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5 Fun Ways for Parents to Encourage Kids to Read During Summer

Summer is a wonderful time for kids to relax, explore, and have fun. While taking a break from school is essential, it’s also crucial to keep our reading skills sharp. Reading during the summer helps us improve our vocabulary, imagination, and critical thinking. Parents play a vital role in encouraging their children to pick up a book and embark on exciting literary adventures. This article will explore five fun ways for parents to engage their kids in summer reading, making it an enjoyable and enriching experience for everyone involved.

Create a Cozy Reading Space

Setting up a cozy reading space at home can entice children to dive into the wonderful world of books. Find a quiet corner in your house or create a reading nook by arranging soft pillows, blankets, and a comfortable chair. Decorate the space with colorful posters and string lights to make it inviting. Allow your child to choose their favorite books or take them to the library to select new ones. By dedicating a special place for reading, you’re providing a cozy retreat to inspire your child’s imagination and make reading a relaxing adventure.

Organize Family Reading Time

Make reading a family affair by setting aside dedicated reading time daily. Choose a specific time when everyone can gather together and enjoy their books. This shared reading experience creates a bonding opportunity and reinforces the importance of reading in your child’s mind. Encourage your child to share their reading and ask questions about the story. Engage in conversations about the characters, plot, and favorite parts of the book. By actively participating in family reading time, parents can demonstrate their love for books and instill a lifelong passion for reading in their children.

Join a Summer Reading Program

Many libraries and educational organizations offer summer reading programs specifically designed to keep kids engaged during the break. These programs often include reading challenges, rewards, and exciting activities. Encourage your child to participate in these programs and help them track their progress. Set goals together and celebrate milestones achieved. Summer reading programs motivate children to read more and provide opportunities to connect with other young readers, attend book clubs, and explore diverse genres. This supportive community can enhance the reading experience and foster a sense of accomplishment.

Incorporate Reading into Everyday Life

Reading doesn’t have to be limited to books alone. Encourage your child to read and explore mediums like magazines, newspapers, or even websites sharing age-appropriate articles. Take advantage of daily activities to incorporate reading. For example, involve your child in meal planning by having them read recipes and choose ingredients. Have them read maps, brochures, or informational signs when going on a family outing. By integrating reading into everyday life, you demonstrate how reading is essential for acquiring knowledge and understanding the world around us.

Plan Book-related Activities

Make reading interactive and fun by planning book-related activities. Choose a book your child enjoys and organize a related craft or project. For instance, if they’re reading a book about space, create a solar system model using craft supplies. If it’s a mystery novel, organize a scavenger hunt with clues from the story. You can also watch movie adaptations of books and discuss the similarities and differences. Such activities make reading more exciting and help children develop a deeper understanding of the story and its themes.

simplyoutrageousyouth Accelerated Fun Learning, cooking, hands-on learning, Interactive Activity for Students, Kids, Science

Disappearing Tea | Simple Chemistry Experiment to do at Home with Kids

Many people think kids should learn Chemistry when they get to high school. However, children can experience this type of science at a young age. There are so many fun chemical projects for people of all ages. Below we will show you a simple chemistry experiment to do at home with kids.

Science experiments gave children new information and it gives them something fun to do at while at home. Additionally, it helps improve their reading skills.

Today’s activity is called Disappearing Tea. Your kids will make tea disappear with a simple chemical reaction. Go to your kitchen and you will find everything you need for this simple chemistry experiment to do at home with kids.

Below is what’s needed…

Tea – https://amzn.to/3tDqBFy

Water – https://amzn.to/3mUXlI2

Lemon Juice – https://amzn.to/3spM03R

While doing this experiment, my son learned that lemon is a bleaching agent. We also learned that people use lemon juice to bleach parts of their bodies. We reveal it in the video below.

The video comes from my son’s YouTube channel, Corban’s Fun Learning Adventures. Please subscribe if you like what you see.

