sidewalk chalk paint

Another summer day with a list of things to try on pinterest :)

This was simple and quick. 

Ingredients: cornstartch, water and food coloring

Mix 2T water with 2T cornstartch and your choice of color

take it outside and ta-da! :) 

the best part is knowing it's safe when Sawyer puts the paintbrush to his mouth...which happens a lot! :)

the "paint" dried fast and washed off really easily, too

painting a smiley face :)

thanks pinterest :)

tuesday's beachy tune

 

Beach Song

(Sung to "Are you Sleeping")

 

I see sea shells by the sea shore
Sky so blue, Starfish too
All the boys and girls play
On a hot and sunny day
Summer's here, summer's here

source: everythingpreschool.com

Happy Summer!

Tuesday's Tune

A lot of children are getting out of school for the summer, so I thought this song would be appropriate for those park days on the swing!

 

Playground Song  by Jean Warren

Sung to: "Row, Row, Row, your Boat"

Pump, pump, pump the swing,
pump the swing so high.
you pump so high
You touch the sky
Then down you come again.

Climb, climb, climb the bar,
Climb the bar so high.
You climb so high
you touch the sky
Then down you climb again.

Ride, ride, ride your trike,
around the yard again.
You ride so fast
you're back at last
Then around you go again

Happy swinging :)

Musical Shapes

The weather is nice outside, and even though we love outdoors...sometimes the same toys and scenery gets "boring" for the kids.  So, I've put on my thinking cap (and searched pinterest, too) to add some variety to our outdoor playtime.

A couple weeks ago, Stella found this princess CD player...the perfect tool for my musical shapes!

I demonstrated to her how to play the game...jump to a shape, skip around the shapes, walk, etc.  then when the music stops...you stop!  Then...you tell me what shape you are on!

She loved this, and even asked to do it again a few days later. :)

make it easy:  musical shapes, color shapes

make it hard:  musical letters: say the letter, say the sound of the letter

musical numbers:  identify the number or add 1 to the number you land on...so many possibilities!

easy peasy

How easy is this? Water Painting! (a great idea from the one and only Dr. Jean) Stella stayed busy with this for a while and cooled off while having fun! :) Discovering how to make polka dots by flicking the paintbrush... :)

make it easy: get wet :)
make it hard: how long does the water take to evaporate?
paint letters and numbers

too hot to go outside...

One day this week is was so hot, we couldn't go outside...not to mention Stella didn't want to take a nap...so, after her wiggling around on my lap while I was trying to get somethig done on the computer, I decided we'd do a little art instead. She's really been into crowns, and princess books, so I whipped up a nice construction paper crown and she got to work. Here she is...proud princess Stella! She has worn this crown for 4 days now...she even wore it to the Farmer's Market this morning! :)What do you do when you are stuck inside on a hot day?

summer ready

There's something about making a list, and checking things off that makes me a happy gal. In our hallway coming in from the garage, we have an old board that came off of an ancient piano...we didn't want to throw away the piece of history, so we turned it into a message center. I decided to make a summer wish list. I am hoping to one day have a chalkboard in the kitchen area when the kids are a little bigger and they can write and doodle and make their own lists. :)

I've been asked, by a few, for some ideas on summer learning to keep little minds on track, so when August comes around, they aren't in "la-la land". Here are my top three suggestions.

1. read

2. read

3. read

Here's a great article on the importance of reading aloud to your child...even from birth.

Suggesting something different is always fun...read to your dog :)

Attend story time...

Can't get them to sit still to read a story? Make a book on your own. All you need is a few sheets of paper, crayons and a stapler!

Make it easy:

Look at picture books, talk about the pictures

Go on a picture walk...ask questions based on the pictures..."what do you think the story is about?", "what are the characters doing?"

Make it hard:

Once you've read the book, have them draw a picture of their favorite character, or their favorite part of the story.

Fold a piece of paper into thirds and label at the top: beginning, middle, end. Then, have them draw or write what happened in each part of the book.

Act out the story- gather props!!

Keep a journal. Each night, before bed, have them write/draw about their favorite part of the day. If they are just learning to write, you can always write, in quotes, what they tell you.

What do you do to make reading fun?

Happy Summer!