Summer — The Perfect Time To Exercise The Brain!
As summer break is upon us, it’s time to look for summer activities that are not only fun but also keep that brain working hard. Here are five fun ideas that are sure to entertain children of all ages AND build thinking skills on a lazy summer day:
Make homemade Bubble Solution and experiment with such unique Bubble-Blowing Tools as strings, milk containers, and garbage can lids.
Read aloud The Paper Crane by Molly Bang. Then introduce the art of paper folding by printing and following the instructions for How to Make an Origami Crane.
Turn plain white carnations into dramatic colored creations by Coloring Flowers. Using just food coloring and water, flowers can be changed from white to any tint, usually in just one day. Colors deepen over time, and kids will enjoy modifying the experiment to see what unique combinations they can make.
Start a family or neighborhood book club. Even a parent and child can form a book club, by reading the same book and chatting about it.
Put old wallpaper and magazine scraps to good use by using them to create Recycled Paper Beads. This easy activity requires very few common materials and keeps kids very busy on rainy days. When they’re finished, children can string their beads and give them as gifts or wear them for fun.
Playful and Educational Alphabet Garden!
It’s time to enjoy gardening with your little one! Here’s a craft that is fun and educational for all involved.
To cultivate your alphabet garden – you will need:
- a plastic tub filled with play sand,
- a pair of child-sized garden gloves,
- some gardening tools,
- a marker,
- a few plastic plant pots,
- a small watering can,
- and 26+ popsicle stick alphabet flowers and bugs.*
*Download Alphabet Garden – print 1 or 2 copies
Now it’s time to play in the garden!
Step 1: Print 1 to 2 copies of the Alphabet PDF.
Step 2: Cut out the alphabet flowers and bugs.
Step 3: Tape each flower and bug to the top of a popsicle stick.
Step 4: With the plastic pot and a marker, you (the parent) can write a word that describes gardening on the pot. For example: dirt, water, worms, bugs, air, wind, sunshine, rain…and last but not least – your child’s name. Set the pots aside – near the plastic tub filled with sand.
Step 5: With their gardening gloves on their hands, have them begin scooping and filling the pots with sand.
Step 6: Ask your child to look at the word on the pot and begin picking out these letters from the popsicles sticks. Once these are collected, it’s time to”plant” the flowers in each pot.
Step 7: Soon all the pots will be filled and your child will be amazed at all he has learned!
Source: http://onetimethrough.com/
