Naturally Educational » Summer
Blackberry Jammin’
Have you been enjoying the summer? I cannot believe it is almost fall! We were able to join the tot cooking classes at Garden of Eve this summer and made blackberry jam. I love the whole fields-to-table experience as it gives the kids an idea of where we get our food. It is also a wonderful insight into the how people lived in a time before supermarkets–or refrigeration. The kids were able to: 1. Pick the blackberries. The kids … Read entire article »
Filed under: 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 9-11 (Elementary), All Ages, Ecology, Featured, Home Arts, Summer, Taste
Patriotic Ice Pops
Nothing quite cools during hot summer days like an ice pop. We love our Tovolo Star Ice Pop Molds and wanted to try to make red, white, and blue patriotic Popsicles. The challenge is a natural, non-toxic blue food dye and, after much experimenting, came up with this recipe: Ingredients one ripe banana 6-8 large strawberries a quarter cup of blueberries (optional) chilled lemonade 4 oz cup of banana or vanilla yogurt honey or sugar (just for the blue layer) red cabbage Directions: 1. Red … Read entire article »
Fireworks!
Each year we try to paint fireworks with a different technique and this is my favorite effect, yet. Materials: wax paper black or dark blue paper red, white, and blue paint glitter Directions: 1. Cut circles of various sizes from the wax paper. Fold the circles in half, then fold in half again, and fold once more. Snip the tip in a V-shape and make cuts at the outer edge. You can also cut triangles along the side. This is just like … Read entire article »
Filed under: 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 6-8 (Early Elementary), Featured, History and Culture, Summer
8 Picture Books to Enjoy in the Summer Sun
Last year we shared five of our favorite picture books about summer and here are three more summer children’s books to add to our list: Summer’s Vacation, by Lynn Plourde: Summer is personified as a carefree young girl in this modern legend. In the illustrations, she has the tan, breezy-barefoot look of a girl enjoying summer to its fullest. However, there is a lesson about responsibility entwined in the story. When Summer plays too long, the … Read entire article »
Filed under: 0-3 (Babies and Toddlers), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergartners), 6-8 (Early Elementary), Featured, Summer
How to Make a Flower Fairy
We made these Flower Fairies in early summer but I am just getting around to posting them. In the fall, we will make them with leaves. We had been wanting to make Flower Fairies for some time and I was inspired to finally give it a go when I saw these forest fairies at A New Bohemia during the Smart Summer Challenge. Materials: 1 wooden bead artificial flowers 2 chenille stems 1 metallic chenille stem embroidery floss or yarn glue dots or hot … Read entire article »
Filed under: 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergartners), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 9-11 (Elementary), 9-11 (Elementary), 9-12 (Middle Grades), Featured, Home Arts, Literacy, Spring, Summer
Mathematics Beach Party!
Beaches, water tables, sprinklers, the sink, the bath–if it involves water and getting soaking wet, it is sure to be a hit with young children…especially during the hottest days of summer! We were off to the beach yesterday and while the kids built sandcastles, waded in the water, and floated in an inflatable raft our friends brought along, I threw in a little math and science. Which molds better? Wet sand or dry sand? Interesting! The water helps … Read entire article »
Filed under: All Ages, Bodily-kinesthetic, Featured, Logical-Mathematical, Mathematics, Science, Summer, Touch
Butterfly Coffee Filter Craft
After we released our butterfly friends it just seemed like there was something missing from our home. So, we made one of our favorite crafts: coffee filter butterflies. This is such a simple little craft and the children love both the process and the results! (I’ve joked that my next book should be titled, “101 Crafts with Coffee Filters,” because I love this strong, versatile material!) Materials: two coffee filters markers (including dried-out markers that you were about to … Read entire article »
Filed under: 1-2 (Toddler), 1-2 (Toddlers), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 6-8 (Early Elementary), Ecology, Featured, Science, Smart Summer Challenge, Summer
The Butterfly Life Cycle
We’ve visited our local vivarium and are fascinated by butterflies. To get a closer look at the butterfly life cycle, we ordered the Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden from Amazon and then went onto Insect Lore’s site to order the caterpillars (an extra $5 handling fee). The kids were thrilled to open the package and check out our five little larvae (i.e.: caterpillars). Our tiny caterpillars got bigger and fatter–just like The Very Hungry Caterpillar. And they spun … Read entire article »
Filed under: All Ages, Ecology, Featured, Science, Smart Summer Challenge, Summer
Apple Blossom to Zinnia: 3 Flower Alphabet Picture Books
Flowers are such a lovely part of spring and summer. We’ve planted, pressed, dissected, drawn, and studied these beautiful blossoms and are ready, soon, to move onto pollinators. To enrich our knowledge base of flower types, we borrowed some alphabet books featuring flowers. Flower Alphabet Picture Books The Flower Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta’s Alphabet Books): We own a number of Pallotta’s alphabet books and this one does not disappoint. The marginalia illustrate interesting facts about each … Read entire article »
Filed under: 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergartners), Ecology, Featured, Literacy, Smart Summer Challenge, Spring, Summer
F is for Flowers
Earlier in the spring, we learned about rain and the water cycle and about the plant life cycle. Then, once our flowers bloomed, we explored our garden. We dissected flowers, pressed flowers, made daffodil flower crafts out of cardboard toilet paper tubes, and we also practiced writing using flower petals. As with most of our “letter of the week” crafts, I modify it to include writing the whole word for my daughter, who is in … Read entire article »
Filed under: 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 6-8 (Early Elementary), Ecology, Featured, Literacy, Science, Smart Summer Challenge, Smell, Spring, Summer, Taste
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About the Author
Candace Lindemann is a published children’s writer and educational consultant. She holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Working with school districts around the country and some of the most well-known companies in the education industry, Candace creates custom strategies, textbooks, and lesson plans. Her articles have appeared in print and online.
While Candace’s degrees prepared her for a career in education, she’s found that the best preparation for parenting is on the job training.
Contact Candace via e-mail, read her full biography, or connect with her using the social media icons below or on Google.
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