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Summer hours are here! New community playgroups are happening! There are new books and kits in the library! Find out about all of these and more by reading our monthly e-newsletter.
If you liked this month’s issue and are interested in getting it delivered directly to your inbox each month, please let us know by email.
Some of the challenges that families face in the summer are not having a huge budget to spend on things to do, meeting the needs of a variety of ages, and beating boredom.
We recommend you PLAN! :)
- Think ahead
- Post activities on a calendar
- Plan for structured and unstructured activities daily
- Include your children in the planning
- Schedule a break in the day for everyone to relax (e.g. read or nap)
Our parent educators have compiled a summer handout. Click on the link, save, print, share and enjoy!
A couple of weeks ago, we posted a series of activity ideas relating to a beach party in preparation of the summer. Today, we have the entire booklet for you to download and print for free.
What are you waiting for? Gather up your children and have fun! :)
Our ECE Resource Centre staff are always pulling together seasonal and themed activity booklets that are full of songs, fingerplays, games, crafts, recipes and activities. We sell these booklets to childcare providers, early years teachers, and parents – anyone who is looking after children. The price of a booklet is super low as we simply need to cover the printing costs. It got me thinking that we could skip the printing and make the file a pdf, and then we could share it with everyone online for free. Free and fun stuff makes me super happy.
So without further ado, I would like to present the first of our free, fun, easy to download activity booklets titled Ice Cream Shoppe! Skip the trip to Dairy Queen, and make your own blizzards while singing ice cream cone songs. :)
Please let us know in the comments if you found this useful! We’d love to hear how you incorporated into your children’s play and learning.
Today certainly feels like summer here in London, Ontario! I’m looking forward to taking my children to the Olympic Celebration tonight at the John Labatt Centre.
Looking for ways to kickstart your summer? Check out all the boredom busters we posted last summer!
Registration is now open for our next session of parent workshops. It’s now even easier with our online registration system. All of the workshops are provided free of charge.
Some workshops being offered include:
- Making Your Own Toys – Thursday, July 15, 10 to 11:30 am
- Baby Wearing – Wednesday, July 14, 10 to 11 am
- Temper Tantrums – Tuesday, July 27, 6:30 to 8 pm
- Seuss on the Loose – Tuesday, August 31, 10 to 11:30 am
- Positive Mealtimes – Tuesday, September 21, 10 to 11:30 am
- Loving Touch for Dads & Infants – Saturday, September 25, 10 to 11:30 am
Register now to avoid disappointment!
Pick a lot of dandelions – the ones with the thickest stems are the best. Peel the stems length-wise from either end and then submerse in a bucket of water. It’s fascinating to watch the stems curl into all shapes. No two are the same!
A lot of children don’t realize that lemonade can be made without a can!
- 1 cup fresh squeezed or bottled lemon juice
- 1 cup of sugar
- 5 cups of cold water
Dissolve the sugar as much as possible in one cup of cold water. This will take some serious stirring. Add the rest of the water and the lemon juice and mix well. Add ice cubes and enjoy!
Physical Activity
- With children, plan and set up an indoor or outdoor obstacle course.
- Plan races, “Who can run/hop/slither/skip to the fence and back the fastest?”
- Armed with a list of things from around the house or yard, have children rush to find things in a scavenger hunt.
- Let children go through their toys and decide what they have outgrown or don’t use, then help them set up a yard sale and sell lemonade too. The next rainy day, plan a “shopping day” to spend the money they earned.
- Walk to a nearby park, and have a picnic. Let children help prepare the food.
- Have children decorate their bicycles, and have a bike parade. Invite the neighbourhood children to join in the fun.
- Find local trails, and go on a family hike.
- With bubbles in hand, have a bubbly fun day.
- Visit an appliance store for very large boxes, so they can build a castle or a rocket ship.
- Buy a cheap magnifying glass, and take your children on a backyard safari.
- Equip everyone with gloves and bags, and plan a community clean-up of litter.
- Buy or make a pinata, and plan a party with neighbourhood children.
- Visit or volunteer at a local seniors’ residence or nursing home.
Science
- Lie down on the lawn and watch clouds. Make up stories about what you see. Try it again at night on a blanket, and gaze at the stars or watch in style in a hammock.
- Find big garden pots or a little piece of land to show children how to plant a garden. Remember to water it.
- Borrow (available in our ECE Resource Library) or buy a bug kit and go on a bug safari.
- Ask children to collect leaves, flowers or clover, and help them iron the items between two pieces of wax paper.
- Feed the ducks or birds at the park.
- With yard sale buckets in hand, spend time together gathering rocks, leaves, and outdoor goodies. Return home to sort them in different shapes and sizes.
- Create a time capsule at the beginning of the summer by filling an empty chip can or shoe box with drawings or written wishes of summer activities your children want to do. Open it late August and have fun remembering the highlights of those summer activities.
- Plan a visit to the library once a week to stock up on summer reading material.
