This will be the last Family Ministry blog until September. Like the rest of you, this author is ready for a break! As you may have heard, UUCA is taking a break in July. I know that I plan to do some very practical things with my summer break (I’m coming for you, closet!) but I also plan to make sure that I have plenty of time for play. It can look different for all of us, for sure. I hope to get in some swimming, hiking with our pups, gardening, reading, and even some video games. Play can be done in so many ways, and as long as you aren’t harming anyone or anything, there’s no wrong way to do it!

Usually in this blog I give you lots of things to discuss with your family and others and resources for you to explore with and without kids, but since I hope that you’ll all be spending more time playing this month, here are couple of quick ideas to help explore the theme of play:

Check out the 16 different types of Play for inspiration here: https://www.wonderyears.com.sg/preschooler/16-types-of-play-for-children-great-for-development

Treasure Hunt for Play

Our neighborhoods are full of fun things to play with! Below are some “supplies” along with suggestions for how you might play with them. We are certain you will find exactly what you need to play some great games together! Please remember to be careful not to disturb native wildlife habits during your play.

Find rocks…

Who can stack them the tallest?

Build huts and caves out of them 

Make a path to find the hidden treasure

Find sticks…

Play pick-up sticks

Make stick pictures

Tie bundles together with long pieces of grass

Find tall weeds…

Make flower crowns

Pretend to cook (but don’t eat them unless a 

trusted adult tells you they are edible)

Pretend hair salon, using weeds as shampoo

Pretend to be snakes slithering through the grass

Find mud, sand, or other earth…

Make mud pies

Bury each other’s toes or fingers

Uncover earthworms (and gently recover them again!)

Find seeds, berries, or flowers…

Make a flower crown

Make clothes for fir-cone dolls or creatures

Make mandalas

Find your shadows…

Play shadow tag

Make shadow animal impressions

See who can make their shadow the tallest