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Ideas for Exploring Camping in the Classroom
One of my favorite things about camping as a learning theme is that there are so many ways for children to interact with the supplies, materials, and activities that are actually part of a real camping trip. It’s all very authentic, and even the youngest children appreciate that! It also lends itself well to spending a ton of time outside, which everyone wants after a long winter! Beyond setting up a dramatic play center, here are some ideas for helping children explore camping. Set up a tent. Tents are tons of fun to play in, but actually putting them up is where the learning happens – following directions, working together,…
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Printable Camping Activities for Preschool
Camping is one of my favorite summer activities, so it makes perfect sense that I’ve always loved sharing this topic in the classroom too. Camping supplies lend themselves perfectly to math an language activities, and it’s so fun to find authentic materials to supplement these activities. Here are my favorite camping activities for the classroom – all of these are printable and available HERE!
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Last Day of School Traditions
Our last day of school is tomorrow! When my daughter was in kindergarten the last day of school rolled around and I realized that I hadn’t planned for any fun traditions. For me, someone who LOVES holidays and celebrations, this was a massive problem. I quickly came up with a couple of things that work well for us and have been things my girl really looks forward to. Here are our last day of school traditions. I try to keep mornings the same – throwing a special breakfast or activity into our well-oiled routine would throw the whole day off. My daughter’s school always does a half day for their…
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Easy Last Minute Activities
The end of the school year and the summer months can be a little crazy. Schedules are very different, there are all kinds of field trips and gatherings, and holidays can really throw everything off. These are the months when it’s especially helpful to have activities in your back pocket that you can pull out without any kind of prep work. Here are some of my favorite activities to lean into for those moments when I really need something to keep the children engaged. Bubbles – Taking preschoolers outside and letting them loose with bubbles is ALWAYS a hit. It doesn’t matter what kind of mood your kids are in,…
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Anticipating Summer
May always brings tons of rain, which really has me yearning for summer sunshine. There are so many wonderful things about summer. Here’s what I’m most looking forward to this year:
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Summer Learning Supplies for an 8 Year Old
Every year I’ve tweaked the supplies that I gather for summer learning. When my daughter was in Kindergarten we used a ton of crayons, glue, and flash cards (see how I organized all of that here), now that she’s almost done with second grade, there are so many more notebooks, pencils, and books. Here’s what we’re using to keep her on track academically this summer (all links are affiliates). In the past I’ve printed specific worksheets for certain themes. That worked for us, but it also used a lot of ink and paper, plus I had to organize all of it. The workbooks help us focus on specific subjects, and…
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Summer Planning; What Works and What Doesn’t
Over the last couple of years I’ve learned so much about planning and structuring our summer days at home (see the post that I shared on Monday for a round up of ideas and inspiration)! From planning our days down to the hour to throwing out the plans and winging it, I’ve tried it all. Here are some things that have worked really well for us (DO’s), followed by some things that haven’t been so helpful (DONT’s). DO DON’T The most important thing that I’ve found is to know your kids and plan for what they need. My summer planning has changed every year because my daughter has grown and…
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Summer at home with kids
I’m getting ready for my third summer at home with my daughter – it’s coming so fast! Over the last couple of years I’ve learned a lot about what it takes to keep her busy and how much planning can and should go into preparing myself for all of that. I wanted to share how I’ve set up these plans so that you can get a little inspiration if this is something that you’re looking for a little support with. I’ve got a couple more posts planned for this week about specifically what has worked and what hasn’t worked for us, and what my plans look like for this year.…
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New Resources for Summer
As you start to think about your summer plans, please be sure to check out my latest summer themes and resources! You can learn more about each of these here!
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End of the School Year Products for Teachers
Have you started the countdown yet?! We have some amazing warm weather this week and it’s really giving me the summer itch. Here are some amazing products to stock up on so that you’re ready for all of those end of the school year celebrations. All links are affiliates. Jumbo School’s Out Color Your Own Poster End of the Year Teacher Postcards Inspirational Bracelets End of the Year Gift Dough Gift Sets Lavender Bogg Bag Ice Cream Cone Earrings Last Day of School Friendship Bracelet Tee Sprinkle Headband
