June 20: Plain Yogurt Day

image from www.drweilblog.com

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Yogurt Pops

Materials:

• blueberries (1 cup)
• strawberries (1 cup)
• vanilla yogurt (8 ounces)
• honey (1-2 teaspoons)
• lemon juice (1 tablespoon)
• containers with spouts (2)
• blender
• small plastic drinking cups
• paper muffin cups
• plastic spoons or popsicle sticks

Directions:

1. Put strawberries, yogurt, honey, and lemon juice in blender and puree until smooth.
2. Pour into container with spout.
3. Repeat this process with the blueberries.
4. Pour mixtre in cups, alternating between the blueberry and strawberry.
5. Place a muffin cup upside down on top of cup.
6. Poke in a plastic spoon handle or popsicle stick through the center of the muffin top.
7. Freeze.

Source(s): donnasday.com, adapted for the Toolbox Training book 100 Cooking Activities for Kids (activity B3).

June 19: Butterfly Day

image from nhm.org

Kids can make their own butterfly feeders in honor of Butterfly Day.

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Butterfly Feeder

Materials:

• small jar with a lid, such as a baby food jar or jelly jar
• sugar
• water
• cotton
• materials for decorating feeders if desired
• means for hanging feeders

Directions:

1. Make a small hole in the lid of the jar.
2. Make butterfly food by dissolving one part sugar in nine parts water.
3. Fill the jar with butterfly food.
4. Screw the lid tightly onto the jar and poke a small piece of cotton into the hole.
5. Decorate jars with paint or decoupage. Butterflies locate their food sources by sight, so the more he feeder looks like a plant or flower, the better the chance of attracting butterflies. It may also help to cut out some fabric or plastic petals and fasten them to the lid of your feeder.
6. Invert the jar and hang it in the garden.

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Source(s): 100 Nature Activities for Kids (Activity H4)

June 18: Go Fishing Day

image from lz95.net

Kids can create their own fish bowls in honor of “Go Fishing Day.”

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Fish Bowl

Materials:

• baby food jar
• blue paint
• paper
• markers, crayons, or colored pencils
• something to poke holes
• fishing line
• tape

Directions:

1. Paint half of the jar blue so that if you were looking at the front of the jar all you would see is the blue from the other side.
2. Cut out a fish shape and decorate as desired.
3. Poke a hole in the top of the lid and through the back of the top of the fish.
4. Put a piece of fishing line through the hole and back up to the lid. Make sure it isn’t touching the bottom of the jar.
5. Tape the line to the top of the lid and your fish bowl is complete.

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Source(s): 100 Construction Activities for Kids (activity H4).

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Check out the full June calendar. It includes floating holidays, specialty weeks, and specialty months.

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June 17: Eat Your Vegetables Day

image from transforming-science.com

Try these unique ways to grow vegetables!

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Growing Vegetables

Materials:

• variety of fruit and vegetable seeds
• small pots
• good garden soil
• avocado pits
• toothpicks
• glass jars
• water
• potato and sweet potato cuttings
• carrot tops

Directions:

1. Plant seeds in pots with soil, about twice as deep as they are wide.
2. Stick toothpicks in avocado pits to support them on top of a glass filled with water. The wide end of the seed should be just submerged in the water. Keep glass filled with water.
3. For potatoes and sweet potatoes, make sure cutting has at least one “eye,” which is where the potato vine will grow. The eye needs to be out of the water.
4. Carrot tops will also grow this way if the root end is kept submerged.
5. All of these must be transplanted to soil eventually; water alone won’t keep the plants growing.

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Source(s): Adapted from bizarrelabs.com for 100 Nature Activities for Kids (Activity F5)

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Check out the full June calendar. It includes floating holidays, specialty weeks, and specialty months.

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June 16: Fudge Day

image from armpitfudge.weebly.com

Of course you need to make fudge today in celebration of Fudge Day! Try this easy, no-bake recipe with a name that’s sure to catch kids’ attention.

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Armpit Fudge

Materials:

• powdered sugar, ½ cup
• butter, 1 tablespoon
• cream cheese, 2 teaspoons
• vanilla, a dash
• cocoa, 2 teaspoons
• sandwich-sized plastic zipper bag
• “extras” like chocolate chips, raisins, peanut butter, and nuts
• spoon

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in plastic bag.
2. Squeeze out all the air.
3. Squish under the arm until all ingredients are well mixed and there is a creamy consistency.
4. Add “extras” as desired.
5. Eat straight from the bag with a spoon.

Source(s): A now defunct geocities website, adapted for the Toolbox Training book 100 Cooking Activities for Kids (activity H8).

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Check out the full June calendar. It includes floating holidays, specialty weeks, and specialty months.

