Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Summer for Preschoolers - Part 2

Summertime is no doubts about it, my kids' favorite season. They both love being outside, and let's face it, it is much easier to enjoy the outdoors when the weather is sunnier and milder (at least where we live). Unfortunately, I've noticed they've already lost a bit of attraction to the usual pleasers (walks, playgrounds, backyard play). Time to bring on the games! While I'm busy brainstorming on those, here's the last part of our Summer Unit...

Whisking to Make Bubbles
Wrist turning - Making bubbles

Using a whisk is usually included in most practical life albums but it's also a good and helpful way to develop the right muscles in preparation for writing with the wrist getting involved in there. I believe this is the first time we include the whisk in our activities and so I gave a short presentation as to how to whisk in a simple bowl of water. Outside that day, a bowl filled with water and dish soap was awaiting Adrian. At first sight, it looked like plain water and I guess it looked boring but I told him he was still welcomed to try using the whisk, which he did and to his surprise, bubbles started forming. He whisked for a while. His fun in the end, was to watch the bubbles burst, to then create new ones (that's why his head is practically in the bowl).


Matching Popsicle Colors Play Dough
Making and Matching Play Dough Popsicles

Summertime will forever remind me of ice cold treats like Popsicles. For this activity, I made six play dough Popsicles and Adrian's tasks was to made matching Popsicles. A simple way to work these fine motor and include color revision and matching skills.


Sponge Puppets
Sponge puppets

I'm not sure how I came up with sponges being related to summer (I think it had something to do with me scrubbing all the outdoor toys with them too much!) but I snipped a few kitchen sponges into various shapes for Adrian to create puppets. I've been trying to get his creativity flowing a bit more lately so I felt this was a bit more open-ended. In fact, I think it was a bit too much open-ended for him. He wasn't sure at all what to do with the sponges. "A puppet?", he asked. The interest was just not there, even after I suggested bringing goggly eyes, yarn for hair and felt for clothes. *sigh*

Summer Collage 3D
Summer Collage

Here's another summer project we did that turned out to be a bit more difficult than expected. The goal was for Adrian to make a collage of summery activities and summer things he likes. He started with the sun, grass and flowers and then, he went blank. Finally, we ended up building a kite and a hammock together.

Origami - Summer Fans
Origami - Fan Folding

Possibly the easiest origami ever! I pre-cut two sheets of paper into squares. Adrian and I both colored ours and then folded them. He had no trouble following along. Using the fan to get some wind on the other hand... :)

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6 comments:

  1. I love those Fans. With rainy days and power cuts - we really need those :) We are going to do this :)

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    1. I hear you. It's been raining an awful lot in Germany. Thankfully, it's still cold but when it starts getting hot, fans are needed and since we have no electric ones, these will come in handy! :) Such an easy project for little hands. Instant gratification.

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  2. Lovely ideas - thanks for sharing them!

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    1. Thank you! Glad you stopped by and found some inspiration during the visit! :)

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  3. You always have fun, themed activities. :) Thanks so much for sharing at Stress-Free Sunday!

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    1. Thanks! Can't help it. Love themes. Always looking for more! :)

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