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Photo: Shutterstock/Maria Sbytova
Backyard Summer Camp Ideas
If you’re running out of ideas for keeping your kids busy this summer, we’ve got several theme-based activities to keep them excited and engaged. Choose a theme for a week or just a few days, and focus all your activities, games and even snacks on that theme. Involve other parents and see what activities you can do together, even if it’s virtually. The key to staying on-task is to create a daily schedule just like at regular summer camps — exercise at 8:30, breakfast at 9:00, outside activity 9:30-11:30, etc. Make sure to leave a little extra time for transitioning and cleaning up between activities. Schedule field trips to parks, beaches and nature preserves for mornings when those places are less likely to be crowded and too hot.
Pro Tip: If you need ideas on electronic games, books, movies and podcasts, go to CommonSenseMedia.org. They provide independent age-based ratings and reviews on thousands of titles for the K-12 audience.