In this blog post today I’m sharing ways to cool down on hot school days. I don’t know about you.. But our classroom gets unbearable on hot days throughout the summer.. There just seems to be no ventilation and it can quickly become horrible in our room.
There are some ways over the years that we have come to manage this. And today I’m sharing 10 tips that you can try if you have the same problems too.
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1. Do Work in the Morning
I always focus on getting our work done in the mornings in our classroom on the hottest days. Then after lunch, when it’s the hottest time of the day, we do some cooling activities instead. This has worked really well for us.
2. Ice and Water Play
Ice and water play are great for some cooling activities in the classroom. It also means that we can use them to cool ourselves down.
3. Make Lollipops and Ice-Cream
As part of our science activities we make lollipops and ice-cream. This means that we can enjoy them after lunch when it’s really hot to cool ourselves down.
4. Paddling Pool
We LOVE to pull out the paddling pool in the summer months and we use it the most in the afternoons after lunch. Our students fetch spare clothes in with them and then we all use the paddling pool to cool down in the afternoon. It works really well for us!
Here are some links to our favorite paddling pools;
5. Water Pistols
One of our favorite things to do is play with water pistols. We’ll use them in different ways and have students use them to shoot water at certain colors… Pieces of nature etc. They work great and filled with cold water, really help to cool everyone down.
Here are some links to our favorite water pistols;
6. Water Balloons
My students LOVE using water balloons. They’re actually great little sensory tools too. I have students who love to just hold them and feel their texture. They’re great for cooling down – plus you can pop them in the freezer as well!
Here are some links to our favorite water balloons;
7. Pop Up Gazebos / Shelter
If your outdoor area has the sun beating down on it, it’s really helpful to have some form of shelter. We actually found that putting a pop up gazebo outside our classroom helped to keep the sun out of that side of our classroom too.. Which was great at helping keep our classroom cooler.
Here are some links to our favorite pop up gazebos;
8. Cooling Spray
A lot of my students really struggle in the heat. One year, one of my student’s parents sent in some cooling mist.. And oh my goodness it’s a game changer! We now offer parents to send some in if they want their child to use it.. And us staff fetch some in for us too. They’re definitely a great help!
Here are some links to our favorite cooling sprays;
9. Access to Water
It’s really important on hot days to have easy access to water. And I know as educators, it can be extra hard for us to remember to drink enough water. It’s for this reason that I always take a cooling cup with me that I can access throughout the day to make sure I’m having enough fluids. Here are some links to my favorite cooling cups;
10. Stick On Black Out Blinds
These are actually genius. These stick on black out blinds not only keep the sun out – but they keep the heat out too. They’re really easy to apply and remove – and don’t leave any marks. So if you have a bunch of windows like us that let in all the sun.. These are perfect!
Here are some links to my favorite stick on black out blinds;
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Nikki
Great ideas.
Just need the sunny weather now! 🙂
We are one of the unlucky ones, even if the sun is out but cold our classroom gets BOILING! 🙁