I think I would say that summer is probably one of my favourite seasons. I am definitely not one for the cold weather that winter brings. And I have absolutely LOVED this summer!! For the past couple of weeks my husband was able to take off some time from work and we have done lots of great family things with our daughter (who has just turned one). We went to the beach, took her to the splash pad, and let her play in her little pool and the sprinkler in our backyard. It has been so much fun to learn that she is very much an outdoors kinda kid – she gets mad at us when we take her in to eat or for her nap. To be honest, i couldn’t be happier about this as being outside is super important to the growth of a child.
Throughout the year, I try to teach outside as well. Yes, it does bring on some additional challenges at times, but can also be super rewarding especially during science lessons when we are looking at nature or experimenting with shadows. Realistically, when teaching younger children, they also just need a break from the traditional classroom setting and to be given a chance to run and play. So here are some games that you can play in the comfort of your own backyard.
- Tin can bowling. Rinse out some tin cans from your recycling box. Set them up in a triangle formation, or even stack them on top of each other in a pyramid. Grab a ball and practice your soccer skills by trying to knock down all the cans. You can also just roll the ball at them, or find another way to “bowl”.
- Clothespin tag. Attach a clothespin on to the back of each players sirt. On the start signal, have each child run around trying to collect as many clothes pins as possible. The one who has the most at the end of the round wins. What happens if you add multiple clothes pins located on different parts of the back of the shirt?
- Memory. Print off some pictures and glue them onto paper plates. Create a giant outdoor memory game. Make it educational by rhyming, finding ways to add to 10, etc.
- Water Wall. Have a peg board lying around at home? Turn it into a recycled water wall. Grab different containers and attach them to the peg board. Challenge your child to create multiple routes for the water to take on its way down to the bottom.
- Water Balloon Toss. Make a target by cutting holes in a large piece of cardboard. Label them with a different point value (bigger holes are worth less, while smaller holes are worth more). Fill up some water balloons, even better – use sponges, and see who can reach a certain point value first.