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International Picnic Day falls on June 18th, as if there could be a more perfect time! The sunny summer weather will have little ones itching to get outdoors, but they could just be itching if the ants decide to take over. Creating the perfect picnic is a tedious task sometimes, but we’re here with some handy picnic hacks to keep your picnic ant, sunburn, and boredom-free!
The Ants go Marching Away!
Use these simple and effective tricks to keep ants away from your precious sandwiches and snacks.
1. Wash your tablecloth or picnic blanket with a healthy dose of lemon or mint essential oils. These scents can
confuse ants by breaking their connection to the hive, rendering them unable to alert other ants to the
location of food. Consider adding these oils, or just some good old-fashioned lemon juice, to a little water in a
spray bottle to target offending ants on spot.
2. Sprinkle the area surrounding your picnic table or blanket with chalk or talcum powder. Ants dislike walking
over these substances. The bonus to this is that, if you’re artful with your sprinkling, you’ll be able to show
children learning shapes a very big circle!
3. Place some sugary food such as a dessert or some watermelon outside the chalk or talcum powder circle.
This will create a decoy picnic to lead ants away from yours!
4. Be mindful of closing containers when no-one is using them.
Fun in the Sun(screen)!
UV protection is a must when outside in the hot summer months, but children are rarely enthused about the
process of putting on sunscreen. Some consider it a hindrance to getting out and having fun, and some just don’t like the way it feels. Here are a few ways to perk up sunscreen time:
1. Apply it with a soft sponge or cosmetic wedge. Some children with sensory sensitivities may dislike the
greasy feeling of sunscreen on their skin. Try to make it a positive and soothing sensory experience for them
by using something soft and delicate to apply it. You may also want to investigate other brands of sunscreen to
try and find one your child prefers.
2. Make it into body paint! Allow kids to paint on themselves with sunscreen and then help them rub it in and
distribute it evenly.
3. Make sure they don’t miss any spots, and if they do, invite them to guess where they missed, this introduces
a game element that also helps them develop their memory skills!
BYOB (Build your own Basket!)
Let your petite picnickers carry some of their snacks in these precious little DIY paper baskets! They won’t do
much heavy lifting, but they’ll get your child excited for their summer outing!
You’ll need:
• A twelve-inch square of cardstock or construction paper, any color.
• An eighteen-inch by 2-inch strip of cardstock or construction paper, for the handle.
• Scissors
• Stapler
• Crayons, markers, colored paper, stickers.
How to make the basket:
1. Starting from the corners of the paper, draw a 4-inch diagonal line toward the center.
2. Cut along these lines to create four flaps.
3. Place your paper with the straight edge parallel to you and fold the top and bottom flaps in.
4. Wrap the right and left flaps around the outside of the top and bottom flaps so that their corners overlap.
5. Staple where the corners overlap.
6. Staple each end of the handle to the inside of the basket, near the other staples on the overlapping
corners.
7. Invite your child to decorate the basket however they like!
We hope these hacks help you to have a stress-free International Picnic Day!
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