May is a month of many holidays and celebrations. With Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, Asian Pacific American Heritage, Memorial Day and many others in between! One you may not have ever heard of is “Take Your Parents to the Playground” Day, which is celebrated on May 21st. The weather is turning in Buffalo and it’s a great time to get out in the sunshine and play together!
Here are some ideas of new ways to play at a park:
- Bring a hula hoop or a jump rope for an endurance challenge
- Fly a kite together
- Bring a soccer ball to kick around or a soft squishy ball to toss
- Hunt for bugs! See if you can identify the types that you come across.
- Try a new sidewalk chalk activity. Instead of just simply making shapes, take an object like a toy, ball, water bottle (whatever you have!) and use the sun to create a shadow. Try drawing an outline of the shape’s shadow with your sidewalk chalk.
Parents, you might find yourself just observing when with your children at a playground, but have you tried going on the play structures with them? Maybe going down a slide side by side? Swinging together and chatting about the day? Did you know that engaging children when playing can have a lasting impact on their development as it reinforces critical thinking skills, social development and emotional health just to name a few?
We love seeing caregivers of all kinds at Explore & More engaging in play with the kiddos that they bring! Haven’t been to the museum in a while? Come check it out and try our new indoor playground in our Playing Together Play Zone. We hope to see you soon!
