Activities on the beach
Once you’ve taken two or three dips and mum and dad maybe need a bit of peace and quiet, it’s good to have a few ideas packed along with the biscuits, fruit juice, fruit, sandwiches and whatever else you might need on a trip to the beach.
Here are some ideas for children of all ages, and it won’t spoil the fun if the grown-ups join in too… just for a while!
Here are some ideas for children of all ages, and it won’t spoil the fun if the grown-ups join in too… just for a while!
Necklace
If you find a stone with a hole in it, you can make your own necklace.Thread a cord or leather thong through the hole and then tie it round your neck. But don’t tie it too tight.
You could make bracelets from little stones with holes in them.
Seaweed pictures
Find some seaweed by the water’s edge and put it in a bowl of water.Pick some up and lay a piece of paper under the seaweed. Use your fingers to shape the seaweed, spreading it out on the paper.
Cover the picture with tinfoil, put the whole thing in a press and leave it out in the sun.
When it is dry, the seaweed will be stuck to the paper, and you can then use it as a card, decoration or a nice picture for your room.
Materials: Bowl, tinfoil, white copier paper or card.
Beach memory
You each have to find 5 objects, depending on how many of you areplaying.
When you’ve gathered about 20 objects, put them under a towel and go away for 10 minutes.
When you come back, test yourselves to see who can remember the most objects.
Decorating stones
Find some stones with a flat surface.Colour them using different coloured felt tips, acrylic paints, etc.
You could draw faces, animals, patterns or even write little messages and verses on the stones.
Crab football
You play crab football like ordinary football except that you move about on all fours with your tummy uppermost, like a crab!Then all you have to do is play, and it’s OK to carry the ball on your tummy…
This is great fun – and before you end up laughing too much to play, make sure you’ve scored enough goals to secure a victory…
Use little stones to draw lots
Everyone finds five little stones.Each participant decides how many of the five stones to keep in his/her hand, but hides this from the others.
All participants reach out with clenched fist. Now you have to guess how many stones are in the clenched fists.
Whoever guesses the closest wins the round and gets rid of one stone.
The game continues. Whoever gets rid of all his/her stones first is the winner.
Boccia
You can play boccia/pétanque on the beach too!
Find a stone the size of a little egg and throw it a few metres across the sand.
Every player has two large stones and the idea is to throw them from the same position, landing them as close as possible to the little stone.
Once all the stones have been thrown, see who won the round.
The stone that is closest to the little stone gets a point.
But you also get a point for hitting the little stone.
Find a stone the size of a little egg and throw it a few metres across the sand.
Every player has two large stones and the idea is to throw them from the same position, landing them as close as possible to the little stone.
Once all the stones have been thrown, see who won the round.
The stone that is closest to the little stone gets a point.
But you also get a point for hitting the little stone.
Water-pistol volleyball
Blow up one or more balloons and give each participant a water pistol.How long can you keep the balloon in the air as you jet it between you?
If you don’t have a water pistol, just a ball, you can play towel volleyball: play in pairs sharing a beach towel and use it as a racket.
Put the ball in the towel and lob it up into the air. See if you can catch it again!
Finding game
One of you has to find 5 objects on the ground and lay them on a towel.The rest of you set off to find another 5 objects the same.
Whoever comes back first with the right objects wins.
You can take turns to be the leader.
