Summer Fun Part #2 - Learning with Water

These 3 simple activities will keep your kids cool and have fun while learning!

1.  Water Target - Use Splash Balls to target throw onto letters, numbers, or sight words written on the ground with sidewalk chalk (Splash Balls are soft and can be used again and again vs. water balloons)

2. Water Painting - Using paint brushes and a bucket of water to get creative and draw on the ground or a fence. Great way to practice writing names. 

3.  Spray Away - Write letters, numbers, or sight words on a wall with sidewalk chalk and use a spray bottle to squirt and aim.  We had fun making addition problems and racing to see who could hit the correct numbers/answers first. 

As always, all my activities shared are super easy. You can focus on skills you are working on and they will keep your kids happy and cool this Summer!  

Hammer Time!

This is a great anytime activity for that beginner builder to practice hammering without getting hurt.  This is a sturdy styrofoam ice chest.  Make sure it is sturdy or else it will break apart and make a mess.  He is hammering in golf tees.  I plan on getting colored tees to make patterns and designs.  It is also fun taking them out.  Hours and hours of fun!!!!

Time to Stomp like an Elephant

It is always fun to learn about elephants because it gets you up and stomping. 
Stomp your feet.
Swish your tail.
Blow your trunk.

One of my favorite songs:

One Elephant Went Out To Play (Action Song)

Choose one child to come to the middle of your circle and chant:

One elephant went out to play

Up on a spider's web one day

He/she had such ENORMOUS fun

He/she called for another elephant come. (Have the child invite a classmate to join them).

Continue until all your little elephants are in the center. I put painter's tape on the floor to represent the "spider'web".  The little ones loved it!

The craft was done with white and black paint mixed together to make gray.  The kids loved watching the white paint disappear.  They sponge painted the elephant shape.

Smashing Good Time

We celebrated my son's fifth birthday Angry Bird Style!  It was actually perfect because after our move, we had plenty of boxes to smash and crash.

King Pig Tower

Angry Bird Structures

When the boys arrived there were three games they could play.  One was the Matel Angry Bird game.  That was on the coffee table.  The second was The King Pig Tower.  The kids had to create a tower out of green plastic cups.  Then they threw plush angry birds at it to crash it down.  (Be sure to put this game on carpet otherwise it gets loud when they fall or do outside.)  The third game was outside on the patio.  The kids made structures out of boxes then took turns knocking it down with Angry Bird stuffed animals.  Needless to say, the boys were entertained knocking down the various towers and structures.

Edible Structure

After some playing it was time for Angry Bird lunch.  I wish I took a picture, but I made sandwiches and cut each one into 3 rectangles. I placed them on their plate to look like an angry bird structure.  I put one strawberry and pineapple triangle for the birds.  I found Angry Bird cheese crackers at the store.  The kids didn't eat much but it looked cute.  After lunch and some more playing, the kids made an edible angry bird structure.  They used white frosting to hold the cookies and gummy Angry Birds in place.

Overall, the party was a smashing good time!


Side note:  I am keeping the green cups for a way to build number recognition.  I will be writing numbers (1-30) on the inside on the cups.  We will take turns picking a cup, reading the number, then adding it to the structure.  If we read the number incorrectly, we have to put the cup back down.  Once all the cups are stacked, then it is time to knock it down!

Hand Eye Coordination and Just Plain FUN

Here is a fun and easy way to develop hand eye coordination (gross motor skill).

I tied a Wiffle ball onto a string which I tied to a tree branch.  Wiffle balls work great because they have holes on the top and bottom so you can attach the string, they are cheap, and they don't hurt if they hit you.  The "bat" is actually a styrofoam noodle we use at the swimming pool.  We cut it into 2 pieces so we each had our own bat.  Then we were ready to play.
Disclaimer: I actually saw this done at a Star Wars birthday party at a park. The mom put some silver duck tape on the bottom of the bat to make it look like a lightsaber.  The boys at the party loved it!

A few words on Hand Eye Coordination:  It is the ability of the eyes to guide the hands in movements. Why is it so important for your child to develop this skill?

• In gross motor games, hand eye co-ordination can help your child to catch a ball and hit a ball with a bat.
• In school, visual-motor integration, which is a vital skill for handwriting, grows out of a good hand-eye co-ordination base. The eyes need to guide the hand in forming the letters and making sure they stay within the lines.
• Eye tracking skills, which are vital for reading, can also develop through the gross motor games used for hand eye coordination.