We’re down to the last few weeks of summer break where we live, and we’re feeling it! Since I don’t have the energy to take all five of my kids to the splash pad or pool every day, I’ve had to use my creative energy to come up with activities for them to do. That’s not to say that I provide them with entertainment every second of every day— they have plenty of time to use their own imaginations and come up with their own fun. Sometimes they just need a little encouragement from me!
I recently saw a fun idea that someone had posted, and decided to put my own twist on it and share it with you. I’m calling it Four-Square Slap Jack, and the goal of the game is for players to be the first to put their hand down on a paper whose category was NOT called out. For example, players have four papers in front of them, each with a different shape printed on it (circles, hearts, stars, and triangles). The caller calls out a category, and players race to put their hands on any other paper than that which was called. So if “hearts” was called, they place their hands on circles, stars, or triangles.
This activity is great for younger kids, as it helps with shape recognition as well as hand-eye coordination, both of which are great skills for kids to learn and practice. It’s also a great activity to promote careful listening. I know I’m not the only parent or teacher who loves a fun game that is also educational! I’ve attached the game and instructions below— feel free to print off a copy and have fun.
Oh, and as an added bonus, this game is great for days when you’re completely exhausted and just can’t muster up the energy to run around and play with your kids— it’s easy to play while relaxing on the couch!
This game can also be used in the classroom as a group activity or even a whole class activity.
** The printable game is free to download, but please do not re-sell, distribute, or claim as your own.**
If your kids are like mine, they start to go a little bit stir crazy when they are cooped up in the house for too long. We’re trying to find a balance between structured activities and “use your imagination to entertain yourself” time. Some days are trickier than others. One thing is for certain, though: a daily dose of sunshine and fresh air does wonders for everyone’s moods. Some days, my kids are outside most of the day, and others, we just get a little time outside.
Whether your kids are all-day-outsiders or just-a-little-outsiders, an outdoor scavenger hunt is a fun activity to do with them! Print off the free printable below, grab a clipboard and something to write with, then take a walk around your neighborhood, searching for the things on the list! If you’re feeling extra ambitious, have your kids make a pair of binoculars before you go— get a couple of empty toiler paper tubes, glue them together, and attach some string to each side for quick and easy binoculars to make your scavenger hunt even more fun!
You could even laminate the scavenger hunt paper so that you can re-use it multiple times. This activity would be a great option for a small preschool class or daycare group, too!
An alternative for older kids would be to let them explore on their own, but send them with some way to take pictures, and have them photograph the items as they find them.
However you decide to use it, happy searching!
**PRINTABLE IS FREE, BUT IS ONLY TO BE USED FOR PERSONAL OR CLASSROOM USE. DO NOT SELL, RE-POST, OR CLAIM AS YOUR OWN.**
Independence Day is such a fun holiday. Beyond the parades, fireworks, and BBQs, there’s so much history behind the day. Most kids aren’t in school at this point of the summer, so it gives parents an incredible opportunity to teach their children a bit about the history of our nation and the sacrifices and work it took to build our country. No matter your political views, I think we can all acknowledge just how incredible it was what our Founding Fathers did!
Whether you’re staying home this Fourth of July or traveling to be with family and friends, you can use these free printable activities to both keep your kids busy and teach them a little bit about our nation’s birthday!
** These printables are FREE, but please only use them for personal or classroom use. Do not resell, re-post, or claim as your own. **
We decided to surprise our kids with a trip to San Diego last week. We’ve been planning the trip for six months, and had the hardest time keeping it a surprise! We decided to drive rather than fly because we are a family of seven— five kids (four still in a car seat or booster), and two adults. Plane tickets for seven, plus a rental car large enough to fit all of us would have blown our entire trip budget in one fell swoop. The drive, however, was twelve hours one way— and that’s without bathroom breaks or lunch stops. Ugh.
In an effort to keep us all sane during our drive, and to try reduce the amount of screen time, I spent the months and weeks leading up to our trip planning, designing, and putting together activities for my kids to do in the car.
I needed the activities to meet a few criteria: they needed to be adaptable and entertaining for ages 4-9, able to be done without my help, not messy, and somewhat educational. I didn’t want slime in my car. Play-doh wasn’t an option, either, and neither were puzzles. I knew they wouldn’t want to color for the entire drive. I started with Pinterest as a spring board, and went from there. I found a few ideas there, and changed them to fit my needs and budget. I spent some time using Canva to design the games and activities, and purchased a couple off of Etsy. I sent them to my favorite print shop to be printed, then spent some time cutting, laminating, and assembling the activity bags (I used mesh zipper pouches I found on Amazon). Most of the supplies came from Amazon or the dollar store, making the activities very affordable. Since I know we aren’t the only family road tripping this summer, I thought I’d share my ideas!
I downloaded and printed some free coloring pages from various websites. I also printed off my summer I-Spy pages— you can find those here.
