SUMMER GAMES
Submitted by Joshua
You build a bean bag toss game out of a clear plastic shower
curtain. You fold it in half and cut 2 feet off of it. You then lay
it on a flat surface. You use duck tape for the game. Make 3 squares
in the middle going up and down and 2 more overlapying them in the
middle. Put numbers in each of the squares. Cut out an incision in
all 6 squares. One you are done with this part attach the two sides
to poles. Then stick it in the ground and you are ready to play
BEACH READING
I saw a wonderful idea in a classroom during my student teaching and
just remembered it when I drove by K-Mart the other day.
For a summer reading area she used a plastic child's swimming pool.
The walls were decorated with a beach mural. She created a palm tree
that dangled leaves over the children's head. In the pool was different
pillows made with swatches of shells and sea animals.
The children loved it and were so excited about getting to "sit at
the beach to read".
ANOTHER BEACH READING IDEA
Another idea a teacher at our headstart used: she used plaster of paris
(I guess concrete could be used but may be heavy??)to secure a pvc
pipe in a bucket.(the type laundry soap comes in)
She also put a hole in the lid and snapped the lid on. (to simulate a table
top)
This was used as a stand for a beach umbrella. Then she added child sized beach
chairs to her reading area. One day she took this outside and let the kids
wear sunglasses while they read.
PIERCED TIN LATERNS
Did you ever make pierced, tin lanterns? Take large cans like V-8 juice
comes in. Clean and remove the label. Fill with water and freeze
solid. Let the kids take the "frozen cans" outside and hammer nail
holes in the can. (You might use a sharpie pen to create a pattern
before you freeze it.)
When finished add sand to the bottom and place a votive candle in the sand.
Line your side walk or deck and view the lights at night.
I've never painted them but I bet you can get paint at the craft store that
would work on metal.
I've done this with seven year olds and had no problems.
Picnic Game:
Materials: blanket and a variety of picnic items --thermos, napkins,
paper plates, cups, utensils, cooler, table cloth. Procedure: Choose
a child to be a mischievous little squirrel who takes 1 item while
the others cover their eyes. Children then try to guess which item
is missing. Extension: Enjoy some picnic food after the game.
Four Scoops Deep
When I make an icecream treat,
I pile it high,
Four scoops deep,
Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, too.
And one more flavor, just for you!
I once found a little reader that was like this:
The pattern was:
This is white ice cream.
This is pink ice cream.
This is green ice cream.
I used the pattern to make a little book with my K students.
Each page of this little reader had a photo of an iceream cone, but
for
the kids. I had a black-line outline of a cone and the kids could write
in the colour word and then colour the ice cream accordingly.
The last page said:
This is my ice cream!! It had a blackline picture of a triple scoop
ice cream cone.
FRUITY TOOTIE SMOOTHIE
Slurp up this sweet fruit smoothie and say goodbye to summer thirst!
By Rena Coyle
What you need:
a.. ½ cup yogurt (any flavor)
b.. 2 cups frozen fruit (such as strawberries, raspberries, or peaches)
c.. 1 tablespoon sugar
1. Using a food processor, blend all the ingredients into a smooth,
creamy custard.
2. Pour the mixture into two glasses and serve with a straw and a spoon.
A Creative Campsite
It's time for a camping trip--right in your classroom! Set up camp
in your dramatic-play area with a small tent, a sleeping bag, a lawn
chair, and a cooler. Add a box full of appropriate dress-up clothing
such as boots, flannel shirts, baseball caps, and gloves.
Keep toasty warm with an imaginary campfire made from a circle of rocks and
some crumpled red and orange cellophane. Add a frying pan and a spatula so
that children can "cook" a fireside meal. And don't forget some sticks and
marshmallows for toasting!
CAMPING FUN IDEAS
Submitted by Kathy
Camp Games
Guess What! - You only need two people to play this game.
Both people pick up an object of nature without the other one seeing
what it is. They sit back to back and ask yes and no questions about
the object. The first to guess what the other one has wins.
Flashlight Tag - My son and nieces and nephew all look forward
to playing flashlight tag, with my husband starting out as "it." Sometimes
the rules change, the kids who get caught by my husband get put into
jail and someone has to come save them. Everyone is instructed to stay
within a certain area, not to bother other campers, and to stay away
from any fires.
