Summer Splash – Come Sail Away With Me

Sail away with us into some more water day fun with this summer craft! This craft is a breeze to create and only requires a few items in preparation.

Here are the items you will need to set sail: Sponges, Straws, Foam Craft Sheets and Scissors

Let’s go ahead and take care of all of our cutting duties first. Starting with the sponge, cut a slit on one end about an inch from the edge. Next, grab a piece of your foam sheets and cut out a triangle. Then you will want to cut two slits into the triangle, going horizontally, about the width of your straw. The slits should be parallel to one another.

Now you are ready to assemble all the pieces. Start by taking one end of your straw and threading it through the two slits in the foam triangle. It should go in on the first slit and back out on the second. This creates your sail.

Take your sail and stick the free end of the straw into the slit in your sponge. Now we are ready to set sail!

You will want to have a small kiddie pool or some sort of large bucket for the kids to try out their boats on. You could even hold a boat race to see which boat goes the fastest from one side to the next!

Summer Splash – Painting with Water

Looking for an easy activity that is perfect for all ages in your daycare, childcare center or school? Water Painting is the activity for you!

      

Water painting is an excellent choice for a hot summer day! All you need are a couple bowls of water and some paint brushes. You could use paint sponges as well. Take your group outside to an area where there is plenty of concrete or asphalt canvas. You may want to pick a shady spot if it’s a sunnier day. Let their imaginations go free as they paint up and down the sidewalks or onto the playground area.

What is the best part about using water? Water will dry so there is no harm done to clothing and no mess to clean up outside! If you are concerned about the artwork not being a lasting project, bring your camera out and snap a picture of each new creation with the student next to it. Now you have a lasting copy of each piece!

Summer Splash - Make Your Own Ice Cream!

With all this summer fun, we could all use a cool, refreshing treat to finish off the day. What better treat for a hot day is there than ice cream? This isn’t just any ice cream treat that we want to share with you though. We want to teach you how you can make your own ice cream with just a few ingredients.

Here’s what you will need (Measurements make up 1 Bag):

300 ml Cream or Milk, 2 tbsp Sugar, 1 tbsp Vanilla , 2 Trays Ice Cubes, 6 tbsp Rock Salt, 1 Medium Ziploc Bag and 1 Large Ziploc Bag

Step 1. Start by putting the cream/ milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag. Mix them up and then seal the bag shut.

Step 2. Place the ice into the large Ziploc bag. Then you will want to pour the rock salt in on top of the ice.

Step 3. Place the small bag inside of the big bag and seal it shut.

Step 4. Shake until the mix becomes an ice cream consistency. This should take about 5 to 10 minutes. You may want to have a small towel or oven mitt handy to cover the bag with. It is a little bit chilly for little ones to hold.

Step 5. Now you can take the small bag out and clean off the rock salt from the outside. Once clean, grab yourself a spoon and enjoy!

 

Try cutting a corner out of the bag and squeezing the ice cream into cones! You may want to have some fun toppings available as well!

Summer Splash – Water Balloon Games

Water balloons are the perfect addition to playtime on a hot, summer day. Not only are they fairly inexpensive to purchase, but they provide hours of refreshing fun! Here are a few ideas on games you can play using water balloons to beat the heat this summer.

Water Balloon Stomp – Fill the water balloons and scatter them across the ground. Have the children stomp away until all the balloons are gone!

Duck Duck Goose – Everyone knows how to play this kid favorite game! Now you can play it water balloon style! The “it” person will have a water balloon in hand. As they go around they will tap each student with the balloon on the top of the head. When they have selected their “goose”, instead of tapping them they will bust the balloon in their hands over that person’s head.

Water Balloon Toss – Have students spilt up into teams of two. Players will toss the balloon back and forth taking a step backwards with every successful catch. When your balloon pops your team is out. To add a fun spin on this one you can try adding different passes such as having your eyes closed when you throw, or tossing with your left hand. To make things a bit slippery you can have students lather their hands in dish soap or shaving cream causing them to have a silly case of the butterfingers!

Hot Potato – This is another classic with a fun water balloon spin. Instead of a ball you will use a water balloon. The catch is that the timer is a leaky balloon rather than music. You will need to poke a small hole into the balloon causing a little leak. The students will then pass around the leaking balloon trying not to be the one to have it when it is fully deflated.

Target Practice – Create a target on a tarp or even on the ground with some chalk. Then students can take turns trying to hit the targets. You can change up their positions or use different throws to spice this game up if needed.

Water Balloon Piñata – Tie some of the water balloons up with some string and let the students take a few swings. This one is fun for everyone as bystanders are sure to catch some of the spray after a good hit! Don’t forget to have a couple plastic bats ready for this!

