Beach Activities That Work on Developmental Skills

It's beach season!!!  And seeing as I am currently at the beach with my kids, I thought that this was an appropriate time to write a post on beach activities.  The beach is a great place to play and work on dvelopmental skills at the same time, as well as a wonderful sensory experience.  Children really have the opportunity to run wild, explore, be creative, and have fun at the beach because, other than obvious safety restrictions, there really are few limits to what their little bodies and minds can do there.  Another great thing about the beach - kids are so entertained by all the sights, sounds, and opportunities to play and explore that they forget about the TV and computer for a while. 
So here's a list of beach activities to get your kids moving and having fun, with a quick explanation of some of the developmental skills that they work on.  Most of these activities can be done by kids of all ages, toddlers to tweens, just adapt the activity to make it age/skill appropriate for your child/children.  I'll bet that you already do many of these activities with your kids without even realizing the developmental benefits!  Also, at the bottom there are some other activities that are more appropriate for older kids only.  

* Carrying buckets sand and water - it's hilarious how interesting this is to kids; they will fill buckets and carry them to different places, dumping and filling over and over just for fun.  This builds strength and endurance, works on balance and even coordination.

       * Shoveling sand, turning over and dumping buckets works on grading movement as kids figure out how much force they have to use and how fast to move in order to dump out the right amount.

* Building a sand castle is fun for everyone and parents usually like to get involved with this one too.  All the parts of creating a sand castle work on important skills, like planning how the castle will look before beginning, sequencing the steps to build it, shoveling and carrying buckets of sand to build it, and creativity when it comes time to decorate it.

* Finding shells is fun and exciting for kids as they locate new shells they've never seen before or find whole shells instead of just pieces.  Looking for shells works on visual scanning and several visual perceptual skills that are important for other things, like reading.  It's also a great opportunity to teach your kids about shapes, colors, textures, and even correct names of shells for the older kids.
      * Sorting shells - for an extended activity, have your kids sort shapes into groups by different characteristics, like color, size, shape, texture, name, etc
       * Shell sequence - line up 4 or more shells in a specific sequence, let your child see it for 5 to 10 seconds, then cover it up, mix up the shells, and have your child repeat the sequence of shells correctly.  Try different sequences and add shells to increase the challenge.  This works on sequential memory skills.

* Grab Bag: Fill a bucket or small bag with items found on the beach (shells, rocks, coral, small stick, feather, etc.) and have your child try to correctly identify the items in the bag without looking.  Sometimes showing the items and letting your child hold them first, before putting them in the bag, helps to improve their success at picking them out of the bag correctly.  Another variation of this game is to have matching pairs of items, like 2 rocks, 2 clam shells, 2 pieces of coral, 2 welch shells, etc, placing 1 set in the bag and leaving 1 set where your child can see them as he/she searches in the bag for the matching pairs.  This activity works on visual perceptual skills, memory, and tactile perception.

* Buried in the sand - burying kids in the sand (but not too far) is a fun sensory experience, you may even notice them trying to bury their own legs and feet.  By burying their legs or even torsos (when lying on their back) and arms as well (and only if they want to of course) they work on strength when they move to get out from under the sand. Kids also love to bury their parents!  Come on, just let them; it's fun!  And they have to do a lot of shoveling, digging, and carrying which works to strengthen their muscles and tires them out.  Just as a safety note - do not bury kids in holes and do not put too much sand on top of their bellies; they still need to breathe!

* Drawing/writing sand or playing tic-tac-toe: Grab a rake, a stick, or a shell and get creative in the sand.  The resistance of writing or drawing in the sand is good for building strength in the hands and upper body.  Drawing gets the creative juices flowing and writing or playing tic-tact-toe works on cognitive skills.  If your kids are working on spelling their name or writing in cursive, this is a fun sensory-filled way to practice.  The more senses involved in a learning experience, the more areas of the brain get involved and you can get a lot more retention of information and carry-over.

* Maze in sand:  Draw a maze in the sand for your children to follow; a kid's shovel or a rake works well to draw it.  This sounds silly, but they love it!  You can even have them repeat it doing it in different ways: crab walking, bunny hopping, frog jumping, twirling, running, etc.  For older kids, do timed races.  The great thing about this activity is that it works on visual-perceptual skills, motor skills, coordination and motor planning, and attention and focus.  To increase the challenge and to work on balance, draw a course with only 1 line that your kids have to follow and keep their feet on.  You can also have your kids walk through the maze or on the line balancing a ball or big shell on a sand shovel or something else.

* Relay Races: Kids love to run and at the beach where there are wide open spaces it's that much more fun!  Take this energy and enthusiasm for running and set up some relay races; and it really gets hilarious when the adults get involved too.  You can do relay races made up of just one activity, or you can combine several activities within one race.  Here are some examples: filling buckets with water or sand, carrying buckets of water or sand, running, hopping, cartwheeling, wheelbarrow walking (wheelbarrowing walking and pushing a ball along with your hand), balancing a ball/shell/water on a sand shovel, etc.  Relay races work on skills like strength, endurance, motor skills, motor planning and coordination, and social skills.
      * Sponge and water relay:  This is another fun relay that you may have played before.  You place a bucket filled with water at one end and an empty bucket at the other.  Starting at the empty bucket end, you run with a sponge to fill it from the water bucket, run back to the empty bucket to ring it out, then pass the sponge to a teammate who then does the same thing.  This process gets repeated until the empty bucket has been filled to a marked line.  The first team to hit the line wins.

