Summer months are a prime time for informal learning. Brain research
shows as children play and pretend, they are reenacting experiences
they've had and are trying to make sense of the world.
Here are eight inexpensive summer ideas appropriate for grade school
children.
1. Obstacle Course
Cost: Zero
Details:
Set up objects to crawl over or walk through in the yard or indoor play
area. Use lawn chairs, stools, sawhorses, boards, tires or plastic pipes.
But pay attention to safety.
2. Kid-Size Tent
Cost: Approximately
$1 each for one-by-two-inch strips of wood, plus $4 for
clothesline.
Details: Lash five poles together into a teepee shape with
the length of the clothesline, drape a sheet around it and fasten with a
clothespin, or if indoors, put a blanket over a card table to make a
tent.
3. Bubbles Aplenty
Cost: $2 for fly
swatter
Details: In a washbasin, mix a gallon of warm water with about
4 tablespoons of dishwashing soap and 1 tablespoon of corn syrup. Dip a
new fly swatter into soap and swirl through the air to watch bubbles
fly.
4. Nest Building
Cost: Zero
Details:
Pretend you're a bird and gather enough twigs and bits of string from the
yard or park to make a nest.
5. Race Car Box
Cost:
Negligible
Details: Find a cardboard box big enough to sit in. Tape a
plastic plate to the “dash” as a steering wheel and stick a wooden
spoon into a corner as a gearshift. Decorate the outside with tempera or
watercolor paints.
6. Hallway Bowling
Cost: $1 to $2 for art
supplies
Details: Using markers, tempera paints and foil, decorate six
toilet paper tubes or empty juice cans. Stand them on their ends to form a
“V” and knock them over with a tennis ball. Award points for different
colors.
7. Buried Treasure
Cost:
Minimal
Details: Wrap a small shoebox and lid in foil and fill with
costume jewelry, medals or ribbons. Dress up as a pirate and bury it. Draw
a map so you can retrieve it later.
8. Flying Saucers
Cost: $2 for packet of
premium paper plates, $1.50 for bowls, $1 for glue
Details: Turn one
heavy-duty paper plate upside down on another and glue edges together,
then glue on an inverted paper bowl. Use markers to draw doors, portholes
and an insignia. Send it flying.
Resources
Children's Medical Center
