What a warm week we had … good theme our summer theme starts off with lots of water activities. One theme curriculum we are using is “Imagination Island” from Mother Goose Time. We transitioned to this theme after learning about bugs, bug habitats, creepy crawlers that you find in water… and now we’re jumping in and getting both feet wet with a water world theme… which this week took a turn from the beach to sand, to waves, to surfboards and boats in the waves and then to other forms of transportation. Then kids starting discussing why they enjoy certain forms of travel and what they like to do on those adventures!
Although Mother Goose Time provides a very easy to follow day-by-day packaged model with a teachers guide, you can easily adapt their kits as needed and lately my students feel the need to adapt them in different orders as they set the pace and transition from one mini-theme to the next. I present a topic when interest slows that helps transition to new lessons as needed, but often their interests just builds from one subject to the next. They love to look at what topics they’ve missed in the box and find a way to connect what we’ve been discussing during circle times and use the questions of the day to share their knowledge or experience on the matter.
As Fathers Day approaches the water theme naturally transitioned to experiences at beaches, fishing and boating with dad. Boating led to discussions of other adventures with dad and how some of our students dads travel for work and what forms of transportation dad uses. Transportation themes make it easy to incorporate lessons on reading, writing, math, science, social studies, art, etc into daily lessons. Because we have students from different stage/age groups some themes are basics to introduce concepts while others give opportunities for children to explore topics deeper. Transportation with boats led to boat building challenges.
Boat building challenges encouraged older students to problem solve, use math and science skills etc, while younger kids dived into a world of make believe and explored waterways. Boats alone could be a month long topic, but slowly it’s morphing into other things that float or swim on water. Discovering fish and different sea creatures and critters on the beach and other beach activities we’ll be exploring as our first month in the summer sun continues. As we continue learning under such theme units we integrate arts heavily and therefore will continue enjoying using our imagination for dramatic play, storytelling, building, creating art work, listening to music and dancing…
This month we’re enjoying dancing to luau music and trying island foods, such as coconuts. It’s fun for children to learn about different places, especially warm and magical places when you grow up in Michigan! Summer is a time for traveling, but many of our students wont get opportunities to travel far so we’ll have adventures in our summer programs that explore new lands and encourage cultural appreciation. Students who do go on trips are encouraged to bring in pictures or souvenirs and tell us about their travels. If your student attends Adventure Academy please let us know of any dates your family will be traveling so others on our waiting list can enjoy some of our learning adventures!
Yes – we have a waiting list. We are also starting our fall program enrollment so if you have questions regarding Adventure Academy or other Mi Families programs please email Christi@MiFamilies.com. Mi Families facilitates programs for families and those who work with families across Michigan and across the web at www.MiFamilies.com, on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc. Feel free to find us and network with us or subscribe to these articles or comment below 🙂 Let us know what other topics you’d like these articles to cover / include. Pictures included in articles or on social media often showcase our Adventure Academy program and Mother Goose Time supplies.
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