Summer is finally here, but just because school is out doesn’t mean you have to stop learning.  Try these outdoor learning activities and have some fun in the sun!    

• Sidewalk Chalk:  Write letters, words or messages in chalk. Add fun by erasing them with a bucket of water or a wet sponge/rag.   You can also use chalk for classic games like hopscotch, tic-tac-toe or hangman!

• Ice Cube Melt: Put small objects in an ice cube tray with water to make ice cubes.  Watch them melt outside and use chalk to write the letter of the beginning sound of each object.

• Journal:  Go on a nature walk in the woods or at the beach and make a list or draw a picture and label all of the things that you find.. You can also use this to record any other summer adventures or vacations that you have.  If you use the same journal throughout the summer for both of these ideas, you will have a keepsake of your memories when summer is over. 

• Seek and Find:  Create a list of items that are found outside and go hunt for them! Check each one off the list as you go.

• Obstacle Course:  Create an outdoor obstacle course and write the directions on cards so everyone knows what to do.

• Lemonade Stand/Outdoor Restaurant:  Lemonade tastes better when you buy it from a lemonade stand and food tastes better when you eat outside.  Practice reading and writing by creating signs, menus and grocery lists. Enjoy the opportunity to role play taking orders and preparing simple menu items like PB & J or fruit salad!

• Backpack Fun:  Don’t forget to pack a backpack full of easy and fun activities when you take a day trip to the beach or have a picnic. Crossword puzzles, word finds, an empty notebook with a variety of pens and pencils. Mad Libs and other game books are ideas for this uncomplicated and effortless bag of amusement!

• Alphabet/Sight Word Mother May I: Fold an index card in half, write a letter of the alphabet or a sight word on both sides of the card and stagger them across the length of the driveway.  Choose one person to be the mother (or father). Everyone else stands on the opposite side of the cards.  Take turns choosing a letter or word to ask mother for permission to stand by.  If the choice is approved, walk to the card. If it isn’t approved, then the mother will pick a card that you may stand beside. The first one to reach the mother wins the game!

• Charades:  Write any words of your choice on blank pieces of paper and put them in a bucket. You can pick categories like nouns (animals, people), verbs (jump, fly) or adjectives (sad). Take turns reading the words and acting them out. Whoever guesses correctly, gets a turn.

• Jump Rope:  Jump to these classic rhyming songs using the link  Jump Rope Rhymes or by entering https://www.verywellfamily.com/old-fashioned-jump-rope-rhymes-1696145 into your search bar.

With a little creativity, children can keep practicing reading and writing while having a great time outside! Enjoy your summer!  

Any questions?  Please email us at Janice@Neighborhoodlit.com.  Taylor Burke is a teacher and Director of Communications at Neighborhood Lit. and works closely with Janice Migliazza, a Reading Specialist and owner of Neighborhood Lit, Route 34, Colts Neck to bring you this information.