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Today, I’m sharing a few of our family’s favorite summer picture books…

August always feels bittersweet to me. Summer is hands-down my favorite season and I relish spending lazy hours with my children, whether that is around the fire pit or poolside or visiting family on Cape Cod.

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Every summer, I find myself wishing summer had a pause button. I want more ice cream cones…

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… and root beer floats…

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… and watermelon…

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Summer goes by far too quickly. I love fall in New England, but I am always sad to see summer go.

One way to relish the last summer days is by snuggling up and reading about summer, sharing memories together, and savoring the moment.

Summer Picture Books and Hands-On Summer Play

*Disclosure: We received a Spielgaben set at no cost in exchange for a review. We are honored to work with Spielgaben. This post is part of a monthly series featuring how we use Spielgaben in our homeschool. All thoughts and opinions are my own. You can read my review of Spielgaben here.

Our favorite summer picture books

Here are a few of our family’s favorite titles. When you have finished reading, I’d love to hear your family’s favorites!

Take your summer read alouds to the next level with hands-on summer play!

Our go-to resource for hands-on play is Spielgaben.

When the weather is nice (and summer is perfect!), I take our set outdoors and let the kids create independently. There is something magical about Spielgaben in the sunshine!

(If you’ve had your eyes on Spielgaben, please keep reading. Spielgaben has a special offer for My Little Poppies readers at the end of this article!)

Last month, I shared a super simple, super fun fireworks study featuring fantastic books and Spielgaben.

And today, I’d like to share some photos from our summer play with Spielgaben.

Summer Picture Books and Hands-On Summer Play | My Little Poppies

From left to right: crab, shooting star, and hands-on summer play!

I love this fellow flying a kite:

And this sunflower:

Outdoor hands-on play is the perfect way to bring summer picture books alive!

Spielgaben in the sunshine (left) and swimming pool with diving board (right).

And, if you are looking to add more to your summer homeschool routine, I have some ideas for you!

Would you like to add nature study to your summer routine?

I absolutely love to explore nature with my children… but I am terrible at planning nature-related activities, art, and readings. That’s why I was delighted when Kara introduced me to a super-fun, super-easy nature curriculum. That was years ago, and we are still using it regularly! Summer is the perfect time to check it out!

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This nature study curriculum is a perfect addition to your summer routine. It is called Exploring Nature with Children: A Complete, Year-Long Curriculum.

It is super affordable and easy to use whether you are outdoors daily or just getting started. If you would like to learn more, you can read my full review:

Exploring Nature with Children & DIY Nature Explorer Packs!

Be sure to fill your summer backpacks with resources for exploring nature

I have a couple of posts about creating Nature Explorer Packs for your little hikers, but here are some of our favorite resources:

Perfect summer games…

It wouldn’t be a Cait post if I didn’t include some of our favorite gameschooling resources!

Looking for summer projects?

Love nature?

Check out these related posts:

Love summer?

Summer-themed books for grown-ups

You didn’t think I’d leave you out, did you? Here are some of my personal favorite summery books for big kids:

Be sure to check out these related articles:

Here’s a special offer for My Little Poppies readers…

For a limited time, Spielgaben is offering a special 10% discount to My Little Poppies readers. In order to receive the discount, send an email to info@spielgaben.com and mention My Little Poppies.

Spielgaben will also offer a LayBy Payment Plan if you do not need the product right away. You can pay three monthly payment installments and orders will be shipped as soon as final payment is made.

Learn more about Spielgaben

Please read my review of Spielgaben here:

You can follow Spielgaben on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.

Our homeschool curriculum choices, by year

I get a lot of questions about our curriculum choices. You can read more here:

Love Coffee and Books?

Be sure to check out these related posts:

Do you want to see Coffee and Books in action?

Be sure to follow My Little Poppies because we share snapshots of our homeschool day… and heaps of fantastic books!

You are also invited to join the {Virtual} Family Book Club at My Little Poppies, a private Facebook Group for parents who love to read fantastic books to their children… and chat about them!

Now, it’s your turn. Tell me: Do you have a favorite summer book? Share here!

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Caitlin Fitzpatrick Curley

Cait is a school psychologist, mom to three children, and an unexpected homeschooler. She loves nature, good books, board games, strong coffee, and dancing in her kitchen. Cait believes homeschooling can be *almost* all fun and games!

Cait has created several courses for homeschool parents. Cait co-hosts The Homeschool Sisters Podcast and is co-founder of Kindred Collective. Cait is also founder of the Family Book Club at My Little Poppies, a fantastic community of book-loving parents and the Gameschool Community at My Little Poppies, a vibrant community of gameschoolers.

Cait is a contributing writer for Simple Homeschool. Her work has also appeared on The Huffington Post, The Mighty, Scary Mommy, GeekMom, and many others. You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.