Sometimes, dads run out of ideas on how to spend quality time with their kids. The time a father spends with his children is invaluable and will go a long way in strengthening the dad bond between them. As a dad, Summer is the perfect time to increase your options and make the most out of any desirable weather outside. Here are some of the things you can do with the children to make their summer holidays truly memorable.
Why outdoors?
Newborns, toddlers and older children love being in the outdoors to explore nature. With some good temperatures during the summer season, it is the best time to take the fun outside with them. There is many an activity that dads can enjoy with their children outdoors. Let’s explore some of the best now.
Water Activities
There is no limit to what kids can do with water outdoors. With high temperatures outside, this is the ideal time for dads and the kids to get those shorts on and play with the garden hose or sprinklers. Children simply love it. You can also buy them water guns and chase each other outside. Also, don’t forget about the option to take your children for swimming lessons. This can be to local public swimming pools or by purchasing a pool for use in the backyard. You can also teach them mathematics using water – just use measuring cans to fill a bigger container with the liquid, and count as you go along.
Let’s get in the Garden
Why not partake in garden activities by making a herb garden together? Grab your garden gloves, shovel and some herbs for planting. Teach your kids how to make a bed, use manure and plant herbs. Remember to water the plants using cans or the garden hose in conjunction with the water activities above.
Ofcourse who doesn’t love climbing trees!? Go with the kids and pick a strong short tree for them to climb. Let them compete as to who can reach the top within the shortest time possible. You can use a timer for this. Although they will be competing, let them understand that the activity is meant to be fun but not determine who is best among them.
If you’ve got a big enough tree yourself, another brilliant garden activity is building the kids a tree house. If you have a tall and strong tree in your backyard, you should consider constructing a tree house for the children. Grab your handyman tools and get working. Involve the children as much as you can. Ask them to bring you different tools and items that are necessary for building the tree house. It will be fun for them, and they will also learn some building skills from you. You might even find them copying your tree house building moves in another part of the garden as you’re building.
Camping
You do not need to go far away for a camping adventure. Get your kids to help you pitch a tent in the backyard where you can spend a night of fun with them. Roast marshmallows with the children while seated around a campfire. This is the time to get creative and let your children come up with creative stories. The fun does not end there; use your best dad socks to make shadow puppets in the tent using the light from the flashlight. You can definitely make this an adventure they never forget.
Indoors Activities
If the temperatures get too high or when dusk approaches, it doesn’t mean the fun has to come to an end. It is time to take your summer fun indoors. There are so many things you can door indoors with the children for a fun-filled summer vacation. Below are some of them:
Reading
Get yourself some great books and go through them. But don’t just read them, use this time to act it out together. This will not only be fun, but it will also help hone your children’s future reading skills. Grab a snack and spend the afternoon indoors reading. Remember to choose something that’s really going to bring out the best depending on their age – so colourful books for toddlers for instance as they are usually attracted to shapes and colours, more so than say a 10+ child. To make the reading more enjoyable and also help your child develop their reading and listening skills, read them stories that have strong rhymes. They will be able to pick up the first sounds and soon, they will become fluent readers. Creating songs with the rhyming words is also a great way to help them learn to read. You can take them out to see the animals they learnt about from the stories and answer all the questions they might have. Since the weather is normally warm during summer, it will be possible to visit many spots that have the animals they learnt about in the stories.
Arts and crafts
This is one area that a dad should explore with his children during the holidays. Let your kids go nuts using glue and anything they can lay their hands on in the cupboard to make beautiful mixed media collage. Be very keen to ensure they don’t get anything lodged in their ears or noses as toddlers love stuffing things like grains in those areas.
Let your children make scribbles and use coloured pencils and crayons to add some colours. This is the time to allow the kids to get dirty and messy. Get moulding with mud or painting with different kid-friendly paints. You can make this activity extra fun by making edible paint using yoghurt. This way, you will not be worried about your kids eating the paint.
Games
There are numerous games that you can play with your toddlers indoors. If you want to keep it simple, put some music on and dance away. Something you’ll have discovered in some of the very best new dad books is how to test your toddlers’ cognitive functions by having them build alphabet blocks. You can also have simple block puzzles for them to complete. Bring bowling into your living room by having children roll a ball and knock down some plastic water bottles.
Dads, you’ve got a great chance to make your childs’ summertime amazing. The family will be very thankful for the great bonding time so embrace it to its’ fullest.
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