Ideas and ways to play with dirt.

Photo of the girls playing with dirt.

What are the reasons you should even play with dirt.

Now, if you clicked on this post you probably aren’t afraid to let your kids play in the dirt. Which is FANTASTIC! There are numerous benefits of letting your kids play in the dirt. Some of them are: building their immune system, sensory exposure, imaginative play, fine motor skills, and stimulation for their little brains.

Letting your kids let loose in the dirt can build many immunities against illnesses even asthma and allergies!

Dirt gives them a new sensory experience and expand their world. Kids love sensory activities, this is a free and classic one.

Playing outside in the dirt encourages kiddos to use their imagination and connect with the Earth literally.

When you play with dirt you’re using not only your imagination but your hands and that is a fabulous way to grow and hone fine motor skills.

Going outside and playing already stimulates the brain and is great for mental health, but dirt play just adds another fun element to it.

Ways to let your kids play in the Dirt:

1: Mud kitchen

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have a mud kitchen.

Just go to the dollar store and get some bowls, plates, utensils. Kids will go nuts with some mud, a bowl, and a ladle.

Now, if you can build a mud kitchen they are a blast. But it’s SO not needed to play kitchen in the mud.

2: Paint with mud

This activity is so simple to clean up too. Make mud, get some paint brushes, and then let them paint.

Paint the house, the fence, whatever you want. Once you’re done, grab your hose and spray it off.

3: Add leaves and flowers

Gather some leaves, grass, flowers, pinecones, or really anything you want.

Make a mud cake or any shape and then decorate your mud with your treasures!

You could even go to the dollar store get some little colored rocks, feathers, and other fun things. Or just use what’s in your yard.

4: Mud car wash

Have a bowl of clean/soapy water for your kiddos to dunk their dirty cars into and make a car wash.

You can give them brushes or sponges to wipe the dirt covered cars off with or just use your hands.

This is a great one since you can do it over and over. Cleaned the car?! Great!! Play in the mud with the car and then wash it off.

5: Mud animal wash

This is literally the same as the car wash but with animals instead.

I love this one as well since you can talk about the noises they make, the color of the animal, the size, etc

Cleaning their animals is a beloved activity and opens up so many ideas and conversations!

6: Mud cup cakes

You’ll need a cup cake tin, you don’t need cupcake liners but you’re welcome to use them

Give them the cupcake tin and let their imagination run loose

Add leaves, feather, dry dirt as dirt cake toppings!

7: Ice cream mud shop

Giving the kids spoons, scoops, bowls, or even cones and let their imagination run amuck . They can grab things from arouond the yard as toppings.

Use regular dry dirt as sprinkles for example. Kids love ice cream and I have found that dang near every kid LOVES to play ice cream shop.

Mud makes the perfect outdoor activity and when your kids are done running their own ice cream shop maybe letting them have some ice cream as a treat!

8: Dump trucks/ Construction site

What a classic am I right?? There is nothing more classic than playing construction site with some trucks in the mud.

Scooping and dumping the dirt out seems so simple, but it is truly SO entertaining. If you wanted to take it a step further, you could have your kids get some sticks to outline and even become part of a construction site that they work on.

9: Dig

Another classic activity, obviously if you don’t have a spot in your yard to dig you can not do this one, but if you can kids love to dig.

Maybe dig in the mud and dirt and plant some seeds. Or if you have alittle dirt pile your kids can do a treasure hunt for each other. Have one kid dig and hide a toy and then the next kiddo can dig looking for the toy.

Dig looking for cool rocks, or just to see how far they can go! The nice thing about diggin is you can always fill up the hole up after they are done.

10: Mud slide

Mud slide can be a yummy dessert or if you have a hill you can make it into a little mud slip and slide!

Mud can get slippery and make the best slip and slide, your kids would get super messy (nothing a good bath couldn’t curb).

In the heat of the summer being able to slip and slide around in mud and water is a blast!

