For the grown-ups, beaches are great for sun-bathing, surfing, and swimming, but for kids it is more than that. For kids it is a different world altogether. On the beaches, they have all the freedom to use their imagination and to increase the spectrum of their thinking. Here, they can dance, sing, play, dive, surf and do a hundred thousand activities. Following are few of the exciting activities which one can enjoy with their kids on the beach.
1. Treasure Hunt
This is one of the most loved games for kids. When you have sand all around you, hiding things will become even more interesting. This game can be modified in a number of ways. One of them could be where parents can hide things under the sand and place an identifier on top of it. They can then ask the kids to guess what is there under each identifier. For example, if they have put a Kids Jewellery Box under the sand they can put a bangle over it. The article at the top will be a hint to what is under the sand.
2. Beach Bowling
Creating the bowling pins out of the sand will be the first exciting part of this game, followed by playing a game of bowling with your gang. The re-creation of pins every time will make them even more involved in the game. They can play this game in groups as well, where they can keep rotating the roles of bowling, creating pins etc.
3. Beach Funny Faces
The best way to play with the sand is to show your creativity. You can draw numerous funny faces on the beach. While creating these faces, kids can also play a game where they will talk to each other by making only faces and not speaking. This will encourage them to understand different kinds of human emotions. Who knows? We may get back a totally new set of emoticons invented by these little geniuses.
4. Sun-Dial
This is one of the easiest and simplest activities you can enjoy on a beach. You only need a stick and few pebbles, which you can get easily. Place the stick in the centre in an upright position and place the pebbles around it equidistant from each other in a circle. While chilling out and playing, kids will observe and learn how the motion of the sun is associated with our time system.
5. Sponge-Animal
Let the children understand how a certain object can absorb so much of water and become heavy. First, they can make the sponge-animals absorb water from the sea and then they can play various throwing and catching games with these sponges. When someone catches the sponge, they will be splashed with water.
6. Balloon Fish
Sitting on the sea-shore, one can easily find a couple of fishes closer to shore. Parents can show children some fishes in the sea, and can ask the kids to draw the faces of the fishes which they saw near the shore on the balloons. They can then fill balloons with water and will be happy to see the inflating of their balloon. This will make them understand how things inflate in real world.
7. Passing the Water
This game is played by more than one player. The more people, the more interesting this game will become. The main idea behind this game is to pass the water in one player's glass, to the glass of the person who is standing right behind him. They can make themselves stand in any way. They can either stand one after the other in a straight queue or they can even form a circle.
8. Beach Ball with a Balloon
Kids can place one balloon at the center of the towel, and can play a game of catch by making the balloon jump up and down on the towel. The aim will be to save the balloons from bursting.
9. Hide and Seek Castles
First, the kids will have to prepare several castles from sand and will have to name them individually. When the game will proceed, one of the kids will become the finder and rest all will try to hide behind the castle. The Finder will then guess who is behind each castle.
10. Playing with Alphabets/Numbers
The beach can be treated as a large notebook for beginners who have just started learning the alphabet, and numbers. We can help them learn the shapes of different letters and numbers by making them draw the figures on the beach. The moment the sea will erase these drawings, it will be fun for kids to re-draw them, and this will allow them to practice.
11. Beach-Tents
Kids can prepare a small beach-tent out of their bed-sheet, sticks, and some medium-sized pebbles. Sleeping in tents in jungles has always been fun for people in any age group, but one cannot take kids into jungle. To make the kids feel like they are in the jungle, parents can decorate their tents in hut-like fashion, and also place some bushes around the tent.
12. Tug-O-War
One of the favorite games for all age groups, this can be played by using a simple item, like rope, and involves a lot of teamwork. The kids will learn how to make strategies to defeat their opponents. Though this game symbolizes strength, good strategies will usually prevail. Parents can include themselves in this activity to keep the game moving, as most of the time, kids will not be able to survive in this game for more than few seconds.
13. Shell-Search
The young Sherlock-Holmes can get hands-on experience searching for different kinds of shells. The person who gets the most shells will be the winner.
14. Music
Here, parents can help their kids identify the sound and rhythm of sea-waves, and how they relate to the sounds that musical instruments make. However, this activity will require quietness and an isolated beach, but the effort to find one will definitely pay-off.
15. Mom's Bucket
This game can be taken as a war between the moms who have brought their children to the beach. The moms are required to hold the buckets 10-15 meters from the shore, and the kids will bring water from the shore to fill the bucket. Whoever fills it up first will be the winner. Here, one can utilize the timing of the waves to reduce the distance travelled to fill up the bucket quickly.
Author: Bob Tom
If you have any other cool ideas that involve the kids in the whole beach experience, please share them with us in the comments section below.
