Is it Summeralready? You bet! If you’re like me you’re probably busy trying to come up with fun summer activities to help keep your children busy having fun and learning all at the same time. This is why I have rounded up some fun and unique summer activities for toddlers and preschoolers!
I really do hope these summer activities give you some inspiration on what you can do to help avoid some of the summer boredom that happens so often with children. Try your best to set aroutineand carve time out for learning, playing and family time during this beautiful season that usually goes by so quickly!
Fun & Unique Summer Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers
Enjoy these activities with your little ones when you need a screen-free activity or when you just want them to have an educational adventure! You’ll be creating memories that will last your kiddos a lifetime.
Looking for a boredom buster for the summer or another time when you’re stuck at home? This fun neighborhood outdoor scavenger hunt with sidewalk chalk is the perfect way to get the entire neighborhood involved yet do it on your own time at each family’s convenience.
Share an exciting summer activity with your kiddos in the form of exploding sidewalk chalk. Watch the chalk explode (don’t worry, it’s safe) and then let your kids play in the mess afterwards. It’s tons of fun!
Summer is filled with lazy days and it can be hard to come up with ideas to keep kids busy. I love the idea of kids learning as they stay active. Here are three fun nature scavenger hunt printables for the kids!
Summer Bingo Game is perfect to play during those summer days when it’s too hot to step outside, and you need to keep your kids entertained and busy indoors.
Make popsicles? These homemade lemonade popsicles are super refreshing. With just three ingredients they are easy to make and perfect to cool off on a hot day.
Preschoolers love getting to help shake the bag with this easy homemade ice cream in a bag recipe! All you need is three ingredients and some ice for this fun activity and treat!
Conclusion
In conclusion, I hope this Summer Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers round up post has been helpful to you! Please remember the time we have with our children is precious and goes so fast! Get creative and have fun!
Which activities will you try this Summer? What ideas for crafts, activities or treats do you have in mind for this summer? Please leave them in the comments!
Shapes, shapes, shapes!Shapesare all around us and your preschooler is excited to know all about them! It’s very important to teach shapesearly on, becauseshapes help lay the foundation for learning in other categories. Learning shapes will help your preschooler better understand: letters, numbers, math and even science. In this post we will discuss when you should start teaching your preschooler shapes and also tips for making teaching preschoolers shapes fun and easy!
Teaching your preschooler shapes early on has many benefits. By teaching your preschooler shapes you are helping them build their cognitive skills such as: attention span, memory and reasoning. Teaching shapes to preschoolers has many other benefits as well.
When to Teach Preschoolers Shapes
Around the age of 2- 2.5 years old is an ideal time to introduce shapes to your preschooler. Just like withcolors this is the time to slowly begin teaching the names of shapes. When you’re out for a walk you can point out different shapes that you may see. (Examples: signs, the wheels on cars, items on the playground)
You can also do this when you’re playing, reading or coloring together. There are several opportunities to point out different shapes. By the time your preschooler is 3 they will have a better understanding of shapes. You can then really begin to use activities that will help your preschooler learn shapes.
I would like to suggest starting off with basic shapes such as: circles, squares, triangles and hearts. Then gradually work your way towards more difficult shapes. These would include: rectangles, ovals, octagons, etc.
Tips for Teaching Preschoolers Shapes
Start off slowly. As I mentioned before you want to introduce shapes slowly. The last thing we want to do is overwhelm your little one. This is true for any topic or subject you are working on. Start by naming the shapes, playing with them or even coloring or painting them.
2. Like with colors work on one shape at a time. You know your preschooler’s ability better than anyone else, but by working on one shape at a time you will help decrease the chances of confusion and frustration.
3. I would like to suggest starting off with basic shapes such as: circles, squares, triangles, hearts and then gradually work your way towards more difficult ones. These would include: rectangles, ovals, octagons, etc.
4. Flashcards are a great tool to use when first introducing shapes. They really help put a picture with the name of the shape and will help your preschooler learn them faster.
5. MAKE IT FUN! The best thing you will be able to do when teaching your preschooler shapes is to have fun while learning. You can also incorporate activities and games that will help with their grossandfine motor skills.
