Summertime is coming. The days are getting longer, the sun is finally shining and the sunglasses are officially out!
This summer there is so much you can do with your toddler while the weather is beautiful or otherwise…because we know that the British summer doesn’t always bring us as much sunshine as we want.
If you’re heading off on holiday, why not check out my ultimate packing list for travelling with toddlers.
I’ve compiled a Toddler Summer Bucket of activities and day trips you can do with your toddler.
The activities have been split into five categories: Water Play, Food Activities, Out & About, Garden Activities and Indoor Activities.
Water play is so much fun! My two love bath-time and when we get water out in the garden. And this is especially fun when it’s a hot day and they can have a good splash around with toys and buckets.
Food activities are important as you’re widening their experiences, you’re encouraging them to try new things and have fun along the way. I find this a great thing for my eldest to do as she’s a picky eater. She doesn’t always eat what we’ve made but she tries it and she’s had the whole experience of making it.
Out & About is equally as important as the other categories. It can be quite depressing to stay at home all the time and pay with the same toys in the same four walls, so getting out and about is a must. I’ve provided a list of mainly low-cost ideas for when out and about. There are loads of other things you could do like visit a farm, zoo or theme park but these all cost a lot usually so I’ve left these off my list.
Garden activities are for those with gardens. I understand some children don’t have the luxury of a garden and this means that it’ll be difficult to carry out this section of the bucket list, however, if you have a family member who do has a garden, maybe you could do these activities in theirs. Or if that’s not an option, you could even do a bit of an indoor garden and do some of these activities inside. It is important to get out each day for fresh air for our mental health as well as for the children though. Even just for a walk. Lockdowns showed us how vital fresh air was.
And finally, I’ve included indoor activities as we all know, with the best will in the world, the British weather in summer is not always as we dream it will be. It often rains and I’ve had my fair share of wet birthdays at the end of July so having ideas for spending time indoors with the little ones is the reason why I’ve added indoor activities to this list.
Water Play
- Paddling pool
- Bath-time in the day
- Wash toys
- Car wash
- Water fight
- Go fishing with pipe cleaner “fish”
- Create a pouring station with jugs and pots.
Food Activities
- Picnic in the park
- Bake a cake
- Decorate biscuits
- Make ice lollies
- Make ice-cream sundaes
- Bake cookies
- Make pizza
- Have a tea party with dolls & teddies
Out & About
- Visit the library
- Splash pad
- Family swim
- Bikes at the park
- Fly a kite
- Play ball at the park
- Pick berries
- Discover a new park
- Visit friends & family
- Soft play
- Nature scavenger hunt
Garden Activities
- Hide toys and go on a toy hunt
- Sports day at home
- Plant some flowers
- Bubbles
- Painting on a shower curtain
- Pavement chalk drawing
- Mud kitchen
- Paint the fence with water
- Host a garden party
- Camp out
- Paint a fairy house/bird box
- Play hoopla
- Make summer soup with flowers, grass and water
Indoor Activities
- Read books
- Watch a film together
- Make a den
- Decorate and send a card to a friend
- Playdough
- Sensory bin
- Colouring
- Have a playdate
- Painting
- Build with blocks
- Dressing up
- Play with musical instruments
I hope you have fun carrying out these activities. You could always join my Facebook group and post photos and let us know how you’re getting on with this. I’d love to see you there!
Also, why not take a look at my blog post: Best Summer Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers.
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