Each Veterans Day check your local area for celebrations, parades and activities.

Here are a few things and activities to do with your family at home:

IDEAS:

READ STORIES (Appropriate for age)

My favorite book is The Wall by Eve bunting. Most of her books are my favorite!

• Activity Idea:  In the story they make a rubbing of the name on the wall, you could place objects like a quarter under paper and rub with the side of a crayon to make your own  rubbing.

Books about Flag

• Design flags
• Write words/phrases on flag as below that have to do with story read or Veterans Day

Here is the plain flag that was bought from the store. The child could draw or paint the flag and then write on it when it is dry.

The words were written on the flag with a fine point sharpie permanent marker.  The words below were written by an eight year old boy who studied the civil war in his second grade class and also had just read the Star Spangled Banner.  That may explain some of his words he chose to write on the flag!

WRITE LETTERS

• Design notes and letters to send to troops or veterans.
• Younger children draw pictures and have the adult write a short message and note the child’s name and age.  If the child would like a certain message, put quotes around the message along with child’s name.

If you do not know anyone to send letters to, we  have found troops to send to through churches, local VA medical centers and check with local retirement center for veterans that would like to receive notes of thanks.

RESEARCH

Older children can research American war heroes such as George Washington. Have them write or present their findings. They could even act out the part for a meaningful experience they will not forget!  Give some creative free choice on how to present the material, children (and students) always amaze me how creative they can be when allowed the time.

In Our Own Backyard....A Mama Hummingbird

Birds are a fun and small creature that most of us can find in our neighborhood or backyard.  Enjoy a few of these simple activities with your little ones for just an afternoon or for a whole thematic week.

Homemade Bird Feeders

Coffee Can Bird Feeder:

Open both ends of the can with a can opener, then use a string to string through both ends of the can.  Tie both ends of the string to hang the feeder when complete. Take the plastic cover of the coffee can and cut it in half. Take each piece and place on each end of the can to hold all of the food in the feeder.  This can be done with any can that has a plastic cover on top.  Fill the feeder with bird seed and bird treats such as corn, apple pieces, cooked rice, berries and dry cereal. Hang the feeder in a place where you can observe the birds enjoying their new hangout!

Peanut Butter Pinecone:

This classic bird feeder is still tons of fun and was always a great one to do with a class or large group like scouts.  If you are with other children make sure no one has peanut allergies, i would choose another activity all together, or use lard or shortening in the place of peanut butter.  choose a pinecone, make a mix of peanut butter and a small amount of oats or cornmeal.  Then roll in bird seed.  With a piece of yarn tie it around the top portion of the pinecone to make a hanger for the bird feeder.

Fruity Treats:

Cut an orange in half.  Use a needle to get yarn through the orange to hang from a branch. This also attracts butterflies!

Other Activities

Bird Watch:

Now that you have made a bird treat, just hang out and observe. Children can sketch, take photographs or take notes in a journal of the experience.

If you have older children you may want to have a field guide to try and identify and learn about birds in your area. (For example: National Audubon Society Field Guide)

Binoculars:

Young children may want to make binoculars out of cardboard tubes to prepare for their bird watching experience.  Get two equal size cardboard tubes, toilet paper tubes or paper towel tubes cut to size. Lay them next to each other and tape together at each end.  choose a side to tie the string or yarn through and punch two holes. Tie a knot at both ends at the hole punch to make a strap to carry the binoculars.  Have the children decorate with markers, stickers or paint. Set off for your next adventure!

First ask the question, what is a sunset?

*This could be in a science journal.  Older children can write their answers and younger  children can draw.  Keeping a science journal is not just for the classroom, it can be a great way to document and cherish your child’s thoughts, writing and learning as they grow.

Then, “We are going to make our own sunsets in a glass of milky water.”

You will need:

Glass of water (beaker if you have it)

Milk

Flashlight

Spoon

Experiment:

1. Shine the flashlight through the glass of plain water. Ask, “What does it look like?”  (It looks white, like the sun when it is high in the sky.)

2. Pour a little milk into the glass of water and stir gently until it turns slightly white.  Have the children talk about what is happening.

3.  Ask what will happen when you flash the flashlight through the glass this time? then, Shine the flashlight through the water glass again. Observe, take notes and discuss what they see.  The light looks orange-red, just like the setting sun.

Explain: Particles of milk in the water cut out some of the colors in the light coming from the flashlight. Only the orange and red rays get through.  It is just like the dawn and dusk that we see with the real sun.  When the sun is low in the sky (morning and evening) its light passes through more air than at other times of the day. Tiny particles in the air stop a lot of the sun’s light.  The red and the orange light gets through.

If you are using a science journal (or writing this as a group on a board) write the question will adding milk change the light coming through?  Write your hypothesis and discuss as a group. If there are younger children or children that like to draw they can draw the experiment as it happens.  It would look like a step by step illustration. Complete the experiment and draw a conclusion.  After the results, have each child write if their hypothesis (or guess) was true.  Using this process even with the little ones drawing gets them acquainted with the scientific method.

You will also need some glue, tape, scissors and markers to get started.  Next, your child may just take off and not need any help to get started . For the others, ask questions about what they like to play….dolls, cars etc. This may help them to make a choice to make a house for their little animals, design a car for characters etc. My son was into gadgets and rockets. Below you can see his control box that has been used for many missions to the moon.