Enjoy this activity!

simplyoutrageousyouth Accelerated Fun Learning, cooking, Interactive Activity for Students, Science

How to Make Your Own Soda at Home | Kid Food Chemistry

We love science in our family. Edible science, which is the kind you can eat, is the best. Last week, we showed you how to make homemade ice cream using food chemistry. Today we will show you how to make your own soda at home. It is very easy to do and tastes great.

My son, Cory, likes to choose desserts in cook books and make them from scratch. In the past we have made snow cones, brownies, and a carrot cake. The learning that happens while cooking is invaluable. There is so much science and math while cooking. We even incorporate literacy because my son reads the recipe while we make the dessert.

In my opinion making soda is not really cooking. It is about mixing things together. However, the great thing about making this soda is you don’t need a machine. You will mix the ingredients by using a spoon.

Although soda is not the most healthy drink for kids, it is a nice treat once in a while.

Below is what’s needed…

Citric Acid (Food grade)

Water

Baking Soda

Food Coloring

Sugar – add as little or much as you like

Watch the step-by-step video below to learn how to make your own soda at home. This is a fun edible science project that incorporates food chemistry. Remember, no machine is needed.

Kids will love this activity because it is kitchen chemistry and they can eat the experiment.

Have fun with your kids at home with food and science!

simplyoutrageousyouth Accelerated Fun Learning, cooking, hands-on learning, Interactive Activity for Students, Science

How To Make Easy Homemade Ice Cream Without A Machine

Summer is officially here. The days are full of bright sun light. This means it can get extremely hot. The best way to cool down is to drink water. However, another way is to eat ice cream. Below we will show you how to make easy homemade ice cream without a machine.

This science activity is a fun cooking chemistry experiment for kids. This ice cream is made in a baggie (we call it a sandwich bag). This project is one of the best edible experiments you can eat.

My son, Cory, was excited about doing this project. He was amazed at how easy and fast it was to make the ice cream. When he first tasted it, Cory gave me two thumbs up.

Most likely you have all the ingredients in your home.

Below is what we used for the homemade ice cream…

Ice

1 Gallon Freezer Bag

1 Sandwich Bag

Salt

Heavy Cream

Sugar

Vanilla Extract

You will see that it is fun to learn how to make easy homemade ice cream without a machine. The video below shows you step-by-step how to do it. It comes from my son’s YouTube channel, Corban’s Fun Learning Adventures.

HAVE FUN WITH THIS PROJECT!

simplyoutrageousyouth Accelerated Fun Learning, cooking, hands-on learning, Holiday, Science

How To Make Your Own Ornament – Fun Christmas Decoration

Christmas is almost here! This means it is time to put the Christmas tree up. Decorating the tree is a fun time in our household. My son loves hanging the ornaments up and seeing the bright lights. He usually contributes to the decorations by creating his own ornament. This year, we wanted to share his creation with you. We will show you how to make your own personalized ornament.

My son decided to incorporate cooking science while making the ornament. He made a salt dough ornament for the Christmas tree. This is a fun DIY project for kids where they will put their fingerprints in the salt dough. Another option is to do footprints. The great thing about this activity is you probably have all the ingredients needed for this project in your kitchen. Below is what we used…

Salt

Water

Flour

Paint

Paint Brushes

Parchment Paper

Cookie Sheet

String

Watch the video below to see how it is done. It is easy to do!

The video comes from my son’s YouTube channel, Corban’s Fun Learning Adventures. Please subscribe and share if you like what you see.

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OUR KID FRIENDLY FAST & FUN STUDY TRICKS FOR BETTER GRADES: 9 FUN STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS IN LEARNING AND SCHOOL HAS $29 OFF THE ORIGINAL PRICE.

