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Summer fun in the sun

The summer weather is a great excuse to get kids outdoors and to enjoy some play time in the fresh air.

These easy, affordable activities are sure to keep children entertained.

Backyard Bowling

This is a great activity to build relationships between children and with their adult caregiver, as anyone can participate in a round of backyard bowling. It’s also a good way for kids to develop their motor skills.

Here’s what you will need: a ball, 10 plastic bottles, a notepad and pen or pencil.

  1. Add about a half cup of water to each plastic bottle to keep them from falling over easily. Make sure lid is on tight.
  2. Create a pyramid shape with the water bottles, where one bottle is followed by two, then three, then four bottles in back.
  3. Depending on the age of the children, you can designate a starting line at 10 feet to 15 feet away from the pins.
  4. Show the children how to roll the ball in the direction of the pins.
  5. Just like in regular bowling, each person gets two turns to knock down as many pins as possible.
  6. You can record the score between each round or just play for fun, resetting the pins after every two rolls.

Swimming Pool Fishing

This activity involves a combination of creativity and sport. By “fishing” for objects in the pool, kids learn to spot a target and aim their pole in its direction, which helps develop hand-eye coordination.

You will need: a baby pool or large tub, construction paper, pencil or pen, child-safe scissors, stick or rod, tape and string.

**Adults are advised to watch children closely while using child-safe scissors

  1. Instruct children to draw a fish on the construction paper.
  2. Assist the children in cutting out their fish shape.
  3. Place the cut out fish in an empty pool or tub.
  4. Kids can now tie a piece of string (about 3-4 feet long) to the end of their stick.
  5. Affix a piece of double-sided tape to the end of the string.
  6. Now kids can “go fish” by dropping the end of their line into the pool and attempting to “catch” a fish by getting the tape to stick to the paper.

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