Summer inspired kids activities to promote literacy, numeracy, and fine motor skills in preschoolers and kindergartens through engaging multi-sensorial invitations to learn and play.
Summer can be a fun time to play and learn together! The ‘official’ state-mandatory curriculum is on halt, until the Fall, but that does not mean that playing and learning shall end too. In fact, children can end up suffering from a “summer slide” ~ a term used to define little people losing some of their academic skills during the summer season IF they are NOT engaged. Trust me; it is absolutely normal and healthy to have some summer slide! However, if you are looking for ways to prevent UNDOING the UNLEARNING from happening, then you can easily make your summer break FUN and ENGAGING with cool ‘summer camps’ Summer Homeschool Kids Activities at home!
Some winning themes you can follow are:
- Arts and Crafts such as Solar-Powered Crafts and Activities
- Ocean Week, Sharks Week (Aug), Marine Biology Week
- STEM Week, Science Camp, Space Week (July 20th ~ first Man on the Moon)
- Some of the cultural themes are Rainforest Theme, Nature Camp, Environmentalist Camp, Entomologist Camp (person who studies bugs), Bee-keeper Camp, Zoologist Camp, Travel Around the World Camp, Botanist/Garden Theme, Animal Theme camp
- Characters: Mermaid Theme, Pirate Theme, Fairy Camp, LEGO Camp, Star Wars Camp, Survivor Week Adventure Camp, Storybook Camp, and so forth!
Summer Homeschool Kids Activities
Spelling with nature finds is a great way to sneak in a literacy lesson while making learning hands-on and fun. We walk around our yard and children collected different leaves and then they had to spell each letter with just one type of plant. This activity is also perfect for letter identification, formation, and fine motor control!
June 21 ~ Summer ☀️Solstice
Happy Summer Solstice ~ The First Day of Summer! Here is an easy way to substitute Montessori Movable Alphabet by making it from recycled bottle caps! Just use dot stickers and write letters on them with a Sharpie. Also, in a Montessori language curriculum, vowels are color-coded blue and consonants red for easier identification. You can also offer your child to spell his/her name, count how many letters are in the name, make sentences and so forth. We are also using Montessori Colored Globe to explain the tilt of the Earth’s axis and why we have seasons and why today, June 21st is the longest day of the year.
Solar-Powered Crafts and Activities
Shadow Tracing
Have you ever tried shadow-tracing? On a regular day, either in the morning (8 a.m.) or late afternoon (4 p.m.), set up a table in a sunny spot where long shadows will be cast. Let the shadow be your child’s guide and offer to trace the outline of the shadow.
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Here, I offered Adrian green paper since the animal he picked is a zebra (from Africa), and in a Montessori curriculum, continents are color-coded: for example, Africa is always green. Adrian is using these extra-large thick core coloring pencils by Lyra which are his absolute favorite!
Sun Art
Have you tried Sun Art? It is a type of “shade art” and is super fun to do with your little ones. First, decide what objects would you like to have the imprint of? We have collected fallen leaves and flowers and I offered children to arrange them on a special SunArt paper. 
Expose your arrangement to direct sunlight (1 – 5 min depending on the sun’s strength). Then, slide the acrylic sheet that held everything together. The Sun-Art paper will turn light blue, while the shadow of the objects will turn darker. A MUST: quickly rinse with water or your image will eventually fade(to obtain a darker image, add a few drops of lemon juice to the water). Frame your Sun Art. We used this washi tape to give our art a frame.
DIY/CRAFTS
Teachers’ Appreciation GIFT
If you are looking for a cute HAND-made token of expressing gratitude to the teachers, look no further! Here is a craft that will not only bring a smile to one’s face but will serve as a keepsake of the size of your child’s hand! Flower pots with child’s handprint saying “Thank you for helping me bloom!” are a beautiful way to express appreciation for all the hard work teachers do in helping our children bloom! Julia used jumbo washable ink pads to make the prints (just interpose one handprint over the other to give the flower more “petals”). She then colored the popsicle sticks ~ ala “stems” with tempera paints which dry super quick and we simply inserted the hand-print into the pot. Make sure to laminate your handprint for long-lasting durability.
HAPA ZOME LEAF DYE
OFFER a small hammer to pound flowers – watch those little hands! Details HERE.
