Here are some simple summer activities that will get your child moving and keep them learning! The list includes outdoor summer activities that can be implemented during the summer when kids are at home, or if you are teaching summer school and need an outdoor summer school math activity!
Chalk
Sidewalk chalk is a popular school resource for children, especially those in younger grades. It can be used for hopscotch math, spelling sight words, or simply drawing a picture. Hopscotch is a game that can be drawn with sidewalk chalk and used in many different educational ways. Plus, it allows for kinesthetic learning since the children are required to hop around!
Sort and Measure Sticks
Another great sidewalk chalk math activity is a chalk number line run. A number line is a tool to help with solving problems and increases number sense. Use the chalk to draw a number line to 20 (or however high you would like to go). Place a stack of number cards near the line. Have children take turns drawing a number card. If a number 3 is drawn, the player will hop 3 times. Players rotate drawing cards and counting until someone reaches the end.
These super simple summer activities involving sidewalk chalk are a great way to get your child outside and learning this summer!
Sight Word Basketball
Sight word basketball is another way to implement simple summer outdoor activities into your child’s summer learning. This is also an outdoor summer activity that allows kinesthetic movements. Just like some of the other games listed, this activity can be adjusted according to what your child’s educational needs are. (alphabet, sight words, etc.)
To play sight word basketball, you will either need to facilitate the game and call out sight words (example: spell ‘like’) or you will want to have sight words already written down on index cards for players to draw and read.
To begin playing the game, a player will draw a sight word and read it aloud as quickly as possible. Once the player successfully reads a word, they get a chance to shoot the basketball. The player collects 2 points if they answer correctly AND make the ball into the hoop. Then, the next player gets a turn.
The object of the game is to correctly read/spell as many sight words as possible so that you get more chances to shoot the basketball. The player with the most points wins the game!
Find and Count Bug Hunt
This outdoor summer activity may sound a little scary at first to some children; however, it is important for them to realize they do not have to touch the bugs during this game.
Similar to the sort and measure sticks, this game is pretty self-explanatory – find bugs and count them. Children will use a notepad and pencil to keep track of the bugs they count with tally marks, or by writing the number. You can start this game by telling the players they have ‘x’ amount of time (say 10 minutes, for example) to find as many bugs as they can. Use a stopwatch or phone to set a timer and GO!! The players will be busy counting bugs and tallying them on their notepad.
Once the timer is finished, players will come together to discuss how many bugs they saw. This outdoor summer math activity can be used as a science AND a math lesson because the players could compare the different bugs they saw when counting!
Fun and Simple Outdoor Activities
In conclusion, all of these summer activities offer children a chance to get outdoors and have fun while practicing their reading and math skills. Parents, teachers, and camp counselors can use an outdoor summer activity to keep kids engaged and learning. Overall, be sure to celebrate a child’s success and HAVE FUN!
