The week is winding down.
The school year is winding down. And, quite possibly, the kids are winding up.
The early days of summer vacation are exciting for children. The three
activities listed below, a continuation of the Sizzling Summer Snow Day Unit, are great ideas for helping them
wind down a bit during the afternoon.
Please check back for the
final activity to be posted next week.
Activity 5—In the summer you
see this, but in the winter you see that—
The This and That Game
This activity is a fun way to cool down after the mitten relay
(previous post), but will still keep the little one’s brain circuits warm and
humming. Play the This and That Game-a comparison game. Accept reasonable
answers that can be explained.
Ages: 5-10
Time to complete: 15-20 minutes
Materials:
Index cards with printed
summer-themed words/phrases
Sand pail or other container to
hold the cards
Answer sheet for moderator to
use
Sample comparison item (ex: a snow shovel and a sand shovel)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Explain to the children that
they are going to play a game where they will compare and contrast items from
two different seasons, winter and summer. Discuss how the two seasons are
different.
2. Show the children the sand
shovel and the snow shovel. Discuss the purpose for each item.
3. Ask a child to pull a card
out of the sand pail. The child (or parent) reads the summer item on the card.
4. Children take turns stating the item or activity that is similar but
used differently in the winter.
Summer—Winter
Baseball glove—Fuzzy
glove
Fire pit—Fireplace
Sand shovel—Snow
shovel
Flip Flops—Snow
boots
Skateboard—Snowboard
Chocolate
milkshake—Hot cocoa
Build a sand
castle—Build a snowman
Baseball cap—Snow
hat
Ice Hockey—Field hockey
ACTIVITY 6—WARM YOUR IMAGINATION WITH A CHILLY SUMMER STORY
(and a hot cup of cocoa)
After a fun morning of activities, the kids can wind down while they
sip a cup of hot cocoa topped with marshmallows and listen to a story about how
it can snow in the summer time.
Ages: 5-7
Time to complete: 15-20 minutes
Read
Sometimes Snow Falls in the Summer by
Deb Troehler—a story of a child’s visit to her grandmother’s home. When the
kids hear about the imaginative way that the grandmother helps her
granddaughter create a summer snowstorm, the kids will definitely want to
create a snowstorm of their own. That, however, may require a trip to the back
yard when the sun dips low in the sky and the heat of the day has faded.
ACTIVITY 7—WINTER-THEMED CHARADES
Once
the children have rested, it’s time to get them moving again with a fun game of
winter-themed charades. This activity taps into their imaginations as well as
their inner actors.
Ages: 4-10
Time to complete: 20-30 minutes
Materials:
Index cards with printed
winter-themed activities
Sand pail or other container to
hold the cards
Stopwatch and paper (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Prior to the game of
charades, discuss what type of things the children remember doing last winter.
For example: If the winter was snowy, did they get to go sledding?
2. Write those activities on cards
and place into the sand pail.
3. Ask a child to pull a card
from the sand pail with a winter-themed activity listed on the card and read
it.
4. The child then acts out the
activity while the other children guess what the activity is.
5. Take turns acting out the rest of the winter activities.
Activity List:
Sledding
Shoveling snow
Skiing or snowboarding
Making Snow Angels
Putting on outdoor wear to play
outside (hat, gloves, and mittens)
Building a snowman
Having a snowball fight
Modification for older children:
To
reinforce concepts of telling time, designate one child the job of time keeper.
Record the amount of time it takes for the children to identify the activity.
Place those times in order to determine which pair of charade players had the fastest
time.
