Montessori Summer Activities

Summer is here! It's the school break, and the weather will hopefully get warmer. It's time to share some Montessori-inspired ideas to get you through this Summer.

The list includes some typical Montessori activities that are perfect for warm weather and some that are just great for the holidays and in line with Montessori (aka hands-base, sensorial, and grounded in reality).

Practical Life for the Summer

• Pouring water between two jugs
• Pouring water from a jug into a glass
• Pouring water through a funnel
• Pouring water to the line: draw a line around a see-through cup and encourage your child to pour up to the line
• Making Summer snacks such as:

1. Peeling and slicing an egg
2. Slicing a banana
3. Making orange juice
4. Cutting string cheese
5. Cutting an apple
6. Cutting strawberries
7. Making smoothies
8. Spreading cream cheese, butter, and jam in a loaf of bread or crackers

• Washing the windows with a spray bottle and a squeegee
• Washing cars, bikes, or outdoor toys could be the perfect summer activity

Sensory and art activities for the Summer

• Painting with water is perfect for the Summer: Give your child a bucket of water, some paintbrushes, and sponges and encourage them to paint the fences or the wall.
• Spread a bedsheet over the wall, hang it on the fence, or secure it on the floor and let them paint outside.
• Bring the easel outside.
• Make some colored ice-cube by adding some food coloring to the water. Then paint with them.
• Freeze some toys and rescue them. I would recommend not to freeze their favorite as some can break. You could also freeze some pompoms. Use a small child's hammer to free them. 
• If you go to the beach, collect some seashells. You can do so many things with seashells. Sort them, identify them. Create with them, counting, and more...

Easy experiments

• Science experiment basket
• magnetic horseshoe
• tweezers (used for dissection of plants). 
• small sieve (for sink and float)
• magnifying glasses 
• mini-volcano.
• food coloring, skittles
• Vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. 
• Small bowls

Additional Experiments

Sink and float:

This is a straightforward first experiment to set up. Have some water in a shallow dish, a laminated sheet with a sink, and a floating category. Go around the house to find small objects to test. Make predictions about what will float or sink and test! You can use a small sieve to fish the floating objects.

Magnetic, non-magnetic:

Another super easy activity to set up! Have a magnet and a sheet with two categories: what is magnetic and what is non-magnetic. Go around the house and gather objects to test. Later, you can go around the house and test various furniture, radiators, nuts, and bolts...

Colorful skittles:

For this one, you display the Skittles around the plate. You add a bit of room-temperature water and observe how long it takes for the color to melt and join in the middle.

Volcano eruption:

You can buy a mini volcano or make one with clay. Just add some bicarbonate of soda in the opening and add some vinegar. Enjoy the eruption!

How to make the ice melt:

Experiment with what makes the ice melt faster. Try vinegar, sugar, salt, and hot water (under supervision), and predict with your child!

Outings for the Summer

Summer bucket list:

• Fruit picking can be followed by cooking, baking, and food snack preparation!
• Go for a walk in Trails. You can walk for 30 minutes and turn around
• Go to a lake and feed the ducks

-Cricket Teacher