Hang in there - summer’s nearly over! Maybe you’re loving these last long days, or wishing for them to go by faster. Either way, you may be running out of ideas to keep your child busy until school is in session. We want to remind you to savor these last summer days with your preschooler and to offer you a few simple activities to enjoy together. This is the only summer they will be this age, and we hope you can take the time to appreciate your unique child at this moment in time, and support them as they face the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year.
As adults, we understand how fleeting each summer can be, but for children it can seem endless. Time is an abstract concept and thinking about time is complicated. Understanding time is related to a child’s language competency, math abilities, and memory. A child of 2 or 3 may begin to understand the words ”today” “yesterday” and “tomorrow” but may still use them to refer to time in a general way. “Remember yesterday when I was a baby?” Kids begin to tie particular routines to times of the day, for instance that breakfast is in the morning and pjs come on at night time. As they start to use mathematical reasoning, they can make relationships between the minutes that make up a day, or the days that make up a week, or the weeks that make up a summer. Here are some ways you can help your child tie the passage of time to the change in seasons to make this abstract concept more concrete.
We know that young children can benefit from a warning about endings and beginnings, and that a clear, gradual transition goes smoother than an abrupt shift in activities. During a play date, a five minute warning can help a child anticipate an end, finish what they’re doing, and look forward to the next activity. If you can really make the end happen in five minutes, it can help your child start to develop a sense of just how long five minutes is, and help them grow their understanding of time.
You can help your child notice and navigate the end of summer, too. While it’s a longer transition, it is still a shift in routines and expectations. Make a simple calendar to mark off the days until school starts, and include any last trips, beach days, picnic dinners, and playdates. Make a book or a list about the activities they enjoyed over the summer. Look together at pictures you’ve taken since June. Children this age always ask, “Why?” and the seasonal shift offers some physical markers to help children understand. “Summer is ending and school is going to begin.” Help them notice the changes in the natural world, like cooler nights, and flowers going to seed, squirrels gathering nuts and birds beginning their southward journeys. Or, the school buses on the streets, and the back to school sales in the stores.
You alone know if your child is one who will need two weeks or two days to anticipate the first day of school. Having too much time to ruminate on unknowns will make some kids anxious, while others need the time to process and ask questions. Either way, offer information in small doses, and take cues from your child’s responses. If they seem reluctant about the changes, reassure them that you’ll help them through.
Here are a few simple ideas to fill those last summer days.
Nature Bracelets
Does your child like to pick things up on your walks or outings? Do they insist on keeping a handful of rocks or leaves or sticks after being outside? A loop of tape around your child’s wrist, sticky side out, is the perfect canvas for an arrangement of seeds, stems, tiny sticks, fallen leaves, and other bits. Nature bracelets can be a form of creative expression, a science experiment, or both. Follow your child’s interest, and see if you can find out what’s most interesting to them. Some children will carefully arrange petals in patterns and others are more interested in seeing what will stick. How much the tape will hold depends on the sort of tape, so you might experiment with masking tape vs duct tape.
Chalk Paint
Another way to combine art and science is to make your own paint from sidewalk chalk. Use a rubber mallet, a small hammer, or even a rock to smash chalk on the sidewalk. Add some water and mix, then use a brush to paint. Some kids will love the invitation to smash the chalk, and will focus their energies on pounding, noticing how much force and pressure it takes to make the chalk into powder. Other children will spend a long time experimenting with how much water to add, and focus on how the liquid and solid elements combine. They might enjoy using a spray bottle or dripper to wet the chalk, too. Others’ focus will be on the paint, and they may spend a long time mixing colors or painting pictures.
Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn
Kenard Pak’s book on seasonal transitions offers numerous examples of the changes going on as summer ends and autumn begins, told in a playful back and forth between a child observer and the voices of natural elements. This read aloud is from The Teacher’s Library.
See you soon!
Anita