Summer is the perfect time to incorporate new types of playful learning activities into your early learning curriculum. The season’s longer days and warmer weather offer opportunities to engage children in hands-on activities that encourage them to collaborate as they learn and explore alongside their peers. In this article, we share a variety of summer activities that are perfect for groups of young children to enjoy together.
Benefits of Group Play in Early Childhood
Young children benefit from early learning settings that offer opportunities for them to engage in play-based activities with their peers. Not only is group play fun for children, but it also introduces them to foundational interaction skills that will support success in kindergarten, elementary school, and beyond. Group games and activities offer children valuable social-emotional experiences, including cooperating, communicating, taking turns, and problem-solving.
Summertime Play Activities for Groups of Young Children
Outdoor Exploration & Play
With the sun shining bright, summer is the perfect time to take learning outside. Exploring nature encourages children to engage all their senses as they enjoy opportunities for outdoor play. Below are activities that are especially fun in group settings, since they promote connection, socializing, and learning from one another.
- Gardening. Summer is a fun season to try out some gardening with the little ones in your care. Gardening is an activity filled with developmental benefits for young children, including fine motor skill practice from planting seeds and working with soil, experience caring for plants and connecting to nature, and hands-on learning about basic plant biology and plant life cycles. This free resource from Rooted has great information to help you get a small flower or produce garden started.
- Water Play. Water play during the warm summer months provides an engaging sensory experience and a fun way to cool down when the weather gets hot. Set up a water table in your outdoor space along with some cups, shovels, and spoons for scooping and pouring! If you’re looking for more ideas, find additional water play activity ideas in this G2K article from the archives.
- Chalk Art. Drawing with chalk is a simple activity that can engage and entertain even large groups of children, and offers the added benefit of requiring very little set-up time. Each child can work independently to create individual chalk drawings, or they might work together on a large-scale illustration. Not only is this a great way for little ones to express their creativity, but it also encourages them to use the fine motor muscles that will eventually enable them to hold and write with a pencil.
- Nature Walks & Scavenger Hunts. Going out for a nature walk with preschoolers and young children supports children’s learning and development in a variety of ways. Being outside and exploring nature connects little ones to the environment, introduces scientific concepts, and also strengthens large motor muscles. Turning the walk into a scavenger hunt encourages children to look carefully, discover details, and ask questions.
Movement and Gross Motor Fun
The long days of summer invite us to spend more time outdoors enjoying active movement activities with the little ones in our care. Running, climbing, and jumping offer children endless opportunities for fun, along with support for their physical and motor skill development. The activities below can all be enjoyed with large or small groups of young children.
- Obstacle Courses & Hopscotch. Encourage children to move their bodies with simple, DIY obstacle courses. Young children love opportunities to jump, climb, and crawl through different types of spaces— and an obstacle course gets them to use and strengthen a variety of large muscles in their arms and legs. A great obstacle course can be set up in your yard using items you already have on hand, such as hula hoops to jump through, cones to climb over and around, or even large blocks for standing on like a balance beam. Hopscotch is a fun alternative activity that engages children in hopping, balancing, and counting— and all that is required for set-up is chalk and some pavement!
- Dance Party. For a no-cost, no-prep activity, encourage the little ones in your care to have a dance party! Invite children to share some of their favorite songs, turn on the music, and dance! Dancing is not only a great way to encourage children to move their bodies, but it also promotes creativity and self-expression.
- Active Games. Simple, group-family games offer lots of ways to enjoy outdoor activities with young children. Invite the children in your care to join you to play familiar games, such as Simon Says and Red Light, Green Light – both of which promote listening and communication skills, movement opportunities, and fun!
Indoor Activities to Avoid the Heat
On days when the weather is too hot, consider bringing the outdoors in with summer-themed group activities that encourage learning and collaboration.
- Summer-themed books, paired with activities. Reading books and engaging in indoor activities featuring seasonal summer themes, is a great way to keep young children learning while enjoying quiet activities away from the heat. This G2K article from the archives includes a list of sunshine-themed activities and children’s books that can be enjoyed with groups of young children. Or, you might try out some of the books and activities featuring oceans, lakes, and beaches in this G2K article.
- Collaborative art projects. Art projects that encourage young children to work together and create as a group are perfect for those days when it is too hot to be outside. Collaborative art activities encourage children to combine their efforts to create a final product that reflects each child’s special role in the process. Find inspiration to get started in this G2K article from the archives.
