By Mary Ann Dudko, Ph.D. and Margie Larsen, M.Ed.
The temperatures in our area lately have been record-setting HOT! So we have been looking for fun ways to enjoy the heat. Here is a fun read that we got as a hand-me-down. Check it out!
Read It
I am not the biggest fan of Barney, so I probably would not have bought Barney & Baby Bop At the Beach on my own, but this came in a bundle of hand-me-down books from a friend and we have enjoyed reading it this summer. Barney and Baby Bop go to the beach in this board book, and each page has a fun spot that you can touch to engage the senses--like a squishy beach ball, a furry puppy, and a bumpy starfish.
Enjoy It
Who does not love the thought of the beach--especially in the thick of summer. Jay Johnson's illustrations in this book show what fun can be had at the beach, and compliment the simple text well by offering extra things to look at and talk about with your children. And the shiny sea waters in the background of every page make you want to find the nearest ocean to jump in!
Make It Come to Life
For those who live in the Kansas City area (and do not already live on one of the awesome lakes in our area that offer private beaches) here are two lakes that offer public beaches our family has enjoyed this summer.
Longview Lake Beach opens at 1pm and stays open until 7pm through August 10--the hours change after this date. Admission is $3 for children (2 and under are free) and $5 for adults. Or, if you plan to go a lot, a family pass is only $90 for the entire summer season. See the picture below from our day at the Longview beach.
Watkins Mill State Park Beach makes for a great day trip! The beach is open from 10am until sunset daily, through September 3. It is free to swim at the beach, and before or after your swim you can picnic or cook out at one of their shelter areas, take a hike in the around the lake, or take a tour of the Watkins Woolen Mill historic site. The possibilities are really endless.
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| What?! I get to play in the sand?! |
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| Making a little pool for baby brother. |
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| Who does not love the beach!? |
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| I love sand! |
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| We buried big brother--a good time to sneak a kiss! |
If you are looking for a fun beach-theme activity at home check out this fun project we did today. Happy beaching!
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| We had some ocean objects laying around so I laid them out on a piece of heavy cardstock. |
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| Then I traced them with a permanent marker. |
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| Once the objects were all traced, I mixed them up and set them on the table for Big Stuff to match the shapes. |
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| "This is going to be so fun, Mom!" |
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| A fun way to work on reading readiness, as matching and recognizing the shapes is like learning to match and recognize letters. |
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| Not bad for our first time. The seahorse was a little tricky. |
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