BUGS COUNTING
How about this super easy craft sticks DIY to promote fine motor control, color recognition, and numeral to quantity association. We did it in a ladybug theme, but you can skip the embellishment part and just have simple colored pegs matching. To make these, place the corresponding amount of dot stickers on each craft stick and have a child match the same color and quantity of pegs to each craft stick.
BOTANY Summer Homeschool Kids Activities
Learning About 🌿LEAVES
See details here ~ Learning About 🌿Leaves 🔬 ~ Buy Eyewitness Plant book here
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Find more details about our Microscope ~ see here 🔬Our First Microscope
And this is a HANDS-ON invitation to learn about parts of the plant. Join HERE to have access to over 100 printable and monthly cultural studies.
Summer Homeschool Kids Activities | FLOWERS
Here, we are comparing the anatomy of a regular flower with that of an orchid. To learn about orchids, we are referring to the Eyewitness Plant book which features stunning real-life photographs of flowers, fruits, seeds, and leaves, offering young readers a unique eyewitness view of the fascinating world of plants. But first, Julia drew parts of the flower inspired by Nature Anatomy book, which an absolute must for any curious mind. A trick I told my children to remember stamen vs stigma is that Mama is in the middle “stigMA” and the male part surrounds it “staMEN.” See here our🌱🌼Botany Unit Study for details.
SEASHELLS Inspired 🐚Nature Play
Have you tried spelling with shells? Inspired by all the seashells we have collected during our vacation, I set this simple white rice sensory bin invitation to play so that we can learn hands-on about different shells. We are referring to a beloved Nature Anatomy book.
See details HERE~ in our BEACH SEASHELL Inspired 🐚Nature Study.
TURTLE Homeschool Kids Activities
Summer Homeschool Kids Activities | 🐝Bee Unit Study
See here our 🐝Bees Unit Study
Summer Homeschool Kids Activities | EARTHWORM Study
To learn about the parts of the earthworm hands-on, we made an earthworm from air-play dough and we also made some of the internal organs and parts. Did you know that Earthworm has 5! ❤️hearts😱And Yes, it has a brain too although no eyes! And only adult earthworms have a Clitellum- ~ a wide band in the middle! And in the winter, earthworms burrow down below the frost level to keep warm with other wiggly friends! Find out more here in our Earthworms Unit Study.
Summer Homeschool Kids Activities | MESSY PLAY
Cocoa Mud
Summer is a perfect time to get messy! And I cannot wait to share all the slimy muddy recipes that look totally gross but are good enough to eat! Do your kids like a muddy gooey messy play? To make “mud” mix cocoa and water! Totally taste safe and messy-not-so-messy fun!
Dino Clean Up Cocoa Mud
How about rescuing our Dinos from mud! See our entire unit study and our “mud” recipe HERE Dinosaur Themed Unit Study.
FARM Cloud Dough Mud
Today, we are making muddy cloud dough that looks totally like mud but is absolutely taste-safe (in case you have little ones.) Simply keep adding vegetable oil to your flour base (we are using Hemp Protein Powder that had survived its expiration date ~ so that is how our cloud dough got its brown color). If you are using plain flour, simply add brown/black food coloring. We are using a Scheich sow, a farm feeder set, and farm animals. I am taking this sensory bin outside now and let the child take over from here in a stimulating pretend sensory-messy play.
💧Water Bead | Shaving Foam Messy Play
Water beads are amazingly squishy, slippery, and bouncy to sensorily explore, but when you add shaving foam and food coloring, your MESSY PLAY takes on a new level of fun! See here a video-post “Shaving Foam & 💧Water 🌈 Beads 🙌🏻Sensory Play.
Summer Homeschool Kids Activities | WATER PLAY
See HERE DIY Walnut Shell ⛵Sailboats 💦Water Science 🔬 💡⚖️ 101 🎥 Series 🎇
🎈Balloon 💦Water Play
Ballon fight is probably my children’s favorite 💦water play🎈Just fill balloons with water and throw them to watch them pop.
This is an awesome summer fun activity! Kids get to be outdoors and exercise those gross motor skills; they can splash and get wet on hot summer days, and most importantly ~ they get to have fun!
Stay tuned for more summer-inspired activities …
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