Summer Bivouac guest post by Amy of Teach Mama.

It has been hot, calorific, hot here in the Nation's Capital, thus aside from spending time in the comfort of our air conditioned place, we've been doing a muckle with water lately.  Washing bikes, watering flowers, running through with the sprinkler or washing toys, for the end fewer weeks, water supply is a must-have in any form.  And what I've found is that fun summer learning toilet be shoved in just about any part of our day, whether we're indoors or tabu, slathered in sun blocker operating theater cool in our basement.

I've also found that just like when you add coruscation to a craft activity, my kids pay back nuts crazy when water and squirters are involved live.

Hera's the fantastic-cool skinny on how we kept cool with the ABC's – Alphabet Letter Splash:

First, I wrote the rudiment on our fence. I wrote the uppercase letters on the top row and minuscular letters below it.

And I said, Okay, Despoina, I need your help over here! Grab the water pistol and make destined it's full of water!!

She and Brady, our pooch, married Pine Tree State at the fence, while Maddy and Owen checked out what we were doing.

I said, Awesome. Okay, I've written each of the letters of the alphabet on our fence, and I'd like for you to show me what you've got up there in your ole brain.  Can you jet the letters of your name? Think about what they are, then recover them on the fence, and squirt those babies!

She squirted her letters–only a bit–and I told her what a super job she did.

Now, I want you to totally squirt the next letters until they erase–sol you'll really indigence to use your muscles. Can you squirt either the letter 'M' or the letter 'I'? / 'O' Oregon 'D' / etc.

Once she did a few sets, I called for Owen to head over.

I same, Okay, Owen, I get it on you think you know all of the letters of the alphabet, merely let's see if you really do.

Atomic number 3 a starter, let's see if you commode squirt the lowercase letters of your name. Ready? Plump!

He squirted super-speed mode, then helium looked at me like I asked him to eat an M & M.

Right along. You did that Lightning McQueen quick. Now I'm passing to give you ii words. You squirt the letters in whichever word you want. Okay? Squirt the letters in either the word 'cat' or the word 'log' / 'map' or 'stop' / 'Brady' operating theatre 'Maddy'/ etc.

Then Maddy joined in the playfulness.

I said, O.k. Maddy, your turn! Let's discove if you can call up some of your old spelling wrangle. . . can you think of whatever that you knowing this past year?

She forthwith aforesaid she couldn't (and I couldn't either) simply then I remembered. How about 'mathematics' or 'chocolate'?

She squirted the letters for 'chocolate' and and so she said, I think I just want to squirt what I want to force out, Mom.

And that was totally assuredness with me.

It's often hard for parents to squeeze in learnedness during the summer months, but it's so important that we do what we bum to help our kids avoid the summertime learning slide that sometimes occurs in the disconnected-time from school.  Even brief activities like this Alphabet Letter Splash count–they get kids speaking around letters and letter sounds and thinking about how they all healthy together and will help soma a worthy foundation for literacy learning.

And it can Be done with or so anything! Try on IT with numbers racket, the names of family members, sight words, you name it–it can be squirted and kids will consume a blast!

Amy Mascott is a Version Specialist, literacy adviser, freelance writer, former high school English teacher, and mammy to a crazy-cool 7, 5, and 4-year-experient. She is the creator of Teach Mom, a site that paves the way for a modern lifestyle of acquisition, empowering parents to take a stronger role in support their children's education. Amy created We Teach as a forum for parents and teachers to connect, share ideas, and grow over into better educators—no thing the schoolroom.