It’s almost week #4 of our Smart Summer Learning Challenge–the campaign we’ve created to let all parents know the important–and totally fun–role they play in their children’s summer learning!
These don’t have to be huge and complicated activities–easy, quick, short, and meaningful ones count and can done in the span of a great game or read-aloud.
Even if you missed week #1, 2, or 3, it’s not too late to jump on board now. With a calendar full of ideas and prizes every week, there’s no reason not to join us. And you know who really benefits from your participation? You got it–your kids!
Here are some ideas for week #4, Forest Friendly Week:
- Make a home-made bird feeder
- combine some non-fiction with fiction reading about a forest animal that interests you
- make stuffed birds out of old socks or washcloths
- Have a park clean-up day
- make a park explorer playkit and clean up
- get your friends together and hold a bake sale to raise money for your favorite national park
- paint with nature
- Write a skit or play about forest animals
- create an eBook with your story
- make a podcast of your story
- use play-doh or clay and play a guessing game–creating animals
- Pack a picnic lunch and eat it on a hike
- if it’s an ugly day, make it a rainy day, indoor picnic
- learn how to use a compass
- do research about animal prints and hunt for them on your hike
- Keep count of all the birds you hear, bugs you see, etc.
- get crafty and make bumblebee wands and pens
- create a collage about what you hear, feel, and see in the forest
- make a diorama of a forest
- Hike a nature trail, visit a wildlife rescue center or preserve
- visit my friend Rashmie’s Mommy Lab blog and her amazing Forest Fiesta posts
- make a huge collage about what you learned this week
- do some free fence writing
Remember, The Smart Summer Challenge is simple–it’s a challenge for all parents to pledge to incorporate at least one learning activity into their child’s day over the summer vacation. That’s it.
Here’s our calendar to print and hang on the fridge:
Smart Summer Challenge Calendar 2011
And if you are up for joining us in the Smart Summer Challenge–which we hope you are!–here’s what you can do:
Step 1: The first step is to “Like” the Smart Summer Challenge on Facebook, if you have an account. We’ll be using the FB page to share ideas, questions, and successes from challenge participants.
Step 2: If you are a blogger, we would love for you to grab our “Smart Summer Challenge” Badge for your sidebar and/or Smart Summer posts. Grab the code on the right sidebar!
Step 3: Each week, from June 27 through August 5, we will be posting daily activities on our blogs. We would love if you would blog along as often as you wish (even once a week is great!) and share what you are doing to keep the learning going over the summer.
Step 4: On Friday of each of the Smart Summer Challenge weeks, we will post a themed “linky” on our blogs where you can share your recent or archived posts. If you do not have a blog, please feel free to share your activities and pictures on the Smart Summer Challenge facebook page! We will highlight posts from participants on our blogs and on facebook.
We hope you will visit and comment on each other’s posts so we can all learn together! You can find the Smart Summer Challenge linky each Friday here, on teachmama.com or on PinkAndGreenMama or NaturallyEducational.com.
Don’t forget to check out the we teach Summertime Learning eBook for even more cool summer learning ideas on we teach–you can download the whole thing for free and you’ll have a good 30 ideas!
Interested to know what kind of prizes we’re giving away to participants? Here are a few. . .
- $100 to your local book shop or toy store of choice, thanks to Juice in the City
- $150 to your local book shop or toy store of choice, thanks to Juice in the City
- $150 to use at Rosie Hippo
- $200 gift pack of LeapFrog products
- $200 to use at Guidecraft and more!
Looking forward to making this a Smart Summer for everyone!
Again, LOVE your ideas. I decided that we are going to make a bird feeder in the morning. We live in the desert so we don’t have a forest but we talk alot about what grows in the desert and what kind of animals we have. We don’t have very many different birds here but we have a whole lot of sparrows. My eldest son saved a baby sparrow from a cat’s jaws of death. Since then he has been interested in birds and helping animals (like Diego). I thought about building a bird house but we can do the bird feeder easily in the morning.