Summer break is always a tricky time to keep kids entertained, especially as a working parent. I work from home, which makes it easier to have the kids home all day with me, but makes it difficult to keep them occupied and off screens. This year my kids convinced me to plan themed weeks of activities, decorations, and sometimes food.
Themes for Summer Break: Disney, Oceans, Harry Potter, Spa Relaxation
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Fizzy Treasure
A mix of classic volcano experiment and treasure hunt!
First we made a paste with baking soda and water (it was about ½ cup baking soda, 1 Tbsp water) and added food coloring.
When the paste was mixed, we coated a gem with it and then added more to make it like a ball. We used different color mixes and gems of several colors.
Let the ball sit overnight, or at least a few hours, so it stays together.
Then use a dropper and vinegar to reveal the treasure!
To make it more of a challenge, I created a bingo-style card with the gems on it. Then as gems were discovered, my son filled in his card and tried to get 4 in a row!
Pirate Maps
Materials – white card stock and tea bags
Steep the tea in a small amount of water on the stove. Use a small amount of water so the tea is more concentrated.
Lay the card stock on a tray and then dab it with the tea bags. You can also pour the tea liquid onto the paper (if the tray is deep enough) or use a dropper.
Before letting it dry, crinkle the paper up so it dries with darker lines on it. Let the paper dry for a few hours. Then tear edges, crinkle it more, and draw your map!
Shell Painting
We have a lot of random shells in our house from various beach vacations. The kids beg us to bring them home and then they sit in a box in the basement. Luckily, this activity got us to use a few of them!
I printed out some inspiration pictures of shell painting, which really helped! The kids used acrylic paint and made several fun ocean designs, like fish and islands, as well as summer themes like strawberries and watermelon.
We also like using paint pens, which lets you add more details
Noodle Ships
I love any excuse to use pool noodles! I have made a variety of decorations with them, including a very fun coral reef and popsicles.
For ocean week, I tasked the kids with making boats using pool noodles and any other supplies they could find. We keep a bin for “trash art” with lots of random plastic containers and cardboard.
The kids created different boats and used foam board for sails. They even transferred temporary tattoos onto the foam sails! Then they set them adrift in the pool to see which floated successfully.
Kinetic Sand Castles
I tried to add in a few activities that let the kids be creative but relied on things we already owned. We have a lot of kinetic sand and a perfect ocean-related activity is making sand castles!
I chose to 3D print a set of castle molds that were scaled down for kinetic sand, but this set is also a good option.
