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Every summer is a party in the eyes of your family … if you play your cards right. 🙂 Our family loves summertime because we aren’t on a busy schedule, we have time to play, time to relax, and more time to just be together! I’d love to share some ideas, games, toys, and more to keep your friends and family busy & having fun this summer! Make your summer a PARTY with these activities!
Summer Must-Haves!
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FAMILIES WITH KIDS:
- RING TOSS: Try out this Flamingo or Cactus Ring Toss. These are both fun indoor or outdoor games to play at home! These types of games are great to help children improve hand-eye coordination, fine and gross motor skills, and concentration. Plus- the rules are simple & everyone can play! (Bonus: The company that makes these, Antsy Pants, helps national nonprofit KaBOOM! build playgrounds for kids living in poverty across America.)
- BINGO! We’ve all played it. Bingo Game is a classic game that encourages developmental play and together time. Children have an opportunity to build and improve memory skills, hand-eye coordination, learn and recognize colors and shapes.
- PEDIATRICIAN KIT: Playing pretend never goes out of style! With this Little Medical School (How to be a Pediatrician kit) This “classroom in a box” offers aspiring pediatricians a wide variety of hands-on and educational activities. This comes with five separate activities: A Baby Is Born, Change A Diaper, Examine Your Baby, Make A Safe Bed, and Swaddle Your Baby.
- HUMAN BODY & SCIENCE: We love this Head to Toe Human Body Science Lab. It is a great way to learn about the science of the human body while examining fingerprints, using a stethoscope to hear a heartbeat, making a slimy model of blood, and more. The 36-page, illustrated storybook and activity guide includes 10 STEM-based activities.
- UNICORNS & DINOSAURS: Schleich’s figurines, like these Enchanting unicorns and Dinosaurs, encourage the power of imagination and contribute to age-appropriate development. They are realistically detailed for the ultimate play!
- CARS: This large Kullerbu starter set, Bu City Stroll Set, features unlimited driving fun with a momentum motor vehicle and 2 free-wheeling ball convertibles. Three set-up variations are possible to accommodate balls and vehicles. Kullerbu is the perfect combination of wood and plastic parts and highlights the advantages of each material making this sturdy play system from HABA one that will last for your child’s entire childhood – and beyond.
- MIRRORS: See My Feelings Mirror helps children learn to label and identify their emotions with the See My Feelings Mirror. Make learning and understanding feelings fun with 4 guided starter activities, easy-to-identify emojis, and 6 different snap-in-place emotion slides. My Feelings Mirror is made from shatterproof glass to ensure safety.
- FIDGET TUBES: I loved things like this growing up. They were perfect for long car rides! These Sensory Fidget Tubes: Help children manage their emotions, focus their attention, and practice quiet, calm engagement with our 4 colorful Sensory Fidget Tubes. These securely sealed, easy-to-grip bottles offer fascinating movement patterns and provide a quiet option for kids to settle, calm, and relax themselves.
- MAGFORMERS: Learn to build using combine, roll, and pull-up techniques and see what your imagination can create! Build along with the step-by-step instructions and develop color and shape recognition, fine motor skills, and problem-solving ability. The original and authentic Magformers. Perfect for brain development, critical thinking, and STEM education.
- GLOW IN THE DARK SCIENCE LAB: Conduct fun and illuminating experiments with glowing substances and neon pigments! Cast your own glowing neon sidewalk chalk in fun shapes like stars, crystals, and frogs. Make flowers that glow in the dark. Mix up a glowing solution to make your own glow sticks. Observe your glowing creations under a UV flashlight (a blacklight). Learn about light, phosphorescence, and glowing materials.
- TINKERING LABS: Our son has always loved Tinkering Labs’ Stem Kits. This one is one of his favorites. It’s the Tinkering Labs’ Electric Motors Catalyst (EMC). It focuses on challenging their problem-solving capabilities and creativity and empowers them with invention and project-based learning. The “STEM kit” allows kids to build doodling robots, power electric model cars, add motors to legos, and more. It truly engages kids’ inventive imagination, unlike say coding where kids are forced to learn inside a box and not think outside of it, limiting their imaginative and inventor abilities.
- SOLAR POWERED ROVERS: Want to build fun solar-powered vehicles and devices that move using electricity generated directly from sunlight? With this kit, you can construct five motorized models. Build three types of solar cars, a solar fan, and a solar robot model. Conduct science experiments with each model to learn about gear ratios, solar cells, and more.
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POPPERTON BOXY BACKPACK – JJ Cole Popperton Backpack Diaper Bag is super cute, super convenient, and super cleanable. With 8 pockets, including 4 easy-access exterior slip pockets, there’s room to tuck everything you need while on the go with your kids.
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OUTDOOR WATERMELON MAT is perfect for a picnic, the pool, sports game, or any other outdoor fun for you and your family. Designed with water-resistant fabric that is great to help with little spills or splashes.
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HOODED TOWEL SET – Easy to use to get your little ones out of the pool… or out of the bath/shower after a day in the sand! We love the bright colors! They are perfect for sending to a pool party or backyard bash.
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DRINK AND BOTTLE COOLER – Perfect for the pool, lake, beach, or a road trip.
FOR THE PARENTS:
The arrival of summer doesn’t leave out the parents!
- CARDS: We love to sit down & play a fun card game in the summer! We keep a pack of Bicycle cards in our drawer (in the kitchen) to play at night when the kids are asleep. We also play them in the day with the kids, but we love to play a fast-paced game of cards when it’s just the two of us. 🙂
- HYDRATION IN STYLE – When it comes to keeping yourself hydrated, don’t look further than the Precidio Multi Flask. It is like having 7 bottles in one: Hot Coffee, Hot Tea, Cold drinks, Protein Shaker, Smoothie Bottle, Water Bottle, Infuser bottle, and Cold Brew Coffee Bottle with Brew Filter Basket. We also have their Kafe in the Box – It’s so much better than using a disposable cup, plus it fits right into your car cup holders. 🙂
- ITALIAN CHARGING STONE: These Charging Stones work perfectly with your natural summer decor. I added this piece of natural art with the Wireless Charging Stones from Eggtronic to my nightstand. You can’t tell that it’s a wireless charger because it looks like a piece of art/stone. I love that! These powerful, elegant chargers are designed in Italy and made from real stone and marble. They can be used to quickly recharge any Qi-enabled device, like the new iPhone and Samsung phones, by simply setting it on the stone surface. Every Wireless Charging Stone is unique due to the natural swirls and patterns found on the stone and are available in light colors like white marble and travertine stone.
- LUXE ROBE & SLIPPERS: This Luxe Robe & Matching Slipper Set was actually designed for exclusive spas and resorts, but you can have it at home. I love it! The Luxe Robe combines two robes in one. This dual-layer luxury spa robe is made of supersoft brushed microfiber and lined in plush white long loop terry. The brushed microfiber outer shell, also known as doeskin, is smooth and lightweight while the cotton blended terry lining is soft and absorbent – creating the best of both worlds. 🙂
