I am all about the summertime life-- I love the pool, beach, park, all things outside. I love little kids running through sprinklers, the smell of sunscreen, sandy floors in my car, and all of the above. The only problem is that sometimes here in southern California, it can get just a little too hot to be outside.
Kind of like today. When it was 104 and I was kind of unprepared and my kids ended the night completely stir crazy and I wanted to cry while getting my kids in jammies. No thanks.
So if you're in a place that hits the triple digits, and sometimes it's too hot for your littles to play outside safely, you're going to need some things to keep them occupied that doesn't include playing with your tampons or pouring water in the ottoman storage.
Imaginative Play
Get your littles to pull out their trucks, dolls, or favorite characters and set them up to play with an adorable world they can create and change, and change again. Using something like the adorable Doubleplay Reversible Play Mat by Skip Hop gives your littles a template to set up their fave toys and roll around in their pretend neighborhoods or cities. This is a great way to get your kids to work together to create something new and really get their minds working to see how they interact with others.
Quiet Problem Solving
Setting your kids up with games or puzzles that will get their little brains working will definitely help to settle their nervous energy that gets built up when they're inside all day. You can lay down the Map of the USA Puzzle or set them up at the table with some Puzzle Sticks and let them get to work. I know that my little guy loves to challenge himself to see how many he can get done without asking for help, or sometimes we'll set a timer (because he's into being speedy quick lately).
Work with your Hands
Doing anything where my kids can get their little hands into some squishy dough and cut out shapes, shove things through extruders, roll things out, or stamp and play with their fave colors and some new tools. I like to lay down an easy-to-wipe table cloth at our kitchen table, pour out all our play dough (we sell a great set from Eco-Kids) and tools, like this Pastry Dough Set, and let my kids do whatever their little hearts desire for as long as their little hearts desire!
Dress Up
When I'm up to my ears with housework or actual work, and I need my littles to lose themselves in another world for a little bit, I will pull out our bin of dress up clothes and accessories, turn on one of their fave shows or movies for them to act out and play along with the characters. My son will spend forever switching between firefighter and doctor and handyman, and my little girl dies over being a pretty princess by getting her hands on some play makeup (and hopefully keep her from sneaking into my stash).