Our books are available on Amazon, “Teach Your Toddler to Read Through Play,” “Fun Easy Ways to Teach Your Toddler to Write, and “Teach Your Child About Money Through Play.“

THE TEACH YOUR TODDLER TO READ THROUGH PLAY ONLINE COURSE HAS A $97 DISCOUNT.

simplyoutrageousyouth Accelerated Fun Learning, cooking, creativity, hands-on learning, Kids, life skills, Science

How To Make Homemade Snow Cones For Kids

One day my son, Cory, was watching television and saw some kids eating snow cones. He asked me if I ever had a snow cone and my reply was “yes.” Then he wanted to know if it was good. I told him it was “tasty” especially on a hot summer day. Cory then asked if we can buy one and taste it.

The next weekend, I went to an ice cream shop hoping they would have a snow cone. The only item they served was ice cream. This was the case for the next ice cream shop we visited three weeks later. Cory finally said “Where can we get a snow cone?” I paused trying to think of an answer to his question. Then he said, “Can we make one on our own. I said, “I will research some recipes.”

Miraculously two days later, a former co-worker who often sends me fun hands-on activities for kids via Facebook, sent me a recipe for homemade snow cones. I thanked and told her Cory wanted to try snow cones for the past month.

After a week, we viewed the recipe and found that we had MOST of what was needed to make our own snow cones. Instead of buying new ingredients from the grocery store, we used what we had at home. Cory was so excited to make and taste his first snow cone.

Great Lesson In Making Snow Cones

Making homemade snow cones is an excellent lesson in science and cooking chemistry for kids. It provides a great opportunity to teach kids about irreversible change, which are things that cannot be changed back. During this process new materials are always formed. Irreversible change while cooking can mean heating various ingredients to create a new meal. You cannot change it back to its original state.

How To Make Homemade Snow Cones for Kids

My son and I will show you how to make homemade snow cones in the video below. It is an easy and fun process for kids to do with their parents.

The video below comes from my son’s YouTube Channel, Corban’s Fun Learning Adventures. Please like and subscribe for fun learning activities.

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OUR KID FRIENDLY FAST & FUN STUDY TRICKS FOR BETTER GRADES: 9 FUN STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS IN LEARNING AND SCHOOL HAS $29 OFF THE ORIGINAL PRICE.

Our books are available on Amazon, “Teach Your Toddler to Read Through Play,” “Fun Easy Ways to Teach Your Toddler to Write, and “Teach Your Child About Money Through Play.“

THE TEACH YOUR TODDLER TO READ THROUGH PLAY ONLINE COURSE HAS A $97 DISCOUNT.

simplyoutrageousyouth Accelerated Fun Learning, Babies, bonding, Brain Power, hands-on learning, toddlers

60+ Toddler Songs that Help Expose Children to Language

Boys Talk Later than Girls?

Before I had children, child development professionals, friends, and families told me boys usually talk later than girls. It became something that I expected. So, when my son Cory was born, my goal was to communicate with him often so he would become familiar with language. 

I didn’t want Cory to be a late communicator, because in my work as a play therapist, I noticed children who couldn’t speak would resort to hitting or kicking out of frustration. However, once they developed language, this behavior would decrease because they could communicate their wants and needs. 

My son was able to speak in full sentences by nineteen months. This was because he was naturally exposed to language through play and interaction. One way that I exposed him to language was through playing and singing toddler songs.

How and when it was done

I played and sung songs during the night when he woke up as a baby and during car rides. We also heard songs during feedings and diaper changes. When we played Toddler Radio on Pandora, I would pick my son up and dance with him.

Once my son become a toddler, we would play music on Youtube or on the radio and dance to it. Then we would do physical movements to songs like Wheels on the Bus and Head Shoulder Knees and Toes. This helped Cory make a connection with words and their meaning.

You may take it a step further by purchasing or going to the library and getting books that are based on toddler songs. It is an excellent way to expose children to language.

Now that you know the benefit of exposing young children to toddler music, I will give you a list of 60+ songs.

