Summer has come and everyone starts to feel the hot weather. Due to this reason, kids are lazying out. They don’t have the energy to study or learn anything. Instead, they would prefer to head to the beach resorts. Others would want to enjoy cool dipping in the swimming pools or just playing around with their sprinklers.
If your child wants to quench the sweltering weather while learning, check out the following options:
Make use of water toys
An engaging and portable water toy might be the perfect alternative to enjoy learning throughout the summer season. One might decide to have a water table for kids. It is one of the finest ways to support child’s learning while getting comfortable on being wet. It is also a splendid opportunity to indulge into honing children’s motor skills through collaborative play. You may utilize simple things such as an empty tub or some of those fun water tables. It is really up to you to decide on how kids may enjoy the water.
Produce water-based learning routines
This is one of the simplest methods to combine play into your learning activity. You may use traditional play things such as blocks, sand, and water. You may also improvise canisters on a shelf as long as you think it can be used to bring out the kids’ creative imagination. Switch play and learning from time to time so that the children won’t be bored while learning new things. There are many ways to make children’s activities fun with water-based learning routines. Some of these activities include:
- Counting the scoops of water on your water table for Math.
- Kids can also match the habitat of water animals for Science.
- Bring their imagination to a different level by letting them use water blocks to shape a house or castle for Art.
Harness the power of manipulatives
John Dewey’s principle of “Learning by Doing” is best for young kids because they are concrete learners. This makes play an effective method for them to learn. With this hot weather, kids won’t be attentive to the traditional approaches of learning. Replace pencil and paper techniques to introduce new ideas with manipulatives. Manipulatives as learning materials don’t have to be expensive. Those different stuffs stocked in your storage boxes are more than enough to activate their curiosity.
Here are easy yet enjoyable activities that children can try using manipulatives:
- Toy boats to exercise blending sounds
- Water and buckets for letter formation
- Sand and pails for spelling
Don’t get tired of playing games
It is a given that children love playing games even during this hot climate. You can make use of different games for academic drills. Combine playing and reviewing various concepts while cooling off this summer.. It does not have to be that perplexing or vying. The important thing is that children enjoy what they learn. Kids may tend to like these games:
- Hide and seek using toy water animals
- Treasure Hunting using sand and water table
- Guessing games – one child may guess what toy water animal he or she scooped up from the water table while being blindfolded.
Let children think while outside
We often hear that kids must be taught how to think outside the box. However, they are usually brought inside a four-cornered room to be spoon fed with information. It is like putting kids inside a box and expecting them to think beyond it? Isn’t it ironic? That is why we have to break this traditional set-up. There are tons of things to learn outside. Kids may indulge in different learning activities while they’re outdoors. Some activities that are best done outdoors include:
- Creating sand sculptures to portray different book characters
- Writing drills using sand
- Sort out various toys scattered on the water table
Incorporate role-playing activities
Playing and acting at the same time is something that’s natural for kids because they have a vast imagination. Kids can “show and tell” different stories using water tables and improvised puppets. Kids enjoy stories. However we cannot deny the possibility that they become more attentive if it is incorporated with play than just letting them sit down and listen to the teacher’s usual way of storytelling. Here are some of the movie titles that can be used to ignite children’s acting skills while enjoying the water.
- Finding Nemo
- The Little Mermaid
- Surf Up
Just play with them
If the children are playing, do not hesitate to join in for fun. It will help you bond better with the kids. Once you catch their attention they will listen to you. It will be easier for you to talk to them as you tell them something or introduce a new topic to learn.
These are just some tips to guide you on how to associate play with learning. In the end, it will be up to you to decide which approach is best-fitting for the kids. Try it out and never hesitate to explore different kinds of fun activities for learning.