Original Post: July 9, 2011

We are approaching the second week in July and this is the time when I begin to realize that the end is near. So, far we haven’t completed all the things I had planned but we have had some fun and a lot of learning moments. We do “try” to do academics everyday except for birthdays (all 4 of us have birthdays in the Summer), when we have plans for the beach, pool, or taking a trip to Miami.  Ok, so we have missed some academics but we always look embrace spontaneous learning moments.  We also added memorizing a bible verse a week (the first was honor your mother and father) and a vocabulary word. We’ve had good times doing crafts, baking, cooking and celebrating Summer.

Here are some of our Summer fun so far! Click below for details of our activities.

Chalk Portraits:

Have fun. All  you need is chalk, sidewalk/drive way, time and little bodies. You can help trace/draw and outline of your little ones’ body then allow them to fill in the with clothing and facial features.  This is a great time to talk about height, characteristics, length, similarities, differences etc. The learning opportunities are endless.

Smores and Stars:

Night time activity. Grab the sleeping bags, graham crackers, marsh mellows, chocolate, stick, fire and music. We used our grill to roast marsh mellows. The girls loved this! We didn’t actually sleep outside but it’s the closest we have ever gotten to camping. They enjoyed doing something different and also that there were allowed to eat sweets late at night.

Birthday Collage:

We always do a daddy birthday poster. This year we were missing our craft time because of birthday planning so this was our craft. We cut paint sample cards and glued them in a rainbow pattern and added them to our drawn out cake. This was an easy and busy activity. I dotted with glue (my girls still can’t judge what’s considered enough glue) and allowed them to place the color cuts on.  We will probably do more of this.

Muffin: Banana, Nut, White Chocolate to be exact.

DELICIOUS! This was our first time making muffins from scratch. L. was there from the first ingredient to the last. A. on the other hand came in and out at different times. I used a recipe from one of my favorite food/recipe site: Simple Bites Best Muffins Ever.  Note: I also love their Honey whole wheat pancakes! These muffins do take time but if you pull out ingredients ahead of time it is really easy for little ones to help pour and mix. Mixing is easy (no electric mixer needed) for little ones. Learning opportunities: measuring, sequencing, time, various filling combinations, discussing taste, dozen, half dozen.

Initial Frames:

This was fun anything involving painting is always fun. You’ll need pre-made wooden frames (craft stores), fun paper wooden initial name letter, paint, paint brushes, hot glue/glue, decorating trinkets (i.e, buttons, ribbons, sea shells). Have your kids paint the frames and letters with desired colors and let dry. Next add trinkets to frames/letters. Place/Glue letters and paper in frames. If you like you can print out a photo of your little one and laminate to fun paper. Makes for a wonderful Summer keep sake.

Lounging:

No materials or instructions needed, well except for PJs.

Chocolate Chip Cookies:

We used the Toll House cookie recipe. I really do like that recipe. Once you get your cookie dough base you can add any fillings you like. We used: chocolate chips, chocolate chips w/nuts, white chocolate chips with and without nuts and (our favorite) white chocolate chips and dried cranberries. L. enjoyed this, she help make the cookie dough her sister helped it the cookie dough. Learning moments: Same as Muffins.

Celebrating:

Summer for us is all about celebrating. Starting with the celebrating the end of school to A’s birthday in the end of june, Daddy’s, mine and L’s birthday in July. Not to mention the 4th of July and all the other family celebrations we attend. The summer is all about enjoying out doors, the extra time we have together as family to do things, and being out of school! Enjoy every minute you can. Learning Moments: Independence history, American Flag, compare/contrast Europe/US.

There are tons of wonderful sites with great ideas for enjoying time and teaching your little ones. Stay tuned there is a lot of Summer left! Working on sewing, science and fun!

Sherley