TIPS AND TRICKS

3 Great Backyard Games For Toddlers

Dinosaur Dig
Letting kids play paleontologist isn’t as difficult as you might think. Just fill up a sandbox, buy some dinosaur toys and bury them, give the little scientists some shovels, brushes, and magnifying glasses, and let ‘em go! Watching how excited kids can get just by having a sense of discovery in the backyard is well worth it.

Hidden Treasure Scavenger Hunt
Since reading (and staying focused) can be difficult for anyone who hasn’t even made it to Kindergarten yet, create a backyard scavenger hunt that uses pictures as clues. Print out pictures of different landmarks in a park or your backyard and hide each picture in the place that leads to the next (for example, give the kids a picture of the slide to start, then hide a picture of the picnic table on the slide, etc.). Use four or five pictures as “clues” to lead kids to the treasure—which can be candy, toys, or whatever else your little one loves.

Create Your Own Time Capsule
Let kids make pictures and write out a list of their favorite things (with your help). Then, put the notes and keepsakes in a jar that they can decorate however they like. Bury the “time capsule” in the backyard beneath a tree and dig it up next year on their next birthday.