25 Ways To Have Fun as a Family In Your Backyard
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post; I am a Kmart blogger, although all opinions are my own. #KMartSummerFun
This summer you can get outdoors and spend time with your family without having to leave your house. Here are 25 ways to have fun as a family right in your backyard! No matter your children's ages, and no matter what toys and equipment you own, there is something for everyone on this list!
1. Play on the swing set
2. Pull your kids in a wagon
3. Have a Nerf gun war
4. Cool off in a swimming pool – large or small
5. Have a water gun fight – you can use water guns or old squirt bottles you have lying around the house!
6. Enjoy a backyard picnic – we enjoy eating our lunch outside on a blanket or just sitting on the back porch with a treat.
Enjoying a smoothie together on the back porch
7. Swing on a porch swing
8. Relax in a hammock
9. Make mud puddles and let your kids play in them
10. Run through the sprinkler
11. Play Kickball or soccer
12. Play catch with a baseball, football, or Frisbee
13. Teach your child to ride a bike
14. Go on a nature walk – I like to take the kids around to see how many different kinds of flowers, bugs, etc. we can find
15. Make a scavenger hunt for your kids
16. Build a campfire and roast marshmallows – when we clean up the yard, we'll burn the branches that have fallen.
17. Set up a tent – Sleep in it or just have fun playing in it during the day.
18. Plant a garden
19. Build a tree house
20. Set up a bird feeder – I especially love watching the hummingbirds!
(Photo credit to my mom)
21. Jump on a trampoline
22. Draw with sidewalk chalk
23. Exercise together
24. Blow bubbles
25. Lie in the grass and watch the clouds – this was one of my favorite things to do as a kid!
What would you add to this list? Do you have any favorite family activities that you do in your yard?
If you're looking to add some backyard toys to your collection, you'll find some good ideas on the KMart Hot Deals page!
Free Printable Arithmetic Flashcards
As I gear up for another year of homeschooling, I try to save as much cash as possible. But flashcards are not something which I feel I can do without. They are so important for solidifying those arithmetic facts!
“I have moved all of my homeschooling posts to christianhomeschoolfamily.com. You can go here to read this post at the new site.”
Daily Supplements for the Busy Homemaker
We all know that it's ideal to get your nutrition from the food you eat. But if we're realistic we have to admit that doesn't always happen. For one thing, much of the food available isn't as nutrient-dense as it could be due to depleted soil. For another thing, we homemakers are just plain busy! We don't slow down enough to even eat at all sometimes, much less to eat with intention to help our food digest and be properly absorbed.
But we can't afford to let our bodies live on less-than-stellar nutrition. Ask me how I know.
These are the things I take every single day to help make sure my body has what it needs to function properly and be energized:
Micellized D3 – Vitamin D is so important for keeping the immune system functioning properly! The best source is from sunlight, but many people are still deficient. These drops are the easiest for the body to absorb. It would be good to have your levels checked before you supplement and have a dr. prescribe the right dosage. I am currently taking 10x the amount suggested on the bottle, but only because that is what the dr. ordered based on my levels!
Garden of Life RAW Probiotics – therapeutic grade probiotics; one of the few brands that arrive refrigerated so that they stay alive!
Garden of Life Cod Liver Oil – Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin D, and DHA are crucial nutrients to my health, especially when breastfeeding. Taking a spoonful of this everyday ensures I get what I need.
Liquid Chlorophyll – provides magnesium and helps…ahem…keep you “regular”. I used to buy the NOW brand, but I don’t see it on their site right now.
Vitamins – I can tell a huge difference in my energy level if I don’t take my vitamins. These are an organic, whole-foods (non-synthetic) vitamin and herb blend. I will probably always take the prenatals, pregnant or not. I've found a good product, so I think I'll stick with it!
All of these items except for the Vitamin D I purchase through Vitacost as they usually have the lowest price. You can also get a coupon for $10 off a $30 purchase if you go through my referral link.
Find more of my favorite products to purchase from Vitacost here.
Organization Hacks
This is an awesome chart filled with tons of organization hacks!
The Space Savers Encyclopedia by Flexispace.
