As June rolls around, it brings with it the promise of summer and ample opportunities for engaging children in skill-building activities that foster growth and development. Whether you’re an occupational therapist, parent, or teacher, incorporating purposeful activities into summer school sessions can help maintain and enhance foundational skills in a fun and interactive way. In this blog post, we’ll explore crafts and activities tailored for summer school settings, complete with materials, prep instructions, and the skills targeted for each.
- Sandcastle Building Contest
- Materials: Sand, buckets, shovels, water
- Prep: Set up designated sandcastle-building areas.
- Directions: Encourage children to build sandcastles using buckets and shovels.
- Skills: Fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, creativity, teamwork
My students love this Kinetic Sand Sand Castle building set.
- Water Balloon Toss
- Materials: Water balloons, buckets
- Prep: Fill water balloons before the activity.
- Directions: Have children toss water balloons back and forth to each other.
- Skills: Gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination, social interaction, focus
- Nature Scavenger Hunt
- Materials: Checklist, baskets
- Prep: Create a list of items for children to find.
- Directions: Lead children on a nature walk to find items on the checklist.
- Skills: Observation skills, attention to detail, appreciation for nature
4. Ice Cream Cone Craft
- Materials: Construction paper, markers, cotton balls, glue
- Prep: Pre-cut cone shapes from construction paper.
- Directions: Have children decorate the paper cones and glue cotton balls as “ice cream.”
- Skills: Fine motor skills, creativity, following instructions
5. Sponge Water Relay
- Materials: Sponges, buckets of water, containers
- Prep: Fill buckets with water and set up relay stations.
- Directions: Divide children into teams and have them pass soaked sponges down the line.
- Skills: Gross motor skills, coordination, teamwork, concentration
6. Sunflower Seed Planting
- Materials: Sunflower seeds, potting soil, small pots
- Prep: Provide pots filled with soil and seeds.
- Directions: Instruct children to plant sunflower seeds in the pots and water them.
- Skills: Fine motor skills, sensory exploration, responsibility, patience
7. Ocean Sensory Bin
- Materials: Blue rice, toy sea creatures, shells
- Prep: Dye rice blue and set up sensory bin.
- Directions: Let children explore the sensory bin and play with the items.
- Skills: Sensory exploration, fine motor skills, imaginative play
8. Fruit Salad Making
- Materials: Assorted fruits, cutting board, child-safe knives
- Prep: Pre-cut fruits and provide child-safe knives.
- Directions: Have children help cut fruits and mix them to make a fruit salad.
- Skills: Fine motor skills, following instructions, healthy eating habits
9. Beach Ball Alphabet Game
- Materials: Beach balls, permanent marker
- Prep: Write letters of the alphabet on beach balls.
- Directions: Toss the beach balls and call out letters for children to identify.
- Skills: Letter recognition, gross motor skills, physical activity
10. Rock Painting
- Materials: Flat rocks, acrylic paint, paintbrushes
- Prep: Clean and dry rocks before the activity.
- Directions: Let children paint rocks using acrylic paint and brushes.
- Skills: Fine motor skills, creativity, sensory exploration
11. Nature Walk and Journaling
- Materials: Journals, pencils, magnifying glasses
- Prep: Provide each child with a journal and pencil.
- Directions: Take children on a nature walk and encourage them to journal their observations.
- Skills: Observation skills, writing practice, appreciation for nature, mindfulness
12. Sun Catcher Craft
- Materials: Clear contact paper, tissue paper, scissors, string
- Prep: Cut contact paper into shapes and provide tissue paper.
- Directions: Let children create sun catchers by sticking tissue paper to contact paper.
- Skills: Fine motor skills, creativity, visual perception, spatial awareness
13. Watercolor Resist Art
- Materials: Watercolor paints, white crayons, watercolor paper
- Prep: Provide watercolor paper and white crayons.
- Directions: Have children draw with white crayons on the paper and paint over it with watercolors.
- Skills: Fine motor skills, creativity, color recognition, artistic expression
14. Outdoor Yoga Session
- Materials: Yoga mats or towels, Yoga activity cards, Yoga dice or movement printout.
- Prep: Choose a suitable outdoor location and provide yoga mats.
- Directions: Lead children through a series of yoga poses and breathing exercises.
- Skills: Gross motor skills, balance, coordination, mindfulness, relaxation
Keep your students engaged and working on academic skills with these June-themed activities. They include differentiated, themed worksheets & activities that incorporate math, literacy, writing, handwriting, fine motor, visual perceptual skills, following directions, gross motor, and listening skills. These seasonal activities are great for writing centers, math stations, early finishers, summer school lessons, occupational therapy activities, emergency sub plans, and more.
By incorporating engaging crafts and activities into summer school sessions, occupational therapists, parents, and teachers can support children’s growth and development while making learning fun and memorable. From building sandcastles to planting sunflowers, each activity offers valuable opportunities for skill-building and exploration. Let’s make this summer a season of growth, creativity, and joy for all children!
Keep building those foundational skills, and have a fantastic summer of learning and fun!
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About the Author
I am a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) and have been working in a public school system for more than 25 years. My resources can be found on TPT, BOOM Learning, Made by Teachers, Classful, and Your Therapy Source. I appreciate your interest wherever you wish to shop.
My mission is to help you find creative ideas to incorporate fine motor, visual perception, gross motor, and social-emotional learning into your lessons.
I hope you consider signing up for my Free Resource Library with your Email. I send out emails about once a week and share resources, tips, and planning ideas for your classroom or occupational therapy needs. Hopefully, these help your students work on building their skills in a fun and engaging way.
