summer

  • Teaching disguised as outdoor play

    Outdoor fun has been a huge theme on my blog this summer, probably because I’ve been spending as much time outside as possible.  We may be halfway done with summer, but that just means that we still have half of the summer left to enjoy the sunshine! Beautiful weather makes me want to stay on the playground all day long, but I can only justify it if I can sneak in some of my lesson plan while we’re outside.  I just found some really fun ideas on Oriental Trading’s website that kids and teachers are both sure to love. These are classics that every child should learn how to play…

  • Easy personalized waterbottles

    The one major issue that has always made playground time difficult is the lack of a water supply. I can get creative when it comes to water play, but daily drink breaks are another thing.  This easy activity is the perfect solution.  You will need 1 disposable water bottle for each child – if you collect them from staff or families clean them out with soap and water.  The children can help you take the labels off all of the bottles.  Use one of the labels to measure new labels, and cut these from white printer paper.   Each student can decorate their own new label, which will help them…

  • Shady spaces for your playground

    Nothing can beat a really great sunscreen when it comes to protecting a child from a serious sunburn, but a great shady space is just as important! The thing about creating an inviting shady area is that the children have to WANT to spend time in it. I’ve rounded up some ideas that would have any kid happy to spend some time in the shade – these are all easy DIYs that would be perfect for the playground! Make your shady trees even more inviting – from Play-scapes.com Cover your sandbox – from Wray Sist3rs A tent for all kinds of adventures – from A Sharper Focus Some other fun…

  • Friday Freebie – Summer planning

    Happy Friday! It’s definitely summer, the temperatures are rising and I am in a very summer mood! This week I shared some of my favorite summer posts, let you know what I hope to check off my summer bucket list, hunted down some healthy summer snacks, and let you all in on some of my favorite summer outfits for work. Today I’ve found a freebie that will help you map out the rest of your summer. This Summer Planning set is from Proud to be Primary. It includes weekly and monthly calendar pages, along with a page to track what you plan to read, write, and create, plus any fun…

  • Quick and easy summer snacks

    It’s been a while since I’ve done a snack post, my go to snack during the summer are definitely a lot different than during other times of the year.  My favorites are lite, quick and easy.  This is the perfect time of year to introduce children to fresh produce, and you can play around with fun things like popsicles, that don’t take a lot of effort but always get great reviews. Here are some fun ideas for lite easy summer snacks that children will love as much as you do! Fruit Kabobs Frozen Banana Chocolate Chip Bites Strawberry Granola Yogurt Bark Chocolate Covered Banana Pops Fruit Salsa Cake Batter Popsicles…

  • My Summer Bucket list

    Every so often I like to stray from the preschool subject matter and share just a little bit of myself (although preschool is definitely a part of me) with all of you.  So I thought I would share my bucket list for this summer! I have to be honest for a minute and tell you that it was hard to come up with 10 fun things that I want to do this summer – and I think that’s a little sad, so I’m making it my mission to seek out fun experiences! Go camping – Technically I can check this one off, we went camping with friends a couple of…

  • Summer Fun!

    It has been hot hot hot around here, and it definitely feels like summer! I wanted to share some previous posts that offer some fun ideas for summer activities that will keep you busy while you beat the heat! Water Play with Preschoolers Water Play with Infants and Toddlers Summer Activities for Preschoolers Summer fun – Activities to do at home (or school) Summer fun – Activities to do around town I hope that you will use some of these ideas to make memories that last a lifetime!

  • Preschool books about vacation

    Yesterday I shared a lesson plan for a vacation themed week (go check it out)! This is the perfect theme to introduce non-fiction texts, I’m a huge fan of the materials available from AAA. If you aren’t a AAA member, see if any of your colleagues or parents are, they might be able to pick up some travel guides for you.  Many local tourism organizations are also more than willing to send you free information, you can often request info through their websites.  These are both very cost-effective ways to gather non-fiction texts (that are usually full of beautiful photos) for your classroom library. Even with all of those great…

  • Vacation Lesson Plan

    I don’t know about you, but summer weather makes me want to take a vacation! Unfortunately, that doesn’t quite work into my schedule at the moment, but I know I’m not the only one in need of a vacation, so I though It would be fun to plan a vacation themed week for the children too. Here is the lesson plan that I put together for vacation week: You can download a copy HERE! I created it to be somewhat generic because I want the children to help decide where your class will go on their pretend vacation, then you can tailor the activities to your destination.  Once your students pick…

  • Ideas for observing clouds

    Yesterday I shared some questions to ask that might inspire a cloud investigation. Today I wanted to share a couple of ways that you can have the children document their observations. I should start with this warning: you can’t really put these activities on your lesson plan because you have to wait for a day when you actually have clouds to observe. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve planned this activity and there were no clouds in the sky, or the opposite happened and the sky was covered by one great big cloud, which makes it difficult to observe.  Just take my word for it and let this…