For this project he wrapped white paper around the box, I cut the slit for him to put his sliding piece of cardboard in, a bolt served as his on and off switch and the plastic squares were around the home as counting squares and last a mosaic piece filled in as the last button.  Any tiny craft things would work including buttons, pom poms and stickers. My son was about six years old when he created this “thing” and I am thinking we need to do this again and see what he comes up with this time.  I do not have my four year old’s version pictured and I am sorry I do not have it because it was quite hilarious as she made a control box as well.  I love how different each child is and you can really see it when you let them have free reign of their projects and crafts.

Creativity is the key!

“Creativity is a great motivator because because it makes people interested in what they are doing.  Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea.  Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting.”   Edward de Bono

*Edward de Bono wrote and studied about the brain and creativity. He was the author of The Mechanism of Mind and introduced the term “lateral thinking.”

You will need:

flashlight

bike reflector

Procedure:

This experiment is done at night time. Point the flashlight at bicycle reflector and then turn it off.

Questions to ask:

What did you notice?

Is the reflector glowing?  (Ask when flashlight is on and off.)

Does the reflector give off light?

How are the moon and reflector the same?

For younger children ask specific questions such as what do you think the flashlight is supposed to be?  (The sun.)  What is the reflector in our activity? (The moon.)

Results:

The reflector only glows when the flashlight is on it.  The reflector, like the moon, does not give off light.  It reflects light  in different directions.  The moon only reflects light from the sun.  Without the sun, there would be no moonlight.

The moon revolves around the earth so sometimes we can see more of the “lit up” side and sometimes we can see less.  This all depends on where the moon is in it’s orbit and how much of the lit up side is facing us.

Cool discovery!

To extend this idea:

Younger children can draw a picture of the moon and if able to write…write a sentence or new fact about the moon.  Also, a perfect night to read “Goodnight Moon” by margeret wise Brown.

Before the experiment:

If you keep a science journal at home have your child or children write the question, “Why does the moon shine?” and then a hypothesis as to why they think the moon shines. If you prefer to discuss the guesses and then have them write down the results. sketching a picture with the journal entry will help the to remember the experiment when reviewing their journal.

Model:

Have children make a model of the Earth, sun and moon. A shoebox would work well for them to hang their models.  Or have them use dough to shape the Earth, moon and sun according to size. (Have them research size so they can have the proportion correct.)

Observe:

Spread out some blankets or chairs on a clear night and just observe the moon. This may lead to more questions, observations and discovery.

Older Children can do more detailed research:

This simple experiment gives a glimpse into the reason as to why the moon shines, have your older kids research more about the moon.

For example, the moon is actually dark and the reflective coat cannot be seen up close.  They can look up about Albedo which is the measure of an object’s reflection of the Sun’s radiation.  There is much to learn and have the older children present their findings.  Allow them to be creative with their presentation.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup organic all-purpose flour

2 cups organic cane sugar

1 cup organic unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon organic vanilla extract

2/3 cup organic canola oil

2 teaspoons organic white vinegar

2 cups cold water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.  Butter and flour two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans, or place liners in 2 muffin pans for 24 cupcakes.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix the vanilla extract, oil, vinegar, and cold water.

Slowly whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, being careful not to overmix.  The mixture will be wet, but this is all right.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.  For cupcakes, the baking time is 24 to 26 minutes.

Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool down.

*In her book she recommends a whipped buttercream. frosting.

Now I am showing our photo which looks nothing like the beautiful pictures in the book.  But, ours had a lot of love.  My daughter and I made the cake and then she decorated it for our father’s day dessert.  She is six years old and loves to bake and decorate cakes.  It was easier for us to fill the frosting into a sandwich bag and then cut a small bit of the corner off so she could squeeze out the frosting. She was hoping for flowers, so next time I will have her use the tips.

There were many other delicious looking recipes to try, looks like I will have to buy the book!

Example:

Write the heading “likes” and “dislikes” on the whiteboard or paper.  Then have the child or children guess what little Miss Picky might like to eat.

SHHH….. Do not tell them what she eats. As they guess, write down their guess in the appropriate column.

For this example, Miss Picky will only eat foods that start with the letter “S.”  But it could be only words with a long o sound, short a sound, two syllables, five letters….you get the point.

The object of the game is to discover the pattern of Miss Picky.

So on with the example:

In the “Likes” column you may see; spaghetti, strawberries, sandwiches, squash.

In the “Dislikes” column you may see jelly, tomatoes, bagels, oranges etc.

*If you have a few more minutes and they have guessed the pattern, allow them to come up and continue the list.

*Artsy people can draw a Little Miss Picky and write the accepted words on her body or dress.  If you are using this in a classroom, laminate Miss Picky and use a dry erase marker each time you play!

If you plan on keeping these, I would organize by color or some other system so you can easily pull out the words you will need. For example, colors could be a code for easy to difficult, or grade levels or the week of the spelling list.  Use what makes sense to you. Happy spelling!

HOW TO DECORATE  YOUR ROCK

Choose a special rock.

Rinse it off and dry.

Set out glitter glue and different material to decorate.

Example of materials: buttons, pom poms, confetti, small items

Smear glitter glue with sponge or paint brush onto rock.

Let it dry completely.

decorated rocks

MONEY SAVING TIP:  For large groups, cut up padding for seat cushions. I found mine at a craft store for $2.00 and cut up into 30-40 pieces.

Much more cost effective than sponge brushes.

You will need: heavy paper (card stock), scissors, glue and beans.