O is for Orange

Have you ever made an Orange Julius? They are very yummy. Here is the recipe that I use
16 oz, can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8-9 cubes ice

1.Combine all ingredients except ice cubes in blender
2.Blend for 1-2 minutes. Add ice cubes one at a time.
Servings: 4


I think we will do this craft
http://www.first-school.ws/activities/nrhymes/peter.htm

Additional Info: Letters M and N

Someone asked about the dates on the movies over at Cinifour so here are the dates the movies are showing.

6/7-6/30 How to Train your Dragon
7/4-7/7 Nanny McPhee Returns
7/11-7/12 Dispicable Me
7/18-7/21 Ramona and Beezus
7/25-7/28 Gulliver's Travels
8/1-8/4 Narnia Voyage of the Dawn Treader
8/8-8/11 Yogi Bear

I'm excited I ordered a chinese jump rope online. I found a cheap one on Ebay. Now to learn some how to do it again.

I have Letters M and N scheduled for the 6th and 8th of July.

For M: Go to Gossners for Milk. We had discussed about taking a tour at Gossners but I haven't called yet.
Talk about Money. I'm wondering if there is a credit union or bank that would let us come in and give a short lesson to the kids on what happens to the money at the bank.

Snack: M&M's

For N: Nights- Do nighttime activities during the day. One that my kids love to play is ghost in the graveyard. Let the kids stay up later to watch the stars.

There's a lot of fun N activities here http://www.preschoolexpress.com/alphabet_station04/n_activities.shtml

Snack: Nuts

Arts and Crafts

Here is some information passed on from another friend.

Michaels Arts and Crafts is having Passport to Fun Craft days every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 11 to 2 from June 21 through July 30.  You get to make a hat pin in the shape of a country's flag, as well as an awesome craft, which is different each day that they are holding it.  It is totally free.  If you wish, you may purchase a hat to stick all your country flags on.  They also have free passport books at the registers, and when you go, you get to fingerprint the country you have "visited".  I was totally impressed!  There is a different country for each day they are holding it.  We had so much fun.

Monday Fun

Every Monday at 1:00 till the end of July (except the 4th of course) at Bridger Elementary there is a story and craft to make. Today the kids made these fun place mats after reading the Patchwork quilt. They laminated them when they were finished.Andrew wasn't excited about going (boys...maybe it's just mine) but after making his mat he is excited for next weeks craft.

The book exchange is from 9 am to 12 Mon-Thurs. The Library is open at the same time.

Just a reminder about tomorrow's horse riding. Anyone is welcome to come. Meet at the church (250 W. 1200 N) at 10:00 and we will follow Mandy there.

H FUN and finishing June with K and L

Mandy knows someone who is willing to let the kids ride Horses. We are meeting at the church at 10:00 on Tuesday the 21. It's in Wellsville and we are going to follow her there. If you have any questions call Mandy at (435) 760-6972. I'm pumped, I know my kids will be so excited to ride. She does want me to mention that the kids should where pants and shoes (no sandles). A hat to block the sun would help also.

Can you believe that June is already half over??? Yikes. Summer always goes by so fast to me. I have been having fun with these ideas I hope you have too. Please share your ideas.

K- Kites
http://www.skratch-pad.com/kites/make.html

Choose a Treat:
Kaleidoscope Cookies
Kite Cookies
Rice Krispy Funnel Kisses
Forgotten Kisses
Kudos granola bars
anything made by Kraft or Keebler
Kiwi
Peanut Butter Kisses
King-sized Krispie treats (big Rice Krispies)
Kettle corn
Kool-aid Klondike Bars
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
Kettle Brand potato chips
Kids Snack Mix

L-Library

We go to the Logan Library every Thursday so for a different Library you can go to Bridger. Their Library is open Mon.-Thurs. from 9:30-12 There is also a book exchange. Or if you don't have a book to exchange I believe they are a dollar each.

For L day you can do a Lemonade stand or make lollipops or cookie lollipops.

Here is an easy recipe for candy lollipops.

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. candy flavoring oil
Liquid food coloring (as desired)

Instructions
Mix sugar, water and syrup in a pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Add candy thermometer, cook to hard crack stage (290 degrees); remove from heat. When bubbles simmer down, stir in oil flavoring and liquid food coloring as desired.

Pour hot candy mixture into prepared molds. Remove suckers from molds when cool and beginning to hold their shape. Add decorations if desired. Place on another flat surface to continue cooling. Put cooled suckers into plastic bags.

Summer Story Time at Willow Park

Come down to Willow Park Zoo for their Summer Story Time. The kids will love reading a book and then visiting with an animal from the zoo.  Story time runs from June 16-August 18 every Thursday at 11:00 am in the Wildlife Learning Center. It is sponsored by the Book Table and the program is free.

