This summer Macaroni Kid would like to help you find ways to thoroughly entertain, stimulate, and exhaust your family close to home. Below are 19 activities you can try this week! The best place to do this is at our local parks. We have a ton of , and they're the best places to be active while staying socially distant from others. All 19 activities listed below don't involve the playground equipment!
1. Obstacle Courses & Relay Races: You can utilize items that are already in the park like trees to run around, and a tree branch for a relay baton. Also bring items to incorporate such as hula hoops, jump ropes, and balls to make the perfect custom course for your size and age group.
2. Walk the Dog: Not only do the kids get bored and need attention, but so do our four legged fur babies. Walking the dog, playing a game of fetch, or just letting them explore new scenery is great exercise and fun for the whole family.
3. Picnic: If you have not been on a picnic in a while, you might have forgotten how much fun they can be. It need not be elaborate. Just grab a blanket, chairs, and a few toys. You can make some sandwiches or stop and pick up something from one of our amazing local restaurants! Or, make it fancy! Do a park tea party where you and the kids get dressed up, and you put a lace tablecloth on the picnic table!
4. Trails & Hiking: Choose a different park each week throughout the summer and take a light backpack to discover the trails and find some favorite special spots that you can continue to enjoy year after year.
5. Sports: The parks are a great place to play your favorite sports. We often remember softball and tennis when we hit the parks but don't forget about basketball, frisbee, soccer, dodgeball, capture the flag or kickball.
6. Fishing: Leave with just a fishing pole and bait and return with dinner! All kids (the adult ones and tiny ones too) love the excitement of getting a nibble on their fishing line. Wyandotte County Lake is beautiful, and even has a special area for kids to fish. No fishing licence needed for kids 0-15!
7. Photography: Taking pics at the park can be tons of fun and a great way to get your kids involved. Challenge their creativity in incorporating people with the surrounding environment. Little ones will love an old unused cell phone where they have the freedom to take pictures of whatever they like. You can even pick up a cheap phone tripod off Amazon for under $15, and take some photos of the whole family!
8. Collect Plant Life and Insects: Bring out your inner-science! Bring some jars and baggies or other containers to collect your specimens.
9. Scenic Tour: Take in all the wonderful colors, fountains, streams, lakes, rivers, and landscape. You can also do this from the car if weather does not permit you to get outdoors.
10. Water Play: What's summer without water? While the public pools and splash pads might be closed, you can still have fun with water in the park! Most shelters have water spickets. Grab water guns, balloons, buckets, cups, and put on swimsuits. No matter what you do to incorporate water into your outing, everyone is sure to stay cool and have a great time.
11. Scavenger Hunt: Scavenger hunts are for all ages. You can make them as simple or elaborate as you want. Here is a printable one, but you can find a million different printables on Pinterest.
12. Socially Distanced Small Family & Friends Outing: Many parks have grills to cook on and shelter houses with playgrounds, fishing and lakes. It is a fabulous place to reconnect with enough room for everyone to spread out, be comfortable and have a memorable time together.
13. Watch the Sunset: When is the last time you actually watched the sunset? If you haven't caught a sunset lately, it is one of nature's beautiful sites to behold. Enjoying it for the first time with the ones you love makes it special and something you will share for years to come.
14. Bird Watching: Local nature conservation areas and parks indicate that approximately 250 species of birds have been sighted in the Kansas City area. 106 of them are considered common so you are highly likely to spot many of them at a park near you. Bring your binoculars and see how many birds you and your family can spot. Make it a game and bring scorecards to see who finds the bird first.
15. Egg Hunt: During COVID, there are no rules! Egg hunts don't have to be just for Easter! You can hide eggs any time of year. Collect items at the park to place in the eggs and hide them. Your kids will have hours of fun doing this and can often completely entertain themselves hiding and finding them with siblings and friends.
16. Fly a Kite: Sometimes finding a wide open space to fly a kite can be a bit of a challenge but at the park...problem solved!
17. Bike Riding: Dust off those bikes and go riding at the park. Not only is it great exercise and fun, but you can explore some great paths and trails along the way.
18. Walk-a-thon: There are tons of great causes and walks throughout the year, and many of them have gone virtual! Some have family friendly activities that accompany them that make it a fun day that the whole family will enjoy. In addition, to having a great time, you will be supporting a worthy cause in your community.
19. Painting: Bring your watercolors and some paper, and let your kids paint the world the see around them. Have an easel at home? Bring it to the park. It will blow your kiddo's mind that their easel is an a different environment. Also, painting in the park is therapeutic for adults, too (I speak from personal experience!).
Do you have other ideas for creative activities you've done at the park this summer? Send them over so I can add them to this list!
