During the school year your preschooler’s mind is constantly learning new things and being challenged. Fast forward two weeks into summer time and you find yourself at a loss on how to keep them active. Worry no more! We have found some fun summer time activities that you can enjoy together.
Pretend Play Camping
For some families camping is a great way to get outdoors and enjoy the simple parts of life. This can mean fishing, a walk through the woods, and of course s’mores! However, camping outside isn’t always an option, so what should you do? Camp inside!
What you will need: Tent – Fire – S’mores – Roasting sticks – Fishing pond
Get creative on how to build each item and let your kids get involved too. Blankets and chairs make for a great tent, orange tissue paper for the fire; colorful construction paper is great for the s’mores. The possibilities are endless and it’s a great activity that will challenge your kids and spark their imagination!
Sensory Walk
Being outdoors is one of the best ways to spend summer with your kids. Preschoolers are experts at exploring, being creative, and pretending to play with just about anything. A great way to keep this momentum going outside of school is to do a sensory walk.
What you will need: Paper – Sharpie – Scissors – Space to walk
Make a list of things on a piece of paper i.e. cold, warm, smooth, dry etc… Cut them out and let your kids pick their piece. Challenge them to go find an object that feels the way their piece of paper says, easy as that! Something so simple can turn into the most fun and creative scavenger hunt.
The best part about this activity is it’s very versatile. If it’s rainy and stormy outside go on the hunt inside!
DIY Backyard Explorer Kit
This is another great outdoor activity!
What you will need: Empty toilet paper rolls – Paper bag – String – Pen/pencil (these are the bare necessities)
Every good explorer needs a good set of exploring tools and gear! Help them make a vest out of the paper bag, binoculars out of the toilet paper rolls, and a check list of items to find with the pen and paper. If you want to step up your game you can draw a map of the backyard as to where all of the items on their list are located because let’s just face it, an explorer is nothing without their map!
All of these activities have one thing in common and that is imagination. We believe this is the greatest tool that children possess and there is no better time for them to use it than summer!