Simple Summer: Mind Blowing Science

My mom got a Mind Blowing Science Kit for my son for Christmas. He has enjoyed it over the months and has especially enjoyed it this summer. This kit comes with everything you need to do do 11 different experiments. The instructions include prompts on making hypothesis as well as an explanation as to why things happened the way they did. This is a great kit to get for days you need something simple that is already prepared for you. It retails on Amazon for 20 and right now is on sale for 15.

 

Simple Summer: Face Painting with Colored Pencils

At a recent birthday party, my girls had their faces painted. But the mom at this party did it the genius way--she used colored pencils. Just regular old colored pencils. What you do is take your colored pencil and dip it in water until it is soft enough to write easily on skin. Then you paint away. Not messy! So much so, that I let my girls do it to each other at home, which thrills them. Give it a try!

Simple Summer: Simple Preschool Cirriculum

source

While browsing my online library, looking for eBooks, I cam across this section that has a lesson plan for you for every month of the year. I thought it would make a great resource for simple summer learning! I find the biggest time suck for learning activities is the actual planning and preparing--not the doing--and in the summer, I really don't want to be sitting and planning and preparing. So I thought I would pass the link along to you if you are interested--it is linked right to June:

http://preschool.uen.org/curriculum/June_s/calendar.htm

For more fun summer ideas, see these:

• simple summer
• Family Outings
• Outdoor Bubble Bath
• Outdoor Fun: Mud Paint
• Paint Free Painting
• Pitch a Tent!
• Pouring Yourself a Drink
• Preventing (or minimizing) Summer Setback
• S'mores (new way)
• Simple Summer Fun: Bubbles
• Simple Summer Fun: Cloud Watching
• Simple Summer Fun: Coloring
• Simple Summer Fun: Easy Crafts
• Simple Summer Fun: Gardening
• Simple Summer Fun: Museums
• Simple Summer Fun: Popsicles
• Simple Summer Fun: Reading
• Simple Summer Fun: Sand
• Simple Summer Fun: Sidewalk Chalk
• Simple Summer Fun: The Zoo
• Simple Summer Fun: Walks and Bike Rides
• Simple Summer Fun: Water Play
• Summer Bridge Activities: Four Types of Reading
• Summer Bridge Activities: Four Ways to Squeeze Reading Into Your Day
• You Pick Farms

Simple Summer Fun: Watercolors Outside

A fun activity for summer is to paint watercolors outside.

You can paint on the driveway, paper, or on each other (as my girls decided to do). It all washes away very easily. All you need is a brush, watercolors, and a cup of water. When the cup of water gets spilled, there is no clean-up because you are outside! 

Simple Summer Fun: Paint Finger Nails

Oh yes, this is a beloved activity of my girls. This is great--no prep, learn colors, practice fine motor skills, and practice sitting still skills! You can also get into the science of the painting. This would be a fun one for your color of the week every week. On your color day, paint your nails that color. Then you have a couple of days of pointing out what color is on the finger nails before it wears off.

Fabulous Fall Fun: Hiking

Hiking in Zion National Park in Spring

Isn't Fall fabulous? I love the season and all it brings with it. I wanted to do a little series on all of the fabulous things you can do in the Fall. My first highlight is hiking.

Hiking is a tricky thing to talk about with a global audience. For some of you, Spring is the best time of year for hiking. For others, Summer is the time for such activities. Some might even find the best hiking weather in the Winter. For us, however, we prefer Fall hikes. 

Hiking in Yellowstone National Forest in late Summer

Hikes are walks on steroids. A walk is a great activity to do. A hike offers even more learning opportunities. You are much closer to nature on a hike. You can see amazing geological formations. You can gather Fall leaves. You can see animal tracks and nesting places. 

6 month old McKenna in the Kelty

For young children, we find a hiking backpack to be well worth it. We own a Kelty and love it, but I know others who love other brands. 

Hiking close to home in the Fall

Here are some tips I have for hiking with children:

• I suggest you keep your hikes so that you can get back to home/car/camp quickly if needed. This doesn't mean you have to do only short hikes--just keep hiking trails close to civilization. Don't overestimate your child's abilities. I once found myself pregnant and carrying 3 year old Brayden for a mile--not fun!
• Wear sunblock if needed. Usually hiking means rising in elevation, which means closer to the sun. It also means time spent outside.
• Wear proper shoes and make sure your child's shoes fit well.
• Bring lots of water.
• Bring snacks.
• Bring hats (summer hats, winter hats), jackets, and whatever other clothing might come in handy. 
• Go at your child's pace.
• Be on the lookout for cool discoveries like animal prints and nesting spots. 
• For added fun, you can make a card of things to find on the nature walk. 
• Another idea is to gather nature items and make a collage when you get home.

