Labor Day is a somewhat more challenging holiday to teach children about. That’s because it revolves around labor relations and fair working conditions for staff. So how can you make the holiday come alive for young children?
This unofficial end to summer invites everyone to pause, slow down and enjoy a few more nice weather days and outdoor activities. There are plenty of fun Labor Day activities you can participate in while running an early childhood education center. Parents can soak up this long weekend with their children by following these tips for getting the most out of Labor Day weekend with their children.
Labor Day Activities for Childcare Centers
As you look for ways to make Labor Day fun for young children, consider teaching them some of these Labor Day fun facts. This will give them a general overview of the holiday and why it matters. Then shift to these fun activities to help children engage more with the material.
- Send Children on a Scavenger Hunt
Give your scavenger hunt a Labor Day theme. Scavenger hunts are so much fun; most children love the opportunity to search and find objects. Perhaps even get children outside the facility by going to a fire station or police department and inviting them to find objects.
- Read Books Related to Professions and the Holiday
There are a few books designed to teach young children about Labor Day. For example, the book “Who Started the Labor Day Celebration” is a great way to teach children about the holiday. You can read books about professions that often interest young children, such as ballerinas, police officers, firemen, etc. Or focus on different professions like a career day but for young children.
- Craft Thank You Notes to Essential Workers
In your town, perhaps you have a volunteer fire station or want to thank your maintenance team for keeping the building safe for students. You can invite children to write thank you cards to essential workers. These workers, such as law enforcement, and healthcare providers, make society possible. Invite the child to give the card to someone they appreciate.
- Deliver Treats to Those Who Work the Holiday
Some people don’t get Labor Day off. Teach children how to celebrate these workers with baked goods. You can deliver them with the thank you cards you wrote from the activity above. Visit your local fire station or police department to make the field trip engaging and interesting for your students.
- Invite Children to Draw Pictures of Their Career Interests
You have a great opportunity during Labor Day to invite children to start thinking about what they want to do when they grow up. Give them some suggestions or talk about what the children’s parents do for work during circle time.
You might ask children to come to show and tell with an example of what their parents do or dress up like their parents. Have fun with it to make the concept of a career come to life for children.
- Enjoy Summer Snacks
You might want to squeeze in a few more opportunities for fresh fruit and crisp, delicious snacks as summer closes. Consider getting some watermelon and other fresh fruits and putting them together for a delicious fruit salad. Or create a fun fruit dip that children will love.
Put together skewers with fruit and marshmallows to delight children. Or keep it simple and make watermelon popsicles by freezing slices of watermelon with a popsicle stick inside. It seems like a treat, but it’s really just a fun new way to eat the popular fruit.
- Play Outdoor Games
Get some yard games and spend the day outdoors if the weather is nice. Before you know it, you’ll be looking for indoor craft ideas to keep children occupied when it’s cold and unpleasant outside. But until then, soak up the good weather days.
The outdoors can be the best classroom of all. Teach children games like cornhole, ring toss, and hopscotch. Work on teams to educate children about working together.
- Host a Lemonade Stand
If you want to show children what labor is, teach them a bit about business using a lemonade stand. You can do it within the childcare center and market goods to different classrooms. Perhaps one classroom has lemonade, and another has snacks. Bartering goods can teach young children a bit about commerce without entering the concept of money just yet.
- Make Community Helper Paper Hats
These hats are super fun and easy. All you have to do is print them off on paper and have a perfect Labor Day activity. You’ll find free printables for everything from a chef to a firefighter.
Encourage children to choose different hats and then have the child wear them and explain what the worker does.
- Host a Family Cookout/Open House
It’s still early in the school year, which means you have an opportunity to fill a few more open spots to reach full enrollment before the school year gets in full swing. You can use Labor Day as a marketing opportunity. Host a cookout in your parking lot and invite parents and their friends to come to hang out on the playground at your center for some delicious food and an open house. It’s somewhat unconventional, but it’s an opportunity to meet other parents with young children in your community.
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