Rainy Day Summer Activities

For the past few summers, I've had the opportunity to work in an Autistic and preschool special education setting.  I simply loved it and we were able to make  summer time activities that included fine motor skills, counting, identifying colors, and so on!  You can do these activities with your own children, preschoolers or kindergarten kiddos. Here are a few of my favorite (and the only ones I took pictures of) activities I have done with my students! 

1. Colorful lantern

I did this activity during a Camping themed week. We only needed a few items to create these cute lanterns. We needed mason jars, wet glue, a paintbrush, tissue paper, and a flame less tea light. I got a six pack of these frameless tea lights at Christmas tree shops for $2.50. 

I had my students rip up tissue paper while identifying colors, counting, and creating piles of ten! We used at least twenty to thirty pieces of tissue paper, but that all depends on the size of your pieces. We then took a paintbrush and had students glue pieces of the tissue paper directly onto the mason jar. As we were going over the mason jar, we would reapply glue of edges were turning up! We let them dry overnight and placed a flame less tea light inside. We loved the final product. I even have one that I keep on my patio for summer nights!

2. S'mores on a stick

To strengthen fine motor skills, I gave each of my students a snack sized bag with one graham cracker inside. Each student would try to break their cracker into crumbs by pinching it. Surprisingly, the kids loved to do this! I melted some pieces of chocolate in a microwave, stopping every 20 seconds to stir it in a bowl. I placed big marshmallows on a kabob stick made of bamboo and had students roll their marshmallows in the melted chocolate and roll it in the cracker crumbs in their snack bag. No melted marshmallows but the kids asked for second and third helpings, so you know they loved them!

3. Starfish

I simply used construction paper; cut out a starfish like shape (not the best looking one; I'm clearly no artist). I used Cheerios and had students count them and glue them onto their constudtion paper. Some were able to do more than others, but  either way, we worked in math skills.

4. Lighthouse

Again, step in the flame less tea lights! This was so simple! I just used clear cups and Red Solo cups, had kids cut small pieces of black construction paper and glue them on the sides and put masking tape around the cups! Super easy and super cute! 

5. Snake

I simply used a toilet paper roll, had the kids paint it, and allow time to dry. Then I had the kids cut the roll while I turned it. We then unrolled it to stretch it out, snipped an end to create a head and glued some eyeballs on it! The kids used these for pretend play.