Building an In-House Summer Camp this Season

Ah, the sweet pleasures of summertime! Finally, it’s here – glorious sunshine and longer days to linger outside. Summer Is a huge favorite with everyone, especially our little ones. This year, fill those lovely, balmy days with cool things to do with your toddler. And what’s more fun for kids than a variety of in-house summer camps!

Summer is the best time to enjoy the outdoors. And what is more, you need look no farther than your backyard for the simplest of summer pleasures! In the fun-loving spirit of this time of year, we at thedatingmaven, your best-loved trendy children's clothing brand, have come up with a ton of exciting ideas to transform your house and backyard into the coolest summer camps for your little one.

Check out these other popular activity ideas for your toddler:

https://thedatingmaven.com/fun-things-kids-do-at-home-this-summer/

NATURE SCAVENGER HUNT

There’s something about nature and kids – the two seem to meld and mesh together in perfect, delightful harmony, don’t they?

 Summer is the perfect season for kids to really let loose and explore nature in all its glory. And it makes for the ideal summer camp activity, right in your backyard!

Assign different days to scavenge for various treasures in nature – varieties of leaves and flowers on one day, the mysteries of the insect world on another, bird watching the next day – the list is endless. For younger kids, prepare simple scavenging clues – find something brown, something brittle, something with lots of legs etc. This is a great way to teach them about colors and concepts too!

Have jars and boxes on hand to store all the fascinating finds, and teach your toddler to record and label everything too. It’s good practice for those school projects when they grow up! On the last day, have a mini exhibition to display all the nature finds to the whole family, and have your little one talk about the stuff they found. They’ll love recounting their scavenging adventures to everyone!

Get more fabulous nature scavenger hunt ideas at:

https://thedatingmaven.com/20-nature-scavenger-hunt-ideas/

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE

What’s the one thing kids love messing around with the most? It’s water, of course!

Water games are marvelous as an in-house summer camp activity. You don’t need fancy equipment – just head to your backyard with a few simple props and get busy having fun! Children of all ages, and even adults, will love getting in on the action with these wet ‘n wild water activities.

There are a host of backyard water games you can play, like sprinkler limbo, water balloon toss, or a good old water gun fight. Create a water-based obstacle course that incorporates buckets, sprinklers, hoops, water balloons, a station for dance moves and jumping jacks, and more. For the younger ones, kiddie pools filled with bubbles, colorful bath foam, and water toys can provide hours of delight!

Check out these awesome water games from Mommy Poppins at:

https://thedatingmaven.com/kids/25-water-games-activities-summer-play

LOVING THE DRAMA

Is your toddler quite the little performer? Do you catch them in front of the mirror lisping dialogs or practicing hilariously grown-up expressions? Then an in-house drama camp is just the thing for them this summer.

Rope in siblings and friends for this one. Put your heads together and pick out a favorite book of your child’s, with a strong story and enough characters for everyone to play parts. Assign roles and basic dialogs to all; you can even make up songs or poems for them to perform as part of the play!

Have fun creating weird and wacky costumes by rummaging through old fancy dresses and party outfits. Help the little ones use regular household stuff for props and set design, like curtains, sheets, cardboard boxes. You can also let them indulge their artistic inclinations through scenery painting! On the final day, have the children perform their masterpiece for the whole family, and get friends and relatives online for a wider audience!

Get more tips about putting on a show at home at:

https://thedatingmaven.com/article/Do-It-Yourself-Theater-How-to-Put-on-Shows-at-Home-with-Your-Family-20200726

LITTLE SCIENTISTS

How does a rocket fly? Why does slime feel so slimy? How does a camera work? The world of science is an endless journey of discovery and exploration for our kiddos. Get those little brains ticking with their very own science camp!

Your toddler will love a chance to run experiments and learn about how the world works. You can assign various science-based themes for different days. Some simple yet fun topics young children will enjoy are light, colors, water, and aerodynamics. Each topic can be introduced with a short video to help them understand the basic principles. Include basic, safe experiments that the kids can do with minimal supervision, and encourage questions, a spirit of exploration, and of course, lots of mess! Top off the camp with a final exhibition day where the little ones are encouraged to talk about their scientific endeavors.

Take a look at these fascinating science activities for toddlers:

https://thedatingmaven.com/science-activities-preschoolers/

TELL ME A STORY

Storytelling has to be one of the most popular kids’ pastimes. It’s a wonderful way to awaken and widen your toddler’s imagination, creativity and language skills. So, make sure you include storytelling as one of your top summer camp activities!

Make your storytelling activity interesting with various ideas or props. You can create a story jar, where everyone writes an interesting story idea, puts them in a jar, and takes turns to pull out a slip and make up stories based on the idea. You could also ask everyone to put some interesting items into a box, pull out a set of items, and create stories based around them. After a storytelling session, you can have the kids painting or crafting their favorite characters as they imagine them. Very young children will love fun props like sock puppets and finger puppets – and they can even have fun making these themselves!

Check out these cool storytelling activities for kids:

https://thedatingmaven.com/7-uniquely-fun-storytelling-activities-to-do-with-kids/

LET’S GO CAMPING!

Missing camping in the great outdoors with your kid? Set up your very own camping trip in your backyard!

A backyard camping trip is the perfect summer activity – and it can actually end up being a lot more fun than the real thing! It’s a convenient and economical way to spend time with your children and family. Breathe in the fresh air, listen to the sounds of nature, and watch the clouds float by, all from the comfort of your own home.

Check the forecast for a stretch of nice weather. In the backyard, set up a tent with all the necessary camping paraphernalia. Plan out your child’s favorite camping activities – storytelling sessions, singalongs, s'mores over the campfire, barbeques, etc. For very young kids, you can choose to sleep inside, and use the tent in the daytime, as a fun place to hang out, play, and do activities!

Here are some top tips for backyard camping with your little one:

https://thedatingmaven.com/blog/backyard-camping-with-kids

Dollops of free time, sprinklings of creativity, oodles of imagination, and waves of giggles and glee – that’s our perfect recipe for any summer activity. As you bask and frolic with your toddler in the glow of summer and the fun of these in-house summer camps, we at thedatingmaven, your favorite toddler clothes online boutique, wish you the sunniest of smiles and skies!

Sending love from Be Kind blogs. Happy reading.