Having Fun with Summer Learning!! Preschool & Young Grade School Aged Activities!

The days have finally warmed up here in Michigan and summer is in full effect! We've spent lots of time at the zoo, splash pad, beach, and just plain enjoying being outside. The warmer days were welcomed after our cold winters here. I also like to add in a good helping of summer learning at our house, just to keep all of our brains active and our hands busy, the kids love to craft so that comes naturally and especially my older daughter loves worksheets and projects - so it feels more like fun than a task to be done.

Schools out for summer!

Fun at the beach!

I went back to my routine of having a themed work of learning which worked out really well when I did Preschool at Home projects with the girls. (Check out our Preschool at Home playlists HERE.) Each week we have a different theme that our activities center around, and we may do reading, crafts, writing, field trips and more that revolve around that theme.

Finding Dory water sensory bin!

One of my favorite activities to do whether it is summer learning or preschool at home, are the construction paper letter animals and objects! These became a staple during our preschool at home weeks and really helped the girls learn their letters. I've incorporated them occasionally into our summer learning now that the girls are older even though they know their letters because they are so fun to make and the girls enjoy playing with their creations after they are dry!

Watch a video showing an A-Z overview of our Alphabet Crafts:

So far in early summer, we have completed an Under the Sea theme which was great to work in Finding Dory activities and even go see the movie in the theater that week!  We made a water sensory bin with Orbeez water beads and placed some foam Finding Dory bath tub toys into the water to make a fun under the sea sensory bin!

We also revisited another one of my all time favorite crafts and made the "paper plate fish tank" craft over again!

During Rainforest week, Bella dived into reading the American Girl Lea books, where the Girl of the Year 2016 spends time learning in the rainforest. (Bella is 6, but reading at approximately a 2nd grade level so she has begun working on beginning chapter books.) We made an adorable rainforest layers craft, read rainforest related books, visited the Rainforest Immersion area at the Detroit Zoo, and even had lunch at Rainforest Cafe!

Visiting the Rainforest Immersion area at Detroit Zoo.

And a week all about America, where we talked about some basic concepts in our country, celebrated the 4th of July, and made some awesome clothespin wreath decorations!

Bella's cute "summer themed" clothes pin wreath she crafted!

It was been a great summer so far and we have lots more fun... and even a few exciting SURPRISES planned as well!! I can't wait to share them with you!