Summer Adventures Week Two

I was lucky enough to be a teacher this week for incoming second graders at VBS (Vacation Bible School).  It was a great week for me and my boys.  That kept us busy each morning.

However, we found time to play in the dirt, make homemade pasta, and did some simple science experiments in the backyard.

My son loves making pasta!  Making a volcano out of flour, cracking the eggs inside it and crushing it with your hands.  It is always exciting!

I looked up simple science experiments on You-Tube and we decided on two.  The first one needed a small container of water, black pepper sprinkled on top of the water and then one drop of liquid soap in the middle.  Results: The pepper "ran away" to the edge of the water container.  We did it a couple of times.  Amazing!  

The second experiment included some of our favorite science ingredients - vinegar and baking soda.  We poured 1/4 cup on vinegar in a plastic water bottle.  Filled the bottom part of a balloon with baking soda.  Put the lip of the balloon on the water bottle and dumped the baking soda into the vinegar.  Results:  The balloon filled up with air because the vinegar and baking soda created carbon dioxide.  Very cool!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsJBo6yXaUs

Then my son had fun mixing all the ingredients and seeing the reactions they caused.  Science it always fun!  I buy the vinegar and baking soda at the Dollar Store because we tend to go through a lot of it!

*We recorded the science projects in a notebook.  It included illustrations before and after the experiment with items labeled.

Summer Adventures Week One Complete!

Week One of Summer complete!  Here is a list of activities we did to kick off our Summer.  Our goal was to be out of the house by 10:00 am!
*Each morning starts with a weather report, calendar and counting the days of summer.  Go over the activities for the day
*Adventure Walk - We came across a new tree swing which was super exciting.  The boys threw mud clumps, saw a deer and listened to all the birds and squirrels in the trees.  Great time to practice counting by ones, tens, fives, etc...
*Visited a Music Store
*Made structures out of marshmallows and toothpicks.  I enjoyed listening to the boys talk about their creations.
*Made a home for a rollie pollie
*Had a battle between army men and dinosaurs in the grass
*Made popsicles from the leftover smoothie
*Played drums with rhythm sticks
*Visited the library and signed up for the reading program
*Made an ABC chalk maze
*Watered the garden and played London Bridges with the hose
*Popped popcorn and watched a movie
*Water colored
*Read a comic book
*Played with Kinetic Sand
*Walked the dog
*Frisbee targets
*Sight Word mind reader game
*Went to 3 different parks and talked about what we liked about them
*Play dates, swim and karate
*Friday Fun Day was a trip on BART to San Francisco
*Wrote three things they liked about their week

It was a great start to Summer!

Summer Enrichment

Give your child a head start and make Summer learning FUN!

This Summer I will be tutoring and offering one hour weekly classes to students entering Kindergarten and First Grade to keep them engaged, learning and having fun!  

First Grade Enrichment and Review Classes will be held on Tuesdays, 3:30-4:30 beginning June 24

Kindergarten Readiness Classes will be held on Mondays, 3:30-4:30 beginning June 23

One Hour Session - $30 materials included
Classes held in my home in Moraga.  Days and times are flexible depending on interest.  Class size: 2-6 kids

Private Tutoring - email for availability

One Hour - $65

    

Improve your child skills in:
Pre-Reading Skills & Phonics / Reading and Writing Sight Words
Numbers / Common Core Standards
Fun Activities Include:
Alphabet ball / Roll a word / Letter/Word hunts / Flip books / Journaling Sounding out words / Reading and writing silly sentences.
Activities can be done at home for continued learning and fun!

For Dates or More Information email: dcodaniels@gmail.com

Surf's Up!

I looked through my files to find the perfect hand/foot print for our final issue of the year.  We could do hands printed in yellow to make a sun or paint hand to look like the American flag for the Fourth of July.  There are endless Summer ideas on Pinterest. However, I came across this footprint on a surf board that my son did in my Mommy and Me class when he was two years old.  Then it hit me, this is why we do these crafty projects...as a record of them as little ones.  So here you go, the same project - 4 years later!
(Materials:  White washable paint, construction paper or foam craft sheets cut in the shape pf a surf board, marker(s), stickers and wet wipes)
Article for the Lamorinda Moms Club - July/August Issue