Dear Moms Everywhere
Dear Mom on the iPhone: I have no idea why you're on your iPhone. Let's just remember that our children see our love by the attention we give to them. But they also need to know that the world doesn't revolve around them. It's okay to let your kids play by themselves sometimes. Just use your phone wisely.
Dear Mom Not on her iPhone: I'm glad you're giving your kids your undivided attention. I really am. But please don't think less of the moms who use their phones at the playground. It's not our job to make sure everyone else is a perfect parent; we only need to worry about ourselves.
Dear Mom Who Breastfeeds Her Babies: It's a wonderful thing with so many benefits. Perhaps it was easy; perhaps you had to overcome some obstacles. Either way, I'm glad it's working out for you.
Dear Mom Who Doesn't Breastfeed: Maybe you were not able to breastfeed, or maybe you simply chose not to. That's really up to you. I know no one loves your kids more than you and that you're making the decisions you feel are the best fit for your family.
Dear Mom Who Feeds Her Kids Organic Food: I'm so glad you're caring for your children the best you possibly can!
Dear Mom Who Doesn't Feed Her Kids Organic Food: I'm so glad you're caring for your children the best you possibly can too!
Dear Mom Who Had a Natural Birth: Great job! It's hard work!
Dear Mom Who Didn't Birth Naturally: Great job! It's still hard work!
Dear Mom Who Adopted: Awesome job! I've heard it's really hard work!
Dear Moms Everywhere
We're all so different. Our circumstances and philosophies are as varied as the spectrum of colors. But one thing we all have in common.
We will all fail at this motherhood thing without help and wisdom from above.
So whether you're rich, poor, crunchy, modern, supermom or tired mom, I can tell you one thing you need to be doing every day.
You need to be down on your knees, begging God to give you wisdom as you train these little souls. You need to be searching His word for His advice. Then follow it and don't worry about what anyone else has to say.
These little lives are too important for you to be pressured by your peers or even by some blogger you don't even know to parent your children a certain way. You only have one person to Whom you answer, and that is God. Have you thought much about what He thinks?
Perhaps you spend hours scouring the internet to help you make the best decision regarding vaccinations, co-sleeping, or babywearing. Perhaps you follow lots of bloggers who will tell you how to stop a tantrum in its tracks, how to stop yelling at your kids, or how to get your children to stop stalling at bedtime.
How many of those hours have you spent on your knees?
We're talking about eternal souls here. Eternal souls for which we are responsible! What an incredible task!
Your pastor spends hours each week preparing to preach his messages. An evangelist would be foolish to go out evangelizing without adequate preparation. A missionary spends months and even years learning a new language and culture so that he can effectively win the lost to Christ.
But how much preparation do you as a mother put into the days you spend with these little souls?
Dear Moms Everywhere,
You are entrusted with a monumental task. To fulfill it well, you must daily seek wisdom and strength from the One who has entrusted you with that task. There will be many challenges and obstacles to overcome. But no sacrifice will be too great to make on behalf of the precious souls that are in your care. If you are going to err, may it be on the side of thinking more about the eternal and less about the trivial.
God bless you on your journey!
Our Week in Review
What did I do this week?
Well, I put the camera I-have-no-idea-where for one thing.
Otherwise, it was a pretty quiet week with not much going on, other than celebrating Independence Day yesterday.
I did throw together a dress for this little lady to wear on the 4th of July. I had the fabric, but I honestly had no idea what I was going to do with it. I started cutting (no measurements whatsoever), sewed a few seams, and this is what came out!
I was so happy this turned out, and what's really neat is that is has elastic up at the top of the bodice, so when she's older I can cut the straps off and it will fit as a skirt!
Yesterday we did our typical: We went to our town's parade in the morning. It's, um…interesting in our small town. If you own a bike or golf cart, you can be in the parade. So everybody rides down the street and waves at all their neighbors and the kids get lots of candy thrown to them. It's great fun just because it's such a tradition. In the afternoon we went over to my parents' house for lunch. Usually there are cousins galore, but all of my brothers and their families had gone to various other places this year so it was just our family there with my parents. A very quiet, do-absolutely-nothing kind of day. We went to see fireworks last night, and today we're just doing a little housecleaning and some more relaxing.
Hopefully I will figure out what I did with my camera! I know I took it with me yesterday, but after that, who knows? I am way too scatterbrained.