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It’s officially summer! And for some of you, the panic is setting in! What should you do these next few months? How will you fill your time? How do you encourage language development during the summer months? All valid concerns! Keep reading for fun summer theme ideas to help you keep your kids entertained while fostering a language rich environment all season long. To kick things off, we are doing all things farm!
Fun Summer Schedule!
Each summer I pick nine different themes. Each theme is broken down by day of the week. Then every day has a focused activity to encourage vocabulary development, language in natural contexts, and create hands-on experiences. Here is the daily schedule we will follow for the entire summer regardless of the theme!
- Make It Monday
- Take a Trip Tuesday
- Water Wednesday
- Thinking Thursday
- Foodie Friday
- Cinema Saturday
- Sensory Sunday
Too many other things going on this summer? Don’t stress! Pick only a couple of activities or do it all. Incorporating vocabulary and language into even just one activity can help increase your child’s retention and application of concepts. Most importantly, just have fun together!
Make It Monday
For the first day on the fun summer schedule, we do Make It Monday! We do a small themed craft or project often targeting sensory needs, fine motor skills, and direction following. For farm week, we decided to make some cute muddy pigs!
All that was needed was a small plastic sandwich bag, brown paint, shaving cream (we used this kind!), and a picture of a pig printed on thick pink paper. Squeeze a small amount of paint and shaving cream on top of the pig picture. Carefully slide everything into the plastic bag, release as much air out of the bag as you can, and seal tightly.
My son was able to push and mix the paint and shaving cream together making a very muddy pig. Once he was done, I slowly pulled out the pig and left it to dry. We ended up making a momma pig and a baby pig! So cute and so easy!
Looking for another example? Check out the Teaching 2 And 3 Year Olds blog for more inspiration!
Take a Trip Tuesday
Take a Trip Tuesday might be our family’s favorite day of the week around here! I look for experiences to further discuss and explore the week’s theme. Most of the “trips” are very simple and often free, but once in awhile we do a bigger trip if it aligns with our other fun summer plans.
For farm week, we headed to a locally owned and run family farm called Hephzibah Farms. We were able to pet, feed, and hold several baby animals since it was early summer. Our tour guide was highly informed and explained everything perfectly for my son. My mom tagged along and we learned a ton too!
If you are local to northern Illinois or southern Wisconsin, this farm tour is a complete and total must. Hands down amazing! I may have to do an entire separate post just on this place soon! Sign up for a private tour on their website for five dollars per person. Kids under 2 are free. They sell farm fresh eggs, meat, and homemade baked goods at the end of the tour. Seriously! Book this tour!
Water Wednesday
Water play is probably the easiest fun summer activity. Both of my boys love the water and look forward to this day. Plus these activities usually keep busy hands busy the longest which is always a bonus.
(Please note that all children should be supervised at all times when playing in and around water!)
Since my youngest’s favorite word right now is “duck”, we decided to have some friendly duck races! I found a few rubber duckies we already had plus some paper straws. My oldest enjoyed blowing the duck across the water. (He even beat my husband best out of three!) My youngest enjoyed putting the ducks in and out of the water and splashing. So much splashing, but so many productions of the word “duck” in a natural context, pointing, and laughing. Worth it!
Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate most of this week so we ended up doing our water activity inside on the kitchen floor. Luckily, the particular water bin I used was smaller and only made a minimal puddle! Crossing our fingers for better weather next week!
Thinking Thursday
Thinking Thursdays are when we slow it down a bit and relax with a good book plus some sort of “paper and pencil” activity. There are so many awesome books out there it can be hard to choose, but I try to go with the classics as well as some childhood favorites. Check out themed books from your local library, watch/listen to books on Youtube, or order your very own copy!
For the farm week book, I went with CLICK, CLACK, MOO Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin. And it was a huge hit! Such a funny book that has now been read before bed every night since Thursday!
To go along with the story, I found these free farm animal clip and count cards. My son was able to count the animals and use mini clothespins to identify the corresponding numbers. This was a great freebie find on Teachers Pay Teachers. Click here to grab a copy!
Foodie Friday
A fun summer schedule has to include food! Each Friday we try a snack or meal related to the week’s theme. Foodie Friday is an exciting way to introduce different types of food and enjoy some old favorites. Sometimes we make the treat or sometimes we buy the treat, but either way it is delicious, different, and memorable.
We are big popcorn lovers at our house so I thought popcorn would be a perfect Foodie Friday snack for farm week! To make plain popcorn a little more exciting, I found white popcorn on the cob. Took about a minute in the microwave and viola! A yummy farm themed snack that everybody ate!
Cinema Saturday
For a fun summer evening idea, a movie night is a no-brainer! Each Saturday, we watch a movie as a family that is related to the theme and family friendly. I try to pick a movie that is as closely related to the theme as possible, but sometimes we watch an episode of a TV show if fitting. This week we watched Charlotte’s Web.
Sensory Sunday
Ok I might have lied earlier…I think Sensory Sunday might actually be my favorite activity day. I really enjoy putting together sensory bins (especially since I can use the materials later for speech therapy sessions during the school year). And much like the water activities, sensory bins keep kids’ attention for sustained periods of time all while giving great tactile input.
I poured 6 lbs. of unpopped corn kernels into a large tupperware and threw all of the tractors in I could find too. Instant sensory bin! Not only did the kernels feel super interesting, they scooped and spilled wonderfully with all of the tractors and diggers. Very easy, but fun summer activity!
Looking for more sensory activities for summer fun? Check out this gardening sensory bin!
That’s a wrap on our first fun summer schedule down on the farm! We hope you found a few ideas to fill your days and to engage in language rich conversations with your kids. Stayed tuned for more thematic summer schedules. Next up…zoo week!
Happy Farm Week, fellow SLPs and mamas!
Talking Mama Bears