How to Do Outdoor Activities Indoors
So far, my son’s summer camp for June has been canceled and I expect July and August to eventually follow suit. We canceled two long weekend trips. The public pools are closed for the summer and our backyard is too small and too sloping for anything like a decent pool. I will continue to work from home, as I have for many years, even after my husband returns to his office. That’s why the words, “ What the hell is this kid going to be doing all summer? “They have been ringing in my brain for several weeks now.
I’m still not sure if I have an answer, but something Dave Baldwin once wrote for Fatherhood keeps coming back to me: Create Inner Beach to keep kids entertained on a rainy day. Well, every day seems like a rainy day now as I can’t go outside to explore with my son, I can’t take him somewhere fun, and dating isn’t a good option yet. But for those of us who dream of a long summer home with kids, maybe we can find ways to bring the usual indoor outdoor entertainment from time to time.
Let’s start with Baldwin’s Inside Beach event. He gives us a list of what we’ll need, and it’s important to note that setting up is really half the job:
- Two large blankets or sheets. Ideally, one should be blue (water) and the other beige or brown (sand), but that hardly matters. Remember, this is a sham.
- A real beach towel or two.
- Sand buckets and shovels. The ones you bring to the beach just wash them off.
- Yellow thick paper, scissors and scotch tape (or a paper plate and a yellow marker) to make the sun.
- Optional: sun loungers, beach ball, games, portable fridge with snacks and drinks, swimwear, sand castle hollow, etc. Depending on how much time / effort you want to put into your “beach day”, you can pull out all stops.
Taking inspiration from this, there are other ways to bring everything to nature inside when it is raining, or we are working, or the world is still closed.
Camping in the living room
Backyard camp is a classic summer activity; but there is no reason why you cannot bring it indoors as well. You just need:
- The tent (if you do not have a tent, build a fort in its place ; this is the difference.)
- Sleeping bags or blankets and pillows
- Campfire materials (let the kids get creative with materials such as heavy fire paper and paper towel or toilet paper rolls for the logs).
- Stickers with glow-in-the-dark stars that can be hung on walls and ceilings.
- Telescope or binoculars (You can also make binoculars out of any extra paper towel or rolls of toilet paper.)
Oh, and don’t forget to fix the s’mores. Because – yes – they can be done indoors too.
Picnics on the bedroom floor
This is what I often did with my son on rainy days when he was 3 or 4 years old – a picnic on the floor. They should still have lunch, and it doesn’t take more time and effort to make it special by declaring it a “picnic on the floor.” You should collect:
- Your food and drinks (If you have special foods or desserts that you only take for picnics or reserve for special occasions, include them.)
- Anything for transporting food (I have a real wicker picnic basket because I’m a little overkill when it comes to shit like this, but you can use a tray or lunch boxes).
- A tablecloth or blanket on which to spread
- The crafty sun they made for a beach day
Bathing
Is the bath the same as the pool? If kids are young enough and wear swimwear, why not? Plus, it’s probably the easiest way to take off as a last resort. All you need is:
- Swimwear
- Some bath toys or small pool toys
- Goggles
- Towels
Bonus points for choosing towels that you actually take to the pool versus boring everyday bath towels. Is there only a shower stall without a bathtub? No problem; just shove your inflatable kiddie pool in there and they can swim now.
This summer you can spend in the room and other outdoor activities: band obstacles classics and hunt for debris . This is not the same as summer camp, but this is just the beginning.