These activities are sample activities from the Summertime Theme at The Preschool Toolbox. We hope you and yours have a great start to your own Summertime Fun!
Kids Car Wash
Set up a table outside and allow the kids to decorate it with signs for a “Car Wash.” Give the kids several buckets or pails and let them wash all their trucks, cars, and other vehicles. We let the kids play car wash when we have block parties. All the kids bring their toys from home and wash away. Lay out beach towels and let the vehicles dry or give the kids towels to dry with. Great way to clean all the toys and let the kids have fun at the same time! (bring an extra change of clothes or a swimsuit as it will be needed!) 🙂
Cup of Bubbles
Materials: Cups of any size, rubber bands, straws that do not bend, and a piece of cotton cloth. Fill the cup part of the way with solution. Cover the top with a square of cloth secured with the rubber band. Cut a small slit in the cloth and insert the straw. Have the children blow into the straw and watch the bubbles come out the top. As they blow the bubbles out of the top of the cup, the bubbles should be a continuous big bubble. Show very young children how to BLOW through a straw and not SUCK UP the bubble solution. You can poke a small hole in the middle of the straw with a safety pin and it will make it more difficult for younger ones to suck the bubble solution UP the straw.
Parachute Fun
Playing with parachutes is a great activity for encouraging larger groups of children to work cooperatively. Each child sits along the outside of the parachute and holds onto the edges or the handles. You can play indoors with smaller-sized parachutes, or outside with larger groups of students and bigger parachutes. (If you don’t have a commercial kid’s parachute…grap an old blanket or sheet from the house and have the kids hold onto the edges.)
There are several different parachute games and ideas at the following online websites:
http://www.ultimatecampresource.com/site/camp-activities/parachute-games.page-1.html
http://www.youthwork-practice.com/games/parachute-games.html
Use your camera!
Take plenty of pictures of your children doing different activities during the summer! Tell the children you are taking pictures to help them make a summer picture book at the end of the summertime unit. Try to capture your children doing many of the activities below! Glue the pictures to cardstock and make a simple hole-punched booklet. Ask the children to re-tell the events in the pictures in their own words. These make wonderful gifts for parents or grandparents, too.