Summer’s here and with it comes hot days. Children need to get outside for exercise and fresh air, even if the air conditioned house is cooler. Here are a few ideas to make playing outdoors more enjoyable.

Water is the most basic go-to for keeping cool. Drink plenty of water for safety, and play in it for cool wet fun. A wading pool or larger pool if you have one, or a yard sprinkler is good for starters. Throw in some water balloons and squirt guns with regular squirts or mega water gusher squirts, and the play games begin. If the pool is small and the water gets hot in the sun, add a frozen jug of ice or frozen water balloons to the pool. Use water soaked sponges to play a game of keep away or dodge ball, or vary the game of tag using the wet sponge for tagging.

I saw a fun way to use a water hose with a spray. Have the children stand against the side of the house, and have them pick a fun pose and hold it. Quickly spray them all over with the hose from a few feet away, then have them step away from the house and look at their dry silhouettes where the water sprayed around them. Naturally, you have to wait for the side of the house to dry again before you can do this a second time.

If you have a clothesline, or outside table and/or chairs, use them to support an old sheet or blanket to make a shelter. Wet it down so the evaporating water will keep it cooler inside. A fan blowing into the shelter will make it cooler yet, but don’t use a water hose around electricity. Keep a spray bottle handy if you want to wet the shelter again.

And what about frozen treats? Popsicles and ice cream always taste best on hot days. Frozen fruit pieces also make healthy snacks.

A fruit juice slushy is fun to make, especially on a hot day. You need two zip bags, fruit juice, ice cubes, and rock salt. Click here for instructions for how to make the fruit juice slushy.

Homemade ice cream bars are also easy to make. Cover the bottom of a rectangular cake pan with graham crackers. Spread a layer of soft ice cream over the crackers, then place a second layer of graham crackers on top of the ice cream in the same arrangement as the bottom layer. Refreeze to make the ice cream hard again. Then cut the bars apart and serve them frozen. To save some for later, wrap them in wax paper and store them in zip bags. The children can help make these for more parent-child activities.

What ways have you tried to encourage your children to get outdoors on hot days and still be safe?

Photo by Phil Goodwin on Unsplash