Let's Go on a Picnic!
Talk about healthy foods. Give children a lunch bag, grocery advertisements, markers, glue and scissors. Have them draw pictures or cut out foods and pack a healthy lunch.
- What kinds of foods are good to take on a picnic? Why? What would happen if you took spaghetti or ice cream?
- Prepare a dramatic play kit for a picnic with a tablecloth (or towel), cups, plates, napkins, and plastic cutlery.
- Brainstorm all the fun things you can do on a picnic.
Here are some other fun outdoor activities that can be integrated with standards and skills you are working on.
Chalk Talk – Let children write letters, names, numerals, or shapes on a paved surface with chalk. They could also practice writing spelling words or write sentences.
Ball Math – Give children a ball (playground ball or wadded up piece of paper) and have them count how many times they can throw and catch the ball without dropping it. Can they throw a ball and count with a friend? Can they bounce and catch as they count by 5’s or 10’s.
*You can also practice counting as you jump rope or do other exercises.
Sorts – Have children collect leaves, sticks, rocks, or other items on the playground. (Remind them to only take things laying on the ground.) Put their objects together. Can they sort them? What was their sorting rule? Can they regroup the objects
Size – Seriate sticks, rocks, and other natural objects by size. Which is largest? Smallest?
Positional Words – Use a playground climber to demonstrate positional words. Can children get on, under, below, beside, behind, between, above, by, around?
Opposites – Divide children into groups of two and have them act out synonyms, such as happy/sad, fast/slow, hot/cold, up/down, top/bottom, and so forth.
Poetry Café – Find a shady tree and read poems to children. Or, have children choose poems to read to their classmates.