June 2021

As the school year ends, parents everywhere will face that annual challenge of how to keep their little ones occupied. It will probably be especially hard this year, since many camps have reduced capacity to allow for social distancing and some family events won’t be happening. Here are 5 ideas (plus a bonus suggestion) that will not only keep your kids busy but get their minds and bodies working too.

Color Scavenger Hunt

Give your kids a list of colors and turn them loose to find items that are each color. This can be especially fun and challenging if you do it outside. Just plan on having a small prize ready for the winner.

Story Stones

Making these will bring out your kids’ artistic side and playing with them will exercise their imaginations. Start with about a dozen smooth flat stones 1-2 inches in diameter. Have your kids paint an image of something on each one. It could be the moon, a cat, a banana, a football…you get the idea. Once they’re dry, put them in a small bag that you can’t see through. Then have each child pull out 3 or 4 stones and make up a story that uses the images on each stone.

Blanket Fort

Chances are you did this one when you were a kid. And there’s a reason it lives on. Kids love to create them, decorate them, and hang out inside. Just give them several blankets or beach towels, additional chairs or small tables and turn them loose.

Roll Out the Foil

Aluminum foil has got to be one of the most underrated toys there is. For the cost of a small coffee, you can pick up a roll at the dollar store and give the whole thing to your kids. Have them make foil sculptures, mold long strips into a marble track or mini-river, create balls of different sizes and use them to knock down foil targets. Chances are, they’ll create some amazing and shiny things you’d never even think of yourself.

Balloon Rockets

Kids love balloons and while you can always occupy them with a water balloon fight, balloon rockets provide a great combination of science and play. All you need are some larger size balloons, 6 to 10 feet of string or yarn, a straw, and some tape. Start by threading the string through the straw and then tying each end to the backs of two chairs. Then pull the string taught by spreading out the chairs. Move the straw to one end of the string and blow up a balloon. Hold it by the neck and without letting any air out tape the balloon under straw. Let it go and as the air comes out of the balloon it will power your rocket up the string. You can also experiment with different string lengths, angles, or balloon rocket races with multiple strings.

There’s Always the Pool

One of the great things about living at Erie Station Village is our beautiful pool. It’s open every day from 10am-8pm.