DIY Day Trips for Pre-Schoolers (on a Budget!)
How do you keep a 3-year-old entertained without breaking the bank? By creating your own day out, of course! With free activity sheet to keep little minds occupied.
Although many see being a stay-at-home parent as the dream job, for those who find themselves at home all week with one or more 0- to 5-year-olds, life can quickly become a bore. Finding ways to occupy your pre-schooler seven days a week is a challenge for even the most creative of parents, and this challenge is tougher still on a budget. Staying at home all day can leave your children bouncing off the ceiling, yet going out for the day can be painfully expensive.
So just how do you keep a 3-year-old entertained without breaking the bank? By creating your own day out, of course!
First, you'll want to pick a location for your day trip. Whilst the easiest thing may be to hop in the car, a trip on a bus or train is an exciting experience for a child and offers the best start to your "DIY" day out. Take a look at your local train and bus routes to see where you can get to directly, then do a quick search for parks/woodlands, etc., in those areas. When the weather is right (or just not tipping it down with rain), the best DIY days out can take place in parks or other green spaces. Remember, there is no bad weather, only the wrong clothes.
Once you've decided on a location for your DIY day trip, start thinking about what you need to take with you. There are the obvious things that you need for any outing with a young child (spare clothes, nappies, wipes, bottles, etc.), but for low-cost day out, you will want to get a little more creative.
An important feature of your day out will be lunch. A pre-packed picnic is a great choice to keep the costs down and ensure that your child eats well. For many young children, a picnic can be a less stressful eating environment and even help to improve fussy eating. Your picnic can be made entirely of foods you already have in the house. Your 3-year-old really won't care; for them, the exciting part is eating outside.
Another thing to consider on your day out is activities. If your child is under 3, just the train/bus ride, outdoor time, and picnic will be stimulating enough, but for older children, you may need to add in a few extras to keep the energy up. A great activity for young children is to create a picture chart of things they might see on their day out. Grab some stickers for your child to add to the chart when they've seen each thing. Ideas of things they might see whilst out and about include train tracks, a tree, a dog, etc. To save effort, you can download and print our free worksheet at home to enhance your DIY day out!
You could also bring along a ball, skipping rope, and beanbags to create your own mini sports day. Your child will love playing with these items outside of your home and will burn off lots of energy throughout the day, hopefully leading to a good night's sleep for you and your child.
Day trips can seem expensive but done creatively, they can actually be relatively inexpensive. There is no need to over-complicate things; your child will be happy just spending the day with you somewhere that isn't their home.