Are you headed off on vacation this summer? Looking for great activities to keep kids engaged and entertained along the way and once you reach your final destination? You’ve come to the right place! Whether you’re headed on a road trip to Grandma’s or a nice long beach vacation – we’ve got you covered with our best travel and vacation activities for kids. If you are headed to the beach, today’s post is for you!
I’ve had the luck of living in Northeast Ohio for most of my life, just 5 minutes away from some of Lake Erie’s beautiful beaches. And I always kind of took it for granted…until I had kids and realized that the nearby beaches are instant, built-in entertainment for my two boys. A day at the beach means incredible sensory play opportunities, swimming, collecting, exploring and, my favorite, building SANDCASTLES! I was feeling crafty the other day and came up with some fun ways to spice up a sandcastle!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED: acrylic paints (at least a few different bright colors), paintbrushes, permanent markers, wood skewers, craft paper, scissors, tape, flat rocks (all different sizes and shapes)
WHAT TO DO:
We brought all of our supplies with us to the beach and got right to work on our picnic blanket, but you could also do this project at home and then bring your sandcastle decorations with you on your next beach trip.
Collect a bunch of flat rocks (all different shapes and sizes). Use your acrylic paints to paint one side of each one of your rocks and set them out to dry in a spot where they won’t get all sandy. Acrylic paints are awesome for projects like this because they dry so quickly and are ready for immediate use!
Once all of your rocks are painted, add details to them with your permanent markers to create windows, doors, different trims, etc. We even drew little people on some of ours to make kings and queens for our castles.
Then, create some flags for your castles. Have your child cut a rectangle out of the craft paper, folding it and taping it to the wooden skewer.
Now you’re ready to play! Build your best sand castle and place your window and door rocks anywhere you like by gently pressing them into the walls! Pop your flags into the sand on or around your castle for some extra flair!
The bright colors and fun details made sand castle-building even more fun and interactive for my boys. We’d love to see what fun sand castle creations you and your kids cook up! Post a picture of your spiced up sandcastles on our Facebook page!
HOW TO CHANGE IT UP:
-Other ideas for sand castle accessories:
-vehicles and boats
-animals/dragons
-flowerboxes/flower gardens
-grass
-trees
-Pay the play forward! We left some of our painted rocks lined up on a log at the beach for the next group of kids to enjoy!
SKILL AREAS ADDRESSED: Fine motor skills, sensory integration, cognitive skills, social skills, visual motor skills
Looking for more great activities for kids? Try these!
inspiredtree
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This awesome! we are addicted to rocks in the sand. We just made cars and a track from rocks. Next will be castle with these additions.
Awesome Birute! So glad you liked this activity! Would love to see your track made from rocks! Leave us a link!!