Archive for the ‘Seasonal Activities’ Category

Sidewalk Chalk

Monday, June 25th, 2012

sidewalk-chalk

Have you taken your kids outside to color with sidewalk chalk? Last summer we bought some bright chalk at a craft supply store. I prefer bold colors rather than pastel colors. The kids and I walked down to the local school, which was empty for the summer. You have already paid for the school you never use with taxes from your property, so you might as well get some use out of what you’ve paid for. Most schools have a large cement area where kids play basketball or do other PE activities. This is your blank canvas.

sidewalk-chalk-children

First we all sat down and drew a white rectangle with the chalk. Each child sat in front of one rectangle, and they decided what scene they wanted to draw. I put the chalk right in the middle so all the kids could reach it.

sidewalk-chalk-police

My oldest son decided to draw a person, just to challenge himself. My second son drew a camping scene, while my third son drew an ocean scene with underwater sea creatures. My daughter drew a field with flowers on a sunny day, with a bird flying through the air.

sidewalk-chalk-art

sidewalk-chalk-masterpieces

The children colored in every area of the rectangle, with the exception of my oldest son. I was surprised at how beautiful all the pictures turned out, especially the chalk drawing of a person, which my son had never attempted with chalk before.

Volleyball Water Balloon Toss

Wednesday, June 13th, 2012

volleyball-water-balloon-toss

What is a volleyball water balloon toss? It is lots of fun, so let me tell you how we played it. During a church picnic one summer, people of all ages grabbed beach towels. You needed two people to hold each towel, and there were four teams of two on each side of the volleyball net. One of the men grabbed a water balloon out of a large bucket, which was full of water balloons. He placed the water balloon in the middle of a beach towel.

Now they had to toss the water balloon over the volleyball net, and the people on the other side tried to catch it in their beach towels. If they caught it, the balloon usually didn’t break, so they tossed it right back over the net. If you missed, you got wet, but since it was so hot outside, it felt refreshing.

volleyball-water-balloon-toss-2volleyball-water-balloon-toss-3volleyball-water-balloon-toss-4

Water Balloon Toss

Monday, June 11th, 2012

water-balloon-toss

Have you ever played water balloon toss with your kids? If you haven’t, this is a fun activity that your whole family will enjoy on a hot summer day.

Cut off the bottom part of a couple of milk jugs. (I stab a sharp knife into it, then get kitchen shears to cut all the way around.) Make sure you’ve rinsed out the milk jugs. Now these are your scoopers to catch the water balloons.

water-balloon-toss-3

Fill up some water balloons. The more the better, but you’ll have to quit whenever your fingers can’t tie another balloon because they hurt so badly. Then yell to your kids to shut off the water hose and stop bringing you filled water balloons, because your fingers are numb. But it’s all worth it.

Toss the water balloons and catch them in the milk jugs. Yes, if you catch them right, they won’t burst. If you miss, of course, the balloon will splat water on your feet, so make sure you’re barefoot on some cool green grass.

water-balloon-toss-2

If you don’t want to sacrifice your fingers to hurt for the sake of your kids having fun, then grab a wiffle ball. Throw the wiffle ball around, catching it in the milk jug. It’s not as fun as the water balloon toss, but it’s easier to catch.

water-balloons

 

Summer Activities for Homeschoolers (free PDF)

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012

summer-activities-for-homeschoolers

Here are some fun summer activities for homeschoolers:

  1. Camping. It’s a great bonding activity for your family, and very educational. You can enjoy looking at nature, cook your food over a fire, and talk late into the night.
  2. Go stargazing. Look through a telescope. Get outside the city, and put red cellophane over your flashlight. You can sometimes see the entire Milky Way galaxy. Look at constellations and planets, or the craters on the moon.
  3. If you are near a lake or the ocean, play in the sand on the beach. (For more information about sand play, click here.) You can also create a whole topographical map in your backyard, using the hose to put water into your rivers.
  4. If your yard has a hill or a slant, you can set up a slip and slide by cutting strong black trash bags open and spraying water on it. Then set the hose on the top, and slide down.
  5. Swimming. The summer is a great time to take swim lessons. You can go to a local swimming pool.
  6. Build a tree house or a fort in your backyard.
  7. Study underwater sea creatures. Go to an aquarium. Visit the ocean and collect seashells. Notice the tides going in and out, and look carefully in the tide pools.
  8. Have a water balloon fight or a water gun fight.
  9. Go to a theme park as a family. Ride on rides together. It’s a very bonding family experience. Or you can go to a water park with wave pools, slides, and tunnels.
  10. Go yard saling. You can find lots of inexpensive fun activities for your children to do, including crafts and outdoor toys. You can also find hands-on items for your next unit study or time period in history.
  11. Pick strawberries, cherries, or other fruit at a local farm. Delicious right after being picked.
  12. Make chocolate bananas. (Dip frozen bananas in almond bark after stabbing them with popsicle sticks.)
  13. Ride bicycles as a family.
  14. Go hiking. Nature is beautiful in the summer. Identify plants, insects, animal tracks, etc. (You can get fold-out laminated cards with the most common animal tracks, for example. You don’t have to carry a whole book with you.)
  15. Have your kids put on a talent show with another homeschool family. Serve popcorn to the audience. (Mime act, play an instrument, sing, do a skit, have a fashion show, magic show, etc.)
  16. Make a sheet tent outside, tying ropes between trees and throwing sheets over them. Make a city in your backyard with pop-up tents, teepees, and sheets thrown over card tables.
  17. Play board games.
  18. Draw with chalk on the sidewalk.
  19. Go see fireworks on the Fourth of July. (Do it even if it means the kids will be staying up later. If possible, have younger kids take a nap in the afternoon before going.)
  20. Barbecue. Steak, shish kabobs, corn on the cob, grilled chicken, etc. Everything tastes better on the grill.
  21. Run through the sprinkler. (We made our own car wash contraption based on a Family Fun design. We used PVC pipe, drilled holes in it, and stuck it together. The water sprayed in all directions, and it was fun.)
  22. Picnics. You can take a picnic almost anywhere, including parks or the beach.
  23. Play imaginatively in the backyard, using walkie-talkies, or pretending to be in the wilderness. Kids need down time to pretend.
  24. Read a book. Sit in a hammock and have crushed ice drinks with bendy straws and umbrellas while reading your fun book or magazine.
  25. Go on more field trips that you don’t have time for during the school year. Go to a factory, or visit the fire station. Go to a Civil War Re-enactment or a Renaissance Faire. These take place outdoors in the summer. Shakespeare in the Park is fun to watch, since kids can have a picnic while watching the theatrical production. Another outdoor event is a summer symphony concert. Visit museums in your area. Look in your yellow pages for fun places to go in your town. Be a tourist in your own town.

fun-summer-activities-for-hmeschoolers

If you would like to print out this list, here is the PDF:
Summer Activities for Homeschoolers

Here is the webinar with more details on each of these summer activities: