Summer is here, but that doesn’t mean the learning has to stop! Today I’m sharing 6 hands-on Summer learning activities for your preschoolers. Several of my blogging buds have joined me in sharing their ideas, and we hope they bring some educational fun to your Summer days!
NATURE HUNT – Jessica Lawler | www.joyinthejourneyteaching.com
Take your child outside for a fun time exploring and discovering different part of nature! Put on your rain boots, gardening gloves (if your child doesn’t like getting dirty or touching bugs), and grab your magnifying glass! As Russel says in Up, “The wilderness must be explored!”
There are so many fun and engaging learning activities you can do on a nature hunt – practice identifying colors, counting objects you find, experiencing and describing nature using the five senses, etc.
BUBBLY ALPHABET SOUP – Kristina Harrill | www.sweetforkindergarten.com
My favorite activities for my little one are always the ones you can throw together with things you already have at home. This bubbly alphabet “soup” is a hit and can be used with toddlers or preschoolers!
First, grab a tub, some soap, a whisk, and colorful foam letters or numbers. Then, have your little one use the whisk to stir up and make bubbles in the tub. They can use a net or their hands to find the foam letters or numbers. My little one spent a good 20 minutes stirring the water, making bubbles, and playing with the letters. For older kids, they can practice saying the letter or number when they grab it using a net.
PLAYDOH POND – Kaitlyn Renfro | www.thestayathometeacher.com
For us, Summertime has brought lots of rain and LOTS of froggie hunts! We’ve been out many evenings searching for little buddies. To bring the fun inside, we made this simple little PlayDoh pond for our plastic frog friends!
Putting this together couldn’t be any easier! First grab some blue PlayDoh and let your little one smush it out to form your pond. Then, toss in some pond pals and watch your little one’s imagination go to work! To add a little extra learning to this activity, I love to read aloud a book about frogs while we play!
MOVE LIKE AN ANIMAL – Erin Taliaferro | www.littleslovesliteracy.com
This game is such a fun way to get kids up & moving! First, print out the free animal movement cards that are available on Littles Love Literacy (littlesloveliteracy.com). Then, glue or tape one card on each side of a square tissue box. (You can wrap the tissue box first if you’d like!)
To play, take turns rolling the tissue box and acting out the animal movements! You can add literacy practice to this game by having your little one spell their name (or sight words) while acting out the animal movements. For example, they can stomp for each letter in their name if they roll the elephant, or they can flap their arms for each letter in a sight word if they get the parrot!
CHALK WASH – Kimberly Ann | www.livelaughilovekindergarten.blogspot.com
First grab a piece of chalk and a squirt bottle, then head outside for this fun summer activity! Write letters, numbers, or shapes on the ground and have your little one find that letter, number, or shape. Once they find it they will spray it to wash it away! A great way to practice those beginning concepts and who doesn’t love a little water added into the mix!
CHALK CANDLES – Nicole Senden | http://sendens-sources.com
This is a fun way to use up that sidewalk chalk! First take an old container like a baby food container, and hot glue a candle wick in it. Then have your child jazz up the sidewalk with chalk. You can make this educational by drawing shapes and having them color in the middle. Finally, take the leftover chalk scraps and collect them in the jar!
Looking for more Summer learning activities for your preschools? Click HERE for Summer Math and Literacy Activities, or HERE for Summer Preschool Sensory Bins!
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