Making it FUN!

How about planning some fun themed days this summer? Read on for some great ideas!

Before the Fourth of July, the children can help you make stars and stripes decorations. Weave red, white, and blue crepe paper through the fence and place streamers on the posts to blow in the wind. Cover cardboard stars with aluminum foil and hang from the ceiling indoors.

Plan a lunch outside serving picnic items. Put a few drops of red or blue food coloring in softened cream cheese and spread between slices of bread. Cut the sandwiches into a star shape with a cookie cutter. Serve blue lemonade (just a drop or two of blue food coloring) and of course, have cake or apple pie for dessert!

A 9x12 inch cake can be decorated by using candy red hots for stripes and silver balls for stars. Have children make paper flags using stars and dots which can be purchased at an office supple store. To make the red and white strips, they can stick the dots in rows. Just remember, that you can show them what our American flag looks like but let them be creative to make their own flags.

“Beach Day” is another fun theme day. Mix water with sand in the sandbox. Provide styrofoam cups and various empty cans and jars of all sizes. Pack the wet sand into the jars/cans and let the children come up with wonderful sand castles!

Next, place a sheet on the ground to represent the ocean. Put on some surfing music. While the music plays, the children can “surf back and forth across the ocean.” When the music stops, the surfers are “caught,” unless they are back on the beach (off of the sheet). Surfers must move continuously back and forth across the ocean, they can’t always stay close to the beach. If the surfer is caught, they wait on the beach, and whoever “surfs” the longest wins.

Sandy paintings can be made by placing sand in medium sized margarine containers. Mix a few tablespoons of tempera paint with the sand. Give each child a baby food jar and a spoon. Let them spoon the colored sand into layers inside the jar. The sand should come to the top of the jar. When the painting is finished, place a piece of cotton on top before putting the lid on. This will keep the sand from shifting when the jar is moved. For a finishing touch, cover the lid with aluminum foil or paint it with tempera paint.

Two fun variations of musical chairs can be played on hot summer days. The first variation is called Beach Blanket Bum. Place towels on the ground, side by side. Have one fewer towel than the number of children. Have the players walk around the towels to music and when the music stops, the last person to be laying on a towel is the “Beach Blanket Bum.”

On a really hot day, help the children play “Musical Icy Tubs”. Place dish tubs of icy water in a circle. Have one fewer tub than the number of children playing. When the beach music stops, they actually sit in the icy tub, and the person who does not get a tub can push the button to the CD player for the next round. Keep playing until the last person has to sit in the single tub. This is really fun on a day that you let them bring swimming suits.

Another idea for a Summer Splash Day is to have a wet sponge throw. Set up some empty cans and plastic bottles as targets. Soak some sponges in water. Have the children line up behind a marker and see if they can hit the targets.

Also try barefoot painting on a long strip of butcher paper.

Have a wash day and wash everything from doll clothes to swing sets, all outside, of course.

The theme days are limitless. A wonderful book that has these and many other themes like “Winter in July,” is the book Summer Sizzlers and Magic Mondays by Edna Wallace. These ideas work well for summer school-age programs as well.

Written by Pam Raffurty, Director

Source:
Wallace, E. (1994) Summer Sizzlers and Magic Mondays. Nashville, TN: School-Age Notes.