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June 15: Ben Franklin conducted his famous kite experiment (1752)

image from whatpoll.com

There is debate over whether American pioneer and inventor really conducted this experiment in which he attached a key to a kite and flew it during an electrical storm. You can read about it here. Regardless of what really happened or didn’t, this is a good time to let kids do some experimenting with electricity by making this homemade battery.

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Homemade Battery

Materials:

• plastic cups
• concentrated lemon juice
• copper nails
• aluminum nails
• insulated wire
• flashlight bulbs

Directions:

1. Fill each cup ¾ full with concentrated lemon juice.
2. Several inches of wire will be needed for each battery.
3. Expose the ends of the wire by cutting through the plastic insulation, but not the wire.
4. Do the same in the middle of the wire.
5. Wrap each end of the wire around the tops of the nails.
6. Twist the mddle around the light bulb.
7. The wire must touch the tip of the bulb’s end and the metal ridges around its base.
8. Stick nails in lemon juice and bulb should light. If not, reattach wire and try again.
9. Explanation: lemon juice is an acid and acts much like the inside of a dry cell to create a battery.

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Source(s): 100 Science Activities for Kids (activity H7).

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Check out the full June calendar. It includes floating holidays, specialty weeks, and specialty months.

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June 14: Caldecott Medal first awarded (1937)

image from rmichelson.com

According to the official Caldecott Medal page at ala.org, the Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.”

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Caldecott Celebration

Materials:

• Caldecott-winning books (find a full list here)

Directions:

1. Collect as many Caldecott-winning books as possible. Work with your local or school library to see if you can check them out or come see them at the library.
2. Kids can do their own contest to vote on which they think has the best illustrations. Get discussion going about why they like the illustrations that they do.
3. How many of the books have the kids in your group read? You can see which child has read the most or see how many the group has read collectively.
4. Which books look the most interesting just based on the cover?
5. Ask the kids for other ideas for activities to do with the books.

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Check out the full June calendar. It includes floating holidays, specialty weeks, and specialty months.

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June 13: Weed Your Garden Day

image from redbeacon.s3.amazonaws.com

Here’s an activity kids can do with weeds:

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Weeds

Materials:

• plant/weed guide book
• small bags
• paper
• writing and drawing instruments
• crayons without paper for rubbings

Directions:

1. Find weeds growing around your program area.
2. Collect them to bring inside and compare.
3. Check your local library or the Internet for plant guides to see if you can identify the weeds.
4. See if you can find out how different weeds may be useful. For example, dandelions were brought to the United States from Europe for salads, soups, and as a coffee substitute.
5. Children can also draw the different weeds or try to do rubbings with them.

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Source(s): 100 Nature Activities for Kids (Activity F2). Adapted from Kathleen Carroll’s A Guide to Great Field Trips (Zephyr Press, 2007)

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Check out the full June calendar. It includes floating holidays, specialty weeks, and specialty months.

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June 12: Magic Day

image from stevo.tv

In celebration of Magic Day, let kids put on a magic show!

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Magic Show

Materials:

• Resources for magic tricks
• Props as dictated by the tricks kids choose

Directions:

1. What kind of magic show will this be? A one-person show or several people performing?
2. Does a one-person show require assistants?
3. Look at your library or do online searches for tricks. Kids may also know tricks they want to perform.
4. Have performer(s) determine what materials are needed for the tricks and who needs to provide them. (Will the kids bring them? Do they need the program to provide materials? Are these materials at the site? Is there anything which needs to be purchased? Do you need to post lists for families of supplies you need?)
5. Is this show just for other kids in the program or for a wider audience? Do kids need to make invitations or announcements about the show?
6. Where will the magic show be performed?
7. Practice, practice, practice! In practice, watch to see if kids are giving their secrets away. Also check to make sure they can be heard. Is a microphone available?

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Source(s): 100 Drama Activities for Kids (activity J4)

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Check out the full June calendar. It includes floating holidays, specialty weeks, and specialty months.

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June 10: First tornado ever recorded (1682)

image from blog.mint.com

In 1682, the first recorded tornado occurred in New Haven, Connecticut. Kids can make tornadoes to gain a better understanding of how they work.

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Tornadoes

Materials:

• tall, clear plastic jars
• aluminum foil
• clear liquid soap
• water
• food coloring
• teaspoon

Directions:

1. Discuss what a tornado is and if children have ever seen one.
2. Place a teaspoon of clear liquid soap in a plastic jar.
3. Roll foil into 4-6 tight, small balls and place in jar.
4. Fill jar with water.
5. Add 1-2 drops of food coloring.
6. Rotate the jar in a clockwise direction and water will begin swirling.
7. The model represents an actual tornado.

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Source(s): 100 Science Activities for Kids (activity D12).

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Check out the full June calendar. It includes floating holidays, specialty weeks, and specialty months.

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