Big Foot - Before you go camping make footprint makers. You
can use styrofoam or plywood. Have your child help you to design wild
and strange footprints on paper (not too big or your child will fall
over).
Then trace the image onto styrofoam or plywood and let mom or dad cut them
out. Attach laces or elastic so they can be tied to the child's feet and you're
ready to go!
Your child can make strange footprints all around the campsite or if you are
camping with more than one child you can play a tracking game - allowing one
child to make tracks while others get to track the 'beast'.
Cloud Watching - Want to get the kids to unwind? Relax and
enjoy the day with a little cloud watching. Just lay back and share
what you see - and look for things your children describe!
Crazy Olympics - This is a lot of fun for families or groups
with three or more kids. Allow the kids to think up crazy olympic events
(prune spitting,\ somersaults, pine cone stacking - whatever, as long
as it's safe!). Then set the olympic event into action! If you have
a video camera, I highly recommend it for this! Make sure there is
an adult present at the finish of each event to prevent arguments -
and bring plenty of awards! Everyone should be a winner - and picnic
tables work great for the award ceremony!
Nature Scavenger Hunt - A fun way to teach your kids how to
pay attention to their surroundings while hiking or camping. Just click
on the title to see the directions!
Trash Scavenger Hunt - Help keep your forest clean with this
game while keeping the kids occupied. Just click on the title to see
the directions!
Night-time
Monkey See, Monkey Do: (Play around a campfire)
Select one person to be 'it' and give them a flash light and have
them leave the area.
Select another person to be the monkey and have 'it' come back. The monkey
then begins to make faces and
actions which the other players copy. 'It' must try to figure out who
the monkey is.
A Camping We Will Go
(tune: the Farmer and the Dell)
A camping we will go
A camping we will go
Hi ho and onward we go
A camping we will go
__________ will bring the tent
__________ will bring the tent
Hi ho and onward we go
A camping we will go.
__________will bring the food
__________will bring the food
Hi ho and onward we go
A camping we will go.
__________will bring the map
__________will bring the map
Hi ho and onward we go
A camping we will go.
SUN BAKED S'MORES
Submitted by Sue
Have children place one graham cracker sheet in a foil pie plate,
sprinkle with chocolate chips, and miniature marshmallows. Cover
the pie plate with tin foil, and label for each child. Place outside
in a sunny hot place, check after 10 minutes. They are done when
the sun has melted the chocolate and marshmallow.
WATERMELON COOKIES
Submitted by Shelly
Welcome summer with this mouthwatering idea. Add red food coloring
to sugar cookie dough. Roll out the dough and cut circle shapes with
a cookie cutter or plastic lid. Cut each resulting dough circle in
half; then put all of the halves on a cookie sheet. Press a few miniature
chocolate chips into each cookie to resemble watermelon seeds. Bake
the cookies as directed. When they are cool, dip the round edge of
each cookie into green frosting. Now, that's a sweet slice of watermelon!
PICNIC PLATES
Pull out the picnic supplies for a taste of sequencing review! Print
one letter of the alphabet on each of 26 small paper plates. Shuffle
the plates; then let students put the plates in order on the floor,
a low counter, or even a checkered picnic tablecloth. Store the plates
in a small basket.
LAYING IN MY SLEEPING BAG
Submitted by Theresa
(tune: Going on a bear hunt)
Chorus:
I was laying in my sleeping bag
I couldn't go to sleep!
I looked at my watch and I wanted to weep!
I rolled to my left,
I rolled to my right,
but all I could hear were noises in the night!
(make up your own noises as you go and motions to go with them--after
each repeat the above chorus)
I heard an owl! (whoooo...whoooo)
I heard a siren! (wooooo...wooooo)
I heard a dog bark (woof...woof)
etc.
SUN IDEAS
Activity 1
Activity 1
For each small group, you will need:
a resealable plastic bag
chocolate chips
What to do:
Place each small group's materials on a table. Ask youngsters to put
a few
of the chips in the plastic bag, seal it, and place it near a window that
allows bright sunshine in. Leave the bags undisturbed, and come back to
observe their contents in about 30 minutes.
Questions to ask:
How did the chips look/feel when you put them in the bag?
How do the chips look/feel now?
Why do you think the chips look and feel different?
