Five Simple Ways to Entertain Toddlers at the Beach

In all honesty, the beach is the perfect playground for a young toddler.  Sand, water and lots of space to run = hours of entertainment.  However, after a few days of simply playing on the beach, toddlers can become a little bored, and we all know what happens when they are bored........(that's right, mama no longer gets to lay out and relax).  I was prepared for this turn of events last week, and today I am going to share....

1.  Sand Road = Little Boys Dream

• All we needed for this activity was a truck and something to draw a road with.  A large shovel worked best, but I also drew a road with sea shells that were just lying around the beach.  The road can be be short, long, have lots of curves etc.  Caleb loved this!! 
• To add a little more interest to this you can throw in some hot wheel cars.
• I also had Caleb fill his dump truck with sand, and then drive it to the "construction site" at the end of his road.  This created a totally new game in his mind.  

2. Lava 

• Oh yes, the old fashion game of Lava...if you haven't played it we can no longer be bloggy friends. In college my friends and I use to have all out lave wars in the community area of our dorm!! 
• To play I simply drew tons and tons of circles in the sand. Some large, some smaller.  This game was above Mckinlee's head, but she loved running from circle to circle.  Caleb understood that he had to stay inside the circles of he would step in lava.  

3.  Hop Scotch

• Draw a hop scotch board, and invite the kids to jump away.  They are toddlers, they will not fully understand the rules, but they love to jump.  Jumping = Energy, Used up Energy = Tired kiddos, Tired kiddos = relaxation for mama.....get the picture ;)

4. Beach Darts

• I totally made up that name....my creativity is at a loss.  
• Any who, while I was drawing the dart board I asked the kids to collect lots of sea shells in buckets.  
• I then instructed them to throw the shells one at a time at the dart board.  Small circle = most points etc etc.  Kinlee threw lots of shells at once, Caleb loved trying to make it in to the small circle.  I sat in my beach chair, un-interrupted and watched them play.  

5.  Water Buckets 

• I do not know about your kids, but mine had a fascination with walking back and forth to the ocean.  Over and Over and Over and Over.......which meant mama and daddy were Up and down Up and down Up and down.....you get the picture.  I had a brilliant idea to keep them occupied with water at our home base on the beach. 
• I went to the ocean, and filled a large bucket with water, and brought it back to our base.  
• I then placed an empty bucket down the beach from the full bucket.  
• I gave each kid an empty cup, and told them to fill it full of water (that was in the full bucket), run, and pour it in the empty bucket.  Instant Entertainment....try it, you will thank me later.  

If none of those work, you can always head to the beach with a uncle who builds this for you..........

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