What's in Your Beach/ Pool Bag?

Here is a fun, simple game for all ages!  I adapted this idea from something I found on the http://www.makelearningfun.com/ website in May.  All you need to do is grab your pool or beach bag, which may already have plenty of items packed in it for the summer, and take a picture of each item.  Then, using contact paper, laminate the pictures and hole punch the stack.  You can use a round clip to attach the pictures to the bag.

Now, it's time for some fun!  Following the cards in sequential order, have children take turns reaching into the bag to feel for the item on their picture.  Describe the item by size, shape, texture and more, prompting children to use descriptive words.  I was amazed at how many requests I got from my middle school students to play this guessing game again after making a "Mom's Purse" activity around Mother's Day in May!

If you want to work on following descriptive directions, you can ask your children at home to locate the above items given clues, and then play the seek and find game later.  Below are some clues you can provide for items like the ones pictured above:

• Find something made of plastic that helps us see underwater.
• Get something in a hard can that protects our skin outside from the sun.
• Find some small, bumpy treasures that we brought home from the beach.
• Get the soft, large thing that dries us off.
• Find three plastic things we can play with in the water. 

Here are some examples of my individual pictures.