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Summer and preschoolers are like peanut butter and jelly, and Woody and Buzz. They just go together. For preschoolers, summer is just brimming with excitement and wonder, offering endless opportunities for exploration and discovery. However, the attention span of a preschooler is still quite short. For this reason, we are going to fill this post with idea after idea of fun summer activities for preschoolers!
Child Development specialists indicate the average attention span for kids is two to three minutes for each year. For example a three year old’s attention span would be approximately 9 minutes. (Read more about the attention span of different age groups here.).
Don’t worry, you’ll find enough fun here for the longest summer day. Let’s get started!
Water Fun
Fill a big plastic tub with water then try:
- Adding sponges to absorb and squeeze. Provide a small additional empty container. Can they squeeze the water from the sponge into it over and over to fill it up?
- Multiple plastic cups to fill and pour from (this entertains my grands for a long time!)
- Add funnels and strainers to the containers for additional variety.
- Poke holes in a plastic water bottle and create fountains.
- Play sink or float. Provide a container of objects that can get wet and let them test their theories of what will happen when they place the object in the tub of water.
- If it is hot, add ice cubes to play with. You could even freeze small toys from the Dollar Store in plastic containers. They’ll have a great time playing and waiting for the ice to melt.
- Find some old paintbrushes. Set the water near a sidewalk and let them ‘paint’ their hearts out.
Games with a Ball
- Tried and true – roll a ball back and forth. Play catch using a larger soft ball.
- Create a goal to roll a ball through, or cut a hole in a big piece of cardboard as a target to throw the ball through.
- Line up/stack up plastic cups, then go ‘bowling’ with your preschooler
- ‘Basket’ ball – choose a large container and gather all the small balls you can (or wad up paper or used rolled up socks to make your own). Practice shooting the ball into the container. Gather them all up and do it again! This is a great game to do virtually as you can take turns and cheer each other on.
Nature Activities
- Create a ‘viewer’ by cutting a rectangle out of a piece of cardstock. Then look through that cut out area for a different view of your environment.
- Provide an empty egg carton. Challenge your preschooler to find 12 different nature items and place them in the sections.
- Cut out large letters out of cardstock that spell Summer, their name or maybe the town where you live. Then have fun gathering nature items and gluing them to the letters. If you are distant from your grands you could mail them the letters and they can text you a picture of the finished creation.
Summer Classics
- Summer Scented Play Dough – check out these recipes for Blue Coconut, Orange, Key Lime and Watermelon for a fresh take on a classic!
- Bubbles – if they aren’t ready to make them on their own, they’ll love chasing and popping them!
- Wash the car. OK – you might have to go to a ‘real’ carwash afterwards, but they will have a ton of fun with you, a garden hose and a sponge.
- Dance Party – create a playlist of great preschool favorites (just search for summer playlist on Spotify and you’ll get several great options!). If you’re a long distance grandparent, dance your hearts out together or on FaceTime!
- Karaoke – take turns singing fun songs to each other and watch the performer come out in your grandchild.
- Have an ice cream party. Purchase their favorite or make your own! This ice cream in a bag recipe is super fun. They might need a little help getting to the finish line but they’ll have a ton of fun eating it. Combine this fun snack with a fun summer ice cream read just for kids!
- The Little Ice Cream Truck by Margery Cuyler.
Adventure Themed Activities for Preschoolers
Go on an adventure without leaving your home!
Picnic Adventure
This doesn’t have to be elaborate. Kids just love the uniqueness of eating somewhere they usually don’t! Check out this Over the River post about creating memorable picnics with your grandkids.
Camping Adventure
Even in your yard. Pitch the tent, string lights, and bring out all the blankets and stuffies. Grill hot dogs and make s’mores. If you really do an overnight and your grands are adventurous do some stargazing, and go on a flashlight hunt for things that they would clearly see in the day. If you are ‘day campers’ put a big basket of books in the tent.
Llama Llama loves Camping is a great choice!
Beach Day Adventure
Purchase play sand for outside fun. Put on swimsuits and go swimming in a kiddie pool (or kids can swim in the bathtub). Don’t forget to add some plastic sea creatures for extra fun. Watch The Little Mermaid or Finding Nemo. Eat tropical themed food and play with a big plastic beach ball. Sounds like a great day! Reading a great book at the beach is a given. Try these:
- Llama Llama Sand and Sun by Anna Dewdney
- Just Grandma and Me by Mercer Mayer
- Curious George Goes to the Beach by H.A. Rey
- Pete at the Cat: Pete at the Beach by James Dean
Quiet Time Adventures
Coloring and stories
Collect a container of art supplies and summer coloring pages ready to go for super hot days, or when they are needing a break from more energetic activities.
Summer Stories for Preschoolers:
- Hooray for Summer by Kazuo Iwamura
- A Lullaby of Summer Things by Natalie Ziarnik
- And Then Comes Summer by Tom Brenner
- Summer by Cao Wenxuan
- Mouses First Summer by Lauren Thompson
I am so excited for summer activities with my preschool grandkids! Those times, whether they last two minutes or are on repeat for what seems like forever, will be the building blocks for sweet summer memories that we will all cherish for years to come!