Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Exploring Wildlife

On our recent trip to the mountains, we loved observing wildlife!  It's usually the highlight of our trip and this trip was pretty special, because we spotted something that we've never seen before- except for at our zoo of course.

Yeah, our first bear sighting!!  I wish I got a better pic, but there he is... see above!  We were so excited!

Seeing Elk is always a treat!  They are such beautiful creatures.

Little critters are always fun as well.  I felt bad for this little guy.. little man would not leave him alone.  He even named him Yellowy.

Oh... and I even had fun observing my own little wild things!!

For more nature related activities and fun, be sure to visit my post at The Activity Mom.. Nature Activities. You'll find ideas for learning and creating with sticks and stones!

Enjoy your day!
Jen

Monday, July 30, 2012

Ice Cream Activities

Recently, I posted my ideas for an ice cream week with the kiddos!  Well, we had fun testing ice cream, making a craft, reading an ice cream mystery and more.  Take a peek.....

Ice Cream Craft



Materials: ice cream template, tissue paper, markers, stickers, scrapbook paper, scissors

Ice cream Word Search


Materials: Word Search, pencil, and ice cream for eating!

Literature:
The Ice Cream Mystery by
Gertrude Chandler Warner

Should I Share My Ice Cream?
by Mo Willems

Ice Cream Taste Test

Images courtesy of DailyClipArt.net
Choose a variety of ice cream flavors for your kiddos to try!  Blind fold them or have them close their eyes.  Which flavor is their favorite? Can they guess the flavor? 

We tested the following flavors: Spumoni, Rasberry Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Turtle Trail

For more ideas for an ice cream taste test, visit No Time For Flashcards: 5 Senses- Ice Cream Taste Test




We're not done celebrating the joy of ice cream just yet. 
Stay tuned for more ice cream fun!

Jen

Friday, July 6, 2012

Summer Fun Activities

This week we had a chance to try out a new Summer Bingo game that I created.  Little man didn't quite get how to play, but he must of enjoyed it, because he asked to play it the next day.  For a free printable and to get the scoop about the game, be sure to my most recent post at  The Activity Mom.

I'm always looking for fun and simple ways to entertain the kids during these long hot days. Pinterest has been a wonderful resource for finding ideas and activities for Summer Fun!  Here are a few of my favorite pins on my Summer Board...

Icy Pirate Boats from Pink and Green Mama

Take a Hike Leaf Print Tees from Skip to My Lou

Chalk Treasure Hunt from Nuture Store

What summer fun ideas have you found on Pinterest?

I hope that you are enjoying your summer!
Jen

Friday, June 15, 2012

Ocean Sensory Bin


I've seen many beach themed sensory bins around the blogosphere that I absolutely adored, so I decided to make one for little man.  Let's just say it was a BIG hit!  He must have played for an hour or more. 

 Materials:
Dollar store toys: dolphin, submarines, fish, shark
 Seashells
Water Beads

 We played with and without water.  It's hard to see the water beads above, but little man had fun playing with them in the water. 

Water and sensory play all in one!

Here are the beads with very little water- above.

Big sisters couldn't resist, either!

Little man just looked over my shoulder and yelled..
"Seashells!  I play and water!"

Do you have a summer themed sensory bin to share?
Just leave a link in the comments!

Jen


Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: Awww! Summer

Sunny days, freezepops, and time together!

Happy Wordless Wednesday!
For more W.W., be sure to visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Have a great day,
Jen

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The Toddler Times: 5th Edition-Water Play

Take one under the bed storage container.
Add water.
A few toys.
And what do you get... Summer time fun for little man!



The big kids wanted to play, too!

Enjoy your day,
Jen

Friday, June 10, 2011

Summer Activity Board


To keep organized and to motivate the kids, I created a summer activity board.  It is divided into three parts: Summer Reading, Boredom Busters, and Things to Do.


SUMMER BUCKET LIST







Things to do....

-Summer Bucket List
-Calendar of Events
-Math Practice Area- reward charts













BOREDOM BUSTERS


Boredom Busters...

-Enrichment and Thinking Activities
Example: Create riddles about zoo animals or Create a wanted poster for a character in a fairy tale. 
-Summer Fun worksheets(mazes, word searches etc. from funschool)














Summer Reading...


-Barnes and Noble Reading Journal
-Borders Double Dog Dare Challenge
-Chuck E Cheese Reward Calendar
-Scholastic Family Reading List










For more ideas on planning your family summer fun, be sure to visit these sites:
Quirky Momma: DIY Chalk Calendar
Casa Camacho: Summer Bucket List
Little Wonders' Days: Summer Bucket List Party
Living Montessori Now: How to Create a Summer Bucket List

HAPPY SUMMER!! 

Jen

Monday, June 7, 2010

Creative Chalk Games

Sidewalk Chalk- fun for learning numbers and letters and for playing simple outdoor games.  Besides the traditional hopscotch, I thought that it would be fun to play a couple of different games with the kids.  The girls enjoyed trying something different and it tied in a little bit of math, too! Try out some of the fun games below with your kiddos.

Bulls eye- Directions: Using your chalk,draw a bulls eye.  Put a 10 in middle, a 5 in the next ring, and 1 in the last ring. Using a small stone (or bean bag), toss 3 times to get the highest score.  Add the total of the 3 throws.  The person with the highest score wins.  Sunshine enjoyed creating her own version of the game. She added a spot for 100 and one for 1,000.  Practice other math facts by having different numbers in the rings- 2, 4, and 6 for example. For younger children have 1, 2, and 3.

Positive/Negative Bulls Eye: For older children, you can make a bullseye, but have 1 and -1, etc. to practice adding positive and negative numbers. Draw a number line to show positive and negative before playing the game.

House- Directions: Using your chalk, draw a house with a door, two windows, a roof, and a chimney.  Write numbers one to 5 on each shape.  Toss the stone trying to get each part of the house in the least number of throws as possible.  Also can play like the game above- add the numbers to get the highest score. 

Awesome ideas from Family Fun! (Can't wait to try out some of these!)
Beyond Hopscotch
Chalk It Up!

Make your own sidewalk chalk:About.com-sidewalk chalk

Other ideas:
-chalk and water painting using spray bottle or large paint brush
-new 3D chalk available with glasses
-share abstract art and create own abstract creation with chalk

Do you have any fun ideas to do with sidewalk chalk?  Be sure to comment and share your creative ideas.

Jen

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