11: Mud pit

This is one of my kids favorite, a lot of our yard is dirt and I will hand them the hose and just go ham with making a mud pit out of the yard.

They can pretend to be little piggies, or just roll around in the earth. Let them feel the mud in between their little toes and enjoy this world the Lord has given us.

12: Alphabet in the Dirt

Let your kids take a stick or their finger and write out the alphabet, make words, practice sounds!

All while enjoying nature. Learning does not need to be at a table with a workbook, you can let them learn and explore at the same time!

Especially if your child is a kinetic learner. Going outside and having them move and play while they learn can help them expand.

13: Shapes in Dirt

Similarly to the alphabet in the dirt, learning shapes in the dirt, sand, or mud can be so fun! Give your kids a great sensory activity at the same time.

Letting them explore with different tactiles and acquire more knowledge.

Play in the dirt!

Letting your kids out in the dirt will benefit them to explore their world, give them a great immune system, and more. Dirt is such a wonderful tool for us in life and in parenting.

Kids truly love to play in the dirt and it is truly beautiful to watch them expand their worlds. Let them loose into the world with an imagination.

While it does require a little bit of clean up, playing in dirt and mud is so much fun and a wholesome entertainment.

Enjoy your time outside and watching your little flowers flourish!

Screen free activities

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As a teenager all I wanted was screen time and didn’t understand parents who limited it

Now as a mom, I just want to throw our tv away. Don’t get me wrong my kids get a bit of screen time everyday.

After lunch my oldest daughter gets 1 movie or 5 episodes of something which ever she picks.

But for the majority of our day we don’t have any screens. I put my phone away and we shut off the tv.

Here are our favorite activities that are screen free!

1- Bake Something

My oh my do my girls love to bake something with me. Kids love to spend time with you and what is better than spending time with your little ones. Then at the end of the activity you have cookies! Oh man it is heaven.

Baking is something so wholesome you can do away with your littles away from any screens. We try every week to make a new fun treat. The kids and I pick it out while I meal plan for the week. Then later that week we make the treat and enjoy.

2: Make a fort:

What is more fun than making a fort and having your own lair to play and read in? This is Lucy’s new favorite activity.

The nice thing is you can pretty much make a fort anywhere and anyway. Our favorite right now is cardboard boxes and blankets to make a fun secret hideaway.

3: Paint Something:

Washable watercolors are a God send. Lucy is obsessed with painting. I think we do it everyday now. This one does need set up with getting the brushes, water, paper, and paint.

But it can provide hours of screen less enjoyment for your littles. Paint a picture for anyone in your life. Or make it a fun activity by painting a picture then putting it in the mail to send to someone!

4: Busy binder:

When we were younger we had a busy binder and I have such fond memories of this activity. I made one for the girls and while it took a couple hours spread out across some days, it was beyond worth it.

I have definitely seen the work I put into this activity pay off. The girls love it and keeps them busy (and learning) for a good chunk of time. Huge win!

You can buy pages for busy binders on Etsy, or you can look up ideas on Pinterest. I just made my pages and then printed them off and laminated them.

If you are unsure what a busy binder is I will link an example here.

5: Sing songs:

Kids LOVE to sing. Whether its songs from the radio or the itsy bitsy spider kids love to sing. Nursery songs can be very good for kids development.

Songs with finger play (like wheels on the bus and itsy bitsy spider) helps kids increase their vocabulary, learn different, sounds, and engage with you.

Singing with your kids is such a good time to bond and give your baby one on one attention. Without the screen, it’s a wonderful way to spend time with your kiddos.

6: Play outside:

There is something so magical about a childhood spent outside exploring the world we live in. Kids normally also love to be outside which is a huge plus.

Playing outside gives you so many options on what to do too Sardines, tag, red rover, red light green light and more.

If you don’t have a back yard that’s okay! Parks are always a good option. Or if your yard has 0 grass that’s okay. Ours is just dirt right now too.

We got some random kitchen items from the dollar store and the girls LOVE to just play in the dirt with the bowls, spoons and more.