Shapes Activities
Here a few ideas to help make learning fun for you and your preschooler!
make shapes out of toothpicks (it’s so much fun connecting the points with marshmallows!)
coloring pages
matching games
Conclusion
In conclusion, by taking your time and introducing shapes to your preschooler slowly and then working on one at a time, learning shapes can be done in a timely and fun manner.
Remember to use different games and activities to engage your preschooler and have fun! Also, be mindful that each child is unique and will reach different developmental milestones in their own time.
I really hope these tips for teaching preschoolers shapes has been helpful to you! What games and activities are your favorite for teaching shapes? Please leave them in the comments!
As parents we have a lot of questions in regards to our children. When to start this? How to long to do that? When should they be able to do this? All of these are great questions that we should be asking if we want to be intentional on our motherhood journeys. These questions are no different when it comes to the many subjects involved in early childhood education. Let’s jump into the subject of how to teach primary colors to preschoolers.
When to Teach Primary Colors to Preschoolers?
When is the best time to start teaching colors to preschoolers? Babies are able to begin to recognize colors by the age of 18 months. Around this time your child will also be able to start noticing differences in shapes and sizes as well.
It will take sometime for your child to be able to name them. Use this this time to start introducing color terminology to your child. For example, “This is the color red”. “The ball is blue”.
As they’re playing point out the names of the colors of the toys. Or as you’rereadingtogether, identify the colors of different items on the pages. The options are endless!
By the time your toddler is around three years old they will be able to begin to identify and name colors independently. This is the ideal time to start to introduce more activities that will help you teach your preschooler primary colors.
How to Teach Colors to Preschoolers
When teaching your preschooler colors I would like to recommend starting with one color at a time. This is because identifying colors is a complex task for children. At this age they are just reaching the cognitive capabilities to distinguish colors, shapes and textures, so one color at a time is sufficient at this stage.
I like to start out with the basic primary colors: red, yellow and then blue. These colors are bright and most of the time appealing to the eye. After your toddler has a good handle on one, then you can move on to the next! Before you know it, your preschooler will know the entire rainbow!
Activities to Teach Colors
There are SO many activities to help you teach your preschooler colors. I lovebooksthat are all about colors. This gives your child ample opportunities to associate objects with the color you are working on. You can also use other tools and activities such as:
crafts (ex: making rainbows out of different materials)
crayons
markers
flashcards
matching games
sorting
I Spy
Painting
Coloring
As you can see there are so many games and activities that will help your preschooler learn colors while having fun! Learning associated with play is one of the best ways for children to learn. This type of learning increases attentiveness and comprehension.
Conclusion
In conclusion, teaching primary colors to preschoolers does not have to be a dreadful experience. By using the right techniques along with fun games and activities conquering this subject can be a breeze.
Learning colors has many benefits outside of just knowing colors. When your preschooler can recognize and identify colors they are also gaining skills such as:vocabulary, memory, reasoning and abstract thinking.
I always like to remind parents while there are average ages linked with developmental milestones, each child is unique with their own learning styles and abilities. Please be patient and always remember to have fun!
What are some of your favorite games and activities for teaching colors? I would love to hear from you! Leave them in the comments!
Gross motor skills are the skills needed to make body movements with the larger muscles of the body. Motor skills are very important for children during the early years. Both fine and gross motor skills help children, but in different ways. Gross motor skills give children the ability to perform everyday tasks. This is why development of gross motor skills is crucial in early childhood.
I have to admit that in our home we spend a lot more time dedicated tofine motor skills. Now that I have learned that gross motor skills need just as much practice as fine motor skills, that is changing!
Let’s get into why gross motor skills are so important in early childhood and what they help our children with.
What are Gross Motor Skills?
Gross motor skills involve the movement and coordination of our arms, legs and other large muscles of the body. Gross motor skills are actually divided into two groups. These groups are locomotor skills object control skills.
The locomotor skills include activities like walking, running, jumping. Object control skills include activities such as: throwing, kicking and catching.
Why are Gross Motor Skills Important?
Development of gross motor skills in early childhood is very important for a variety of reasons. Children are able to do so many tasks once these skills are developed.
Helping our children to strengthen the larger muscles in their body will allow them to do a large variety of activities independently. This is what we’re aiming for right?!
Gross motor skills start developing from birth. Remember “tummy time”? This is a prime example of how gross motor skills start developing inearly childhood.
