Summer Activities For Little Ones

by: Marty Layne

"Summer time and the livin is easy"

When you think of summer, what's the first thing that comes to mind?

Share what you like about summer with your child and ask them to tell you what s/he likes about summer. You can create a poem together about summer by using the letters of the word to start each line - for example:

Summer - my favorite time of year
Under the water I like to disappear
Making waves in the water
Making rainbows in the sun
Everyone is happier because they're having fun!
Running, jumping, dancing, swaying, playing in the sun!

Oh those lazy days of summer, wish they'd last forever!

This poem rhymes, but it doesn't need to rhyme. It can be a list of all the things you think of that have to do with summer.

When my children were young, we went to the beach almost everyday of the summer. We had the morning at home and after lunch we'd pack up and head out for an afternoon and evening of water play. Air mattresses in backpacks, food in a cooler, thermoses with water, decks of cards, balls, pails, shovels, and sunscreen and we were all set for the rest of the day.

Toddlers have so much fun at a beach - digging in the sand, pouring water, sitting and splashing in shallow water, splashing and stamping their feet in deeper water. A simple plastic pail and plastic shovel can provide hours of fun as a toddler learns how to fill a pail with sand and turn it upside down. As children get older, they construct buildings, tunnels, etc. developing all kinds of knowledge about the properties of water and sand.

Sit with your little ones and help build a castle. Show them how to take a handful of very wet sand and create dribble castles or sculptures by letting the sand just dribble out of the bottom of your hand.

Plastic yogurt and cottage cheese containers are an inexpensive addition to sand construction tools. You can also make a shovel by cutting off the bottom and part of the side of a plastic bottle that has a handle such as a fabric softener bottle. Just make sure you leave the handle part.

And on your way to a beach or a park, remember to sing. Here's a song from my CD Brighten the Day - Songs to Celebrate the Seasons that we enjoyed singing together on our daily trip to Beaver Lake. If you follow the link you can hear a clip from the song.

Off to the Sea

Words/Music: K. Barth

We are off, we are off, to the sea, to the sea, to the rolling rocking sea!
Let us speed along the way, we must reach the coast today,
And there should be no delay!
For we are going to the sea finally, with happy song and jollity!

We are off, we are off, to the sea, to the sea, to the rolling rocking sea!
If the sky is overcast if the rain beats down so fast,
Yet the sun comes out at last!
For we are going to the sea finally, with happy song and jollity!

We are off, we are off, to the sea, to the sea, to the rolling rocking sea!
Our jalopy dashes on, watch the road and don't go wrong,
Step on the gas and sing a song!
For we are going to the sea finally, with happy song and jollity!

We are off, we are off, to the sea, to the sea, to the rolling rocking sea!
Just a mile and 'round the bend, here our journey has an end,
For the sea, the sea, my friend!
For we have reached the rolling sea finally, with happy song and jollity!

About Marty Layne

Marty Layne, mother of four adults who learned at home, works as a parent educator, infant massage instructor, homeschool workshop presenter, and children's entertainer. She'll travel to your community and help you set up a Games to Play With Little Ones Program to encourage parents and caretakers to use fingerplays, rhymes and songs with their children.

She wrote "Learning At Home: A Mother's Guide To Homeschooling" and recorded "Brighten the Day - Songs to Celebrate the Seasons," a CD with 21 seasonal songs about the natural world. Read more about Marty Layne at www.martylayne.com

Find More Summer Fun!

Article Updated: May 23, 2011

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