Outside Family Fun #C2Play2Day

As a kid when I was growing up, I remember always playing with my friends outside of the house. We would always find something to do to keep us entertained and our imaginations growing. Whether it was a nature walk in the park to discover bugs, riding our bikes around the neighborhood, or just playing hop-scotch in our drive way there was ALWAYS something to do.

Now days, I only find the preschoolers in my neighborhood playing outside. Most of the other older kids are tucked away inside the house playing video games, on the computer, or watching TV. My little sister in-law is one of those kids. When she stayed with us she never left her room because she was too busy playing on the computer, just had to watch the next TV show, or was simply not interested in outdoor activities.

My husband and I want to make the most of our son’s childhood and expose him to a variety of activities that he can do outside of the house. Part of being a kid is getting dirty and having fun! Here is a list of Outside activities we do:

Sidewalk Art. Grab a bucket of sidewalk chalk and decorate your driveway. We brought a tub of brightly colored sidewalk chalk which we keep by our garage so that our son can create and learn. We make it a learning experience by drawing animals, learning our colors, counting, and our ABC’s all with sidewalk chalk! Most of the time we just let him have fun and let out his inner Picasso!

Sports. We have a storage tub filled with all types of sports balls for our son to play with: basketball, baseball, soccer ball, and football. He loves to play basketball so we purchased a small toddler basketball hoop and ball set. After dinner he plays catch with daddy and helps develop his coordination. Plus it’s extra “Daddy Time” which he loves.

Water Fun. Our neighborhood has a community pool with a very nice toddler area. We try to go out to the pool on weekends so that he can have fun playing in the water. When it’s just too crowded or too hot, we have a small kiddy pool to set up in our backyard for him. You don't have to head out to a water park to cool off during the summer, have fun at home. We also brought him a small toddler water and sand table. We set it up in the shade and give him toys to play with. Most of time we end up with mud but that’s okay as long as he’s having fun.

Beach Fun. We recently spent a weekend at the beach as a short family vacation. It was our son’s first time at the beach. So we took plenty of beach toys for him to play with: bucket, shovel, rake, sand molds, and strainers. He had a blast making a sandcastle with his dad and enjoyed the sand molds. We also took short walking strolls along the shore looking for sea shells. He really had a ton of fun playing outside in the water and sand. Kids of every age can enjoy hours of fun building sandcastles at the beach.

Getting outside and getting dirty is one of the best parts of being a healthy and happy kid. On September 24, 2011, kids and families are encouraged to participate in the Worldwide Day of Play to turn off the TV and play outside. In honor of the Worldwide Day of Play take the Clorox2® Play 2Day pledge to play outside! Get dirty with your kids and play outside. To learn more visit http://clorox2play2day.com What's your favorite outside family activity?

Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Clorox2® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.