Let’s Get Started

  • Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
  • The Wheels on the Bus
  • Old McDonald
  • B-I-N-G-O
  • Head & Shoulders
  • The More We Get Together
  • Do Your Ears Hang Low?
  • The Runny Nose Blues
  • Pop Goes The Weasel
  • I’m a Big Kid Now
  • Jack & Jill
  • Oh Susanna
  • Hickory Dickory Dock
  • Three Blink Mice
  • In My Garden
  • Mr. Clean
  • Polly Put The Kettle On
  • John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
  • Granny & Gramps
  • At the Grocery
  • Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
  • Yankee Doodle
  • In My Room
  • Kookaburra
  • Rock-A-Tot
  • Eensy Weensy Spider
  • Oh Dear What Can the Matter Be?
  • Five Little Monkeys
  • The Alphabet Song
  • Skinny Marinky Dinky Dink
  • Dry Bones
  • If You’re Happy
  • Six Little Ducks
  • Fingers, Nose, Toes
  • Baa, Baa Black Sheep
  • The Bear Went Over The Mountain
  • Roll Over
  • This Old Man
  • Mary Had a Little Lamb
  • Deep and Wide
  • Mulberry Bush
  • There’s A Hold In The Bucket
  • He’s Got The Whole World In His Hand
  • Shoo Fly, Don’t Bother Me
  • She’ll Be Coming Around The Mountain
  • America the Beautiful
  • Down By The River Side
  • Row Row Row Your Boat
  • The Farmer in the Dell
  • I’ve Got Peace Like a River
  • The Ants Go Marching
  • Where is Thumbkin?
  • London Bridge
  • Ring Around the Rosy
  • The Muffin Man
  • Skip To My Lou
  • When The Saint’s Go Marching In
  • Happy Birthday Song
  • You’re A Grand Old Flag
  • It’s Raining It’s Pouring
  • Rig-A-Jig-Jig
  • 1, 2 Buckle My Shoe
  • Engine Number Nine
  • This Little Pig

Have Fun With These Songs!

OUR KID FRIENDLY FAST & FUN STUDY TRICKS FOR BETTER GRADES: 9 FUN STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS IN LEARNING AND SCHOOL HAS $29 OFF THE ORIGINAL PRICE.

Our books are available on Amazon, “Teach Your Toddler to Read Through Play,” “Fun Easy Ways to Teach Your Toddler to Write, and “Teach Your Child About Money Through Play.“

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simplyoutrageousyouth Accelerated Fun Learning, cooking, life skills, math

Fun In Teaching Young Kids Real World Math

Life Skills is something that many parents teach their children. It helps them navigate through the real world. Incorporating math in life skill lessons is important because  it helps people, including children, to describe how the world works. 

For example, a child knows that if he/she has one cookie and their sibling has two cookies then there is a difference. If a child has played with a toy for 5 minutes and another child played with it for 15 minutes, they can feel the discrepancy. 

In the examples above, children are using mathematics on deciding how they should feel about certain situations. As adults, let’s encourage and foster their learning by building on their knowledge of using everyday math.

These activities below will show you how to do it in a fun way with your children!

Check out our new book available on Amazon, Teach Your Child About Money Through Play! It has over 110 Games/Activities, Tips, and Resources. The book is great for kids ages 4-10 and their parents.

Let Get started!

Everyday Math at the Grocery Store

  1. Take your child with you to the grocery store.
  2. Have the child pick a food item they would like to pay for.
    • It could be their favorite food to eat such as apple sauce.
  3. Give the child more than enough money to pay for the item they choose.
    • Account for taxes
    • If the apple sauce costs $2.00, give them $4.00.
  4. Ensure the child gets the correct change back.
  5. Explain to the child that food costs money.
  6. The extra money added on to the prices is for taxes which helps pay for schools, roads, and parks.
  7. Explain how you got the money by going to work, starting a business, etc.
  8. Repeat this activity and incorporate more food items.
    • Once your child is able, have them calculate their change.
    • They can also calculate how much money is needed to pay for the item.