* Obstacle Courses: If your kids are getting bored of playing in the water and in the sand, then create an obstacle course (or better yet, have them create one), using beach chairs, towels, buckets, sand piles, balls, etc.  Do timed trials for older kids.  Even young kids can do an obstacle course that is created on their level.  This fun activity works on strength, endurance, motor skills, motor planning, and coordination.

* Jumping waves: To get your kids working on movement, balance, and coordination, try jumping the waves.  For the youngest kids, or kids who are unsure of the waves at first, start by jumping at the edge of the water.  Pre-walkers can get involved with this activity if you hold them and jump them over the waves; you may even need to hold the hands of toddlers in order for them to be successful at jumping.  Travel into a few inches of water to jump with kids who are capable of it; the resistance of the water and the greater height they have to jump will be a bigger challenge for them.  For older kids who can swim, going farther out into the water and jumping the bigger waves is really fun!  Safety note: watch your kids carefully when they are playing in the water; go in with them, but never allow anyone to go in if there is an undertow.

* Dad's little acrobats: I know it is every mother's instinct to freak out when she see her husband tossing their toddler in the air, but relax mom's, it really is ok.  Dad's are actually providing their small children with some important movement that is very good for the development of the sense of movement. Most kids love being tossed in the air, turned upside down, or flipped over, although they may be hesitant initially.  Obviously Dad's should use smaller movement for babies than toddlers and preschoolers.  Side Note on Movement: Some kids are over-sensitive to movement and will be scared being tossed off the ground.  If you notice this in your child, instead of avoiding the movement, get them used to it by holding them close to your body and jumping up and down, tipping side to side, and spinning in circles.  Gradually (as in over time, not just in one day), hold your child farther away from your body to do these movements.  Then introduce small tosses or dips and bring your child back to your chest for a strong hug before doing it again.  This will help a baby or toddler with movement sensitivity become more comfortable with this type of movement so that they can benefit from it developmentally.  On the other hand, there are kids with under-sensitvities to movement and these kids will be begging to be tossed over and over or higher and higher.  Their bodies need the extra movement for it to make an impact on their brain and sensory system.  These type of kids can also benefit from lots of gross motor activity every day, and this will have a positive impact on behavior and attention.

* Pulling on towels and swinging in towel: Another fun movement activity is to give your kids rides on a beach towel.  Have your child sit or lay on the end of a towel as you quickly pull them across the sand.  Two adults hold on to each end of a towel can also swing a child in the towel back and forth.  These activities are fun for kids and also works on developing their sense of movement.

  * Walk/run: Take a walk or a run on the beach with your kids.  Walk or run a distance that is appropriate for your child and it will work on endurance and strength. Walking through the water will provide resistance and work on strength and balance too.

* Play catch: Playing with balls, tossing and catching, kicking, football, frisbee, etc are all fun activities that work on motor skills, coordination, strength and endurance.

* Crab Soccer: Playing soccer the traditional way is fun at the beach, but so is playing like crabs!  Get in the crab position, that's on hands and feet with bottom lifted just about the ground, then make your way across the sand trying to dribble, kick, and score with your feet without falling over.  This works on motor skills, motor planning and coordination, and helps to improve strength and endurance.

* Little Helper: Have your kids help you carry stuff to the beach, like a towel, a bucket, or even a backpack.  Even if it is something small and light, like their own water bottle, it still teaches them responsibility, cooperation, works on strength and endurance, and helps you out a little.

* Scavenger hunt:  Give your kids a bucket along with a picture list or a written list of things to search for and collect on the beach.  You can also do an alphabetical scavenger hunt by searching for things that begin with each letter of the alphabet.  If collecting items proves to be too much, take a walk and have your child point out items on the list without actually picking them up.  This activity is good for visual perceptual skills, visual scanning, sequencing, following directions, attention and focus, and other cognitive skills.

Older Kids
Older kids can do a lot of the activities listed above if you adapt them to meet the skill level of your older child.  But these activities below are specifically for older kids above the age of 10.

* Boogie boarding, surfing, body surfing: Your child may need you, or an expert, to teach them these activities, but once they've got the skills to do one or all of them, they work on strength, endurance, motor skills and motor planning.


* Riding bike on beach: Lots of beaches or beach destinations rent bikes and even weird, fun beach contraptions to ride on the sand and in the water.  But going for a bike ride is a fun family experience that works on strength, endurance, balance, motor skills, motor planning and coordination.

* Fly a kite: A fun activity, that I don't see people do all that often anymore, is flying a kite.  This is a great beach activity because there's often a breeze at the beach.  Flying a kite works on coordination, motor skills and motor planning, as well as visual perceptual skills.

* Picking up trash: If you're looking for your adolescent or teen to gain some civic responsibility, then go on a family walk to pick up trash on the beach.

* Beach boot camp:  If you have an adolescent or teen that is interested in sports (or a technology addict that needs to get out and get moving) then coordinate an early morning family boot camp session on the beach (or look for a resort sponsored one).  Even if just for 30 minutes, a 1 mile run, some push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and other exercises will be enough to benefit your child's strength, endurance, coordination, and focus/attention.