"Summer is a wonderful time of year when children can enjoy
lots of fresh air and outdoor play. There is certainly no
shortage of excellent activities, toys and accessories to
entertain and inspire children of all ages."
Some of the favorite activities among kids include; bubbles,
inflatable bouncers and play sets, kites and wind spinners,
outdoor furniture, playhouses and play tents, pools and water
fun, and sandboxes and beach toys.
Bubbles are one of those outdoor activities that can be enjoyed
by babies to adults. Blowing bubbles has never had quite so many
options to choose from as it does today. There are plastic
bubble lawn mowers, bubble catchers, bubble vision glasses,
bubble wands, bubble lights, wands for small to super huge
bubbles, no spill bubble buckets, monster bubble blowers, bubble
blizzards (that blow nonstop bubbles) and bubble blowers
available in popular fictional characters and a myriad of colors
and styles. Blowing bubbles is an inexpensive way to have hours
of outdoor fun.
One of the most exciting types of play for young children
involves using the wide variety of inflatable bouncers and play
sets on the market. Your backyard will be the center of activity
if you set up one of these wonderful toys. Inflatable bouncers
can be purchased in several different sizes from large (9 feet
by 9 feet by 6 feet high) able to accommodate several children
to small bouncers that only hold two children. Deluxe bouncers
offer a fun and safe play environment with continuous air flow
for safety and puncture resistant heavy gauge vinyl. There is a
wide selection of designs such as castles, popular fictional
character themes, inflatable fire engines, school buses,
climbing walls, inflatable cars, inflatable play centers and
playhouses. Several of the inflatable toys come with soft balls
included for tossing, kicking and pushing around within the
structure.
Kites, wind spinners and windsocks are a wonderful way for you
and your child to interact and enjoy a lovely outdoor activity.
The beautiful colors, designs and sizes available will surely be
remembered for years to come. Kites can be purchased in an
endless array of designs to include; airplanes with spinning
propellers, helicopters, birds (flamingos and parrots), sharks,
dolphins, butterflies, hummingbirds, fish, dragons, cellular box
kites, dolphin kites, sailboats, cellular kites, diamond kites,
parasail kites and tri-planes to only name a few. Wind spinners
and windsocks come in as many designs as do the kites, in an
assortment of fantastic colors and patterns.
Children can enjoy the same comfort that adults do when it comes
to outdoor furniture. Whether it be having lunch at their
favorite plastic or wooden picnic table or lounging back in
their adirondack chair, it’s always fun for them to be just like
mom or dad. Other adorable pieces of children’s outdoor
furniture can include; playhouses (complete with doorbell and
motion detector), patio sets (with umbrella, table and chairs),
fabric patio chairs, plastic mushroom tables, play lemonade
stands, plastic mailboxes, plastic stone benches and folding
armchairs.
Playhouses provide children with hours of imaginative and
pretend play. There is nothing more special to a child than
having their own little imaginary home to dream and role play
in. Playhouses will often be a part of backyard outdoor toys in
either plastic or wooden designs with climbers and swings. Some
of the plastic playhouses are available with sounds such as
doorbells, phones and motion detectors. Plastic playhouses can
be purchased in pirate, cottage, log cabin, mushroom house and
camper styles.
Similar to playhouses, play tents are usually made with nylon
or plastic and also come in a wide variety of designs and
styles. The biggest difference between the two is that play
tents are usually much easier to assemble, disassemble and
portable if needed. Play tents are available in tunnels (for
crawling through), dome play tents, lady bug tents, tents with
tunnel addition, school bus, fire engine, bulldozer, playhouses,
camouflage tents, popular fictional character theme tents, four
tunnels joined by tent in middle, tee pees and castle tents.
Fabric parachutes can also be used as tents draped over objects
in the home or used for throwing up toys with children in a
circle.
It truly feels like summer once everyone has gone for a swim.
Pools offer wonderful relief from the hot weather and a
refreshing way to have some fun. There is a mountain of pools
and pool toys to choose from, whether it be a kiddie pool or a
pool lounger there is no shortage of options. Above ground
inflatable pools can be found in different sizes to accommodate
the kids or the whole family. Kiddie pools are available in
sunshade cover designs, popular character themes, different
colors and activity pool styles. The pool toys you select will
only add to the enjoyment with water guns and canons, kick
boards, lifejackets, inflatable water wings, retrieval toys,
rafts and loungers, inflatable sharks, tubes, inflatable
basketball hoops, seat rings and beach balls to name a few.
Lastly, playing in the sand can provide both learning skills and
entertainment for any child, whether it be in their backyard
sandbox or at the beach. Building sandcastles and sand play is
particularly helpful in teaching social skills (sharing,
interacting and cooperation), cognitive skills (measuring sand
and mapping out roads) and physical skills (pouring, dumping,
pushing and gathering sand etc.). Sandbox kits can be purchased
to set up or you can select from several designs such as;
turtles, castles, water and sand tables, ladybug, dinosaur and
frog sandboxes. Sandbox and beach accessories might include;
wheelbarrows, pails of all sizes, rakes, shovels, molds and
beach chairs.
Outdoor play is a great way for the kids to get out of the house
and use their imaginations. All forms of outdoor activities
easily promote well-being and physical development. Children
love to play outdoors as it allows them the chance to freely
explore their environment while developing muscle coordination,
flexibility and motor skills while decreasing restlessness and
stress. And don't forget . . . always remember to put sunscreen
on your child whenever they are outside.
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