Water Balloon Fight – It isn’t a true water balloon day until you finish it off with a water balloon fight! Make sure you have plenty of balloons left for this. Try creating different obstacles for players to hide behind or throw balloons over.

Water Balloon Clean Up – This game is a must have at the end of a long day of water balloon fun. Have students collect as many balloons as they can until the area is all cleaned up. The boy and the girl with the most balloons will then win a prize! The better the prize, the better and faster they will clean.

Summer Splash – Water Day

Beat the heat with a fun day that is all about staying cool, staying hydrated and having buckets full of water fun! Yunhap Kiddie Land in Georgia does this every year at the end of their summer camps and the kids can’t wait for it to finally come around. With blow up slides, kiddie pools, and sprinklers, this day of excitement is always guaranteed to make a splash!

   

You can take your Water day to the next level by adding big items like slides, kiddie pools, slip & slides and more! If you are going to go big on the water excitement, be sure to go big on volunteer recruitment too. You will need all the help you can get!

If you want to keep it a bit on the softer side, plan out some water games for your students to enjoy. This way they can still beat the heat but no one is being fully immersed in water in the process. This may be the better option if you don’t have as many volunteers to help you.  Just a few fun games, like a water balloon toss and maybe a water gun or two, can make this day easy and fun!

Don’t forget to have students bring an extra set of clothes, a towel, and any sun protection they prefer (sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, etc.).

Need some ideas to incorporate into your games for water day or even for a bit of summer fun? Check back in with us here! We will be sharing all of our Summer Splash favorites throughout the month of July!

Fun Field Trip Ideas

Planning field trips for your little ones can get a little stressful. In this post we want to help you get rid of that stress and prepare a fun field trip for you and your students!

Where should you go?

Park/ Nature Hike – Head on over to your favorite local park and give students a day of fun and games. You can incorporate different sports or even have a few water games! Try taking the kids around a nature trail while you’re there. You can plan a nature scavenger hunt along the way.

Zoo/ Aquarium – The zoo or aquarium is a fun experience for all ages! Students will love seeing the different animals you can find at each of these locations.

Police Station/ Fire Station – Little ones love investigating the station and equipment of their local heroes! These trips are perfect for talking about safety with your students as well.

Local Theatre Production – Have a local theatre that puts on kid shows? This is also a fun one for all age groups. They will love watching the characters come to life before their eyes. If you don’t have a local theatre, check the high schools nearby for their productions of children’s plays.

Museum – There are all kinds of museums to check out these days! Check out the options you have nearest to you. There are always fun sights to see and fun facts to learn in a museum.

What do you need?

1) First off you will want to make sure you have plenty of volunteers or other teachers to help you keep an eye on your students. Depending on the age group, you can determine how many volunteers you need. We suggest taking one extra in case of emergencies.

2) Make sure you have the day fully planned ahead of time. This is key to keeping things running smoothly. You can even create a schedule on paper to give to all of your helpers so everyone is on the same page.

3) Don’t forget those permission slips! No signed permission slip means no field trip for that student. All emergency information, inhalers, medicine etc should be on board with you wherever you go.

4) An easy way to keep up with all of your students is to put them in matching colors. Matching school t-shirts are perfect for this kind of event if you have them. If not, just have them wear the same color. You can add this onto the permission slip when you send it out to be signed.

Looking for fun t-shirts for your school? Check out PureFUN! Apparel by dialing 1 (877) 922-7635. John Simon would love to assist you in picking out the perfect shirts for your school, childcare or daycare center!

5) Last but not least, don’t forget to bring your camera to capture all the fun and memories in the making!

Indoor Games – Balloons

In our last post we looked into different games you could play inside simply using masking tape. To keep things inexpensive and simple for your indoor games this summer, we have created a new indoor games post featuring balloons. Here are a few of our balloon game favorites that your students are guaranteed to enjoy!

VolleyBalloon – Set up your own volleyball game right in your classroom! Start by setting up your net if you have one. If not, just take a piece of string and tie each end onto a chair. Spread the chairs out to stretch the line and you have your very own volleyballoon net ready to go! For this game you can use a variety of balloon sizes. The bigger ones are usually a bit easier for the younger kids to play with. Make the balloon smaller if you need to make the game more challenging for your older students. 

Balloon Stomp – Blow up your balloons and attach a piece of string to the tied end of each balloon. You will need one balloon per student. Next you will tie the other end of the string around the student’s ankle. The goal of the game is to pop everyone else’s balloon while protecting your own. The last one left without a popped balloon wins! You may want to create some boundaries in the room so no one finds a hiding spot.

