Baby Games for the Beach or Seaside!
Looking forward to watching FIFA World Cup ‘s matches? It’s double-fun when your kids are joining you for this hour and a half. However, if they are not ready to keep their attention for this long yet or just need some rest on one of the days, here is our collection of kids activities so you can keep them busy and watch the match without interruption to the very last minute.
Even though tablets and mobile phones are the easiest options for this purpose, the main idea of these games is to keep your kids engaged with the sport event as well as to help them develop some of their skills like fine motor and cognitive skills that are essential for children’s early development.
In advance, collect all the stuff your kids might need for the upcoming hours. Prepare things like paper, sellotape, face paints, pens, kids’ scissors, glue, spare post cards (Birthday or Seasonal), recycling paper, play dough, activity books available at home etc. and keep them handy next to you.
1. Tattoos
Let your arms and legs become covered with ‘tattoos’. Kids love painting especially if it’s on someone else’s bodies. You could use face paint for this sort of things and they can paint the Sun, the Moon, a ball… anything really… Sounds boring? Then let them pick up some design ideas from the Playmama App ‘Bird on Hand’ game or from our Pinterest Board.
In addition, to make it more football-themed – offer them to paint the country flag.
2. Awards
Using the paper from post cards, let your kid draw some ‘awards’ or ‘medals’ on it and cut them out. It’s certainly relevant to Sport Events – the ‘medal’ will go to the winner of the games of the World Cup. By the way, this activity develops fine motor skills.
3. Outline the Objects
Let them trace the objects you have handy onto paper, anything from your hands to cups (or glasses) on your table. Then let them colour in the shapes. Probably you can engage yourself and add funny faces to the circles or squares that your kid has traced. This will be fun for all of you. To continue playing his game, you could ask them to cut these shapes out with scissors.
In addition, you can encourage them to colour in the shapes into the colours of countries’ flags.
4. Paper Ball
Kids love to copy what adults do. Especially if it’s such an exciting game like football.
Let them do so but use the recycled paper instead of the real ball. Make a paper balls out of that.
5. Paper Basketball
The same paper balls could be used for a paper basketball – give them a container for toys or a simple spare box. Let them practice throwing the paper balls in there.
6. Golf
Again, use the same paper balls – now let the kids swing them like in a game of golf. You could use empty toilet rolls or toys as clues or ‘holes’.
7. Toy Football
If they are tired from footballing the paper, let them play a match with … toys. It can be 2 teams of toys playing football with any little toy ball.
8. Merchandise
Let them copy the main Championship Pictures – a Ball, the Eiffel tower, a flag of France.
9. Cards Crafting
Give your children scissors and let them cut out elements from post card illustrations themselves, then take a big piece of paper and let them stick these elements onto it any way they want, using glue or just sellotape. Hence, the more elements the kids cut out from the cards, the longer they’ll be engaged with this learning activity.
An easy, fun and beneficial activity for fine motor skills and child development. Ta-da!
10. Finger Printing or Cork Printing
If you do not have finger printing pads at home, then offer kids corks or a cut-up sponge. Pour some paint into a spare container – and let them paint with their finger, corks or sponges.
11. Snacks
Give them solid fruit you have at home, like apples or pears. Then ask them to wash and dry them with a paper towel. As a result, it could serve as a healthy snack that everyone watching sport event can enjoy.
12. Cleaning Toys
Your younger ones can be offered to wipe and clean plastic toys or dolls. Pretend that they were just running with a football and need to refresh themselves.
13. A Tent
Make a tent. It’s a 100% offer that always works on kids to keep them busy and excited.
14. Make Up
If you’ve got girlish stuff at home then let them paint your nails. Probably that should keep them busy…
15. Play Dough
Making play dough shapes is a quiet game that needs kids’ concentration for a while. Again, a soccer ball, the Cup, more simple shapes like a caterpillar or a strawberry. For more ideas take a look at our Pinterest board.
16. Measuring Sizes
17. Recycling Box
When you’ve got a considerable amount of paper left over after all these activities let your child spend a little bit more time clearing the space.
Take a medium sized box and tell them that it’s a recycling bin to drop papers in and any other items that can be recycled. If they are skilled enough, let your child paint or colour in the box.
Show your child which kind of things can be recycled and let them drop them into the box. Once they know how to do it, you can let them go off and play more independently – hopefully cleaning the house as they go (at least we hope they don’t make any MORE mess!)
18. Map the house … or sport café/pub
Kids are still bored? Give them a piece of paper and ask to create a ‘map’ of the room, the house or the pub/sport café if you’re watching the match out there.
19. Puzzles
Putting together some puzzles takes some time for your precious ones. To make sure that this time they are quiet, the puzzles should be easy for the age your child is at, to avoid frustrations for you both: otherwise, they might constantly disturb you and ask for help …
And yes, you can always offer them your mobile devices to play their favourite games on. Or just let them play with built-in features in your mobile.
Illustrations credit PlayMama App
Photos credit Adobe Stock
Related posts
