For Families - A Summer at Home Guide Kids Will Enjoy

Keeping your preschool kids entertained all summer long can be daunting for most parents. This is why when Montessori Preschool Winnetka closes for the summer holidays, most parents start stressing about how they will keep the kids occupied. Luckily, summer doesn't have to be a dreadful period where you're always plotting how to ditch or get rid of the young ones. With a little planning and creativity, you can make the holidays fun and memorable for both you and your preschool children. With this in mind, here is an at-home guide featuring fun and educational activities for you and your kids to take part in during the summer holiday!

Learn a New Skill

The summer holidays are long enough for your preschooler to learn a new skill. You can enroll them for guitar or piano lessons, teach them how to bake, or even sign them up for swimming lessons. If you have always wanted to pick up a new skill, this is the perfect time to do it as you can engage your kids as well. Whichever activities you choose, try to make them as inclusive as possible so you can enjoy them as a family.

Have a Weekly "Kids in the Kitchen" Day

Another great activity to add to your summer is "kids in the kitchen" day. This involves setting aside one day every week where the kids take part in the kitchen. To make this fun and memorable for the kids, include them in menu planning for that day. Ask them what they would like to make. Go out to the grocery store and pick out groceries together. Let them take part in food prepping and cooking. You can even make sweet treats such as cookies, ice cream, cake, and more.

Go Camping

Are you looking to have some quality time outdoors with your kids? Why not plan a camping trip as a family? Camping not only allows you to bond with the kids, but it also presents a perfect learning environment for preschoolers. They can discover new plants, insects, and animals, and learn to appreciate nature. To make the trip even more exciting, you can camp in designated camping grounds where there are other families as well. You and your kids get to engage in organized activities and make new friends!

Come Up With Creative Ways to Read

Learning should not stop when the kids come on holiday. Research shows that if kids neglect reading throughout the summer, they not only miss out on new skills but also lose up to three months' worth of reading. Therefore, ensure they study during the holidays. Come up with creative ways to read. These include the following:

• Watching educational TV shows for preschoolers 
• Creating arts and crafts 
• Drawing and coloring 
• Reading children novels 

Create a studying timetable that sees your kids engage in some form of preschool level learning at least once a day. Your child's Montessori Preschool Winnetka teacher can help you come up with the right reading material for your young one!

Visit Local Parks

Another excellent activity for the summer is visiting local parks. You can engage in various activities such as scavenger hunts, watching wildlife, playing hide and seek, taking nature walks, or even having a picnic. To make this educational and memorable, you can print out animals or birds you expect to see at the park and ask your kids to paint them when you get back home.

Organize a Family Book Club

Family book clubs are a great way to bond with your children and instill the reading culture. Only in this case, you will be doing it for the little ones. Create a system where your preschooler gets to read a book with mum, dad, or elder siblings every week. You can even do the reading together as a family with no phone or TV distractions. Reading a book to your child before bedtime is also an excellent idea for families that don't have time to set up a book club.

Redo the Kids' Room

Have you been planning on redecorating the kids' room or move things around? Why don't you do this during the summer? You can involve the kids to make this a fun and memorable activity. Great ideas include repainting the kids' room, allowing them to install themed wallpapers, doing DIY decor, or even decluttering to get rid of clothes, toys, and other items they no longer use. You could also rearrange the furniture or bring in new pieces if your budget allows!

Undertake Summer Gardening

Gardens require a lot of attention during the summer. You have to water every other day, mulch, and fertilize plants to protect them from the scorching summer heat. Kids love gardening, and there is no better way to keep them occupied than including them in this activity. Buy kid watering cans and kid gardening tools such as shovels, rakes, and gardening gloves. Let them put in some work in the garden. You could also allow them to plant a miniature garden as well. To make summer with the kids less stressful, create a list of activities you can do with the kids, and when to do them. These activities are affordable, and you get to do them as a family. You'll be surprised to see how fast time will fly!