This is why:
The sun warmed the window, and the heat in the window radiated to the
air
around it. Because the chips were placed near the window, the heat melted
them.
Activity 2
Activity 2
For each small group, you will need:
two rocks
What to do:
Have each small group examine its rocks, paying particular attention
to the
temperature of each rock. Then direct each group to place one of its rocks
in a shady spot on the playground and the other in a bright, sunny spot.
Leave the rocks undisturbed, and come back to observe them in about an hour.
Questions to ask:
How did each of the rocks feel before you placed it outside?
How does the rock that was placed in the sun feel?
How does the rock that was placed in the shade feel?
Why do the rocks feel the way they do?
This is why:
The rock that was left in the sun feels warmer because it was heated
by the
sun's rays. The rock that was left in the shade feels cooler because the
sun's rays were blocked by the shade and did not heat the rock.
CAMPFIRE PICTURES
Glue a little circle of rocks to mimic our campfire, and filled it
with a little red cellophane and broken
toothpicks. then they glued on nature items around to make the campsite.
SLEEPING BAGS
Submitted by Lisa
Last year we made sleeping bags: The children glued a piece of fabric
in a rectangle over top of a piece of
cotton to make it look like someone was in the sleeping bag. Then they drew
a picture of their head
at the top to make it themselves in the bag. Very cute!
WATERMELON UNIT
To start the unit you might--Bring in a box large enough to fit the
watermelon in. We call it the surprise box. It's covered
with question marks. The children play 20 questions to try
to guess what's in the box.
Explore a watermelon- Serve the watermelon for snack. Talk
about the color of the outside which is the rind. Next cut the watermelon
into pieces. Give each child a piece to look at. Examine
it. What color is the inside? Are there seeds? Do we eat the seeds?
What can we do with them? Let the children remove the seeds and
enjoy the watermelon. Wash the seeds and dry. Use them for for
a collage. You can also make watermelon popsicle. Remove the seeds
and rind, puree the melon in a blender. Place the juice in small cups
and freeze. Insert a popsicle stick when the juice starts to freeze. When
frozen remove the cup and serve.
A simple but fun art project to go along with your watermelon
day is to give each child 1/2 of a paper plate. I used small torn pieces
of construction paper- green and red. Have them glue green paper around
the crinkled edge of
the paper plate then fill the center in with the red. After eating your watermelon
save some seeds to glue onto your paper plate melon. These are cute and look
very realistic.
Watermelon tambourines
Have the children color 2 small paper plates to look like watermelon
slices. (green rind, red fruit, black seeds), you can glue
real seeds on if you like. Put beans inside the plates and staple them together.
Use the tambourines during circle time in the following ways:
To teach the concept of sink and float, have students predict
whether or not the watermelon will float in a tub of water. Record
predictions and check it out.
To encourage children to take risks, practice estimating and practice counting,
do the following estimation activities:
Have each student lift the watermelon and estimate how much it weighs. rite
down estimates and check with a scale. (We borrow the scale from the nurse's
office).
Have each student estimate the number of seeds in a piece of watermelon. Write
own predictions. After the watermelon is cut and eaten, be sure to save all
the seeds. .
In order to watch the development of a plant and learn related vocabulary,
have each student plant several watermelon seeds in milk cartons. Observe he
growth over several weeks.
Watermelon slices
Materials needed: Red and green construction paper, and dried watermelon
seeds.
Preparation: Cut out circles from the green construction paper (10" diameter)
and smaller circles from the red construction paper (8" diameter). Then
cut all of the circles into semicircles.
Process: With assistance, the child glues the red semi-circle over the green
semi-circle. Then fingertip dots of glue are applied to the red semi-circle
and seeds placed on each dot.
Concepts learned: Watermelon is a summer food. Watermelon
grows from seeds. Lining up the paper. Gluing. Colors-red,
green and black.
ICE CREAM SMORES
Submitted by Sallie
I found this recipe in a book called Messipies. I have made it with
my K
group for 2 years in a row and they love it.
S'More Cones
Ingredients
ice cream cones
chocolate chips
soft caramels (like the kind you use for caramel apples)
marshmallows
paper cups
Have each child place their cone in a paper cup so that it will stand then
unwrap one caramel and drop it in their cone, then put a teaspoonful of
chocolate chips in, drop the marshmallow in and microwave for 15 seconds. If
possible let the children watch as the marshmallow puffs up in the micro. Eat
warm, every child in my class today ate these and loved them.
