School is out for the kids in Rock Hill. Let the backyard summer fun begin! The Rock Hill Coca-Cola Bottling Company wants everyone to maximize the few short weeks of summer with the best activities possible. The first step towards a great summer in 2022 is a full stock of Coca-Cola products. Keep a lot on hand and keep them ice cold to stave off the summer heat. The next step is to try out some of these options for backyard summer fun.
Water Slide
With an inexpensive tarp (or just a large sheet of heavy plastic) and a sprinkler, you can turn any yard into a little water park.
Be extra careful to remove any bits of debris from the area before laying down the tarp. Even a tiny stick or acorn cap can cause a scratch if the slider hits it right.
With the area cleared, lay out and smooth the tarp. Place the sprinkler so that most of the tarp gets wet. Let the slipping and sliding begin!
Bean Tent/Sunflower Fort
Both of these backyard fun options require a little patience, which is a good lesson for the kids to learn during the summer.
For the bean tent, arrange a dozen or so sturdy 8’ bamboo poles in a circle meeting at the top. Be sure to leave a large enough gap between two poles. Secure the poles together with twine or plastic zip ties. At the base of each pole, plant a few bean seeds. As the vines grow (and they grow quickly once they get started), they will twine up the poles. Eventually the runners will twirl together, creating a tent-like hideaway.
The sunflower fort creates a similar effect, but with sunflowers. Choose seeds for the mammoth-sized sunflowers. Plant a row around a 5’-6’ circle. Again, be sure to leave a gap for a way in. Make another circle row of seeds about 18’’ out from the first circle. Make another circle 18” out from the second. When the sunflowers are full grown, they will create the walls of the fort.
Both the bean tent and the sunflower fort make great spots for establish a reading nook. If the kids have helped create the space and are charged with tending the growing plants, they will take more interest and ownership. Watering the plants will also keep them busy!
Pool Noodle-ympics
One of the most widely useful objects of the last 50 years, the humble pool noodle can be used for almost anything. Grab a dozen or so and create your own set of Noodle-ympic games.
Field Hockey
Place two large laundry baskets at opposite ends of the yard. Use the pool noodles to knock a large, light-weight playground ball into the goal. Coca-Cola cool down will follow the intense game!
Fencing
Choose a judge for the fencing competition. Pool noodle fencers score points for each poke that lands. Minus points for whacking!
Jousting
You’ll need a couple of sturdy crates (think milk crates) for the jousting. Contestants stand on crates set apart just slightly more than the length of your noodles. The goal: be the last one standing on your crate. No hits to the head, please!
Obstacle Course
Lay out a bunch of pool noodles in patterns and loops that the kiddos must navigate as quickly as they can. They should be tasked with jumps, crawls, and zig-zags. Run multiple heats with he best cumulative time winning.