1
Sing Songs
Babies love getting sung too! Especially on the swing. The more animated I am, the more my baby seems to respond. Right now my 2 year old's favorite songs to swing to are: Peek-a-Boo, Peek-a-Boo, I see you!, Zoom, Zoom, Zoom We're Going to the Moon, and If you're Happy and You Know It. We also sing songs on the play structure such as baa, baa, black sheep, twinkle, twinkle little star, and 1 little, 2 little, 3 little... The FABULOUS thing about this is, your baby is just happy to get your full attention. On key is not necessary. I feel especially self-conscious because my in-laws are musical so I go early in the morning after my school run when parks are still quiet.
2
Play Games
When kids are able to walk, we will play hide-and-seek or sardines with the other children in the park. When I bring a nice ball, we will also play catch. The smaller the kid, the softer the ball should be. Make sure if they get bonked in the head it will NOT hurt. Ring around the rosey, duck duck goose, and red light green light are also fun when there are many friends at the park. As a mom with my own children, I don't feel like it's super creepy but I always tell the kids: Do you want to play a game with me? Ok go ask your mommy and daddy, then introduce yourself. Then explain the rules of the game. It's so lovely because parents will often help modulate their kids.
4
Bring Bubbles
Bubbles make everything better.
5
Adventure to New Parks
Every park has a theme. My girls love to refer to different parks by their theme. Each park also has a unique location, play structure, and number of trees. When my kids got older, I would ask them questions such as: what do you think about this park, how is it similar to (fill in the blank) park, what was your favorite thing, what was your least favorite thing, what would have made this park better. Before we leave I ALWAYS tell my girls to face the park and tell it thank you for letting us play, see you next time.