J is for Jumping

Tonight I've been looking online for a Chinese jump rope. I remember doing it in Elementary school. Have you played with them before? We're doing a jumping contest with jump ropes and on the tramp. There are also J games and puzzles at http://www.dltk-teach.com/alphabuddies/games/j.html

H and I

H DAY
HIKING-
The weather is getting perfect for hiking. I have this day scheduled for the 20th. We should get a group together and go, that would be fun.
For Breakfast: Hashbrowns
For lunch: Hot dogs
For a treat: Honeydew Melon

Or after your hike visit Heart to Heart and get something cold to eat :)

I DAY
ICE CREAM-
June 22nd
Make your own. Go to: crafts.kaboose.com/ice-cream-in-a-bag.html
I have my kids put socks on their hands as it gets pretty cold to hold.

Fun Idea

Mandy shared this site for a Family Summer Bucket List.

http://go.tipjunkie.com/pr/6041/www.positivelysplendid.com/2011/05/family-summer-bucket-list-ssg-idea-20.html

G is for Grandparents

I have this day scheduled for the 16th of June.

With Fathers day coming write a letter to Grandpa. Or have them draw a picture for both Grandparents.

That doesn't take long so you can check out the other G activities at dltk.

http://www.dltk-teach.com/alphabuddies/letter-g.html

A snack for G day could be granola bars, grapefruit, grapes, grated cheese, green peppers, graham crackers, gingersnaps, goldfish crackers, Gummi bears ...


I was going to mention that I saw in the Mayceys ad that they are having a free breakfast at 8:00 on Saturday and to celebrate flag day the kids can get a mini flag, balloon and stickers. Movies also will be shown in the little theater.

F is for Fathers and Flags

So I'm curious if anyone is reading these posts? I haven't seen any comments or other ideas for awhile.

For "F" day we are making flags and learning about them on the internet since I had it scheduled for June 14th which is Flag day. Do you know what Flag day is? It's the day the flag was adopted as the US Flag. (I didn't know that, did you?)

I think with my kids I'll have them draw their own flags and post them to small dowels. We could have our own flag parade :)

With Fathers day coming up you can have your kids make fathers day cards or think of a way to make fathers day special. Maybe make a Fathers Flag to use as a centerpiece for that special day.

Here is a fun site for a craft they could make for dad as well: http://familyfun.go.com/fathers-day/fathers-day-crafts/

As for a treat idea... making our own French fries (it was the first that came to my mind...plus their my favorite :)

Theres Figs, Fish (swedish Fish of course, I don't think kids would go for fish as a snack), Fruit, flapjacks, or fudge, the possibilities are endless.

Please share your ideas for F day.

Be careful out there!

As Summer brings on Swimming and other fun water activities, it can also be dangerous. Mandy thought it would be good to share this article. Stay safe! ...darn link button it never works. I tried it a couple ways what am I doing wrong??? Well copy and paste for this one too.

mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/

E is for Eggs

E day: June 10th

For E we discussed about breaking the dino eggs made on D day. Then creating an Egg out of yarn. Find the directions at this site:

http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/yarn-eggs-670275/

You could have eggs for breakfast and then look at different animal eggs or even go on an egg hunt.

Summer Reading Program

Go sign up for the summer reading program at the Library. When you sign up the kids get a certificate to take to Burger King for a Kids hamburger meal. Each reading card they complete can get them a free book. Happy reading.

Moving on with D

I figure I better add posts when I get a moment. I don't want to fall behind.

I don't know if any of you made it up to Stokes Nature Center for their Bug Night but our kids loved it. The boys couldn't get enough of the snakes. They made cute butterflies out of coffee filters. The kids painted them with water colors then pinched them in the middle and tied it with pipe cleaner which popped up to make the antennas. They also could make a Caterpillar out of paper. So you could do the butterfly for B day or the Caterpillar for C day :)
I was also going to mention that for B day you could ride the BUS. I'm going to attempt it with six kids so wish me luck he he.

We put D day down for June 8th. Dates can always be changed I just have it scheduled out through the Summer doing two to three letters a week.

DINOS:
What kid doesn't love learning about Dinosaurs. Anybody remember the song "Everybody walk the Dinosaur"?

"Open the door, get on the floor, everybody walk the Dinosaur."

We talked about making Dino eggs. You can use little toy dinos in the middle. To make dinosaur eggs, all you need is flour, dirt or used coffee grounds (yeah we have a lot of coffee here so we have that lying around ha ha), sand, salt and water. You can use sand from the sandbox or fancy colored craft sand. You'll want something like an old margarine tub to stir it all in. Put in about 2½ cups flour, 2½ cups of dirt or used coffee grounds, about a cup of sand, and 1 and ½ cups of salt. Mix all that up. Don't worry too much about the measurements, a little more sand, a little more dirt, it really won't matter. If you want to, you can add a tablespoon of powdered tempera paint for color. Add only as much water as you need to get it to all stick together. Shape the "dough" around the small toys. Put them in a sunny place and let them dry out and harden. Depending on the sunshine and the weather, it may take a few days. It's a good idea to turn them occasionally so that the bottoms will dry out too.
To break them open they can scrape away the sand and dirt with an old spoon or edge of a rock. If they are in a bigger hurry they can break the eggs apart with a hammer, or by dropping them. Do supervise the hammers and dropping. Sore toes and fingers would not be fun.

Recipe for eggs from families.com

Snack: Dino fruit snacks

Please share your ideas for "D" day