Beach Party

Beach Party (3)

If you can’t get some place warm and beachy this winter, here’s my favorite suggestion for entertaining kids indoors: Bring the beach to you!

This morning, we woke to gray skies and cold weather, so on a whim I set out a few beach towels, as well as all our summer beach toys. There were sand buckets and shovels….

Beach Party (1)

…a travel tic-tac-toe game…

Beach Party (4)

…inflatable pool toys, and more! Of course for added authenticity, we cranked up the heat a few degrees so the kids could put on their bathing suits.

Beach Party (2)

I had intended the game mainly for Veronika, but big brother Travis had to join in, and soon was “sunbathing”.

Beach Party (5)

If you want to go all out, there’s so much you can do here. Add tropical music, tropical snacks, or even real sand and real water for your little ones to scoop and play with in a sensory way.

Apologies for the dark quality of these photos; yes we played this game before the winter sun was even up!

Postcard Journal

Postcard Journal (6)

Acting on a suggestion from Highlights magazine, Travis is beginning a summer-long postcard journal. We have no grand trips planned, but there’s no reason that should stop us (or you) from the activity; we plan to pick up a postcard at every place we go in the next two months, whether or local or further afield!

This is a neat way to introduce kids to postcards, which may seem like a throwback to another era in this age of vacation posts on Instagram and Facebook. Travis thought it was neat when we headed to the local bookstore and picked out a postcard just of our home town, our first summer location.

We also checked out one of the sights in town and made sure to scoop up a postcard there.

Postcard Journal (3)

Punch a hole in each postcard after the visit, and loop them together on a key ring (or thread them together on a piece of yarn.

Postcard Journal (2)

For each place we visit, we jot down the date and some memories on the back. These memories can be grand or ho-hum, but the key is to capture a few details.

Postcard Journal (5)

And to remember your summer on one easy key ring. As with Travis’s Summer Memory Jar, we’ll be updating this all summer long, so stay tuned for an update!

Postcard Journal alt

Update: Travis loved collecting postcards at each stop along our summer, whether local attractions or vacation visits. This is definitely an activity we’ll continue in years to come.

Postcard Journal var.JPG

 

 

Play with a Pile of Pennies

Pile of Pennies (9).JPG

If you’re traveling with a preschooler, look no further than the pennies in your wallet for heaps of entertainment. Travis and I had fun with a few variations on penny games over a recent weekend away!

For the first, place a plastic bowl on the floor. Challenge your child to see if they can get all the pennies in the bowl dropping them from a height.

Pile of Pennies (2)

We liked seeing how high we could go – from all the way over our head?

Pile of Pennies (1)

Travis decided it worked best from forehead height!

Pile of Pennies (3)

Next we placed a penny under a piece of paper, and traced over it to reveal Abraham Lincoln.

Pile of Pennies (4)

Get silly and add a little hat and body!

Pile of Pennies (5)

Finally, we played a guessing game: If we tossed our whole handful of pennies, would there be more heads or tails?

Pile of Pennies (6)

This was Travis’s favorite of the games. We played a few rounds and counted them up each time. If you want to be more statistcal about it, make a chart and see how many times you’re right out of 10 tosses (or more!)

Pile of Pennies (7)

How else could you play with pennies on a trip? Please share in the comments!