SUMMER FROZEN ICES
Frozen Treats
Use this recipe for Italian ice to treat your students at school. This
refreshing treat is a welcome sight for summer eyes.
Italian Ice
1 c. water
1 c. orange juice
1 c. pineapple juice
1/4 c. sugar
1 six-ounce box of orange-flavored gelatin
Combine the liquids; then bring the mixture to a boil. Stir in the
sugar and the gelatin. Pour the mixture into two ice-cube trays and
freeze it overnight. Remove the trays from the freezer and allow the
cubes to soften slightly. Blend the cubes in a blender. Then pour the
mixture into a container and refreeze it for two more hours. This recipe
makes nine scoops. As a variation, make two batches of the recipe using
flavors of gelatin that are different colors. After they are blended
and partially refrozen, stir
the two batches together for marbleized effect. Delicious!
WATERMELON FUN
A-B-CDE
Watermelon is good for me.
F-G-HIJ
I can eat it everyday.
P-Q-RST
Ripe and very juicy
U-V-WXY
You will like it if you give it a try.
Z-Z-ZZZ
Watermelon is good for me.
(to the rhythm of the "watermelon cheer")
Watermelon, watermelon,
Watermelon, rind!
Look in the kindergarten,
See who you find...
ME! ME! ME! ME!
(to the tune of "Are You Sleeping")
Watermelon, watermelon,
On the vine, on the vine,
Green and ripe and juicy,
Green and ripe and juicy,
Please be mine,
Please be mine.
Watermelon Chant:
Bite - Bite - bite into the watermelon
Bite - bite - bite into the fruit,
(repeat several times)
Juicy is the watermelon
Juicy is the watermelon
Juicy, juicy, juicy, juicy
Juicy is the fruit.
(repeat several times)
CAMPING FUN!
Submitted by Marilyn
Kid's Multicultural Artbook
by Alexandra M. Terzian
Williamson Publishing - Charlotte, Vermont
Kid's Multicultural cookbook
by Deanna F. Cook
Williamson Publishing - Charlotte, Vermont
Here are some of the themes they focused on depending on the country
they were studying:
Greece Olympics
England Soccer
(invite some coaches to the camp to speak)
India Peacocks
Korea Dragon
Puppets
Israel Wailing
Wall
Switzerland chocolate candy
molds/cable cars
Italy Pasta
China WonTon
soup
Germany Cuckoo
clocks - Apple Pancakes
Hawaii grass
skirts, leis
The teachers photocopied someone's actual passport cover , then
added pages and the child's picture to make pretend passports
The teachers photocopied someone's airline tickets and made enough for each
child.
The children made pretend suitcases by stapling together two, large sheets
of white construction paper all around the three sides. Then they made
a U-shaped handle on the top and stapled that on. They made a paper pocket
on the front of the 'suitcase' and wrote the word PASSPORT on it for the child
to carry his/her passport. the children decorated the outside of the
suitcase with bingo markers or other types of paint.
The children made sun visors out of paper plates
Binoculars by painting toilet paper rolls, stapling them together, placing
colored see through paper over the end (like the lenses) and attaching a string
to carry it around their necks.
the children made cameras. - Cover small animal cracker boxes. (the
kind that have the little string for the child to hold) Paint the boxes
and glue on a circle in the middle of the box to be the lense. Put a
button on the top to be the button to push to take the picture.
Before their pretend visits to different countries, a room was set up
like the inside of a plane. Chairs were arranged in rows, A cart with
juice packs were on a rolling table in the center aisle and the children worked
on scenery. They painted large white sheets to look like blue sky with
clouds. they also hung a large sun. This was hung on the walls. Someone
was picked to be a Pilot and he wore a blue jacket and hat and sat in the front
of the Plane.
SUMMER FUN IDEAS
With the twos and threes classes we pretended that we were at the beach
getting ready to go in the ocean. We talked about spreading
our towels on the sand. (We spread them out on the floor.)
Then we pretended to hold hands and walk barefoot on the beach. How does
the
sand feel?
