Saturday, August 9, 2014

EIGHT THINGS TO DO BEFORE THIS SUMMER IS OVER

Okay, some places it's time for school to start again. But there is still going to be summer weather for a while even where winters get icy cold.  So here are ten things you should definitely try while you can enjoy getting outside.





1.  Make something out of mud. Even better do it after it's rained. What is that mud like? How is different from dry dirt? Is there one way it's still the same? Take pictures of what you made and send me one to share here. 


2. Play flashlight tag in the dark. 



3. Go on a shadow hunt to find the following shadows. But take an adult along because grown-ups need to have fun too:
a. Find a shadow with a bright hole in it.
b. Find the biggest shadow you can. Figure out what made it.
c. Find the littlest shadow you can. Figure out what made it.  

4. Fly a kite. But make one first. Here are sites with easy how-to instructions.


5. Make a FOOT painting. Sure, you've probably done fingerprinting. But have you ever painted with your feet? It will really let you STEP UP as an artist. Try mixing your own paints first. Here's some how-to sites to help you. Then send a picture of your art work. I'll share it on my blog. :-)!

 

6. Look at the world through a magnifying glass. Especially something you never thought to look at closely before. See anything that surprised you?  



7. Put on a puppet show with puppets you make yourself. Here's some sites with ideas to help you do just that.



8. Learn one constellation you didn't know in the night sky. Find out what story people used to tell about it. Then make up a new story yourself.

Here's my favorite constellation ORION. And here's a couple of sites with star stories, including ones about Orion.





Hope you have fun with these activities. I'll share more soon. And, of course, I'm always as close as reading one of my books. Like BUTTERFLY TREE. It's about a special kind of surprise that happened to me once right about this time of year. 



Or imagine WHAT IF YOU HAD ANIMAL TEETH!?







I'LL READ TO YOU: RACE THE WILD WIND

  Relax and enjoy as I read to you. Click to start RACE THE WILD WIND (Bloomsbury) And enjoy your own copy from Amazon