Picnics can be fun opportunity for teaching - #lakewoodnews

Summer is the perfect time for combining skills with a picnic. This easy activity filled with fun and learning is another way to have more time with children.

You'll need picnic materials, children's favorite picnic foods, a frozen drink can of juice or water, carrots, fruits, cookies, plastic knife, peeler, camera and drawing materials.

Step by step plan a picnic lunch together. Even with nonreaders write a list with careful printing and correct capitals and lower case letters. Where will you go? What things should you bring? Making lists improves thinking, planning, reading and writing skills. Children who help adults write lists learn it is a useful skill.

Make some of the food together at home. Read out loud, follow directions on the frozen drink can and measure the water together to increase math and reading skills. Children learn by example. If adults show that reading and math are important, kids will mimic adults and think those skills are important, too. Families are the most powerful teachers.

While making sandwiches, children can help spread the butter, or peanut butter and jelly. Talk about cutting the sandwiches in halves or fourths. Make triangles, trapezoid and rhombus (diamond) shapes. Discuss how many pieces you will need.

With a little help, children can peel the carrots, wash the fruit and place things in containers to develop fine motor skills. Then pack up. Did you remember everything? Check off the list you made together.

If the weather is not picnic-perfect, the backyard or a place in front of a fan or air conditioner can be a good spot.

Once you have the place, children can spread out a blanket, set up the food and pass out supplies. Planning and setting up a sequence of activities is an important learning skill.

If you are eating outside, look around and have a conversation. What kind of summertime plants and animals do you see? How is the weather (wind, clouds, sunshine)? What foods are your favorites?

If there is sand close by, make squares, rectangles, circles, semi-circles, rhombus, trapezoids, triangles, letters and numbers in the sand. Count the number of sides and corners (vertices).

You can take pictures of the whole process to make a little word memory book or to send to relatives.

Afterwards, children can draw pictures about making food or having the picnic. Young children can tell you how to label each object or print a sentence about the pictures. Then families can make a little book with the pages and read the words together.

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