by Selena Robinson

Created on: January 02, 2010

Summer is an exciting time for preschool children! The warm weather and the long days allow teachers even more time to enjoy the outdoors with their classes. For a creative preschool educator, summer can be a great theme for activities and crafts that young children will enjoy.

Have a Beach Party

Even though preschool kids don’t get a summer vacation, they will love a beach party! Plan to have one in the early morning so that the kids don’t get too much sun. Start by having each child bring a beach towel and swimsuit from home. After everyone changes into their beach clothes, including brimmed hats and sunscreen, assign each child a place to lay his or her towel. Inflate several beach balls and encourage the children to play volleyball or catch.

Try filling a couple of child-sized wading pools with sand to create portable sandboxes. Show the children how to make sand castles. Fill a few more wading pools with water and give the children a few toys for water play. Even simple objects like watering cans and plastic buckets will keep the kids entertained. After everyone plays, serve a simple snack, such as fruit and punch, for everyone to eat while sitting on their towels.

Summery Crafts

When the weather gets a little too hot, head inside to make a few crafts that highlight the season. Start by encouraging the children to make a beach scene. You can make one very easily by cutting up sandpaper into picture-sized squares. Give one to each child and encourage them to use the bottom of the page as the sand. The children can then draw in their own oceans and skies to complement the “sand”. Hand out a few mini seashells for the children to glue onto the sand to complete the picture.

Making suncatchers is another way to feature the sunlight of summer. For small children, you can do this very easily by using wax paper. Cut the paper into picture-sized squares and hand one to each child. Have the children use a black marker to draw the outline of a shape or a picture. Then they can color in the object using wax crayons. Once the pictures are completed, have the children tape their pictures to the classroom windows facing the direction of the sun. As the sun shines in, the children will get to see their pictures “catch” the sunlight!

Summer is a season that offers plenty of creative opportunities for preschool activities and crafts. Simply spending time enjoying the highlights of the season will help to keep the classroom excited all summer!

Learn more about this author, Selena Robinson.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.