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Happy child taking part in fun summer activities, like making a dirt cup next to a display of books and items for ice painting

Parents, we are well into summer. Are we keeping the doldrums at bay? Here are some more fun ideas for keeping our kiddos happy and busy as the temperatures rise.

Dig This Treat!

We’ll start out with a classic that is simple enough for the kiddos to help out and enjoy all their hard work with a yummy dessert. Obviously, I am referring to the well-loved dirt cup.

Who doesn’t love the mixture of whipped chocolate pudding, crushed oreos, and gummy worms? They might be made for kids, but let’s be honest: Parents LOVE them, too. So consider this a win-win activity for you and your little one.

The recipe is pretty simple. You’ll want to combine a 3.4 oz box of chocolate pudding mix with two cups of milk. Once mixed, let it sit for about five minutes. Then slowly add eight ounces of whipped cream.  Once thoroughly combined, you can add the mixture to your cups.

If you so choose, you can layer pudding, crushed oreo, pudding, crushed oreo. Or just opt for pudding on the bottom and oreo on top. From there, add a couple gummy worms and voila! Dirt cup! I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.

A Page-Turner Idea

My next suggestion is still in the realm of summertime fun for our kiddos, b. But this one requires a lot less preparation. This is a great way to spend a day, get out of the house, and go on a little adventure.

What is this perfect magical idea you ask? It's storytime at your local public library! Depending on what your library offers, this could be something you and your littles can do weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. It can become a great way to introduce some routine or schedule into those summer days that blend together.

 Regularly attending your local public library is also a wonderful way to encourage reading with our little ones. Your kiddo can roam the stacks of books to find a few new books to bring home to read at bedtime.

Creating a low pressure, fun activity that encourages a love of reading.. Doesn’t sound too bad huh?  You can even stop for lunch or a treat on the way back home. A perfect day.

Ice, Ice Baby

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming of activities that require a little bit of prep and possibly a bit more clean up afterwards.

This suggestion came from my good friend, co worker and mom of two kiddos under 5.  Ice painting! She loves to get use ice  because these summers just keep getting hotter! The prep is minimal and fun is hard to beat.

How does one ice paint? All you need is an ice-cube tray, food coloring and some popsicle sticks. The night before or a few  hours before you want to initiate this activity, fill your ice tray with water. Then,  add food coloring to each individual ice cube. You can mix red and yellow to create an orange. Or blue and yellow to get some green going. You might need to repeat some colors depending on how many cubes you’re making.

Once you’ve perfected your color selections, you will want to add something to use as a handle, such as popsicle sticks.  They  most likely will sit  at a slight angle in the tray, but that’s ok. Pop those bad boys in the freezer and wait!

Now, for this activity, you can complete it inside or outside. If you opt for inside, it might be helpful to put a towel down underneath the paper your kiddo will be painting on. You can pop the ice cubes out of the tray and let your little one get creative!

The effect of the melting ice and food coloring resembles water color. And the popsicle stick handles are really great for younger kiddos.

There you have it: Three more ideas to keep your summer activities fresh, fun and full of amazing memories! Have fun!

Sophie Hamel is a freelance writer and works as a crisis responder. Her son is three years old.

Luminous removes the hassle of arranging for tuition vouchers and helps make childcare affordable. Vouchers can help ease your financial stress. Learn more about qualifying for HRA and ACS vouchers at our Bronx and Brooklyn centers. Payment can also be made by SEIU/1199 Child Care, check, credit card, and through the Luminous reimbursement program. Contact Luminous Early Childhood Learning Center at enrollment@luminouschildcare.org or call us at 929.228.1180.

Happy little African American boy in a pumpkin patch in autumn,

Hi, parents, and happy October! I’m so happy to celebrate my favorite season of the year. It's that time of year for fall fun with little ones. Here are some autumn- and Halloween-themed suggestions to keep your little one entertained.

As always, we are keeping these as simple as can be. Let’s get started! 

Squishy Fun

First is an activity that is great for our really tiny humans. If you plan to carve pumpkins, don’t throw away the guts of the pumpkin.

Instead, toss them in a gallon zip lock bag to create a super simple and squishy sensory activity for those 12-24-month-olds.

This way they are still involved in the pumpkin carving, but in a safe way. And this allows us parents to really focus on our own pumpkins, am I right? 

Pumpkin Washing

Another idea for our little littles is a pumpkin washing station. To keep it really simple, go for smaller pumpkins. You’ll need to grab a container, fill it with warm soapy water, and make sure there you’re set up in an area that is protected from the splashing or is OK to get wet.

Our three- and four-year-olds can really get involved in the activity by washing everyone’s pumpkins before the carving begins! 

With larger pumpkins, skip placing them in water. Instead, just give your little one a couple of washcloths and some warm soapy water. This way they can wipe down all the pumpkins, and get them nice and clean for carving. But you don’t have to find a giant tote to fill with water either. 

Sensory Bin

Another easy peasy sensory activity for our littles ones is a fall-themed sensory bin.

You could use multicolored dry pasta, pinecones, smooth acorns, or even some leaves. There is basically no mess when it comes to this activity since everything is pretty large and we parents love to hear that.

Give this one a try and let me know how it goes and how long your kiddo stayed engaged in the activity. 

Hunting for Decorations

This next one, I just did with my kiddo over the past weekend, and we had such a good time. I realized, I didn’t have any Autumn or Halloween decorations for our house! As such a huge fan of this time of year, that did not sit right with me. Lack of storage space keeps me from holding onto a lot of decorations, other than those we have for Christamas. 

So, I asked my kiddo if he wanted to go to the thrift store to pick out some decorations. Surprise, surprise, his response was “NOW?” It just so happened we had a few free hours before I had to go to work. So, I said “Sure!” and we were off. 

We headed over to our local Goodwill. I really tried to let him pick out the things he thought would be cute for our little home. He found some pumpkin string lights (LOVE), tealight candle holders (one black cat, a pumpkin, and a little ghost), a wooden pumpkin door hanger, and the cutest little stuffed pumpkin with a black top hat and black and white striped arms and legs. They are absolutely perfect.

Extra tip: Bring something to donate to the thrift store. Most thrift stores offer a coupon for making a donation. So not only was everything pretty cheap in the first place, we also got 20% off! We spent a total of only $10. And we had a great time doing it. 

But, the fun didn’t stop there. We still get to go home and decorate with our super fun finds. 

There you have it, friends! Easy peasy autumn activities to incorporate when you’ve got the time.

I hope they are just as much fun for you as they were for me. Let me know how it goes!

Sophie Hamel is a freelance writer and works as a crisis responder. Her son is a 3½-year-old preschooler.



Luminous removes the hassle of arranging for tuition vouchers and helps make childcare affordable. Vouchers can help ease your financial stress. Learn more about qualifying for HRA and ACS vouchers at our Bronx and Brooklyn centers. Payment can also be made by SEIU/1199 Child Care, check, credit card, and through the Luminous reimbursement program. Contact Luminous Early Childhood Learning Center at enrollment@luminouschildcare.orgor call us at 929.228.1180.