Art History Kids Summer Open House

 

Do you know about Art History Kids? This fabulous company introduces kids to art, invites them to come to their own conclusions, and encourages them to tap into their own individual creativity as they make art.

I've been a subscriber of their newsletter for a long time now. They have some really great resources that they sell in their online shop. Specifically, they create incredible art history studies that help children delve into art and the lives of artists. 

They'll be hosting their free, online Summer Camp in The Studio Open House this June 1st through 3rd.

According to their newsletter, they'll be "taking a vicarious virtual vacation through three sensational works of art! We'll explore works by...

🦋 Frida Kahlo in Mexico

📷 Ansel Adams in the US National Parks

🇲🇦 and Henri Matisse's art in Morocco

No special art supplies are necessary… just watch the videos each day with your kids (or relax and have a coffee break while they watch) and then set out some simple supplies for them to create some amazing art of their own!

These mini-lessons are little pieces of the actual lessons we've done in The Studio membership... and you get to try them out for free!⁣⁣"

This is best geared for children in elementary and middle school.

If you'd like to sign your child up for this event, here's the invite where you can register.

Prepping for Summer with MommyMaestra

Summer is coming! Summer is coming!

So that means that it's time to get serious and start some planning on my part in order to keep my kids entertained, busy, and learning. I always use the following guide for planning summers:

• BOOKS
• Outdoors
• Camps
• Activities

Sticking to this guide really helps me out when everyone is at a loss or complaining about "being bored."

Books

Read, read, read! I make my kids read. This means regular trips to the library and bookstores. I try to stock up ahead of time, but it's mainly activity books because really, this is their time to just relax and read what they want. If I stock up ahead of time, it's mostly because sometimes my oldest son needs some encouragement when it comes to branching out and trying new authors or series. 

(If you have a reluctant reader, you should consider using films to encourage them! This was how I was finally able to coax my oldest son into becoming a reader. Read how I did it with him and see a list of 25 movies and their books here.)

And so, of course, this means that starting this week, I'll be sharing a LOT of titles here over the next few weeks and throughout the summer. 

Outdoors

I'm not raising a bunch of couch potatoes. We try to spend a lot of time outside. But most of their lives have been spent in North Carolina, where the weather was mild and when it wasn't we were at our local pool.

Over the years we've come up with a LOT of great ideas. Check out these posts on outdoor activities to keep your kids busy outside! 

Camps

Camps are a must for those with social butterflies. But I love them because so many places (museums, libraries, churches, community centers, stores, etc.) really go all out to create camps that are fun, safe, and educational. So far, my kids will be doing basketball, lego, and taekwondo camps over the summer. But I'm sure there will be more opportunities that pop up.

Summer is also the perfect time to reinforce (or begin learning) a second language (Spanish!). There are so many wonderful bilingual/Spanish camps happening.

I'll share some of the camps that I know are happening across the country, maybe even in your own neighborhood!

But remember, not all camps have to cost an arm and a leg. In fact, there have been several years when we just couldn't afford to send our kids to summer camps. So I created my own! Download my free Summer Camp @ Home Calendars for children ages 6 to 10ish.

Activities

This means crafts, activity books, chores, art, projects, Legos, etc. If they can play it, build it, sing it, draw it, create it, then it is awesome in my opinion.

You can find tons of ideas in my Summer of Fun category. Over the years, it has built up quite a lot of ideas for keeping kids busy during those hot summer months, often using stuff you've already got at home.

I hope by the end of this month, you'll be feeling positive about the summer and prepared with activities and products that will make the time fly...because they're having fun!

I hope you'll share all of your fantastic ideas with me, too!

Other Posts You May Enjoy

• Project-Based Learning Ideas for Summer
  
  
• Free Download: Spanish Summer Bingo
  
  
• Keep the Summer Learning Going with PBS KIDS
  
  
• 7 Fun Products to Get Kids Outside
  
  
• The Mega List of Spanish Comics for Kids

Summer Camp @ Home Calendars

Have you been using the MommyMaestra Summer Camp at Home packet this year? If so, I just wanted to let you know that the calendars have all been updated with some new materials.

The packet is a way for parents of 6 to 10 year olds to keep their kids busy entertained and learning at home. Can't afford to send your child to a summer camp program? Don't have time to take your kids to a program every day? No worries! You can just have them do summer camp at home. :)

The program is very flexible and gives you several options. Do you want your kids imagination to control their activities? We've got a simple calendar that just offers the media. For example, one day might be clay and the next day might be paper. Your kids have to decide what to make using that media.

Another calendar has a theme for each day. So Mondays are Art days, Tuesdays are dedicated to Outdoor Play, and so on.



The final calendars are much more involved with a specific activity for your child to complete. There are three (June, July, and August). At the beginning of the month, the parent looks through the calendar and writes down any supplies they might need for the activities (I've included shopping lists) or books to read. Then each day, the child completes the assigned activity. Don't worry, they are all fun! From making a mini llama piñata ornament or coloring an alebrije to reading summer poetry or downloading a math app, every day is something different!

So enjoy the summer with my free Summer Camp @ Home calendars.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR SUMMER CAMP MATERIALS

Summer Camp @ Home July Calendar

Can you believe July is already here? If you've been using the MommyMaestra free Summer Camp @ Home program, then you'll be happy to know that the July calendar is now live!

You can find it and other summer camp resources here.