Summer Fun 101 » Outdoor Activities

Color Match

Goaskmom — Sat, 23 May 2009 15:54:41 +0000

Supplies:

Paint swatches
Objects in nature

Instructions:

Get an assortment of color swatches from the paint department, and head outside. Try to match the colors on the card to something you find outside! Work as a team, or have a competition. It’s not so easy as it looks. We never could find anything to match the green swatches we had!

Feed the Birds a Bagel

Goaskmom — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:28:43 +0000

Supplies:

Bagel
Peanut Butter
Cereal or Birdseed
String

Instructions:

Put the string through the hole in the bagel.

Spread peanut butter onto the bagel.

Stick cereal or birdseed into the peanut butter.

Hang the birdfeeder in a tree. Make sure it is hanging near a branch so the birds can reach it. Only hummingbirds can eat while flying!

Feed the Ant

Goaskmom — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:02:40 +0000

Materials:

This is one of the coolest activities we’ve ever done. Our youngest son will sit for a long time and watch the ants as they work.

Sandwich cheese
Sidewalk with a couple of ants on it

Instructions:

Place the piece of cheese beside a crack in the sidewalk. If there is a piece of grass stuck in the crack, pull it out to disturb the dirt a bit.

Watch your piece of cheese. It won’t take long before an ant finds it. Be patient, and you’ll see the ants as they nibble away. Watch the larger ants, and you can see their jaws open and close. Are any of the ants eating the cheese on the spot? Where are the ants taking their food? Keep watching, and eventually you’ll have no cheese left!

Now’s a good time to memorize a famous verse written by a wise king named Solomon:

You lazy people can learn by watching an anthill. Ants don’t have leaders, but they store up food during harvest season.
Proverbs 6:6 – 8.(Contemporary English Version of the Bible)

Are You an Ant?

Ant Cities

Window Art with Crayola’s Window FX Washable Markers

Goaskmom — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 01:45:45 +0000

Crayola's Window FX Washable Markers

You may be a bit reluctant to let your kids use markers to paint a window mural, but they’ll have so much fun that you’ll let them do it again. Your sliding glass door is the obvious choice for window art, but the possibilities are endless. One of our boys painted a mural on the door heading out to the playground at church. Another boy painted the mirror in my bedroom for Mother’s Day. One year we painted “Honk! It’s Joe’s birthday!!” on the back window of our car. We all got a kick out of all the people who honked and waved.

We’ve used Crayola’s Window FX Washable Markers for our creations for great results and easy cleanup!

Equipment:

Window Markers, available from Amazon.com.
Window or mirror

Front Yard Bingo – YARDO

Goaskmom — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 01:04:28 +0000

Yardo Card

Think how many people, vehicles, objects and animals pass by a house on any given day! This game, called “Yardo” turns all that variety into a lot of fun. It’s played just like the classic game Bingo, but instead of someone calling out letters and numbers, players watch from their yard.

SAFETY NOTE! Make sure a parent is nearby for this activity. Children should always stay well away from the street.

Equipment:

One “Yardo Card” for each child. Click on the link. Look at the bottom of the page to open and print each Yardo card.
Pencil or pen or a bingo marker. (Bingo chips are not recommended because they blow away.)

Note: Cards can also be laminated and used with a dry erase marker.

Instructions:

Each player gets one of the Yardo cards. All players mark their “Free” space before the game begins. When the game begins, all players should watch for items on their cards. When players spot something listed in one of their squares, they mark that spot. First one to get five up, down, or across yells, “Yardo!” We know – it’s corny. But it’s fun.