1. Catching and Learning about Frogs
Every time I turn around this summer the boys are catching another frog.
No matter how big the frog is their smile is always bigger!
Frogs are harmless, easy to catch (at least in our part of the country), and they offer a world of opportunity for learning about, respecting, and experiencing nature.
You can often find frogs this time of year in the morning dew, after a rain, or in the late evening. Below is a link for making a bug box that will work just as well for frogs as long as it doesn’t get wet.
Bug box (or in this case frog box): http://www.ehow.com/how_5070713_make-bug-boxes.html
The next link is all about frogs: http://kiddyhouse.com/Themes/frogs/
2. Making a Frog Village in your Garden or Flower Bed.
I tripped across this project online and knew right away the boys would love making a toad village for their recently caught friends. So far, we have a great catch and release program; the frogs are not staying longer than a few minutes, as of yet. Everyone likes the little village anyway.
For all you need to know about making a Frog/toad village go to:
3. Making and Painting with Bathtub Finger Paints.
Our 7 year old made this job his; he really enjoyed watching his younger brothers play with “His” paint.
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup clear mild liquid dish detergent
- 1 Tbs. Cornstarch
- Food coloring
Instructions:
- Mix detergent and cornstarch together in a small bowl.
- Pour mixture into an egg carton, muffin tins, or ice cube tray if you are going to paint right away.
- Add 1-2 drops of food coloring to each section of the tray and mix with a spoon.
Now let your child finger paint on the inside of the tub.
Notes on our experience:
We made 4 batches at once and stored them in recycled child size milk bottles from McDonald’s happy meals. These worked great for use over the next few days.
4. Let Your Child be King or Queen for the Day.
Give Your Child a Day to Reign:
Let your King or Queen select the menu of the day and order special treats.
The young King or Queen can wear a crown and even dress the part if they prefer (and yes it’s OK for your 4 year old to go to Home Depot all dressed up like royalty).
Warning: every child in the family will expect this same royal treatment so start with the youngest and have a calendar of days selected for the rest.
For instructions on how to make a cute King or Queen crown, go to: http://www.ehow.com/how_6191580_make-king-queen-crown-child.html
5. Making Giant Bubbles
While doing this activity the boys were amazed by the size bubbles they were able to create with a hoola-hoop.
It is almost certain that we will do this again before the summer ends. Find all the instructions you need at: http://www.monkeysee.com/play/10550-how-to-make-giant-bubbles-for-kids
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Notes on our experience:
- This can be a messy adventure so it pays to choose a location with the clean up in mind.
- After making the giant bubbles the boys endeavored to make an ocean of suds by moving their feet and hands wildly; what they made was a winter wonderland in July.