(Walk like it is hot!) Pretend it is wet. ("Feel" it squish between
your toes!)
Then pretend to watch the water run up on the sand and then retreat back to
the ocean waves.
(Sneak up toward it and then turn and run back.) The children LOVED this
part!
Then we pretended to finally get into it water.
(It's soooo cold!)
Next we counted to three and held hands and jumped waves. This was much
fun!
We jumped as high as we could and held our breath so we wouldn't swallow any
water!
After all this activity, we laid on our towels and listened to an appropriate
story.
SUMMER FUN IDEAS
Sun Catcher
*Cut out two shapes from contact paper. Let the kids decorate one
sheet on the sticky side using anything (scraps of paper,glitter,
curling ribbon, confetti, etc...) Lay the other piece of contact
paper on top, smooth it out, trim the edges and punch a hole in it
to hang in a window.
Sun Cards
Take pieces of construction paper and fold it in half. Then put some
objecTs with distinctive shapes on the paper and put outside in the
sunlight, by the end of the day, the paper will be faded except where
the objects were.
Watermelon Slices
Cut out watermelon shapes from green and red construction paper. Glue
together to make watermelon shapes. Have the kids glue watermelon
seeds on them.
Summer Collage
Cut or rip pictures with summer scenes or objects and let the kids
paste on tagboard to create a summer collage.
Footprint painting
Put a long strip of butcher paper outside near your sand or dirt box,
also have a bucket of soapy water nearby. Have the children dip their
feet in pans full of paint or the sand , or both and let them make
footprints on the paper.
Sunflower Poem
One lonely sunflower growing in the sun
Wants to play and have some fun
Then whoosh went the wind
And scattered all the seeds
And now there's lots of sunflowers
Playing in the breeze.
WATERMELON COOKIES
Submitted by Peggy
Enhance any watermelon theme with this mouthwatering idea. Add red
food coloring to sugar cookie dough. Roll out the dough and cut circle
shapes with a cookie cutter or plastic lid. Cut each resulting dough
circle in half then put all of the halves on a cookie sheet. Press
a few miniature chocolate chips into each cookie to resemble watermelon
seeds. Bake the cookies as directed. When they are cool, dip the
round edge of each cookie into green frosting. Now that's a sweet
slice of watermelon!
SUMMER FINGER PLAYS
Submitted by Amy
Summer Days
In the summer, when days are hot (wipe forehead)
I like to find a shady spot (sit)
And hardly move a single bit (stay still)
And sit, and sit, and sit, then...ZIP (jump up)
Summer Sit-Down
These are my sunglassses (circle eyes with fingers)
This is my great sun hat (hands on head)
This is the way I fold my hands (sit and fold hands)
And rest them, just like that. (hands on lap)
Sandy Wishes
One of my favorite wishes (hold up one finger)
Is to play in sand that squishes (pretend to squish sand)
To make a sand clastle and sand cake (pretend to pat sand castle)
And leave them in the sun to bake (point up to sun)
Will it feel good, do you suppose? (point to friend)
To squish the sand between my toes? (wiggle toes)
Swimming
Swimming in the water cool and bright (pretend to swim)
I kick my feet with all my might. (kick feet)
And when I'm tired I turn and float (lie on back)
Pretending that I'm a boat.
I like to hold my breath and dive (pretend to take breath and dive)
I swim beneath the water and count to five. (count to five on fingers)
Wow! What a dive!
ICE CREAM CAKE
Submitted by Peggy
Take a one half gallon of vanilla ice cream. Let it thaw out
to almost mushy state. Then peel off the container around it. Cut
it horizontally. Take the bottom half and place in a 9X13 pan
or smaller. Use the kids to help crush up chocolate graham
crackers into very small pieces. (I do this by placing a few
into a ziploc bag and letting them beat the cookies to pulp!)
Then place the cookie crumbs all over the top and then place the other half
of the ice cream on top of the cookies. Drizzle chocolate syrup over
the top (or try to write something) and then freeze for about three hours. ENJOY
BALLOON MOVEMENT ACTIVITY
Submitted by Marilyn
I have done this with 3's and 4's and they really enjoy it. It
involves balloons, so make sure that your director approves. Some
schools/directors do not want balloons in the classroom.
