SUMMER
VACATIONS & RECREATIONSUMMER
VACATIONS & RECREATION
From
Stormie:
Although I'm posting
ideas below as often as I can, my very favorite "summertime" ideas have been reserved
for my "SUMMER THINGS"
booklet (see the "Stormie's Stuff for Teachers" section
of my website).
RV's: If you can, find volunteer RV owners who will allow the children to investigate their RV's or even take them for a ride. (Kids especially love the ones with little beds tucked over the dashboard area).
Roll down a grassy hill with the children.
Provide various kinds of balls for children to experiment-play with: Beach, tennis, ping-pong, baseball, basketball, etc.
Provide sleeping bags for dramatic play (perhaps one for the girls and one for the boys).
Grocery Bag Tents: In advance, cut the tops off
brown grocery bags making them half their original size. Stand them up on
the cut edge. Cut little flaps in one side and fold them back to represent
the zippered opening of a tent. Allow children to decorate their tents with
collage materials.
Variation: Instead
of grocery bags, you could simply use little brown lunchbags for miniature tents.
Pretend Roasted Marshmallows: Children glue a cotton ball on the end of a real stick they collect from outdoors.
From
Donna King, Roxboro, North Carolina: Have a camping unit and set up a tent
on some sort of artificial turf that looks like grass (outdoor carpeting, i.e.),
and make "S'mores": Take 2 graham crackers and put a Hershey's candy bar between
them with a couple of marshmallows smooshed in. Tasty camping treat! Always
leaves you wanting s'more! 
As
a variation to Donna's activity above, Pam Works (from Topeka, Kansas) sends
this: Hi Stormie! I found this activity and thought it was summer-ific!
Give each child two aluminum pie pans (or aluminum pot pie pans for the littlest
of chefs) to decorate on the outside with markers/stickers/ribbon/etc. Then,
give each child a graham cracker (I found Oatmeal Grahams -- by Honey Maid, to
be a little more nutritious, and kid approved)! Have them place their cracker
in the bottom of one of their aluminum pie pans. Next, each child places
some chocolate (or yogurt) chips and miniature marshmallows on top of the graham
cracker. They then place another graham cracker on top of the chocolate
chips/marshmallows. Invert the other pie pan and place it on top of the
s'more creation to make a "lid." Tape the sides of the two pans to hold
them together (masking tape works well). Each child can then place his/her
pan on a very hot sidewalk for 30 minutes to an hour (depending on how hot it
is where you live). When each child opens their "summer cooker," they will
have a fully cooked S'more!
From
Robin, in Ohio: Little Summer Camp: When we want to pitch up the tents
for our pretend summer camp, we also have a pretend campfire by cutting campfire
flame shapes from red and orange paper. Then, we gather small sticks and
tape the flames to the sticks and stack more sticks like you would to build a
real campfire. The children and I then gather around the campfire to sing
songs and tell stories. We even get into dramatic play by pretending to
roast marshmallows on a stick. Umm, those marshmallows are good!!
Here's a great
idea from Christina Bell that could fit into so many different preschool
themes.
Backpacking: Have children bring
backpacks to school for a little pretend hiking trip. They could carry special
items from home in their packs (a snack, show-n-tell item, learning games, etc).
Another way to use this idea: Provide one backpack for the classroom, and every
now and then, add a different surprise item to it for children to take turns doing/playing
with during Free Choice Playtime. You could even allow children to take
the classroom backpack home for a weekend to play with the surprise item(s) inside.
This would be a great way to send learning games home with children who need practice
in particular skills.
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Reminder
from Stormie: If you would like to begin collecting ALL my current classroom
ideas (each on a 4 x 6" index card), as well as new ones that I create, you
can do so by ordering my "Activity Cards." Click here
to check them out.