The great outdoors gives you so many options. It is marvelous.

7: Read:

Reading to your kids not only gives you time without screens but it also so beneficial for their development.

It helps their vocabulary, think skills, concentration and more. How freaking amazing is that??

Reading is so good for bonding time as well. Nothing better then snuggling up with your babies, reading, helping their development, and being able to sit and bond with them.

Lucy could read forever, no joke she will sit at listen to chapter books at 3 yrs old. We spend at least an hour reading each day. It is always a great time.

I have a post with great books for kids that we read all the time. I’ll link it here.

8: The floor is lava:

Man oh man is this such a fun game. The floor is lava engages their imagination and can be quite an active game too.

Jumping and moving thing to thing so you don’t touch the ground is always a hit amongst kids. We have loved this game.

We try to get to certain places in the living room and find a fun prize on who can get there the fastest as well as see who can do it in the fewest moves. There is a million ways to change this game and have fun.

9: Sensory Bins:

Sensory bins are truly a God send. Not only do they help your kids explore the world, discover new textures, it also keeps kids entertained for more than 10 minutes.

There is SO many different sensory bins you can do with you kids so it’s never a bad activity. You can switch it up. I like to try a different sensory bun every week.

I have a post on how you can set up sensory bins. I’ll link it here.

Kids love sensory bins and playing around with different things. You can even do themed sensory bins for holidays! So what could be better??

10: Scavenger hunt:

Scavenger hunts are such a wonderful screen free activity. You can make them as simple and as complicated as you like!

This is such an easy activity to gear towards what ever age your kids are.

Pinterest is a wealth of ideas of different ideas for scavenger hunts. We love to do a scavenger hunts on walks and at parks.

11: Stickers:

Lucy is obsessed with stickers. We probably play with them everyday.

This is such a flexible activity. You can do 100+ things with stickers.

You can put them on paper, coloring pages, and anything else.

Another thing you can do is use for multiple activities. We’ve been using stickers like this (I’ll link them here) to work on our colors.

We often bring them to church as a quiet activity. The girls love a themed picture with stickers. For instance a picture of a farm yard and then farm animals as the stickers.

Amazon has plenty. Linked here is Lucy’s most recent favorites.

We hope you enjoy these activities and make wholesome screen free memories that will last a lifetime!!!!

10 Entertaining Summer Activities

Summer is now in full bloom! A season that is full of entertainment, but sometimes it can be difficult to think of new ideas to keep the kids entertained. Here is 10 things to do this summer!

Sprinkler

This wholesome classic will with out a doubt help create pure childhood memories. Playing in the sprinkler is something that has been around for decades, for good reason, it helps cool down during the heat and have a lot of fun at the same time.

Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts do not need to something crazy extravagant adventure. They can be as simple as you want them to be, maybe you just look for leaves, sticks, and rocks. If you need inspiration Pinterest is a wonderful resource for scavenger hunt ideas.

Chalk

Another simple classic summer activity. Chalk is so versatile, you can use it to help learn colors, letters, or just draw pictures on the sidewalk. It is a good fine motor skill as well for your toddler to sit and scribble. This is our favorite chalk.

Library

Most libraries have a kids section with activities and fun books for the kids to read. They often also have summer reading programs, some libraries have different age requirement but most have a 0-6 years old and 7-13 years old, it can be a fun way to keep your kids reading.

Park

Towns often have more than one park, this summer you should go to a different park each week and figure out which is your favorite park. Parks are a wonderful way to get energy out, and get some fresh air at the same time.

Flower picking

Taking a walk and picking wild flowers on the way can be a fun way to spend a summer afternoon. Try picking the flowers, and then when you come home make a flower arrangement with the wild flowers.

Pouring Station

Though this activity sounds quite unusual I have always found it to be a hit. Kids love to pour and dump when given the chance. Set up where the kids can pour water from one container to another. Try to spice it up by seeing how many scoops from one container to fill up a second container.