Read the story, Curious George Plays Baseball. The children
really enjoy this and it sets the tone for the activity. I also
play the song by Raffi, Take Me Out to the Ball game. After reading
the story, we form a standing circle. I have purchased a package
of thick, latex balloons. The large size in various colors. I
blow up the balloons before the children arrive and store them in garbage
bags. I usually have two for each child. So, for 15 children
there will be 30 balloons. The large quantity adds to the children's
excitment. I hand out paper towel rolls and tell the children
that we are all now baseball players. BUT our paper towel roll
is our "pretend" bat, and it is NOT used for hitting other children. Then
when the music begins, I open up the garbage bags and the fun starts. The
children so LOVE this activity. I also give directions, such
as, "hit the balloon through your legs, over your head, across the
room." When the music stops (play it 2x) I collect the towel
rolls and balloons and promise to repeat the activity the next day. I
tie this activity in with Spring since baseball is so popular
in the spring. If you want an art activity, the children can decorate
caps. This is also great for backyard birthday parties!
SAND CASTLES
Submitted by Peg - idea from June Mailbox
These sparkling sand castles will make beautiful tabletop decorations
as summer approaches. To begin, mix six cups of sand with one cup
of powdered wallpaper paste. Add water until the sand has a sticky
claylike consistency that will pack firmly into a mold. Pack the
sand mixture into a small castle-shaped mold. Carefully turn the
sand castle out onto a plate and
sprinkle it with glitter. If desired, attach small flags to toothpicks and
insert each toothpick into the top of a castle turret before the sand begins
to harden. Allow the sand castles to dry thoroughly before removing them from
the plates.
SUMMER BULLETIN BOARD
Submitted by Sally
This is an idea that came from an old issue of Mailbox Magazine.
Title your board "Here Comes Summer". Make a large, yellow
circle for a sun. Cut strips of yellow paper, at least one
for each student. The strips will be hung as rays coming out
from the sun's center. On each one, write what one of your
students will do on his/her summer vacation. You can put a
photo on each ray, too. Add some little sailboats or other
summer items around the sun (beach toys, watermelon, ice cream cones,etc.
that the children have drawn or colored) and you have a very easy
BB that is personalized, too!
Ice Cream in a Ziplock Bag
Submitted by Cooter
Looking for something to entertain the kids during the dog days
of summer? Here is a great recipe that can be made outdoors to
minimize the muss and fuss and will also let the kids help out
in the process.
½ cup milk
¼ cup half and half
1 Tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 sandwich size ziplock bags
1 gallon size ziplock bag
2 cups ice
1 Tablespoon coarse salt
Put one small ziplock bag inside the other and add the milk,
half and half, sugar, and vanilla extract to the inside bag.
Seal both bas securely, removing excess air. Add ice and salt
to larger bag and place smaller bag inside and seal firmly.
Let the kids shake themselves silly… shaking, tossing, and turning
the bag. Ice cream will be soft and ready to eat in 5-10 minutes.
Enjoy!
SUMMER WATER PLAY
Submitted by Betty
Loopers, I just read this in Ideabox.com.......I had to pass it on
to put in your summer activities' file.
Drip, Drip, Drop Game
Have children sit in a circle. Fill a small pail with water. Play
the game as duck, duck, goose but with the words, "drip, drip, drop". With
the word "drop", the child walking around the circle with the bucket, drops
the water on someone...etc. Play until all are wet!!!!! Cute,
huh?
Silly SIPPERS
Submitted by Marge
AGE: Older pre-k's or school-agers
Cut an oval head from a piece of colored craft foam (available at most
craft or art supply stores). Then cut out foam eyes, mouth, and
hair (if desired) and glue the pieces onto the head. Use a hole
punch to make an opening where the nose goes and push the end of a
flexible plastic straw through it.
For flower straws, cut out a foam circle, then trim the edge to resemble pettals.
Punch a hole in the middle for the straw.Use the same method to add a second
layer of petals or a colorful center.
** Idea taken from Family Fun magazine, Aug. 99
SUMMERTIME ACTIVITIES
Submitted by Marilyn
For the month of July, our school has a summer program for 3's. We
do very simple water play (water table, sprinklers, little pools,
spray bottles and large paint brushes with water to "paint" the playground
equipment) Here are a few things we do with the children outside:
Use sidewalk chalk to outline shadows
Purchase cheap fly swatters (2 for $1.00) and put bubble solution into a large
bucket. Have the children dip the swatters into the bucket and use the
swatter as a bubble wand. It makes tons of tiny bubbles and the children
love it.
