First Grade Outdoor Activities
First grade is a year of firsts: your child's first full day of school, the first time she'll write a small story herself, and the first time she'll read a complete book cover to cover. We've got dozens of wacky reading and math activities, cool science experiments, and indoor and outdoor games to keep the learning fun.
Wolfie Wolf! An Outdoor Math Game
Want to support your child's counting and reading skills at the same time? Here's a great playground game that puts academic learning together with running, shouting, and laughs - stuff that's pretty much irresistible for kids of all ages!
Paint for Learning at "Sidewalk School"
Help your child practice new writing and math skills with a fun outdoor activity that will have your child teaching you! By using watercolor paints to practice writing letters, sentences, and math problems, your child will practice essential first grade skills in his "Sidewalk School."
Practice Stick Writing!
First graders will get a kick out of creating a written message and practicing their letters using sticks they find in nature. This also helps to practice their letter formation and handwriting strokes.
Get Your Head in the Clouds!
First graders are eager to learn about science - especially using large objects to observe like clouds. Let your child daydream a little and use those science and writing skills, too!
Make an ABC Nature Book
Take a nature walk in your backyard or local park to find one object for every letter of the alphabet. Your child will be loving the outdoors while practicing her science, reading, and writing skills.
Chalk it Up! An Outdoor Classification Activity
Classifying and sorting into groups is also a large part of the first grade math curriculum. The outdoors offers an abundance of learning tools for children, and classifying in the natural world gives your child an added lesson in scientific observation and classification.
Sandbox Math Sticks
One of the goals for first graders is to memorize basic addition and subtraction math facts by the end of the year. Practice in the sandbox with this fun outdoor math activity!
Make a Pinata!
Got that party fever? Looking for a crafty distraction for a warm day? Few things are as fun for kids as a piñata, and it's easy-as-pie to make your own!
Play Story Ball: A Reading Comprehension Game
Take a regular old beach ball, a sharpie marker, and a first grader. What do you get? An outdoor activity that works on reading comprehension, in the midst of a game of catch!
Take a Shape Safari!
Forget a jeep in Africa. You can head out for a safari right in your own neighborhood. Instead of hunting lions and tigers, you'll troll for circles and triangles. Why? Because shapes are at the heart of the first grade math and writing curriculum. Plus, a hunt through the backyard is just plain ...
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