Next babies are able to raise up on their elbows, sit up, crawl and then eventually walk. As children grow older they discover they can do even more with their bodies!
By the time a child reaches preschool age, which is around 3, they will be able to jump, hop and maybe even kick. Once children reach this age it’s vital for parents to be intentional on helping preschoolers exercise those large muscles to help develop their gross motor skills.
Gross Motor Skills Activities
Activities that will help your child work on gross motor skills carry a lot of benefits. As your child practices using the larger muscles of the body you will see them improve their:
balance
coordination
self-confidence
strength
endurance
While your child continues to work those large muscles they are also:
having fun
gaining some socialization skills playing games with others
preparing to maybe play on team sports
getting regular exercise which increases their physical activity
Some activities you can have child do to work on developing gross motor skills include:
jumping jacks
hopscotch
chasing bubbles
dancing
balancing activities
chasing balloons games
jumping
obstacle courses
jumping rope
All of these lead to building healthy habits that we all would love our children to carry out throughout their lifetime!
Of course you know your child better than anyone else. Start off with simple activities to see what your child is capable of. Once you have established a base line, you can gradually work your way up to harder activities.
Remember that each child is different and will reach certain milestones at their own pace and in their own time. Everything in early childhood education requires patience and a lot of practice.
Conclusion
In conclusion, gross motor skills in early childhood are very important. These skills give our children the ability to do so many everyday activities.
I would like to encourage you, if you haven’t already, to be intentional about making time to practice working the large muscles of the body. This will help your little one strengthen their gross motor skill abilities.
Motor skill development is very important. That is why it is crucial for parents to help strengthen these skills during the early years.Fine motor skill developmentin early childhood will help give children a strong start on theirearly childhood educationjourney.
These skills are fundamental for the tasks children will have to tackle later on. These include activities like writing, drawing, eating and even tying their shoes.
Fine Motor Skill Development
Fine motor skillsare the movements we are able to make with the smaller muscles in our bodies. These skills take time to develop, which is one of the reasons why it is vital to start working on these early on.
Parents please remember these skills are not easy for young learners, so it will take time, practice and patience. Every child is unique and different. This means they will reach different milestones based on their own abilities.
If your child becomes discouraged because they cannot complete a particular task encourage them and tell them that it’s okay! It takes practice to become good at anything!
In this post you will find out why fine motor skills in early childhood are so important and how you can help your child develop and strengthen theirs.
Why are Fine Motor Skills Important?
Developing fine motor skills in early childhood is important because these skills will help your child develop what they need to perform basic tasks everyday. Like I mentioned, earlier these tasks could include writing, dressing, brushing hair and teeth, eating, getting dressed.
We use fine motor skills all of the time! As your child becomes better with these motor skills their confidence will start to build. Once their confidence builds they will be motivated to continue to try and learn more new things.
This is what early childhood education is all about! Here are some fun activities and tools to help you help your child build and/or strengthen their fine motor skills!
Fine Motor Skill Development Tools
crayons
pompoms
tweezers
tongs
string
beads
scissors
paint brushes
Any tool that makes your child have to pinch or squeeze to grab or use properly will work very well with developing fine motor skills.
Allowing your child to practice with these will have the fine motor skills improving after continued practice.
Fine Motor Skills Development Activities
Playing with playdough
Placing beads on string
Picking up rice with tweezers
Marble games
Coloring/Drawing activities
Painting activities
Puzzles
Building blocks activities
Cutting out lines/shapes
These are some of the tools and activities I have found very helpful with developing fine motor skills in children. You can use any of these activities and make games from them. Your child will be learning and developing fine motor skills without even knowing!
Conclusion
In conclusion, I really do hope this post has been helpful to you. Fine motor skill development is very important in early childhood and has many benefits. Once fine motor skills are developed your child has opened the door to countless more tasks to be able to accomplished.
Once this happens their self confidence and motivation will grow and they will be inspired to learn and do more. What are some of your favorite fine motor skill development activities? Leave them in the comments! I would love to hear your great ideas!
Hi! I'm Alicia! Full time mom of 4, RN, ESL online teacher and now blogger. Working online from home allows me to bring in an income to our home and still be present and care for my children the way I desire. It is my hope to inspire other moms to do the same--I believe that being present and intentional in our motherhood journey leads to a BETTER tomorrow for our children.
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