Books and Giggles
summer kids activities & crafts
Inside: a list of low-effort, high-payoff things for teachers to do in the summer and a free printable bucket list that goes with the list. Summer is finally here, and you’re ready for a well-deserved break. At the same time, it’s hard not to think about starting fresh again in the fall. Personally, I always…
Inside: a free printable birdhouse ABC activity where kids put alphabet bird cards into a birdhouse. Includes a letter spinner, uppercase letter cards, and recording sheets in both uppercase and lowercase letter versions. Spring and summertime are for the birds! Here in Texas, we love watching barn swallows build nests over the grandparents’ porch every…
Grab a little flashlight for your preschoolers to practice spelling their names with this interactive summer name craft and activity. Summer means staying up late, and that means fireflies! At least it does in some places (unfortunately we don’t have many here, but we see them when we visit cousins back East). If your kids…
Looking for a fun and easy summer name craft? This watermelon craft will help your students work on spelling their names – and also brighten everyone’s day. When I think of summertime I imagine hot days, dips in the pool, flip-flops, and perfectly ripe watermelon. I can remember learning how to spit the slippery seeds…
Inside: these free printable shark alphabet worksheets come with a fun spinner activity. Students can work on letter recognition and distinguishing easily confused letters. Cue your favorite the shark music – and get ready for a fun little activity. You can pull these out during shark week, add them to your ocean theme activities (like…
Inside: free printable summer name worksheets that are easy to personalize for each child. There’s nothing like a child’s very own name to get him or her interested in letters! Children with really long names may have a hard time learning to write them, but there are sure a lot of letter recognition opportunities in…
This printable letter sound matching activity has a lemonade theme that’s perfect for summer! Whether you have preschoolers who are eager to work ahead, or rising kindergartners who need to catch up this summer, this hands-on summer letter sounds activity is a lot of fun. My kids love having a lemonade stand every year, and…
Here’s a quick post just to share my 4th of July worksheets with you. These are more dot marker printables, a little simpler than the letter D worksheets I posted here last week – but I think you’ll like these too! I actually made these a few years ago and sent them out to my…
Inside: You’ll find sun crafts for every kid in this huge organized list. Get your summer crafts started with your favorites. Sun Crafts Summer is heating up, and it’s time to get the kids making some fun sun crafts! I’ve rounded up 25 of my favorites for you here, so that you can pick the…
Last week I posted a cool sensory play sun suncatcher craft, but I still had preschool sun crafts on the brain here! While the suncatchers were more about playing with them once they’re finished, this one is all about the process of creating. No, this isn’t quite process art – that has its own important…
Inside: This sun suncatcher craft for kids has an element of sensory play to it. Plus, it looks bright and pretty in your window! These cute sun crafts are sure to add a little sunshine to your windows. Even better, children can continue to play with them even after they’re on display. To make your…
Inside: This free printable winter vs summer sorting activity helps children understand the differences between these seasons, exploring the weather, clothing, and activities for each season. Most of the kids in my life love Summer! Who wouldn’t? The weather is warm, the sun is shining and drinking ice-cold lemonade every day is a must. But…
Inside: This letter O craft features crayon-resist watercolor and a ready-to-go template. Easy peasy! Can you almost hear the crashing waves in this ocean themed craft? Can you just about feel a sea breeze on your face and smell the salt air? We haven’t made it to the beach yet this year – I keep…
Inside: This summer name activity blends name recognition practice, fine motor skills, and science into one fun craft perfect for a sunny summer day. I could feel the sun baking my sunscreen-less arms, burning on a farmer’s tan. My mom was visiting from out of town, and we’d driven down to our Texas coast for…
Are you ready for the end of the school year? These tips can help you keep your students focused ’til the end. (Disclosure: Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking…
I’m excited to share our favorite educational summer activities for kids ages 2-8. I hope they’ll soon be your favorites too! Learning outside can be so engaging for kids. There’s plenty of space for playful and creative activities, and you don’t have to worry about making a mess. Plus, you get to be outdoors in lovely hot weather!…
These outdoor educational activities will surely make learning fun this summer! Sometimes changing the environment is all you need for little minds to absorb what you’re trying to teach. These 15+ Outrageously Fun ideas are perfect for spending tons of time outside this summer yet still preventing the dreaded summer slide. 15+ Outrageously Fun Outdoor Educational Activities When I…
These water learning activities are a fun way to work on letter recognition or sight words over the summer! I love hot weather, and so do my kids. Every year we look forward to playing in water in the summer time. From water table to swimming pool, they’ve always enjoyed water play in our hot Texas weather. So if…
This story extension activity is just right for warm weather! I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own. Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and…
These beach learning activities will keep your kids learning and having fun all summer long! Beach Learning Activities Kids learn everywhere! You can enrich a day, or a week, at the beach and still have loads of fun. We live close enough to the beach to make a day trip of it. That means we go pretty…
This week we’re kicking off our summer fun learning series with 30 AWESOME sidewalk chalk games for literacy learning. Whether your kids are working on letter recognition, letter sounds, handwriting, or sight words, we’ve got you covered. Time to get outside and LEARN! Super Fun Sidewalk Chalk Games When the weather is warm, I love being outside with…
Updated May 2024 When I think about the Olympics, one of the things I think about (besides the latest news headlines) is all the flags from countries around the world. I think about the beautiful athletes marching in with their national flags. I imagine the flags on the scoreboards and at the medal ceremonies. The Olympics…
This process art Father’s Day Card from a toddler is fun for kids and a sweet gift for a sentimental dad. To get the layers of colors without everything mixing, we made this in stages. My 6-year-old twins were the guinea pigs for this project. They had fun pretending to be toddlers. UPDATE: They would…
If you have high-energy kids like I do, they’ll love this collection of summertime jumping games. You may remember some of these from your own childhood. They’re all serious outdoor fun, and they’ll all wear out your little jumping beans. When you’re done, you can try one of these ball games for kids too! Jumping Games… Ready, Set,…