cooking oil, 1 cup of warm water and 1 pack of 3oz Jello. Add all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well until it forms into a ball. Pour the dough in a nonstick frying pan on low heat for a few minutes but keep stirring until it forms a tick paste and into a big ball. Place the ball on wax paper to cool down and separate into pieces, knead them with a little flour until they reach the consistency you prefer. To spice things up a bit and be creative, add some glitter and food coloring and start playing!
Summer fun can be shared with friends and cousins of the same age, hosting summer fun parties can be fun and not costly at all. Any activity would do, just add some prizes, healthy snacks, and add a few chaperons to keep an eye on the little ones. Some ideas include, hosting a lego contest, water balloon rounds, paper roll owls, bees and birds, paper plate fish … the list goes on and on. All you need is some creativity for their enjoyment.
There are many ideas parents can come up with for their children to enjoy, forget long lines and expensive rides everyday of this long vacation, summer time is the best time to enjoy with the company of your little one. Creating all these memories will benefit you both in the long run and help strengthen the bond between parent and child. It’s the small things that count and all these fun activities are a helpful tool to discover your child’s artsy side.

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