More Summer Themes

One of the local Goddard Schools also distributed a Summer 2012 Calendar. The weekly themes they will be using are:

Dive Into Summer!
Into the Deep
Farming and Gardening Adventures
A Camping We Will Go!
Over the Bridge
Into the Woods
Incredible Insects
Birds of a Feather Flock Together
Ravenous Reptiles
Going Wild
Rockin Geology
Fun in the Sun!


Each day lists something for the day, but many are generic like "special snack" or "make a splash." Some days focus on crafts: tie dye day, candle making, build a bridge, make a bird house, make a volcano, make a pet rock and plant a seed.


Other days are dress-up or costumes: wear sunglasses, dress like a pirate, dress like a farmer, pajama day, wear a bug shirt, and wear beach gear.


There are also field trips or outdoor activities: ice cream truck visit, storyteller visit, movie day, hike over a bridge, visit a park, bug hunt, visit fish hatchery, visit science museum, theater trip, McDonald's lunch, costume party, music visit, visit horse farm, and cave visit.


Active days seem to be: Volley ball contest, panning for gold, skipping rocks, soak up the sun, surf's up, ride the waves and nature walk.


What I love about calendars like these is that you can use ideas from them to create your own theme weeks and activities. For instance, I like the theme week "Into the Woods." I would probably do this with a nature hike with a scavenger hunt to collect objects like leaves and rocks. Each kid would get their own plastic bag to collect "treasures." I would probably have the second day going to the library to get tree books and do leaf rubbings and identify the trees and rocks.


If the week is busy, we'd go to our local park. If we have time, I'd drive to a local state park, pick up a park map and hike a trial. We'd use the map and practice map and compass skills while we're there. I'm sure fallen leaves are fine to take, but check the park's policy on rocks or any other items.


I love the theme of a "Bridge" week. We have a couple local covered bridges, so visiting them would be fun. There are also many covered bridges in Bucks County and I'd love to do a driving tour one day to see them, but that would take us a full day. Plus we could get some non-fiction books from the library on types of bridges. This would be great early in summer, because as we travel we could be on the lookout for types of bridges, take photos of them and create a little mini photo album with all the photos. The best part is that the kids would be learning about engineering without realizing it!