Simple Summer: Park Day

image source

Each week during nice weather, we join several friends at the park for park day. It is a great learning ground for social skills like taking turns and getting along with others. It allows for lots of physical exercise. And best of all, it is lots of fun with lots of play.

I am an advocate for allowing children to learn through play. Summer is great because so many of our activities through the summer center around playing. Don't let the idea of play leave your mind as you enter the "school year," whether you have children in school or not.

I found this great article on the benefits of play: Play Is Essential to Learning. Be sure to check it out! 

Simple Summer Fun: Camping

2 year old McKenna getting the most out of camping

Camping has got to be one of the most enriching experiences you can give to your child. It is a time for fully getting in touch with nature. You can go for "hikes" and explore the scenery around you. You can hear the sounds of nature, see the sights, and smell the uniqueness of it all. It is a great sensory experience.

Everyone lives in different climates with different camping experiences. Some are on the beach, some in sand dunes, some in brush, and some in forests. Because of that, I can't tell you precisely what to do to get the most out of the experience, just some generalities.

Be sure to go for little walks or hikes if you are up to it. Notice the vegetation. Look at the flowers if there are any. What kinds of trees, grasses, and bushes grow there? How does it compare to home?

What about animal life? Do you see footprints or nesting beds? Do you see animals?

What do you hear? What are all of the unique sounds around you?

What smells do you notice?

What is the texture of the rocks, plants, ground, etc.?

Camping teaches so much in such a short time, and teaches children things faster than they can learn looking at picture books. I highly encourage you to make the effort for a camping trip!

Simple Summer: the Fair

Brayden and Kaitlyn up on the tractor

Can I just say that I love the fair? I seriously love the fair. I loved it as a child, I loved it as a teenager, and I love it as a parent. I don't know what the fair is like where you live, but our fair is just jam-packed full of unique learning opportunities. You can see tons of tractors and ATVs.

McKenna on the 4-wheeler

Baby Kaitlyn checking out the pigs

You can see all sorts of livestock. Pigs, sheep, cows, rabbits, birds, goats, horses...animals everywhere! 

3 year old Brayden on a fair ride

You can also ride some fun little rides. Then you have the 4-H exhibits and other entries in sewing, cooking, gardening, and more. You have lots of food to try. You have bands and magic acts performing. You have people to watch and interact with. It is such a multi-sensory experience.

I am so excited. The fair is coming to town this week!

Simple Summer Fun: Squirt Bottles

The item that has occupied my children the most this summer cost me a total of $3.18. It is the squirt bottle. I bought three at the dollar store, and oh how much I have loved them.

All three of my children (6, 4, 2) are enthralled by the squirt bottle. They love to squirt plants, cement, flowers, trees, rocks...they love to see what happens when they squirt and see the designs they can make. They can also squirt themselves and each other when they are feeling too hot. 

Such a simple thing, but it teaches some science and works those fine motor muscles in the hands. 

Taking Advantage of Vacation

Ever get really attached to a certain routine? I do. Namely the bedtime routine. I caught myself on this past vacation. It started with the sunset. I've seen it a million times...I've watched the sky turn that sherbet orange and fade to cotton candy pink and gradually turn shades of blue until the stars begin to show themselves.



But you know who hasn't? My daughters. They are usually in bed, on their way there, or out of range.



Vacation is wonderful. It's a chance to semi-relax (I say semi because, well, I have children), eat fun foods, sleep in (bwhaa-haa...just kidding) and enjoy company. And for my daughter, to her delight, a chance for me to sneak in after bedtime and get her up to watch a sunset.




Needless to say, she adored it.



I'm a stickler for bedtimes. But sometimes you need to go for it...why not?



So this next vacation (or stay-cation), look around and look through the eyes of your kids for a minute. My every-day-ordinary-sunset was an exciting and wonderfully special event for my daughter.



Take a minute to watch the clouds with them...

To teach them about new things, like binoculars...and how the current ripples and takes on a pinky-gray tint from the sunset's reflection. Don't forget to take time to enjoy the little moments, to belly laugh a few times, and to *gasp* keep the kids up a little past bedtime.

"To bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while." ---Josh Billings

Zoo Picture

Something I have enjoyed about playgroup is seeing all of the fun ideas other moms have to do with kids. This is a picture Kaitlyn did during "Z" day at playgroup. The mom put the letter Z on the page (upper and lowercase...Kaitlyn covered hers with animals). She then wrote the child's name at the top to name their zoo--so Kaitlyn's was "Kaitlyn's Zoo."

