It’s summertime and my kids are already going a bit stir crazy. We try to go outside when it’s not scorching out there, but we live in Texas and summers here tend to be hot. I’ve been trying to keep them entertained and they have already tired of the normal bubbles, bikes, and sidewalk chalk that we often resort to when we do make it outside. Here are a few fun preschool activities that you can do outside to change things up a bit.
Magnets on the Garage Door
If you have a metal garage door, bring your magnets outside. We have alphabet magnets, animal magnets, shapes, numbers, etc. Take them outside and let the kids use the garage door as a new play setting for their magnets. If you want to throw in some fun educational time, have your child practice making words with the magnets. For my 3 year old, I would tell her a word and she would have to find the letter that makes the first sound in that word. They also enjoyed some free play with the magnets and came up with their own activities and ways of playing with them on such a large magnetic surface.
Shadow Drawing
This activity was great for my 5 year old. Grab a piece of white paper and some fun small toys. Go outside and let the toys cast a shadow on the paper. Have your child trace the shadows. Let them pick different objects to trace. A pencil would be good for older kids. If your child still has difficulty gripping a pencil, allow them to use a crayon.
Chalk writing on the fence
Normally we have a “no writing on the walls” policy at our house, but a little sidewalk chalk on the fence doesn’t do any harm. The kids looooved this activity. They had fun getting creative on a new art canvas. We also did some letter writing practice and worked on reading some sight words as well. We made a shape section and practiced recognizing and tracing the shapes with my 3year old. Of course Charlie (23 months old) got in on the fun too!
It can be hard keeping little ones entertained on a daily basis, but hopefully some of these preschool activities will help keep your little one occupied and learning through play while getting some outside time in as well. If you are looking for more activities check out Five Summer Preschool Activities.