Well hey there,
Summmmmmmer is almost here. We have one more week of school left and we are ready. And as much as I cannot wait for the flexibility of summer we do keep our learning, fun and loose schedule of planned crafts.
I have found preparing activities for both girls one of my favorite parts of being a mama. I am not great at playing but give me a craft or anything open ended and I am IN! So when I asked what you all wanted me to share you all wanted me to go into how I prepare for summer activities!
Well here it is a little break down on maybe having some fun and keeping the learning going. And remember, pick one or two or all of these, none of it is necessary but just what I find best for our family.
First comes some type of theme. I've always done this with the girls "mama school", creating a little theme helps navigate/sort through the insane amount of activities out there.
This Spring we have been doing a whole Bird Study theme (mainly because Zoe's 2nd grade class was doing it but also because we have an immense LOVE for birds!) and so we will continue it into a Nature Study this summer. But there are so many other themes like Space, Sea, any country, Zoo Animals, Arctic Animals, Fish Study, Boat Study, Women Trailblazers, Camping, Travel, The Jungle, World Changers etc! I started this Pinterest Board, Mama School Themes to collect themes, activities and books to help you all.
Second, once a theme is picked I always collect books, library, Epic, bookstore, or even Youtube read aloud's that we can read, collect information from and they love this part. Keeping a list helps me not have to scramble when looking for them, and read out louds, Epic and audible books are awesome for quiet time while I works.
Next up, videos! Movies, educational videos Mystery Doug, Teaching Channel, BrainPop Educators, and plain old search on YouTube are my go-to's!
And fourth, activities! In my opinion this is the best part. and something I love planning for. Interactive learning is where you watch it all come alive. I pin activities to boards for each theme and pick a few for each week.
You can do everything from:
- recipes,
- experiments,
- setting up an invitation to paint or mold with clay or play-doh,
- presentation with a poster board (Zoe's favorite),
- sensory table set up, so many things that you can find on Birds
- pretend play invitation (costumes, props, etc) this year I gave them supplies and allowed them to make/invent their own bird! But this can be a performance, a song, setting up a beach or ocean or whatever you find on Pinterest!
-adventures around the theme (we went to a Wild Life Sanctuary near here that was incredible! Other places would be a zoo, aquarium, a museum etc.
There are a few accounts I follow for ideas on activities,
(I'll keep adding these accounts as they come!)
And don't think that you have to do the exact activity shared but you know use it as inspiration, and then gather what you have at home or can find and create your own fun.
I will usually search all of these books, videos/movies, and activities I want toto include in the theme in one email, nothing crazy pants professional but to keep organized and not scrambling. A Pinterest board is also one of the ways to organize and get inspired when I plan on the weekend.
Lastly, I love a weekly schedule! You know like on Mondays we have an adventure with friends, Tuesdays we paint, Wednesday is our baking/cooking day, Thursdays we have something active planned, Friday a movie day (popcorn, snacks, and fun drinks all included). This summer my mom is retired so the girls will each have an afternoon with her and I'll have one on one time with the other. I love putting this on the fridge on Monday as something to look forward to and honestly hold me accountable (I may change a day according to weather but usually stick to the same weekly schedule all summer).
I'll talk more about our actual daily schedule in a later post but we do keep a loose one during the summer because my kiddos like to know what to expect and it helps me plan my work around their day! I will also be sharing our favorite workbooks and other tools I rely on for at home learning. I cannot wait to share this part of my motherhood with you all in the next few weeks before summer break! Please send me any questions you may have.
xoxo
Natalie
PS get yourself to a Lowes and buy yourself a big roll of butcher/carpenter paper for the summer. We use for banners, to protect the table, to color on or paint on, inexpensive and sooooo many uses.
