Bilingual Life: August/Summer Activities (28 months old)
Our summer so far.
This summer has been very hot. Sometimes it is difficult to find family activities to do with our little ones during the hot summer months. There are some activities that we managed to do to pass the time without getting too hot. Just some of the things we have done this summer so far are to go mini-hiking, go to Mahoroba Park (it is a big local pool), Kodomo no Mori and we have even done fireworks together at night. All of these activities give us special opportunities to learn new words and phrases as well as letting us practice language that we already know.
When we went hiking we found many mushrooms. We practiced how to say “Don’t eat the mushrooms!” and “Be careful, that is dangerous!”. Now anytime my daughter sees a mushroom in a book or anywhere else she says “Don’t eat the mushroom.” When we went to the pool we learned some new words and phrases, for example “Do you want to go swimming?” “It’s not scary!” and “Let’s eat shaved ice after the pool.” My daughter loves shaved ice and will not forget that she has been promised it. All of these activities are great fun and give us time to play together. One more thing that we do that I would like to recommend to anyone with a small child is playing with a “projection lamp.”
You can find projection lamps online or at a toy store. They are like mini planetarium projectors. They are fun and can be used often, safely and at home so it is not necessary to go anywhere. We have a projection lamp that is rechargeable and it converts into a night light when you are not using it as a projector. During the summer months it is great fun at night to turn off all the lights and watch the stars, sea creatures or whatever pattern you decide to project. The one we have has 8 films (scenes) so you can change them as you please. We are now using the sea theme and learning about whales, jellyfish, and octopuses. Last year my daughter was not able to say “octopus” so she said “atete.” This year she is finally able to say “octopus.” The colors and sizes of the projection change depending on your settings and how you place the projector. It is a good tool to learn about the object names, color and size while having fun. My daughter gets very excited when we play with her projector at night. It is also very good insurance for when she is in a bad mood. Please check online wherever you shop to find a projection light. Your little one will be so happy and so will you!