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Preschool Learning Through Summer Play
- HIPPY Halton
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
At HIPPY Halton, we believe that learning happens everywhere, especially when you're having fun as a family. Our July blog is full of hands-on activities to support preschool development in reading, writing, and math through creative play and summer exploration.
We’ve also included a special Canada Day craft section to help you celebrate together!
All activities are designed for young children and support the same school-readiness goals as our 30-week HIPPY program.
Whether you’re crafting a maple leaf flag or searching for backyard bugs, each activity encourages language development, curiosity, fine motor skills, and joyful learning at home.
🍁 Celebrate Canada Day with Crafts!
These simple, sensory-friendly crafts help little ones express creativity while building hand strength, focus, and confidence:
Handprint Canada Flags: Red and white paint + popsicle stick = a flag to wave with pride!
Paper Plate Decorations: Add stickers, glitter, or string for a festive hanging craft.
Maple Leaf Playdough: Use cookie cutters to create leaf shapes and explore texture.
Canada Day Hat Craft: Watch the tutorial
How to Draw the Canada Flag: Follow along here
Week 1: Summer Explorers
Learning focus: Language development, sensory play, early science
Activity 1: Discovering Nature Through a Summer Scavenger Hunt
Take a summer nature walk with your child and notice everything around you. Bring a notebook or draw pictures of what you find. Look for:
A butterfly
A feather
A tree with big leaves
Something round
A bird chirping
Something that smells good
Ask your child questions like:
“What colour is it?”
“How does it feel?”
These questions help build descriptive language and observational skills.
Activity 2: Backyard Water Play
Set up a simple water obstacle course using buckets, sponges, and cups. Children can transfer water between containers, squeeze sponges, or splash in shallow tubs. This kind of play builds gross motor coordination and provides sensory input, perfect for warm weather.
Activity 3: Reading & Retelling
Reading aloud every day helps develop early literacy and comprehension. This week, try:
Llama Llama Sand and Sun by Anna Dewdney Watch the read-aloud
A Day at the Beach by Tom Booth Watch the read-aloud
After reading, ask your child to retell the story using drawings or toys. Encourage open-ended questions like:
“What do you think happens next?”
“Why did that character feel sad?”
Activity 4: Science – Melting & Freezing Experiment
Freeze small pieces of fruit in ice cube trays. Then ask your child:
“How can we get them out?”
Use warm water, salt, or sunlight and observe what happens. Talk about how ice changes into water and explore what makes it melt faster.
Activity 5: Learning Through Why’s
Follow your child’s curiosity. When they ask “why,” explore the question together.
Instead of giving a quick answer, try:
“What do you think?”
“Let’s find out together.”
This encourages critical thinking, communication, and a love of learning.
Storytime: Llama Llama Sand and Sun – Watch & A Day at the Beach – Watch Encourage retelling the story using drawings or toys.
Week 2: Fun with Water and Words
Learning focus: Early literacy, vocabulary, math language
ACTIVITY 1: Language Building Through Storytime
Choose books related to water or sea animals. Some suggestions:
The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
Commotion in the Ocean by Giles Andreae
After reading, create your own sea story using drawings or stuffed animals. Let your child invent names and adventures!
ACTIVITY 2: Math – Water Volume Play
Provide cups, bowls, and measuring spoons for your child to pour, scoop, and compare volumes. Ask questions like:
Which cup holds more?
What happens if we pour this into that?
Use words like “full,” “empty,” “half,” and “more than.”
ACTIVITY 3: How Water Feels
Have your child play in water and describe how it makes them feel. Does splashing make them excited? Does warm water feel cozy? Build emotional vocabulary: “calm,” “excited,” “surprised.”
ACTIVITY 4: Sponge Art & Sprays
Offer sponges, spray bottles, and large paper for painting. Children strengthen their hand muscles by squeezing and spraying. Create sun shapes, waves, or rainbow dots using food colouring or washable paints.
ACTIVITY 5: REPEAT THE CHILD’S FAVOURITE ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK
Let children repeat their favourite activities — repetition builds confidence, understanding, and joy.
Sea Story Adventures: Read water-themed books and invent your own sea story. Like this one:
Week 3: Garden Discoveries
Learning focus: Early math, fine motor skills, scientific observation
Activity 1: Literacy & Storytime
Read The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle together. After reading, ask your child:
What does a seed need to grow?
Can you draw the seed’s journey?
Extend the activity by planting your own seed in a cup. Label it with your child’s name and draw its growth progress each day. This encourages storytelling, sequencing, and observation.
Activity 2: Math – Counting & Sorting Garden Treasures
Go outside and collect small nature items like stones, petals, or leaves. Help your child sort them by:
Shape
Colour
Size
Count how many of each category and place them in a jar or tray to make a nature display. This supports early math skills such as sorting, classifying, and counting.
Activity 3: Fine Motor Skills – Playdough Garden
Use playdough to shape vegetables, flowers, or insects. Add buttons, sticks, or beads for decoration.Provide child-safe scissors for trimming “leaves” or “stems.”This activity helps strengthen hand muscles and supports creativity and focus.
Activity 4: Science – Bug Exploration
Head outside and gently look under rocks or around plants to find bugs. Ask your child:
How does it move?
What does it eat?
Draw the bug together and give it a name. This hands-on exploration builds observation, inquiry, and scientific thinking.
Activity 5: Garden Care
Give your child a chance to care for a plant or flower each day. Watering and observing changes encourages responsibility, patience, and a sense of connection to nature.
Read & Grow: 📚 The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle Plant a seed and draw its journey.
Week 4: Backyard Bugs & Shapes
Learning focus: Language skills, shape recognition, inquiry-based science
Activity 1: Language – Spider Storytime & Bug Descriptions
Read The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle together. After reading, ask your child to describe the spider and other bugs in the story. Try questions like:
“What colour is the spider?”
“How many legs does it have?”
Encourage your child to use full sentences. Extend the activity by describing real bugs you see outside or in pictures, helping build vocabulary and expressive language.
Activity 2: Math – Shape Sorting Hunt
Go on a shape hunt indoors or outdoors. Look for and collect objects shaped like:
Circles
Squares
Triangles
Rectangles
Sort the items into groups by shape. This helps children build shape recognition, categorization, and early math vocabulary.
Activity 3: Science – Build a Bug Hotel
Use natural materials like sticks, leaves, pine cones, and small boxes to build a bug hotel. Talk about:
Why bugs need shelter
What different bugs like to eat
This activity encourages curiosity, observation, and respect for living things.
Activity 4: Leaf Printing Art
Use leaves and washable paint to make prints on paper. Let your child explore colours, shapes, and patterns.This creative activity supports fine motor skills, pattern recognition, and artistic expression.
Activity 5: Caterpillar Crawl Race
Pretend to be caterpillars crawling on hands and knees. Have a gentle race across the grass or floor with your child.This playful movement activity strengthens gross motor coordination and encourages imagination.
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