Long time no see! We've been busy launching our Etsy shop and while we've been doing that, summer has been sneaking up on us.
To me, summer means picnics. Enjoying the fresh air, the scenery and communing with nature.
It got me to thinking about how to make a picnic educational, but still fun!
How about having your child help you organize a picnic? You could decide together on what foods would be best to take (things that aren't too messy or could spoil quickly), and decide what needs to be kept cold or hot.
Then, let them help pack a picnic basket. What do you need? Cutlery, cups, bowls, plates, napkins, etc. If you decided on sandwiches, let you child help to make and wrap those at home.
Once you're all packed up, decide on where to go for a picnic. Do they want shade or sun? Would you have a picnic in a parking lot? Why not?
When you arrive at your picnic location, surprise them by pulling out some plastic ants! Talk about why ants like to come to our picnics. You could use those plastic ants to measure things you have at your picnic, for example, an apple, a sandwich or even the blanket. Then you could sing "The Ants Go Marching" and have those ants leave your picnic.
When you get home and have unpacked what's left of your picnic,why not snuggle up and read a couple books about picnics? I would suggest Ants at the Picnic: Counting by Tens by Michael Dahl.
Have an awesome picnic!
Sonja & Joy