She then got out animal stickers and stamps and let the kids put the animals they wanted in their zoo. It was simple, fun, and great for talking about animals. 

Chalk Shapes

The weather was beautiful. It was shape and color day. I had an activity planned, but it was for indoors and I didn't want to be inside and neither did the kids. So, I did an impromptu chalk shape game.

I drew large shapes on the ground in chalk. I did every basic shape I could think of. I then called out a shape and had my kids run to it. I didn't think my five year old would like the game at all (too easy) but he played along. It really worked well with my two year old. She doesn't have every shape down yet, and following big brother around helped her learn more about shapes. If you have a toddler and no older siblings, you can definitely run around with your toddler. 

You could also draw multiple shapes all over the driveway for multiple children if you need to make it more challenging.

Bubble Popping

Most of us love to pop these packing bubbles, right? I do. My kids do. Doing this simple activity can be a great fine motor activity. Just another simple activity to add to your list of simple fun.

Simple Summer Fun: Easy Crafts

The final installment of Simple Summer Fun this year is on Easy crafts. There are all kinds of easy-to-make crafts that you can purchase. Foamies brand has a whole lot (as pictured here). Craft supply stores (like Joannes, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc.) have a variety of kits you can buy that are ready for your child to assemble.

These are simple because you don't have to do any more prep than purchasing the item. The downside, in my eyes, is that these kits cost more money than it would be for you to assemble a craft yourself. But, hey, sometimes time is money, right?

So if you are wanting to do something but don't want to put a lot of brain power or time into it, try walking through your local craft supply store and seeing what they have to offer.

Preventing (or minimizing) Summer Setback

What is "summer setback"? Simply put, summer setback is the lack of learning that happens to kids over summer break. A two year study found that all students had a slower gain of knowledge over the summer. The study also found that some students still have scores rise while others actually lower scores.

So how do you prevent the loss of skills?

As has been discussed on this blog, even we parents don't want to put all the gung-ho effort into learning activities that we do during a normal "school year." We are busy and we want a break. But taking a full break from learning activities can be detrimental to children.

There is good news.

I recently read The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease (which I absolutely love and 100% recommend...but more on that in another post). In it, he briefly discusses summer setback and ways to prevent it. Here are the factors that prevent/minimize summer setback (pages 87-89):

• Model: model reading. This means that you read when your kids can see you read.
• Offer reading space: provide space for reading.
• Variety: provide a variety of reading materials. Examples are magazines, newspapers, and books.
• Bookstore/Library: visit the bookstore and/or library. See Library Day!
• Vacation: a vacation or summer camp out of town provides new experiences. They meet new people and see new things. This increases background knowledge and teaches new vocabulary words.
• Educational programs: when you watch TV and videos (and even listen to the radio), watch educational and informational programs.
• Read to child: Read to the child daily. See Simple Summer Fun: Reading. See also literacy blog label for more posts.
• Encourage child to read: even if your child can't "read," he or she can sit and look at books or magazines.
• Field Trips: visit the fire stations, museums, the zoo, etc. See Simple Summer Fun: The Zoo and Simple Summer Fun: Museums

Do many of those look familiar to posts from the "simple summer" series, as well as other posts from the summer? I have linked related posts in each bullet.

Why write this post now, at the end of the summer? Several reasons. One is that I just read this book last week, so the subject wasn't at my forefront. Another is I know if I wait until next May, I will forget all about it. Another is I hope that you will read this now and somehow remember it next summer and turn to it. Finally, because I know I am kind of a little nervous about summer setback in my own child. I do remember being aware of summer setback in myself. But this is a simple list. It involves easy things to do, and many of them are on the Simple Summer list, so perhaps it can help ease our (or my) own worries a bit.

Simple Summer Fun: Reading

I am such a huge believer in reading to your children. I believe in it so much, I read to Brayden (my oldest) when I was pregnant with him. I continued to read to him daily after he was born and we haven't stopped since. Even when we go camping, we bring books along to be sure to read each day. I have such high value for reading that I cannot even begin to try to impress upon others how important I think it is because I know I will never be able to adequately get my feelings across.

But I want to try.

I have always loved to read. As an elementary student, I read at least 30 books every three weeks. As a teenager, I still liked to read. True that Honors and AP English classes turned me off slightly; being required to read was very unattractive to me. But my love survived through it all (and I did enjoy my required reading) and I am still a reader to this day.

As I was growing up, I realized that most of my friends did not like to read. I have always been analytical and started trying to figure out why. Over time, I came to the conclusion that I loved to read because my parents loved to read. Both of my parents read constantly. They also read to me when I was a child.