Balloon Pop – This game is all about surprises! Before inflating your balloons, add a little surprise inside. You will want the prize to be something small and flat such as a sheet of stickers, or even a dollar bill! Items that are not flat may pop the balloon before it is time to be popped or injure little feet that are trying to stomp the balloons. If you can’t find anything flat, write the prizes down on small pieces of paper and put the papers inside the balloon instead. Give each student a certain amount of balloons that they can pop and let the fun begin. They will love finding out which prizes are in each balloon!

Balloon Relay – Create a balloon relay by splitting your students into teams. Next give them different tasks to do for the entire team. For example, pass the balloon over and then under all the way though your team. This means player one passes the balloon over their head to player two. Then player two passes the balloon through their legs to player three. Players will continue to alternate over and under on down the line. The last player to get the balloon sits on it until it pops to complete the round. The first team to make it all the way through and pop their balloon wins! Create your own fun relays and let us know what rules you come up with by commenting below.

Indoor Games – Masking Tape

Need to bring the summer fun indoors? Here are a few ideas using masking tape to give you some quick, easy and inexpensive games to play,

Tracks- Use masking tape to make tracks for students to play with cars on. They can even help you create the track before hand. You can also use this method to create roads and teach students about traffic signals and road safety!

Hopscotch- Hopscotch can easily be brought indoors using masking tape. Just tape the squares down to create your hopscotch course. When you are done using the course, you can easily pull up the tape and throw it away. Try using this method to create a ladder for exercising. Students can then get the exercise they need without even leaving the classroom.

         

Balance Beam- Use the tape to create a couple balance beams around the classroom and watch the gymnastics fun unfold. Try challenging your students to try different tricks such as walking backwards, jumping, or maybe even a cartwheel! Just make sure the surrounding areas are clear so there will be no bumps or bruises if things get a little wobbly.

Check back in with us here for more indoor games! In our next post, we will be featuring balloons and some of our favorite indoor games using them.

Liam-asaurus-Rex

If you enjoyed our previous post with artwork from our little friend Liam, you are guaranteed to love this one as well! Not only is this craft adorable, but it’s perfect for all ages in your daycare center. You can easily change things up and use this craft for the youngest in your center and the oldest in your center. We will give you some ideas on how! Let’s get started.

Little Ones – For the little ones you can print off a dinosaur onto printer paper to make the base. Next, using just one of their hands, paint the palm and fingers the color of your choice. Now you are ready to add the handprints. Continue this process until you have as many handprints as you need.

Older Students – For older students let them draw their own dinosaur before adding the handprints. This will give them the chance to get creative and use their imaginations. You will love the unique dinosaurs that they come up with!

For a fun addition you can name each dinosaur after the student that created it. For example, Liam’s dinosaur is the Liam-asaurus-Rex. Try having the older students make up their own creative names for their dinosaurs!

DIY Lawn Games for Kids

Summer is the best time to get the kids outside so they can enjoy the sunshine. Here is a fun list of DIY lawn games for you to add to your childcare’s game time or even to your own backyard!

Lawn Twister – This one is easy to create! Just take spray paint in red, green, blue and yellow and spray circles of each color to make your board. You will have 4 columns with 6 of each color in them. You can have someone call out the color and which hand or foot should be placed, make your own spinner, or use the original one from the game itself.

Lawn Bowling – Take this classic game to the outdoors with 2 liter bottles and a playground ball. Set your pins up like normal or get creative and make crazy obstacles for the kids to try to knock down! Make sure you set this up on a flat surface so the ball stays rolling towards it’s target. You will need to fill the bottles with water or sand to make them a little more challenging to knock down. Try adding food coloring to the water or even painting the bottles to give them a fun, new look!

Lawn Tic Tac Toe – Using a square of fabric or tarp, take your favorite colored masking tape and separate the square into 9 smaller squares. The tape should look like a number sign when complete. Then you will need Frisbees or bean bags for the game pieces. You will want to have at least 5 pieces in each color to give you a total of 10. To add an extra challenge, try throwing your pieces into the squares. If the piece doesn’t make it in, then that square is still open and available for the next player to play in! Now its a game of strategy and accuracy!

Roaring Dinosaur Footprints

Take a fun step into the world of the Dinosaurs with this footprint dinosaur craft that can be used for all ages in your daycare center! This craft is super simple to achieve. Start by painting the sole of your student’s foot. You will want to do just one foot at a time to avoid a mess. Once you have painted a good, even layer have the student step down onto the center of their paper. For babies, you can do the printing for them by adding a book behind the paper and pressing their foot onto it as they are laying down.

Don't forget to clean off that foot before moving on! Some baby wipes will do just the trick!

Next, repeat that same process with the other foot. Their big toe will line up right on top of their other big toe print to create a jaw line for their dinosaur. You will want to give the paint a few minutes to dry before moving on.

