Many in-person camps and summer learning experiences are canceled this summer due to the pandemic. That doesn’t mean that your summer is lost!
From online zoo trips to home ninja warrior kits and virtual academic summer camps, many organizations have gotten creative (in fact, we’ve launched our own virtual summer camp for busy parents of young learners).
If you’re looking for more summer fun, here are a few great ideas to explore:
For the wilderness explorer
- This site has 30 free printable nature scavenger hunts that you can do with your kids. To extend this even more, have your kids come up with their own scavenger hunt for the family and then do it together!
- Take a virtual trip to a national park! From the Washington Mall to the Channel Islands off the California coast, there’s a breathtaking sight for everyone. This is a great way to expose your child to plants, animals, and environments they won’t see in their backyard.
- Grow your own terrarium with a kit like this! Kids will have a great time building it and learn about different habitats in the process.
For the academic-minded
- Here at The Critical Thinking Child we’re launching Think, Move, Learn Virtual Summer Camp — a remote learning opportunity that combines academic activities with yoga, gymnastics, and play-based education. Our virtual camp is perfect for busy parents who want to make sure their kids are engaged and active over the summer months. You can register your 4-7 year old for camp here.
- Hour of Code is an introduction to coding for kids and has various levels and activities. It’s engaging for kids and adults alike and really does give a good introduction to the world of coding.
- Science Buddies has hundreds of STEM experiments that you and your child can do at home, from learning about the left and right brain to baking ice cream to learn about states of matter!
- You can even find a robot-building kit online! Kids can get their hands dirty while they build their own robot and get a sense of engineering.
For the budding chef
- Raddish has a cooking club for kids. Think Blue Apron, but kid-friendly! You’ll receive a delivery with a recipe, cooking tools, and ingredients list and work together to prepare the dishes.
- You can get more specific by purchasing kits with ingredients geared towards specific foods- like this one for making your own bagels! The possibilities are endless so you’ll likely find whatever your little chef is interested in!
- Outschool has online classes in lots of different disciplines, including many cooking and baking classes! You’ll just sign on and work with a chef to prepare your dish!
For the up-and-coming artist
- Craft stores like Michaels have an amazing selection of craft kits for kids such as sand art, spiral art, or making your own picture frames.
- Art Projects for Kids is a gallery of art projects that includes tons of videos of painting and drawing tutorials. It’s vast and user-friendly, so your kids should easily be able to find something of interest.
- Sparketh is a collection of online art courses for children aged 6-18. The first 30 days are free and contain many self-paced art classes.
Still stumped? CNN published a great article with links to products and programs you can use to help with summer learning or just get your kids active and having fun.
In general, when planning alternative summer learning for your family, think about their interests and then check online for virtual field trips, virtual classes, or kits available for purchase. You should find many exciting summer learning possibilities for kids of all ages!
And if you want personalized, guided academic instruction for your child (along with a good amount of movement), check out our Think, Move, Learn Virtual Summer Camp.
