Summer is a great time to enjoy activities outside with your kiddos. From having a water fight to coloring with chalk, there are a variety of different activities that you and your little ones can enjoy. The best part is that many fun summer activities can also be educational too!
While we know that parents aren’t always looking for ways to teach their children, we believe that every moment can be a learning opportunity and that fun activities can be educational too! If you are trying to plan different things to do with your child throughout the summer, we can help.
At Growing Kids Learning Centers, we love combining fun and education to help our students learn. We wanted to give you some ideas to help you plan both fun and educational activities for your kiddos this summer. Read on to learn more and start planning all the summer fun!
Start a Garden
While this activity takes some dedication, it is fun to do with your children and can teach them a variety of different lessons. Whether you decide to plant flowers, vegetables, or any other type of plant, a garden can teach your children a lot about nature, process, and how things grow. They can watch as their seeds turn into seedlings, they can see the process of a strawberry growing. You can learn some more about plants and nature and help your child understand how it all works.
If you want to make this activity more focused on numbers and letters, you can have your child count how many plants there are, how many leaves or vegetables are growing, and help them make labels for all of their plants, allowing them to use numbers and letters for their garden.
Make Ice Cream
What’s better in summer than some tasty ice cream on a hot day? While eating ice cream is not extremely educational, making it can be! Making ice cream with your kiddos can be a fun science experiment that gives you a tasty reward at the end. This recipe from delish teaches you how to make ice cream in a bag, making it fun, easy, and educational for your kiddo to enjoy a treat. This activity can teach them how different ingredients can be used to create something tasty!
Bake Something
Baking is another great way to help your children learn in a fun way. Baking cookies, brownies, or bread may not seem like an activity that can help your kiddos learn something, but it can actually teach them a lot! When you bake with your kids, you can help them learn to follow directions, teach them how to measure, and help them understand how different ingredients work together to create a tasty treat. Baking is a great activity to do with your kiddos that is fun and educational!
Explore Historical Sites
Every town and city has some history and you can take your children on an adventure to learn about that history! Take some time to explore your town and walk around historical sites, or take a tour if possible. This can be a fun way to learn more about your home and get a cool history lesson as well!
We have locations throughout Indiana, so we figured we would give you a list of resources based on where we are located to help you find historical sites.
South Bend: South Bend offers a ton of beautiful and unique historical sites, including mansions, museums, and more! Here is a list of some historical places and other places to visit in South Bend!
Elkhart: Elkhart is another town rich with history and a ton of great places to explore. You can find a list of some of the best ones here!
Valparaiso: Downtown Valparaiso contains buildings that have been standing for over a century. Take a stroll downtown and be sure to learn the history of some of these beautiful buildings.
Goshen: There are many different historical sites in Goshen that could be fun to visit with your kiddos. You can find a list here!
Charleston: Another city full of historical sites and places to explore, Charleston can be a great place to explore with your kiddos.
Plymouth: Plymouth has a number of notable buildings lining the street that has historical significance. You can find a full list of those buildings here!
Warsaw: Warsaw has some beautiful and historical places that your kids will love to see. You can find a list here!
While your child may not be as into the actual history of some of the places around your city, it can help open their eyes to the fact that these places have been around for many years and help them begin to understand history. Plus, it is fun to look at some old architecture and explore the place you live.
These are only a few of the many fun and educational summer activities that you can enjoy with your children. Start planning the summer fun and be sure to contact Growing Kids Learning Centers to learn more about our schools and enroll your child today!
