3 Easy Backyard Activities to Help Beat the Summer Heat
It is getting HOT in herrrrre. And for those of us that aren’t swimming in a nice big pool right now, we have three options: Hide out in the safety of air conditioning, bake to a crisp outside, OR get creative with water games! The ol’ water balloon, hose, and kiddie pool do not get enough credit in our opinion, so we’ve partnered with Acer to turn that around with three DIY water activities for kids and adults that you can set up on any old patch of grass to cool down BIG TIME.
With any DIY, you’re obviously going to have to put in some time before you can put your creation to use. We hear you! To help you get to the fun part with the least hassle possible, order your supplies online with your speedy Acer laptop and kick back knowing that days of backyard fun are soon to literally drop at your doorstep! So hop on your laptop and let’s get this show on the road.
WATER BALLOON MEETS WATERCOLOR
You’ve likely seen paint-filled water balloons splattering on canvases to create art (and walls, and floors, and clothing, and really everything the light touches). So, to remedy this incredibly fun yet disastrous activity, we flipped this art project to include regular old water-filled balloons, and watercolor paints (glorious, washable watercolors) secured onto the canvas itself!
Materials and Tools:
- large white stretched canvas
- watercolor palette (with round, dry cakes of paint)
- water balloons
- hot glue gun
- hot glue sticks
- butter knife
Instructions:
- Pop out the watercolor discs using the tip of a butter knife.
- Hot glue them onto your canvas.
- Fill up water balloons and go!
Grab a large canvas, water balloons, and a few art supplies, and let’s get this arty party going! Carefully remove the watercolor discs from the palette, using the tip of the butter knife. You’ll want to be really gentle, or else they’ll crack when trying to remove them. Once you have them out of the plastic casing, hot glue them to the canvas in a random order. Or if you have a creative vision in mind, have at it!
Fill up a bowl of water balloons.
And let ‘er rip!! Watch the magic AND art come alive before your eyes.
So fun!
BONUS: Not only will you create a fun watercolor masterpiece, but you can use your leftover water balloons as ammunition against your fellow artists!
SPRINKLER LIMBO
This isn’t just any old backyard limbo. Turn this straightforward game into a full-on sprinkler-fest worthy of your favorite water park, with some humble hardware store supplies.
Materials and Tools:
- ¾-inch PVC pipe, cut into two 5-foot long pieces
- 2 ¾-inch PVC pipe caps
- 2 ¾-inch floor flange
- 2 ¾-inch male adapters
- ½-inch, cut into a 4-foot long piece
- ½-inch hose adapter
- ½-inch PVC pipe cap
- PVC adhesive
- ⅜-inch wood dowel, cut into 8 pieces
- power drill and drill bits
- colored duct tape
- sandpaper
- tape measure
- garden hose
Instructions:
- Wrap colored duct tape around your poles.
- Add the caps and adapters to their respective poles. You can use the materials image as your guide. The two ¾-inch poles will be your support, and the ½-inch pole is the cross bar, AKA the limbo stick.
- Starting from the top of the pole, measure and mark four spots every six-inches down the pole. This is where you’ll want to drill the holes for the dowels.
- Drill the holes at an angle and insert your cut wooden dowels. Reinforce the back of the pole with an additional piece of tape.
- Drill holes in a line four-inches apart on the ½-inch cross bar.
- Construct your limbo bar by staking the floor flanges into the grass and attach the hose to your crossbar pole.
- Turn on the hose and get ready for some fun!
Gather your supplies (you may even have some laying around the house already) and let’s limbo! First up, let’s cover up that boring white PVC pipe with some super colorful and fun duct tape. This will definitely add some brightness to the otherwise dull PVC pipes.. We did some spirals and stripes. From there, add your connectors. Place a cap on one side of your pole. This will be the top for both ¾-inch poles. Then create the base of the poles by adding the male adaptor and screwing on the floor flange to the other side.
Next up, starting at the top of the ¾-inch poles, measure out four holes, six inches apart. This is where you will drill at an angle so you can insert the dowels. Make sure the dowels go all the way through your pipe for increased support. Add a touch of tape to the back side of the holes to prevent them from slipping out.
Construct your limbo bar by using tent stakes to ground your side poles into the grass.
Attach the hose to the crossbar and get ready for fun to ensue!
DUCK POND RING TOSS
This last activity is a hybrid of some of our favorite things — carnival games, light competition, and kiddie pools! The rules of this game were meant to be broken, so have fun tossing rings or just jumping in with the ducks!
Materials and Tools:
- inflatable kiddie pool
- rubber ducks
- plastic ring toss rings
Instructions:
- Inflate the kiddie pool and fill with water.
- Add ducks and get ready to toss!
So to be honest, with a two-and-a-half year-old and a four year-old, well intended activities like this duck ring toss don’t always go according to plan.
After all, why would you want to toss rings into the pool, when you can toss yourself! This dude wanted to splash around.
While this little guy was more interested in collecting all of the animals.
Whether or not this activity gets used as it’s intended, it’s guaranteed fun for everyone!
Ready to get outside? Grab an Acer laptop and start ordering your supplies so you too can have this much fun cooling down!
Get started with a good laptop. Check out Acer’s Spin 7, Swift 7, and Switch Alpha 12 here and post pics of your creative projects using the hashtag #AceTheEveryday.
Sponsored by Acer.
Author: Lindsay Saito, Lee Schellenberger
DIY + Styling: Lindsay Saito
Photography: Chris Andre
Models: Jen Andre, Owen Andre, Hudson Andre