Use the large, plastic lids from large coffee cans as frisbees. Have the children
use magic marker to decorate their frisbee.
Purchase huge sponges and fill buckets with soapy water to have a car wash
using all your bikes, cars and trucks.
Bring your easel and chalkboard outside - just changing the area makes it more
interesting for the children.
Hang a large piece of white paper on a fence and allow the children to use
markers, paint brushes, sponges to make designs on the paper.
Cut out large fish shapes from brown wrapping paper. Make doubles. Then
staple all around the outline of the fish shape and stuff with newspaper.
Hang a variety of different fish shapes on the fence and use neon colored paint
to paint it. After they are dry, hang them with fishing line in your classroom.
Use shaving cream on trays outside on a picnic table. Make goop in a large
tub. Use clay at the table instead of play doh.
Make ice cubes trays in a variety of colors (food coloring) Place the
ice cubes in the dry water table and have the children observe the melting
process and the mixture of the colors to create another color
Purchase a large tub of grout. (at any hardware type store) Using
plastic coated salad bowls (Solo brand works best), have the children scoop
the grout into the bowls and stick into it small shells, sticks, colorful beads. Let
it harden. When fully dry, peel off the bowl and you have a summer paper
weight. Do this on a table outdoors
Find large rocks, Let the children select a rock and make available a variety
of different colors of tempera paint. Paint the entire rock, add eyes,
pieces of cloth, yarn, felt, etc and when dry, glue it onto cardboard. They
have just created a "summer critter". Have the child name it, and tell
something about it - write what the child says onto the piece of cardboard.
Collect egg shells - wash thoroughly and dry thoroughly. Color them by
placing some food coloring and alcohol into a plastic bag - shake well - and
dry. Give the children different patterns of sea life (different types
of fish, octupus, starfish, clam) Using colored glue, have the children glue
on the different colors of egg shells. This is very pretty.
Using styrofoam meat trays, have the children drizzle blue colored glue onto
the tray. Then sprinkle with sand (may be colored sand). Glue on
different types of shells, glitter. Add fish stickers (or glue on Pepperidge
Farm fishes) Color with clear plastic wrap to look like an acquarium.
Give each child a long string of licorice. have them string on fruit
loop cereal, tiny pretzels, cheerios. This is very entertaining and the
children love this treat.
These things work with my 3's. Hope they were helpful!
Splash Day
Submitted by Betty
Our party for the end of the year was a Splash Day. Besides
the usual water play, bubbles, water balloons,squirt guns,and making
fresh lemonade, the biggest hit of the day was colored water bottles. I
am sure you have seen this but it made a special item to remember
the day.
One recycled soda or water bottle with cap.
Child fills with water.
Child adds food color or liquid water color.
Child adds glitter, sequins, beads, cut pcs. of colored straws.
Teacher or volunteer seals with glue gun.
Write with permanant marker to mark the special event and child's name.
(We wrote "PreK Splash Day '99")
Roaring Camp Fire
Submitted by Nancy of the KOS Loop
There is nothing more relaxing than sitting in the woods at night
in front of a roaring campfire. The next best thing is inviting your
friends over (daycare for us) for a camp out and sitting around this
imitation log fire. Simply put a flashlight in the middle of the
cardboard logs, turn off the lights, tell ghost stories. just as
if you were camping. We could do this outside for summer.
Sounds fun.
Things you need. Six paper towel cardboard tubes, brown and red paper
pencil, scissors, and tape
The Campfire
1. Cut brown paper as tall as a tube and long enough to wrap around
it. Cut
one for each tube.
2.Wrap the cut paper around each tube and tape in place to form the logs.
3.Make 2 holes into the top of each log by carefully twisting a sharpened
pencil back and forth.
4.Feed cord through the holes of the logs.
5.Tie the ends of the cord together.
6.Stand the logs up as though you were building a fire.
7.Crumple red paper for the fire. Place the fire inside the group of
standing logs.