 Everyday Math in the Kitchen

  1. Find a recipe, such as brownies or cookies, that uses measurements such as teaspoons, tablespoons, and cups (or any measurement you use for cooking).
  2. Have measuring spoons and cups available to represent the teaspoons, tablespoons, ounces and cups.
  3. Have the recipe and ingredients available.
  4. Make the baked goods with the child.
  5. Discuss the difference between 1/2 and a full cup (use the equivalencies below to help with the explanation).
    • Put a 1/2 cup of flour in 1 cup to show that it only fills up 1/2 the cup.
  6. Explain the difference between tablespoons and teaspoons (use the equivalencies below to help with the explanation).
    • Put 3 teaspoons of flour in 1 tablespoon to show that 1 tablespoon is 3 times 1 teaspoon.
  7. Compare other measurements based on the chart below.

Equivalencies chart

  • 1 tablespoon (tbsp.) = 3 teaspoons (tsp.) = 1/2 fluid ounce (fl.oz.) = 1/16 cup
  • 1 cup = 8 fl.oz.
  • 1 pint (pt.) = 2 cups = 16 fl. oz.
  • 1 quart (qt.) = 2 pt. = 4 cups = 32 fl. oz.
  • 1 pound (lb.) = 16 ounces (oz.)


Everyday Math While You Take a Trip

Has your child ever asked you “Are we there yet” while taking a trip? Use everyday math to answer this question.

There are two ways to do this. One way is with time.

  1. Let’s say your family takes a trip that will last one hour (60 minutes) to get to your destination.
  2. Just before leaving for your trip, show your child the time.
    • Let’s say you are leaving at 4:00pm.
  3. Tell your child, you will get to your destination when the 4 turns into a 5, which is 5:00pm.
  4. Check in with your child every 10 minutes and do a countdown.
    • For example, at 4:10pm tell your child you have 50 minutes to go.
    • At 4:20pm tell your child you have 40 minutes to go.
    • You can also do this every 15 or 20 minutes if you like.
  5. This helps to decrease the constant asking of “Are we there yet?”
  6. If you stop to use the restroom, explain to your child that this will add time on to the trip.

Another Way to do this is with Landmarks

  1. Let’s say you are driving on the Interstate and you are on Exit 1 but your destination is near Exit 20.
  2. Tell your child when you get to Exit 20, you will be at your destination.
  3. Pinpoint every 2 or 5 exits until you reach the end of your trip.
  4. Have your child identify the Exit Numbers.
    • For example, ask your child to tell you when you have reached Exit 4 and then Exit 6.
    • You have just created an important task for your child.
    • They are helping you navigate and they can sense how long the trip will be.
    • This is also helping with number recognition!

Everyday Math while at Home

Introduce your child to Mortgage or Rent Payment with this activity.

  1. Explain to your child that your house or apartment costs money.
  2. People who live in an apartment pay Rent to the owner of the building called the Landlord.
  3. People who own their home, usually get a loan from the bank and pay the bank back with Interest.
  4. You can skip steps 2 and 3 if you think this is too advanced for your child.
  5. Your child is going to pay you rent at the first of each month with play money for their bedroom or any other room in your home.
  6. If you want to get technical, calculate how much your child’s room is worth with the formula below.
    • Get a percentage of your child’s room by dividing your child’s room square footage by the apartment or home’s square footage.
    • For example, if your home is 1,200 square feet and your child’s bedroom is 200 square feet, then their bedroom takes up 16 percent of the home.
    • Now calculate how much of the rent your child’s room represents.
    • If your mortgage is $1600 a month, then your child’s rent would be $256 (which is 16% of $1600.
  7. If you don’t want to get too technical, then come up with a simple figure, like $100, that your child can pay you each month for rent.
  8. You can even have them earn play money daily by doing the following…
    • Pay them a certain amount each day for cleaning up or following the rules.
    • This money can be used to pay their rent.


I hope you and your child enjoy these simple activities!

A great resource for similar activities is The Everything Everyday Math Book: From Tipping To Taxes, All the Real-World, Everyday Math Skills You Need by Christopher Monahan

Happy Learning!

OUR KID FRIENDLY FAST & FUN STUDY TRICKS FOR BETTER GRADES: 9 FUN STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS IN LEARNING AND SCHOOL HAS $29 OFF THE ORIGINAL PRICE.

