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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! :)
I hope everyone enjoyed the rainbow themed activity ideas. This week, we’re going to play with bubbles!
Why Bubbles?
What could possibly be a more enjoyable way to learn then by experimenting with bubbles? A variety of bubble-blowing adventures can involve children in the scientific process.
What are bubbles?
Bubbles are a very thin layer of soapy water (called a soap film) wrapped around air. Any bubble is the combination of three bubbles: an outside layer of soap, a middle layer of soap and glycerin (optional), and an inner layer of water.
How is a bubble made?
Pure water has too much surface tension to stretch into a film, and so the soapy water allows the water to be more flexible. A soap film always looks for the smallest surface area – the amount on the outside. A bubble makes a perfect sphere because this offers the smallest surface area – a square or tube would make the film stretch too much.
Why does a bubble shrink?
Soap films are always trying to shrink because the water molecules to which they are attached are being pushed ever closer together by the surface tension. As a bubble exists, the top of the sphere is always getting thinner. Once the top of the sphere is too thin, the film cannot stretch any more, and the bubble pops!
How does weather affect bubble making?
A humid day (approximately 90%) is perfect. The extra moisture in the air stops the bubbles from drying out too quickly. Strong gusts of wind will blow smaller spheres, but they prohibit the creation of larger bubbles.
Check out the Bubble Magic website. The pioneer bubble performer, Tom Noddy, presents photos and explains science and how-to.
Materials
glass bowl
water
mirror
white paper
Directions
1. Fill a small glass bowl with water.
2. Place a small mirror in the bowl of water where the sun will hit it.
3. Hold up a piece of white paper, so the reflection from the mirror hits it.
4. A rainbow should appear on the paper.
If it’s warm enough outside, get the water hose out and turn it on. Have the children stand with their backs to the sun to see the rainbow.
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!
Use scissors to make a small slit in the middle of a kitchen sponge, and cut a triangle-shaped sail out of construction paper. Make two small holes in the sail – one at the top, one at the bottom – with a hole punch. Hoist the sail by inserting a drinking straw through the holes. Poke the straw into the sponge, then set sail.
Creative
- Show children how to make tree bark rubbings with paper and crayons pressed sideways.
- Set recycled boxes aside for one week, then let children “build” box creations (car, train, house, instrument, etc.).
- Provide children with wide paint brushes, paint rollers or spray bottles, and show them how they can “paint” the house or fence with a bucket of plain water.
- Give children sidewalk chalk and pavement limits to create beautiful murals. Wait for the rain to wash them away, and start all over again.
- Let children put up stage sets outdoors, buy a couple of throw-away cameras for a day of “say cheese please”. After photos are developed, let the children scrapbook them into an album or book.
- Collect old magazines, coloured flyers, scissors and glue for children to create collages. This could be done outdoors as long as it is not too windy.
- Don’t wait for Christmas to build those gingerbread houses, buy some graham crackers for walls, shreddies for roof tiles, icing to hold it all together, and candies for decoration, and have your children build “summer cottages”.
- Have children join you in making playdough, and let them create a playdough zoo or bakery.
- Bake cookies with children. They can make Peanut Butter Puppy cookies for the family pet by mixing 2 cups of whole wheat flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 cup peanut butter with 1 cup milk. Roll out dough to 1/4 ” . Cut out shapes with cookie cutters, and bake until lightly brown (20 minutes) on a greased sheet at 375 F.
Play with water.
- Get the bucket, soap & sponges out and let them wash the family car, patio table and chairs, bikes or sticky toys.
- Put on the bathing suits, put water in washed out spray bottles, and let them spray each other or just about anything outside.
- Gather up sponges and buckets of water to cool down with a “sponge toss”.
- Take the family to a nearby splash pad.
- Don’t forget the gardens! Let children water flowers and vegetables with small watering cans.
Is it raining?
- Play in the rain with bathing suits when there’s no lightning or thunder.
- Put on music and encourage children to do a rain dance.
- Have children sprinkle powder tempera paint on sturdy paper, hold it out in a gentle rain, and presto! Instant painting!
- Put down a wide, long piece of plastic sheeting on the grass for a wet slide in the rain.