I would use those red sacks you get at stores, the plastic kind that come in
lots of colors. Mix red and orange for a real effect. Have a winnie roast with
smores. Fun to pretend. You could bar-b-q your lunch or dinner. This
sounds fun to do for a summer activity.
Ice Cream Cone Flannel Story.
Submitted by Peggy
Make a large long triangle (tan) shape for the cone. Make as
many color cirlces as you want. I made a real variety.
Thestory goes like this (I try to get as much feed back from the kids as
I can) Once their was a little girl(or boy) named _____. She was so lucky today
because her mom was going to stay home from work and they were going to spend
the whole day together. She wanted to go the the mall so mom, said let's get
reaady and go then.(how many of you like to go to the mall, etc.) The reason
she liked the mall so was because there is an icecream store there with many
flavors of icecream to pick from.(discuss with kids, maybe 31 flavors, if they
like icecream etc.) It was so hard for her to deceide which kind to get so she
asked for many flavors, too many in fact. First she said she wanted the blue
kind(what kind of icecream is blue, maybe bubblegum etc). Then she picked pink,
what kind could that be? Keep going and stack up that cone really high. Make
up story as you go. Then when you get all the colored circles on, Say"Oh! no,
I think they might fall if I try to eat them what should I do"? Let them help
you think. Then bring out a flannel bowl. This will work. And she took it home
to share. Then we make a picture using construction paper and they create their
own. Encourage them to go home and tell their family the story.
ICE CREAM
Submitted by Margie
We put 1 cup heavy cream, 1Tbsp. sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla in an empty
sanitized Similac (formula) can and put the lid on it.
Then put the can into a coffee can along with crushed ice (approx 1/2 full
in the can) and rock salt (approx. 1 cup)...put the lid on it (didn't even
have to tape it; it should stay on!) and shook it up for about 5 minutes or
so.
Use a spoon to scrape the ice-cream from the inner walls of the smaller can
(similac can in our case) and scoop the bottom!!!! It was great.
The families each brought different toppings (we can do that because I have
a family daycare)...gummy bears, strawberry topping, sprinkles, green sugar
sprinkles, choc syrup, and whip.
P.S. For a WONDERFUL variation......buy that fancy liquid creamer that
comes in different flavors (you know what I mean, ????.....like hazlenut, mocha,
southern pecan, etc.....and use that instead of heavy cream, sugar and the
vanilla)...you adults will love this!
Ice Cream Theme
Submitted by Joy
You could make ice cream; draw a big ice cream cone and find
out everyones favorite flavors, adding each flavor to the top; make
felt ice cream cones for the felt board with lots of different flavors;
you could print circles dipping ice cream cones in paint; perhaps a
trip to ice cream shop to watch how them make it; ice cream social
inviting families; there are probably endless ice cream activites to
make up
Water Fun
Submitted by Tegmeg
We did a car wash at a preschool that I worked at. It was the highlight
of our year. The kids dressed in their swimsuits and we put sprinklers
on the playground. They rode the play car and trikes thru the car
wash. We gave them squeegees and soapy water. We also let them wash
chairs tables and toys. We did this on the last day. It was great
not to have to worry with cleaning them ourselves.
Warning: BE PREPARE TO GET WET!!!!
BEACH SONG
Tune Farmer in the Dell
I'm going to the beach
I'm going to the beach
I think I'll see a seashell there,
I'm going to the beach!
You can continue by filling in other things to see.
BEACH
Submitted by jennifer blankenship
Eating the Beach!
After mixing blueberry jello, pour into a clear plastic cup and have
students drop in shark fruit snacks.
Let jello jell. Have students crush vanilla wafers in a plastic bag to
pour over the jello to make sand. Add candy made in the shapes of seashells,
lobsters, and crabs (I made in the candy molds). Add a mixed drink umbrella
to the beach and eat!
BEACH
Submitted by Alli
"Little Beaches"
As I tie-in for Memorial Day (where everyone around here heads for
the beach!), I decided to spend a week on "The Beach".
Using baby food jars, sand, shells and blue/green watercolors or food coloring-
we made a beach-in-a-jar. Fill the jars about halfway with water and
then let the kids scoop in sand. Put out a bowl of small shells and let
them add some shells to their sand. When they are done arranging the
shells- with the help of q-tips to get the shells where they want them, give
them a dropper of coloring to add to the water. Their own little beach
to take home!
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