Now we are ready to add on the details of our dinosaur. Grab a wiggle eye and place it in the upper middle section of the top foot to add some life to the dinosaur. Let’s not forget to add his teeth! Add a line of teeth in a zigzag formation towards the heel of each foot to make a roaring dinosaur effect. You can also add to your dinosaur by writing words like “ROAR” or “T-Rex”! For older students, let them take their decorating to the next level by having them draw on a body for their dinosaur.

POPular Summer Snacks for Sunny Days

These cool and refreshing snack Pops are perfect for summer time with your kiddos! In just a few simple steps you can create healthy snacks to help kids cool down on a hot summer’s day. Not only will you love the easy set up with just a few ingredients, but your children will also love the great tastes of these pops!

Banana Pops – Banana Pops are the perfect replacement for your normal unhealthy ice cream bars. Just unpeel your bananas and cut them in half. Take your popsicle sticks and stick them in the cut end of the banana. Then, you will want to place them in the refrigerator for an hour.

After that you can pull them out and add on your chocolate. You can use dark chocolate to keep it healthy! Try adding on different nuts, coconut or even a few sprinkles to add on some extra flavor and color. Your children are guaranteed to go bananas for these pops!

PureFUN! Juice Pops – Take your juice to the next level by creating PureFUN! Juice Pops! You will need to start by setting up your cups. You can use whatever size you think would make the right serving for your children. Now you can take the PureFUN! Juice flavor of your choice and pour it into each cup. Once each cup has been filled, cover the tops of the cups with aluminum foil and punch a popsicle stick through the top of each one. Place the pops in the freezer and wait for them to freeze. Now you have the perfect summer treat that can be changed to a variety of different flavors!

Try adding fresh fruit to your cups before adding the juice to give your popsicles a little something extra!

Watermelon Pops – This is probably the most simple option of our favorites. You will need to go ahead and cut up a watermelon into slices. Then take a few cookie cutters in fun shapes and cut out of the watermelon slices with them. After you have all of your shapes cut out, stick a lollipop stick into the bottom. Now you have a quick and simple treat for students to enjoy! They will love seeing all the different shapes used. This is perfect for getting little ones to choose a healthier option too!

Summer Sandals

 

Looking for a craft that could be used for all ages in your daycare center? This craft is perfect for you! With just paint, construction paper and chenille stems you can easily create this adorable craft with your students. That includes the babies too! Our 4 month old friend, Liam’s, feet are pictured above.

Start by painting the bottoms of your student’s feet. Then print them onto the construction paper. For students that can stand, you may find it easier to do one foot a time. This way they can stand on one foot while painting and printing the other. Be sure to clean that foot before moving on to the next one. Otherwise you may end up with footprints across your classroom floor!

Next, cut out each footprint in the shape of sandals. You will want to make sure that there is enough room between each foot when printing to cut around the footprints.

Allow the paint some time to dry and then it’s time to make the straps. You can do this by folding the chenille stem in half. The fold will go in between the big toe and second toe. The other side of each strand will go on each side of the middle of the foot. You can pre-punch holes before hand or use the metal center of the stems to puncture the paper and stick stems through.

You could always hot glue the chenille stems into place if you want to avoid making cuts in the footprints!

Now you have an adorable craft that can be done with all ages in your center.

From Plastic to Planters!

It’s the perfect time to bring some of that beautiful greenery inside to enjoy! Here’s an easy craft to do with your students that will definitely sprout some imagination.

Here’s what you will need: Water bottle, Construction Paper, Markers, String, Hole Punch, Soil and a Plant of Your Choice

Step 1. Cut the water bottle just below the bottom of the label. You will want to keep the end that has the cap on it so you can drain the water inside if needed.

Step 2. Decorate your water bottle planter. You can get creative here! Try wrapping with construction paper and decorating with stickers or markers. If you have the time you could even paint them!

Step 3. Take your hole punch and make a hole below the top rim. Add a string through the hole to provide a hanger for your planter.

Step 4. Add your soil and your plant of choice. Now you can hang it up and enjoy!

Don’t forget to water your plant as needed!

“Bee” Strong and Courageous Craft

My mom is a preschool teacher here in Georgia and her class is the Honey Bee Class. This week they made the sweetest craft using a verse from the bible, Joshua 1:9, and a few thumb prints to make three bees. The verse reads “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Her students will be graduating preschool in just a few days. What a perfect reminder for them as they move on to Elementary School of what they can “bee” as they continue to grow!

She started by writing out the letters how she wanted and then copying the page for each student to have. You could also let the students do the words themselves depending on their age group.

Each bee is a finger print. The top one is hers, the middle her assistant’s and the bottom one is the student’s. All she did was paint the thumb with yellow paint, printed them where she wanted and then let them dry. She then took markers and made each bee unique.