It's hard to believe it's the last day of school!
To celebrate we have a Goodbye Zoom planned for 5. There is also Charades, Show and Tell, Choose Your Own Adventure, and Drawing Club. Head of to the Zoom calendar to sign up!
Today on the blog we have some great activities to welcome summer! Find water relays, chalk paint, solar smores, and watermelon slush below!
Water Relay
By Aurora
Grade Level: Any
Individual or multiple people: Multiple (2-4)
Materials:
3 buckets or large bowls (2 must be the same size, the third one should be larger)
2 plastic or paper cups
Location: Outside. A lawn or backyard works great.
Further instructions or accommodations:
Setup: Fill the larger bucket or bowl with water and place it at the start of your relay. Set the two empty buckets at the other end of your relay.
For two participants (or 3, if you have an extra bucket): Each participant gets one cup. They have to fill that cup with water from the full water bucket and carry the cup over their head all the way to their bucket at the other end. Whoever fills up their bucket the fastest wins the relay!
For four participants: This is similar to the game with two participants, except there are teams of two. Each person on the team takes turns running to the other side holding their cups of water over their head to fill up their team’s bucket.
Challenges:
Instead of just holding the cup of water over your head, try to balance the cup of water on top of your head.
Use smaller cups to carry the water, or have larger buckets to fill.
Increase the distance between the start and end of your relay race.
Use sponges instead of cups. Soak the sponge in the starting bucket, and then try to carry it across with minimal dripping so that you can squeeze the water into your bucket.
Solar S’Mores
Cooked Up By Chloe
Grade Level: 3-5
Individual or multiple people: Either! (with parental guidance)
Theme: Science and Cooking
Materials:
Pizza box
Pencil and ruler
Box cutters/ craft knife
Aluminum foil
Scissors
Glue
Black construction paper or black paint
Tape
1-2 clear sheet protectors
Stick or ruler to hold the box lid open
PLUS: Smore’s Ingredients
Graham Crackers
Chocolate Bars
Marshmallows
Location: Outside
Links and resources:
Further instructions or accommodations:
Solar ovens harness the power of the sun to cook your food and creating a DIY solar oven is a great way to get everyone outside and combine science with snacks. With this project, you can teach your kids about the greenhouse gas effect and how foil reflects sunlight causing the temperature of the concentrated area to rise because the air underneath the plastic wrap cannot escape. A hotter sunnier day will result in faster cooking times and your s’mores should be ready in just 30-60 minutes!
Below are the step by step instructions and an example photo that can also be found at this website: https://butterwithasideofbread.com/solar-smores/
Instructions
Draw a square on top of the pizza box that's about 1-2" smaller than the box itself. With the help of a parent, use the box cutters to cut along the line, on the right, left and bottom of the box, creating a flap that open upward.
Cover the underside of the flap and the inside of the box with foil, shiny side out. Try and keep it as smooth as possible! Glue it down so it doesn't fall off.
Inlay the box with the black construction paper, gluing it to the bottom so it stays put
Tape the clear sheet protectors to the lid of the box to seal the opening created by the flap. The seal should be as airtight as possible!
Place your oven outdoors in direct sunlight on a hot day. Assemble your S'mores and have a thermometer nearby if you can!
Close the lid of the box and prop the flap open with a stick. Leave your S'mores to "cook" for about 30 minutes. Depending on how airtight your oven is, you could see temperatures around 200 degrees!
Enjoy your chocolatey marshmallow creation! The messier they are, the better they taste, right?!
DIY Sidewalk Paint
Crafted By Julie
Grade Level: K - 5
Individual or multiple people: Either
Materials:
Measuring cup
Cups
Water
Cornstarch
Paintbrush
Food coloring
Spoon
Mixing bowl
Location: Outside on driveway or walkway outside your home.
Further instructions or accommodations:
Measure out 1 cup of water and pour into a mixing bowl.
Measure out 1 cup of cornstarch and mix it with the water in the mixing bowl.
Once the cornstarch and water are mixed thoroughly, pour the mixture into each of your plastic cups
Add a different color of food coloring to each of your cups, mix throughout.
You are now ready to paint!
Refreshing Watermelon Slush
Cooked Up By Charlotte
This recipe is perfect for the whole family, even younger siblings, to enjoy! Making the slush is easy, but waiting for it to freeze is the challenge! Be sure to let it freeze for at least 4 hours before serving, this is when it’ll taste its best!
Grade Level: K-5
Individual or multiple people: Either!
Theme: Cooking
Ingredients:
Watermelon
Honey (or maple syrup)
Lime
(This recipe is super allergy friendly! GF/DF/NF)
Location: Kitchen
Instructions:
1. Place the watermelon chunks, honey and lime juice in a blender and blend for 30 seconds on medium-high or until completely blended.
2. Pour watermelon mixture into a 9×9 or 9×13 baking dish. Place in freezer for 1 hour. Take the baking dish out of the freezer and using a fork, scrape the frozen areas of the slush until broken apart. Continue scraping the slush with a fork every couple hours. The watermelon mixture needs to be frozen for a total 4-6 hours before serving.
3. Before serving, scrape the frozen mixture again with a fork, spoon into bowls and enjoy!
Check back with the blog weekly for some SUMMER FUN posts.
HAVE A GREAT SUMMER EVERYONE!
