If you’re hoping for a relaxing summer, then you will need to try some of these toddler activities for summer. I can’t guarantee they will allow you to be sippin’ lemonade by the pool alone, (I mean, you’ve got a toddler…what is alone time anyways?) but they will help you find pockets of relaxation amongst the craziness that is motherhood!
Thinking back on my first summer with a toddler, I was expecting the days to be glorious and relaxing, with my toddler and I giggling and playing without a care in the world. But that never happened. Instead, I got tantrums. I got toys thrown unplayed with. And, I got annoyed. I hope you’re not at this place, but if you are, I’d love to show you some fun toddler activities for summer.
First, Let’s Prep!
While these activities are SIMPLE, they will take some preparation. My advice is to prep at night while the kids are sleeping for the next day. Alternatively, you could also prep during nap time. I have found that I’m more relaxed when I pre-prepare activities, and my toddlers seem to have more fun when they don’t have to wait for me to find everything to do an activity.
Toddler Summer Activities Shopping List
Part of the preparation process is shopping. While most of these activities can be done with things around your house, you may want to buy a few special items to really pull each activity together. I have bolded items that are used across multiple activities or items that are difficult to substitute.
- Assorted Bins
- Shaving Cream
- Assorted small toys (use what you have!)
- Dot Stickers
- Dot Markers
- Kinetic Sand
- Ocean Animals
- Scavenger hunt list
- Paint brushes
- sponges
Toddler Summer Activities Bins
When I prep activities, I store them in bins. This makes things super easy because I prep the activity in the bin, my kids use the bin while they complete the activity, then I put everything in the bin for easy cleanup! ANY BINS will work! Seriously, no need to get fancy! If you’re looking for recommendations, I use the Ikea Trofast bins as I have found they clean SUPER easy and they fit in our flisat table! I also use sterlite bins (the shoe box sized and the sweater box sized), and the large food storage containers from the dollar tree. Once you have your activity prepped, you can store it away until you NEED an activity (I save mine for when I need a hot coffee…gotta do what you got to do, right!?). Just pull out the bin and your toddler is ready to go!
Toddler Activities for Summer: The List
Ok, Ok! Now that we’ve got the preparation started, it’s time to get to the activities! Here are our top 5 favorite toddler activities for summer!
1. Shaving Cream Toy Bath
This is definitely a favorite at my house in the summer! I love it because it has a sensory component, a water component, and my kids clean their toys! Set up is super easy, and clean up is even easier if you do it outside like we do!
Put shaving cream in a bin (if using women’s shaving cream, add some water.) (If you have a mouth explorer, use cool whip instead!)
Put some dirty toys in another bin (I literally use our sandbox toys for this so they’re extra dirty!)
Add clean water to a third bin.
That’s it! Let your toddlers go to work cleaning the toys with “soap” then rinsing them in the water! Most toddlers will LOVE the feeling of the shaving cream, so I’m sure this will be a loved activity at your house too!
2. Dot Stickers
So dot sticker activities can technically be done any time of the year, but I think it’s important to highlight them because they’re such a calming activity during a hectic summer. For these activities, your toddler will simply put dot stickers (or use a dot marker) in each circle. You can use premade dot sticker sheets like these, or you can make your own by drawing a picture and adding dots where your toddler should put the sticker. I personally do both! I find that my toddler has a new interest when I switch up what the sheet looks like!
3. Sensory Bins
So technically these can be done year-round as well…. But think of all the toddler summer themes you could incorporate into summer sensory bins! Sharks, Ice Cream, and Beach have been some of our favorite summer themes! Sensory bins are actually pretty simple to set up, (get my sensory bin guide here!) but they look beautiful and toddlers love to get their hands into them! These sensory bins are really easy to recreate! Use blue rice (or kinetic sand) then add some themed parts. These are the ocean animals I used, this is the puzzle I used in the shark bin (FYI: this puzzle makes noise and is possibly the most annoying toy I own…you have been warned!), and all the other loose parts are from the dollar tree! Pair your bin with any ocean-themed book or toys you have at your house to create an incredibly high-interest activity!
4. Child-Led Walks
If you haven’t done a child-led walk this summer, be sure to add it to your bucket list! Every time we do one, I’m reminded of the phrase “stop and smell the roses”. It’s amazing the things your toddler will stop to admire, and if you allow the slower pace to take over you, you’ll begin to notice the amazingness of God’s creation too! A simple way to make this activity more engaging for your toddler is to bring along this scavenger hunt sheet! I think this is the perfect toddler scavenger hunt activity because it focuses on finding colors rather than specific objects. You’ll be able to use this sheet no matter the season or age of your toddler!
If your toddler is a scavenger hunt lover (a kid after my own heart), then check this out! Seriously so many fun ways to incorporate scavenger hunts…and a freebie!
5. Water Painting & Cleaning
Water painting (and cleaning) is one of my favorite toddler summer activities because it’s engaging, easy to set up, and virtually no clean-up! For this activity, fill a bin with water. Provide your toddler with some paintbrushes and sponges and set them free outdoors! My 2.5 year old loves to use the sponge the clean EVERYTHING outside. (She’s entertained and everything is clean, sounds like a win-win to me!). My 1-year-old likes to copy everything her sissy does, and she likes to use the paintbrushes to paint the patio with water! I love it because There’s no clean-up besides bringing the bin, paintbrushes, and sponge back inside!
If you don’t have an outdoor area, you could try this activity indoors…but with a few changes. When we do this indoors, we give my toddlers a spray bottle, sponge, and towel. They love to spray the windows and use the sponge to clean the windows. It’s a fairly low-mess activity!
Bonus Activities for your toddler this summer!
- Stay up until it’s dark and look at the lightning bugs!
- Create a small garden with your toddler (they’ll love to help you water it!)
- Visit your local pool or splash pad
- Make homemade ice cream (we love to pick strawberries then make strawberry ice cream!)
- Set up a dramatic play center (like our ice cream dramatic play center here!)
- Make homemade strawberry lemonade. (Check out how we did it here!)
- Blend dish soap and water to make splashable foam!
- Follow us on Instagram for more low prep play!
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
2 comments