Bubbles

Bubbles are sure a entertaining and straightforward activity. It is also super inexpensive, you can find them at pretty much any store. See how big you can get the bubbles, or how small. Or just chase them around and pop them!

Picnic

By simply having your lunch or dinner outside you can create some beautiful summer memories! Take a snack to the park and eat on the grass and enjoy the summer weather.

Cardboard Fort

For this one you will need some supplies. Cardboard boxes, scissors, and duck tape. Use your tools and imagination to create a fort like none other.

Summer is such a great time to make lasting memories. Hopefully some of these ideas lead you to some good laughs and even better moments with the ones you love the most

Activities for 4th of July

Doing crafts and activities correlate with the upcoming holidays can give you extra time to celebrate these holidays and teach your child more about them. Unleash your creativity with some fun 4th of July crafts! Here are some of our favorites.

Red, White, and Blue Foam Sensory Bin

This activity is taste friendly and easy to clean up. It is just garbanzo bean juice from a can and then whipped up. Once whipped separate into 3 bowls and add blue food coloring to one bowl, and red to another bowl. Stir in the food coloring, then add the foam one color at a time to the sensory bin.

I took this activity outside, but you do not need to. It is just garbanzo bean foam and will be wiped up easily. Your child will love to explore this texture, at the same time expanding the joy the 4th of July brings!

• Materials need:

• A Can of Garbanzo Beans

• Kitchen aid/Whisk

• Sensory Bin Container

4th of July Pasta Necklaces

This activity is also a wonderful fine motor skill! You just need some painted pasta, and a sting. Just have your child put the string through the pasta in any pattern they want.

Your child will love being able to make their own accessories and wear them around. Maybe make some for your family members so they can have some lovely gift from the little ones in their life too.

• Materials Needed:

• Pasta of your choosing

• Paint

• String

Firework Craft Painting

Collecting toilet paper rolls is something I find myself doing all the time. With good reason, you can use these for tons and tons of crafts. For this craft, Cut 1/3 up the roll, then bend outwards. It will create a perfect 4th of July stamp!

Have fun stamping fireworks on to paper, paper plates, and really anything you want.

• Materials Needed:

• Toilet Paper rolls

• Paint

• Paper

• Scissors

Pasta Sensory Bin

Sensory bins are one of my favorite things to do with the girls, they are so easily adapted for holidays and ages! You can add the pasta to the bin like the flag or just have them all mixed together for the bin.

These are easy to clean up, the pasta are large enough you can just snag them up in any fall out. You can also make this a pouring activity by pouring the pasta into different containers and how many pieces of pasta can fit into one container at a time

• Materials Needed:

• Pasta of your Choosing

• Paint

• Sensory Bin Container

10 Summer Activities

Summer is a season full of opportunity! The weather allows for more fun activities for your kids to do, that do not require lots of money. This post has tons of fun summer activities for toddlers and kids! Activities should not be some crazy expensive thing you do with the kids. So these summer activities are all very inexpensive and allow for flexibility.

1. Chalk:

When my sister moved to Germany she left me her nice Crayola chalk and let me tell you I am in love. Often now when the girls are playing outside I will sit on the ground and draw with chalk. Lucy also loves to draw and "spell" with chalk. Lyra has gotten very good and crawling over and trying to eat the chalk, I have to be very diligent to make sure when she is cruising around she is not getting her hands on it. Chalk is a wonderful activity for toddlers especially, it gets them outside and helps work on their fine motor skills.

Now the weather is nicer our patio is constantly covered in chalk. I also hold many wonderful memories from my childhood coloring with chalk. I do believe you can even buy chalk at the Dollar Store so it's a budget friendly activity. What is better than a fun activity that is cheap!

2. Sensory Bins:

I do not know where I originally came across the ideas for sensory bins, but we are obsessed. I started using sensory bins when Lucy was about 18 months old. We went to the dollar store got a large Tupperware container with a lid, some measuring cups, and dried beans. At home we put the dried beans in the Tupperware and let Lucy scoop and pour away.