Our books are available on Amazon, “Teach Your Toddler to Read Through Play,” “Fun Easy Ways to Teach Your Toddler to Write, and “Teach Your Child About Money Through Play.“

THE TEACH YOUR TODDLER TO READ THROUGH PLAY ONLINE COURSE HAS A $97 DISCOUNT.

Click here for the PAYMENT PLAN OPTION!


simplyoutrageousyouth Accelerated Fun Learning, Books and Fun Activities, cooking, Interactive Activities, life skills

4 Simple and Fun Pumpkin Activities for Kids

*This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using the links.

Pumpkin activities

Every fall, I ask myself what are simple, fun, and educational pumpkin activities to do with my son.  We attend fall festivals in our county and get at least 4 pumpkins annually. This year, I was looking for activities that DID NOT require me to purchase more craft supplies from the store. I wanted to use items that we had on hand.

Below is what we did and had a blast!

Paint The Pumpkin

Materials Needed

  1. Put Newspapers or cloth on table for easy clean-up
  2. Put water in cup to clean paint brushes.
  3. Put napkins in paper plate #1 to clean and dry paint brushes.
  4. Put small sections of various color paints on paper plate # 2.
  5. Place pumpkin on table with newspaper/magazine paper or cloth.
  6. Let your child be creative and paint the pumpkin.
paint set up
This is our set up before starting to paint.

Pick, Count, and Cook Pumpkin Seeds

Materials Needed

  1. Place pumpkin on cutting board or pan in front of child.
  2. Give the child a spoon and have them scoop out the seeds.
  3. If they are having difficulty using the spoon, have them use their hands.
  4. Instruct child to put seeds in bowl.
  5. Have the child count the seeds while scooping.
  6. Another option is for the child to count the seeds at the end of the activity.
  7. Roast the pumpkin seeds for a great snack!
Scooping pumpkin seeds with spoon!

Make Pumpkin Soup with Rice

Materials Needed

  1. Follow our Pumpkin Soup with Rice Recipe.
  2. Have fun eating it with your family!

Access Our Pumpkin Soup with Rice Recipe

at the bottom of this post!

Have a Science Lesson and Learn about Decomposition

Materials Needed (please note this activity came from Sid the Science Kid Season 1 Episode 6 called Mushy Banana)

  1. Once the painted pumpkin has started to decay put it in a large plastic bag or container.
  2. Let the pumpkin decompose until it changes colors.
  3. Put plastic gloves on the child before touching pumpkin.
  4. Stay close to the child to ensure they don’t put the pumpkin in their mouth.
  5. Have the child feel the pumpkin and compare it to a fresh pumpkin.
  6. Have the child take a closer look by using their magnifying glass.
  7. Ask the child the following questions…
  • How is the pumpkin different from the fresh pumpkin?
  • How does it smell?
  • What colors do you see?
  • How does it feel?
  1. Put Pumpkin in the compost when complete.
He is analyzing a decayed pumpkin!

 

We cut the pumpkin in quarters and now he examines the decayed flesh.

Don’t forget to sign up for our FREE course on How to Teach the Alphabet in a Fun Way!

OUR KID FRIENDLY FAST & FUN STUDY TRICKS FOR BETTER GRADES: 9 FUN STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS IN LEARNING AND SCHOOL HAS $29 OFF THE ORIGINAL PRICE.

Our books are available on Amazon, “Teach Your Toddler to Read Through Play,” “Fun Easy Ways to Teach Your Toddler to Write, and “Teach Your Child About Money Through Play.“

THE TEACH YOUR TODDLER TO READ THROUGH PLAY ONLINE COURSE HAS A $97 DISCOUNT.

Click here for the PAYMENT PLAN OPTION!

Get the password for the library with Creamy Pumpkin Soup with Rice Recipe by completing this form. Once you press the GET ACCESS NOW button, we will send you an email with the password. Then go to SOY Resource Library and enter the password.