I made sure each of my kids had their own set of Crayon Twistable colored pencils. I chose these for a couple of reasons: they don’t need a pencil sharpener, they color well, and they don’t melt or break easily like crayons do.
Now, for the activities that took a little more prep work and time:
Link Pattern Task Cards– Each kid was given their own set of task cards and plastic links. The goal was to use their links to copy the patterns on the cards. They also had a lot of fun making their own patterns, necklaces, bracelets, and chains.
Block Pattern Task Cards– I created a set of 20 task cards. I bought some plain 1” wooden tiles and some 1” square stickers on Amazon. I put a sticker on one side of each tile and a small magnet on the back until I had enough squares for each of my kids to have six of each color. I put a 4×6” adhesive magnet on the inside of the lid of a pencil box. The objective was to use the wooden tiles to recreate the patterns and designs on the task cards. Again, they had fun following the pre-made patterns as well as creating their own.
Popsicle Stick Hair Tie Matching– Using large popsicle/craft sticks, I colored random stripes of colors on each stick. My kids then took small hair ties and put them on the corresponding color on the stick. It was a simple activity that took very little prep.
Lacing Cards– I chose several images I knew my children would like, sized them to be around 4-5”, and punched holes around the image. Using a shoelace (or any kind of string would work), they laced the string through the holes. This is an excellent fine motor skill!
My kids enjoyed the activities, and their attention was held for good amounts of time. As a bonus, they also did some of the activities at our rental condo when we had down time. The activities will also be added to our quiet bag rotation, so I know they will be used frequently. Any of these activities would also be an excellent addition to any classroom for quiet time activities and/or enrichment time.
So, yes, they were a lot of work, but it was a labor of love, and our sanity was (mostly) saved!
Summer is in full swing over here! We’ve survived one full week of summer break, and I’ve heard, “I’m bored!” more times than I can count. While I’m not a cruise director and don’t have to provide my kids with activities 24/7, it is nice to have something on hand to pull out for the times when you just need a minute of quiet.
I created a fun free summer themed I-spy page that you can print out and have your kids or students do. I’ve included both color and black and white versions for your convenience. You can print and laminate so they can do them over and over again, or print them and have them do the page as is.
*Please enjoy the summer I-spy pages, but please do not resell them, repost them, or claim them as your own.*
Summer is almost upon us, and that usually means less structure and less of a schedule. And let’s be honest, that’s a blessing and a curse. It can be tricky to find a good balance between order and chaos. If you’re like me, you find yourself hitting panic mode right about now because how are you going to entertain the kids all day and get your work done and keep up with laundry and dishes and keep your kids’ brains from turning to mush?? It can be a lot. Let me take some of the stress off with a few helps! I’ve made a couple of summer reading resources that you can use. I’ve created a summer reading challenge with fun ideas of places to read and different kinds of things to read. I’ve also made a reading tracker. Both are available in color and black and white. You can decide if you want to have an end reward for completing the challenge and tracker!
Some kids will just automatically pick up books over the summer and will read for hours on end. Others need a little more encouragement. Either way, I hope these resources help your kids stay on track and keep their minds active over the summer.
Teachers, feel free to print this out and hand it out to your students before they leave your classroom for the year.
** As always, these resources are meant to be helpful. Please do not sell them, modify them, or claim them as your own. **
Mother’s Day is just a few days away! I love it when my kids come home from school with handmade little gifts that I can hold on to and cherish. If you need an idea or two for your students to do, I’ve got you covered! I’ve also included a few free printable files at the end of this post to make it even easier for you!
Shrink art- You can purchase this at any craft store, at Walmart, or on Amazon. Have your students write a little note or draw a picture for their mother or mother figure. Punch a hole at the top, bake to shrink, then make it into a keychain.
“All About My Mom” survey- these are especially fun with younger kids. Ask them the questions and write their answers.
Print, color and cut out a Mother’s Day bookmark. Laminate it to make it last. (See the printable at the bottom)
If you teach older kids who aren’t super into making cute little crafts or pictures, have them write a letter or note to their mother or to a mother figure in their life. A note from a teenager is truly a cherished gift!
Print off (onto cardstock) the blank puzzle templates at the bottom of this page and have your students draw a picture of them and their mom doing their favorite activity. Have them cut the puzzle into pieces, then mom can put it together!
Pressed flowers- Use the free jar printable at the bottom of this page for this activity. Have your students collect and press wild flowers (if allowed and you have some near you), or make small paper flowers. Glue the flowers onto to jar, then use clear contact paper or laminator to seal them onto the paper.
Book about Mom- Have students draw a picture for a few prompts about their moms (favorite food, favorite color, favorite thing to do, etc.), then put the pictures together into a book.
I recognize that not all students will have a mother present in their home, so you could encourage them to create something for a friend, neighbor, teacher, or other family member that is a mother figure in their life.