If you do nothing else each day, I would hope that you at least read to your child. I think most people do. I have always assumed all people do, but have slowly discovered that isn't true. Read to your children daily. Find some time in your day that you will be consistent about it. For most people, this will be bedtime. If you make reading a part of your bedtime routine, your children will never let you forget it!

So read each day. You can read books about things you are doing, holidays that are going on, topics of interest to your child, etc. Whatever it is, just read.

So as your summer winds down, be sure to either vamp up your reading or keep up your reading. I don't think it gets much more simple than reading.

Simple Summer Fun: Popsicles

Making Popsicles is so simple, yet fun for the kids. They get to mix up this powder into a liquid, followed by time in the freezer and it comes out this solid piece of goodness. What's not to love?!?!? Here is a simple recipe I have for Popsicles:

Ingredients:

• one package Kool-Aid
• one package Jell-O
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 3/4 cup cold water

Supplies:

• 2 bowls
• Spoon
• Popsicle Molds
• Optional: funnel. I like to use it, but it isn't necessary

Method:

1. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl
2. Measure 6 T of the dry ingredients into another bowl. Add the hot water. Add the cold water.
3. Pour the into Popsicle molds and freeze.
4. Store the remaining dry ingredients in an airtight container to use in the future. You could probably make Popsicles all summer from this one mix.

Again, no picture. I have a picture on my camera, but I can't use it because my computer is still out. Now the hard drive is dying...sigh. But I do like how the picture I pulled off the Internet has pictures of fruit in the background...that is a bit misleading, right? Maybe not for them, but it is for us!

Simple Summer Fun: Gardening

First of all, sorry for the lack of a "real" picture. My computer is down and out with a virus (getting fixed) and I am without photos, so we will rely on Google's ability to scan the Internet.

Gardening has got to be one of the most educational activities you can consistently do with your child. Growing a garden provides such a learning experience, from prepping soil, to planting, to watering, to watching little seedlings pop up, to watching them grow bigger and bigger, to harvesting and eating the food--not the mention the "interesting" bugs all over.

We grow a rather large garden and I have my children help with each step. They help plant seeds. Do the drop seeds and sometimes plant too many? Yes! Especially with things like lettuce seeds which are rather small.

I also have them help me weed on almost a daily basis. This is when the most learning happens. They ask question after question about what we see and do. They learn to identify a plant by how it looks. They can tell the difference between a plant and a weed. They watch the fruit and vegetables slowly grow on the plants. They ask about bugs. We talk about sun and water and other things important to a garden. Children are so incredibly observant--they will likely even point out trends in your garden you aren't picking up on.

If you have a garden, involve your children! If not, consider growing something (Manda has talked in the past about small garden growing) next year. I can promise you that you will be absolutely amazed at the things your child will learn.

What ages can do this? I would say most two year olds and older can help. When Kaitlyn was two, she had the hardest time figuring out where not to step until plants popped up. I had to take a deep breath, tell her again, and remember she was two and also far more important than any seed in the dirt :). When Brayden was two, he totally got it and was fine. So you never know. But once the plants were up, she was fine.

You will have to watch a two year old much more closely than an older child. But even just one year later at 3, Kaitlyn was perfect in the garden, and she is recognizing plants.

McKenna is a pre-toddler and she joins us in the garden. She digs in the dirt in designated areas and she will help harvest food by loading it in the big bowl. She is 16 months old so filling containers is right up her alley right now.

Another great bonus of the vegetable garden is that you will find your children eager and excited to eat the food they have watched grow, even if it is a food they usually wouldn't eat. I could go on and on. I love the garden! (notice I said THE garden and not TO garden--ha!).

Simple Summer Fun: Sidewalk Chalk

Yes, that is my "baby" thinking about eating the chalk.

Sidewalk chalk has got to be one of the best inventions for outside play. It builds fine motor skills and works on the creative side of the brain. You can also use sidewalk chalk as time to practice writing letters, numbers, or names. I have spent many summer days outside drawing things with my children.

One day, my son and his friends drew a map on the patio. They would consult their map as they went on their adventure.

As a two year old, Kaitlyn drew literally hundreds of "O's." She had just learned how and was definitely obsessed.

You can leave special messages for Daddy or visitors to your home.

You can draw pictures and smooth the chalk out to make a more pastel look.

You can dip your chalk in water to change the texture of the chalk (that is the way McKenna prefers to eat it...which is not a recommended activity to do with chalk :) ). One thing to know is that when you do this, the chalk will not wash away as easily as it does when you draw it dry.

So go out and draw with sidewalk chalk and check off in your mind your learning activity for the day. Wasn't that fun and easy?