Holidays are as exciting as they are expensive. Read this handy article we found that lists a bunch of free things to do with kids on the beach!
Let’s say you’re going to the beach with your little one. You want to make the most of your time in the water, sun, and sand, but sand castles can only hold a child’s attention for so long. You need ideas for what to do beyond those twenty awesome minutes of sand castle fascination.
We’ve put together a list of fun, *free* (or nearly free) things to do at the beach with your toddler!
The beach is the perfect place to let your child dump, scoop, and pour to his or her heart’s content. You can use buckets and shovels, cups and spoons, or your hands. Sensory play at its very best!
Go on a scavenger hunt and collect rocks, shells, seaweed, sea glass and sand. Put together a memory jar like these or amp up your water table at home like my friend at My Nearest and Dearest did here. Fantastic Fun and Learning has some great ideas for exploring, creating, and playing with shells in this series.
Get some exercise, Mom and Dad! Toss your kids in the air. Dance. Do water aerobics with your tots.
Go on an active adventure. Take a walk, climb on rocks, splash in the waves, jump off sand dunes.
Make a friend. You may find people from different countries and cultures sitting right next to you on the beach. In Jamaica, we heard kids speaking Portuguese, Spanish, and French. Kids need not speak the same language to understand play, fun, and laughter.
Play “Ring Around the Rosie” in the water. The big splash at the end when you all fall down will likely result in lots of giggles.
Take a footprint picture to remember your trip. Surely you can do better than ours! Or you can try making a plaster mold of your footprints.
Draw or write in the sand.
If you play in the waves, your child will inevitably end up with salt water in his mouth. Take advantage of this teachable moment. Ask your child what it tastes like. (Our daughter thought it tasted “spicy.”) Talk about how and why it tastes different from water from the faucet. Remind them that it’s not good for drinking.
Bring a truck or digger and turn your patch of sand into a construction site.
Help your future scientist or artist to see the beauty and wonder of nature. Watch the tide come in or out. Catch the sunrise or sunset. See the wind rattle the palm tree branches.
Fly a kite. Buy one from the dollar store or make your own.
Track and name footprints–birds, crabs, people, dogs.
Go boating –peddle boat, sailboat, kayak, glass bottom boat. Wait! What? That’s not free! Au contraire! Many resorts and hotels offer free use of non-motorized water equipment.
Demonstrate how suction works by turning a cup filled with water and sand upside down.
Bury someone’s body or feet in the sand.
Pick up trash. Talk about how litter can hurt animals and the ocean. Rainy Day Mum has an excellent post on how to turn this into a game.