Summer Activities for Kids Ages 6+

 

MATH ACTIVITIES for Ages 6+

Here are fun activities that are easy to set up that reinforce math concepts.

Make Your Own Board Games

1. Give your children a piece of cardboard, construction paper, dice, markers or paint and let them design their own game.
2. Commit to sitting down to play them when they are finished.

Race for $1.00 (money addition)

1. You need 30 pennies, 10 nickels, 20 dimes, 1 quarter, a dollar, 2 dice, and a partner.
2. Take turns. On your turn, roll the dice.
3. The sum tells how many pennies to take.
4. When you have 5 pennies, trade for a nickel.
5. Then, when you have 2 nickels, trade for a dime.
6. Next, when you have 2 dimes and one nickel, trade for a quarter.
7. The first player to reach $1.00 is the winner.

Minecraft Dice Games

Does your child love Minecraft? If so, they will also love these free, printable Minecraft Dice Games that will sneak in some practice of Math skills in a fun way.

Guess My Number (number logic)

1. You need: paper, pencil, partner
2. Player one picks a number from 0-99 and writes it down.
3. The second player makes a guess and writes it down.
4. Player one gives a clue: “Your guess is greater than my number” or “Your guess is less than my number”.
5. Continue playing until player two guesses player one’s number.
6. Switch jobs and play again.

Color Sudoko Puzzles

Download and print these free, color sudoko puzzles and use blocks, legos, or pieces of paper to solve them.

Card Games

War (addition)

1. Divide the deck of cards evenly.
2. Each player will put out two cards and add them together.
3. Whoever has the highest total will take all cards.
4. The object is to take the whole deck

Make 10 (Grades K-2)

Remove the face cards from a deck.

1. Deal 12 cards face up.
2. Players take turns finding and removing combinations of cards that add up to 10.
3. When both the players agree that no more tens are possible, more cards are dealt.
4. This game helps students recognize parts of 10, an important step in learning to add and subtract base 10 numbers.

More or Less (Grades K-1)

1. Each child gets a set of cards Ace through 10 (for the numbers 1-10).
2. One child selects a “secret card” from his or her hand and places it face down.
3. The second child tries to guess what the number on the card is by selecting a card from his hand and placing it face up.
4. Next, the first child then tells whether the secret card is greater or less than the face-up card.
5. The second child continues to make guesses until he has discovered the value of the secret card.
6. Players then switch roles.

Pattern Blocks and Mats (Geometry – printable)

1. If the Pattern Block mats are too easy, challenge your child to make their own design.
2. Don’t have any pattern blocks? You can cut them out of craft foam.

READING and WRITING Activities for Ages 6+

Here are a few activity ideas to practice reading and writing this Summer.

Wordo (printable)

1. Wordo (bingo with words) is a great way to review words from the previous school year.
2. Teach Mama explains how to play and has the printables you’ll need to get started.

Set a Reading Goal

• Set individual or family reading goals.
• For example, when 50 books is read you get to go out for ice cream.
• You could really make this a big deal and have a poster up in the house for everyone to write their books or chapters on.
• How will you know if they REALLY read it? Have them tell you what they liked best about it, draw a picture of it, what character is their favorite, or how they would change the ending. Keeping these ideas in a journal is a great idea too.

Check out theses creative Ways to Make Summer Reading Fun!

Writing Sticker Stories

I love the creative process to first create an illustration with stickers and crayons and then use that to write a story. Check out the directions for sticker stories. If writing the whole story is a daunting task for your child, then let them dictate it to you and you put their ideas on paper. This is about developing a love of storytelling, not practicing handwriting.

Readingeggs.com
I’m a big fan of this website. One of the best things about this site is that you can sign up for a free trial and can have more than one child on your account. They email you progress reports too.

Starfall.com
Another great reading website for younger kids and older children!

CRAFTS and OTHER Activities for Ages 6+

Here are some of the best ways to get creative with different activities this Summer.

Paper Mache
Follow these directions to create a paper mache object and then paint.

Lego Creations
If your child is a Lego lover, then you will love this collection of Lego ideas in my Lego Pinterest board. I like these Summer Lego building ideas from B-Inspired Mama. You will also like these formal, printable directions for different lego creations here. 

Mosaics

It is so much fun to use these types of items to make creative mosaic art:

• stickers
• broken crayons
• bottle tops
• tiles
• sticks
• rocks
• buttons
• tissue paper
• sequins
• beads

Recyclable Building Challenge

1. Save different recyclable containers, lids, paper towel rolls, etc.
2. Give your children glue and tape and challenge them to create and build something out of the recyclable containers. THIS IS ONE OF OUR FAVORITE INDOOR ACTIVITIES!

“How to Draw a”….Tutorials

My kids love to draw and they love these “How to Draw a” tutorials. There are 170+ on my How to Draw  Pinterest Board so you are guaranteed to find something your child is interested in.

Treasure Hunt

1. Hide the pieces to a simple puzzle around the house.
2. Make a treasure map of your home with an X where each piece is located.
3. Challenge your child to find the treasure and complete the puzzle.
4. If you have more than one child, make it a race!

Painting
Here is a simple list of different, creative types of painting to try! My Painting for Kids has a ton of fun things to try and inspirational ideas too!

Loom Bands

Although we are still on the very basic types of loom band bracelets at my house, here are a great group of loom band designs to create! It is a good idea to have a container for the loom bands to keep them from being all over the house. 

Obstacle Course
Set up an obstacle course for your children or encourage them to create one for you or each other. Home Grown Hearts has a great set of printables to help create the obstacle course.

Make A Photo Book

1. Buy an inexpensive disposable camera (or let your child use yours if they are old enough) and have them take pictures of their favorite things or things you do this Summer.
2. Put them in an album and have them write a few sentences about why it is their favorite.
3. Display the book on your coffee table. This is a good way to let your child get creative and practice writing too.

Play Dough

Younger children aren’t the only ones that enjoy play dough! Here are some fun ideas about what to add to the play dough for maximum creativity.

Toilet Paper Rolls

Here’s a list of things you can create with toilet paper tubes that are fun activities. 

Physical Activities

Go on a Scavenger Hunt

Decorate Your Bike and go on a Bike Ride

A Jumping Challenge with Jump Ropes

Hula Hoop Competition

Have a Dance Party with the Whole Family

Resources:
www.mrsgoldsclass.com/mathgames.htm
http://www.teachingk-8.com/

http://www.make-stuff.com/
http://www.creative.lego.com/
http://teachmama.blogspot.com