Another fun and easy activity for the Summer months!  Teach a lesson about ice, melting, and freezing.  Talk about what happens when 2 colors are mixed together.  

What a great way to beat the summer heat and get creative with a tasty treat!  

Click the image below to download a PDF file of my free Summer Reading Bingo Printable.  This can be used for a range of ages, not just preschool, and not just school age, but both!  We are heading to the library today to get started on our summer reading program and to check out some new material.  Many libraries have free summer reading programs that your children can sign up for and receive prizes after completion of their reading goals.

Lake Day! 

Quotes from the kids' journals:  "We threw rocks."  "We fed the ducks."  "We played ball games."  "We collected shells."  "We had a picnic."

After field trips, the kids dictate what they did, what they learned, and what was fun.  I then print a picture that they paste to their paper for a keepsake of their day.  

Later at home we also made a diorama of the goodies be collected at the lake. The kids painted the boxes blue and added a "beach scene."  I then wrapped it in clear wrap to keep the sand and shells from spilling out.

What to do with all those extra seashells!!!  Paint them, of course!
We painted the extra shells and then added them to a block of plywood that was covered in mosaic paste.  Fun project for preschoolers and older children!  A great keepsake from our day at the beach!

Heat wave here...time is right for some popsicle painting!

1. Add paint & water or paint & food coloring to popsicle tray or muffin tin. 
2. Insert popsicle stick or craft stick. 
3. Freeze. 
4. Paint!

Summer Preschool Plus+

Fun and enriching ideas for a Preschool Summer Program


PLAY, LEARN, and BE INSPIRED during the fun Summer Months!

Summer provides an opportunity to ease the heavier academics and explore the outdoors.  The key to a successful Summer program is to BUILD EXCITEMENT.  You can BUILD EXCITEMENT many ways by making small changes to the program's layout, schedule, and environment.  Move around furniture, add outdoor toys/activities.

THEMES BASED DAYS or WEEKS:
Cooking Week
Summer Olympics
Art Week
Bring your wheels to school (scooters, trikes, bikes, helmets)
Sports Camp (try out a new sport each day, or bring the sport out of the normal environment, i.e., play soccer in the soccer field, or play baseball at the baseball diamond)
Game Day (bring games from home to share for the day)
Special Visitors (bakers, dentists, family pets)
Dance Week (each day focused on different style:  hip-hop, scarf dancing, ballet)

Spring is here!  A special time to take a break from rigid schedules and get outside to enjoy nature!

SPRING & SUMMER PRESCHOOL GAMES FUN TO PLAY OUTDOORS:
Obstacle course
Trike lanes with chalk, trike races
Mudpies, mud pizzas
Fossil dig, volcanoes, dinosaurs, plaster of paris with dried animals inside, children need to chip away with popsicle sticks
Bike wash - provide soapy buckets and wash all the bikes
Egg spoon races - but use marshmallows for younger kids and for less mess!
Duck, Duck, Goose
Mother May I?
Musical chairs
Hide and Seek
Jump Rope
Parachute Games 
Bubbles
Frisbee
Pillowsack races
Miniature golf
Throw wet sponges through hula hoops held by partner several feet away
Shaving cream on the slide with bathing suits (with caution, and on slides not too big), place tarp at bottom
Shaving cream on tarp for homemade slip and slide (use caution!)
Balloon pop - Set timer for 1 minute, provide bag of inflated balloons, how many can pop in 1 minute and use legs, push against walls, sit on)

DRAMATIC PLAY: 
Different ideas, materials, set-up, and activities provide new and engaging activities for children, improve morale for providers, show parents that your program is not stagnant. Consider changing the dramatic play area for the summer.  Remove the kitchen and tool bench and add one or more of the following: 

Beauty salon: Twirly office chair, Hairstyle picture book, barrettes, headbands, hats, spray bottles for that gel look on boy’s faux hawks,  combs, brushes, mirrors. 

Shoe store:  Shoe boxes, children write numbers on shoe boxes, foot measuring tape, print out shoe sizer template from internet and laminate for extended use.  Chairs to sit on.  Parents can donate old children’s shoes and even adult shoes for fun.  Shoe workers need to match up shoes in the same box.  Play cash register and play money. 

Pizza Store:  Donated pizza boxes in different sizes from pizza store, coupons for pizza, pictures with labels of types of pizzas, play cash register and play money. 

Bakery:  Cookies sheets, muffin pans, muffin liners in many colors, whisks, rolling pins, pictures of bakery items, playdough to make the items, price sheets, play cash register and play money. 

Children’s Hospital or Stuffed Animal Hospital:  Crutches, napping cot, bandages, notepads for symptoms, toy stethoscopes, scrubs donated or bought from costume shop, name tags for doctors and nurses.  

Costume shop or Dress up Closet (armoire at garage sale).