Toddler Summer Bucket List

There are all sorts of posts out right now with things to do with your kids over the summer. One thing that seems to be popular this summer is to make a bucket with clothes pins or popsicle sticks that each have an activity on them. We made one of these in MOPS today, and it got me thinking of all the great ideas I've pinned on Pinterest and seem to forget about when I need an activity.

 

We can now pull out a stick each day and have an activity to do.

 Click links to see original sites

• Make sidewalk paint. 1 part cornstarch, 1 part water, and food coloring. Mix it up and you have paint that you can spray off with the hose when you're done
• Bake cookies
• Plant/Pick Flowers
• Make Giant Bubbles

• Play Dress Up - host a tea party/fashion show/dance party while in costume
• Build a Fort - everyone loves a fort. In fact, if you need a gift, check out this DIY Fort Kit. I made some for my niece and nephew last year and included some fabric markers so that they could really decorate the sheets in the kit.
• Water/Nerf Gun Shootout
•  Make Paper Towel Roll Birdhouses
• Build a "Kid Wash" - As simple or extravagant as you want. Who wouldn't want one of these

        See tutorials here and here

http://www.momfluential.net

http://lindsayandandrew.blogspot.com

 

• Water Bin/Bowl - We did this one last year when Parker was 15 months and she still likes it. Just fill a big plastic bin or bowl with water and give them some plastic cups, bowls, or sand toys to play with in the water. Great if you don't have a pool

 

• Go for a Nature Walk - Toddlers love to stop and check out the scenery. So go for a walk, even just around your block, and see what flowers, rocks, or animals you see
• Make Cereal Necklaces
• Sock Puppet Theater
• Star Gazing
• Build a Fairy House - I'm really excited about this one. Parker loves Tinker Bell right now, and wants to see if she can catch a fairy like in Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue. Paint an empty detergent bottle and cut out openings for a door and windows. Let your little one decorate it and find a place in the yard for it. I plan to make it a bigger project by hiding little "lost things" (like fake jewels, Altoids tin, thimble) in our yard for her to find and incorporate into it. Maybe she'll even get a thank you note one morning from a fairy who used it as a hotel on her way back to Pixie Hollow. 

http://www.filthwizardry.com

• Paint Rocks
• Alphabet/Shape/Colors Scavenger Hunt - Depending on what level your little one is at, make a scavenger hunt through the house, park, zoo, or any other area to see what they can find
• Go to the Zoo
• Box Cars for Drive in Movie - Paper plates for wheels and let them decorate their cars for a "drive in movie"

 

• Messy Painting - I realize all painting with a 2 year old is inherently messy, but Parker was especially messy last summer when I laid out a white shower curtain in the grass and put glops of different color paint for her to have fun with. She wasn't sure at first, but soon she got the hang of it.

 

• Home Made Ice Cream
• Make an Obstacle Course
• Baking Soda and Vinegar Fun - line a baking pan with baking soda and use oral syringes (just ask your pharmacist for some) to drop colored vinegar into it. Watch it bubble and change colors.
• Pick your own fruit/veggies - There are several places around here where you can go out and actually pick your own fruits or veggies, and even get a tour of the farm.

If you need more ideas for places to go and you live in Southern California, I'd highly recommend the book

http://www.funplaces.com/Products.html

There are over 2400 places to check out in the book all broken down by county, cost, age appropriateness, and type of activity. 

I'm still working on adding more things to our list, but it looks like this summer will be a fun one. Have fun with your summer bucket list, and try not to go crazy with the kids home.