Now we have done several different sensory bins. We try different combinations of things to put in the bin, about once a week I will trade them out for a different combo. We have mixed lentils with dry peas, lima beans with pinto beans, black eye peas with pinto beans, and just a bag of mixed beans from the store. Lucy loves when we switch them out, it is like a whole new activity.

3. The Park:

Our family LOVES going to the park. Lucy could swing forever if we let her. When weather is nice you'll probably find us at the park. When Lyra was littler I would sit in the grass and enjoyed the sunshine with her while Bryton and Lucy ran around.

I love that now Lucy is getting older she is climbing and playing on the playground. It is so exciting to see her explore and expand her world even more. There is several parks in the our area and we also enjoy every week going to a different park. It adds variety and adds to the excitement to going to the park.

4: Ice Cube Discovery

This activity does require a little work before hand. You'll need an ice cube tray and some small toys. Fill the ice cube tray with water and put the small toys in the water and then freeze.

Once frozen you can take the ice cubes with the toys out. I normally take this activity outside. There is also plenty of ways to change this activity. You could use paintbrushes and water to slowly get the ice cube to melt. Lucy reminds me everyday that it really is the little things that matter. Life does not need to be complicated!

5: Washing Stations

This is something that I saw on Pinterest about a year ago, I decided to try it because Lucy loves to help wash things and finding rocks. So we found several good size rocks in the yard and got a bunch of different brushes and sponges at the Dollar store. I filled a bowl up with soapy water and let her wash the rocks.

Lucy loves to do this and often we start to wash other toys and things. Sometimes we even get another bowl/Tupperware container and fill it with dirt and make another station. Lucy loves to get the items dirty to clean them all over again.

6: Nature Walk

I love to take the girls on walks. It is so refreshing to get outdoors and explore the world where we live. This activity is a wonderful way to teach kiddos about nature, plants, and animals. Allowing kids to discover the world at their pace is extremely important.

Taking the kiddos on a walk helps them get energy out and learn at the same time. You can ask the kids questions about the plants, to look for certain items, colors, textures, etc. We love to see what the Lord has put into this world. There is so much around us, take a moment to enjoy it.

7: Play-Doh

Another classic that I also played with in my childhood. We did not introduce play-doh to Lucy until she was about two and a half, she now loves it. Though 95% of the time she just rolls it into snakes or hot dogs. But still anything that keeps her occupied for 5 minutes is a win!

Play-Doh is pretty easy to come by, it is at Walmart, and can also be ordered online. While we were growing up we had several play-doh accessories, which can add a fun flare to the activity. Kids love to smush and mold things, Play-Doh is a great activity to try.

8: Water Balloons

This one also is quite simple and well known but a classic. I have tons of wonderful memories with my siblings running around the yard and having water balloon wars. We would spend hours filling them up, tying them, and throwing them at each other.

Even if you don't have a water balloon fight there is tons of different activities you could do. See how far they can throw the balloons, how hard do you need to throw the balloon for it to pop, explore with how much water you put in the balloons and see if that changes the results of any activity you try.

9:Paint Rocks

I am a massive sucker for any kid of kids art work and painted rocks are no exception. Once on vacation with my husband one of the shop owners daughter was selling rocks at the counter and I bought 3. I just love doing art projects like painting rocks. What a fun way to spruce up your afternoon.

Children's art work just melts my heart, I am so excited that Lucy is getting older and can do more crafts like this so I can decorate my home with the sweet sight of her artwork. It is also super good to let your children explore their creativity.

10: Paint with Water

Once again, the simple projects entertain the longest. Lucy and my nephews LOVE to paint with water. We have several different types of brushes and locations where they are allowed to paint.

Our 5 yr old nephew loves to paint with water and watch it sloooowly disappear he thinks it is magic. He really likes to paint the sides of our patio chairs. Since it is just water I normally let the kids "paint" most anything they want. It is just water and it will dry