Materials:

• Rocks
• Tempura Paint 
• Paint brushes
• Sharpies (optional)

Instructions:

1. Decide which animal you want to make. For example if it is a giraffe you will need enough rocks to make head, body, legs, and a looooooong neck.
2. After you collect a bunch of rocks lay them out so that they are in the shape of your animal. Seeing the shape laid out will also help you decide how you want to paint and what details you want to add.
3. Keeping your animal in its shape, begin painting the rocks one at a time. This way you won’t lose track of which body part you are on, especially if you are adding details like only 4 spots for the rocks that make up the neck, and 5 on the spots that are part of the body.
4. Once the paint dries you can add details using your sharpie or another paint color, like the giraffe’s spots.
5. Once they are all painted and dry, mix them up or put them in a bag and see if another member of your family can solve your puzzle!
6. There are so many different things you can create with painted rocks, the giraffe puzzle is just one idea, you could make another human, an animal, a bunch of letters to build names or words, and even characters!

Activity by Amanda Cardinal, Upham Site
Photo Credit & Inspiration: www.hellowonderful.co

Materials: 

• Chalk
• Bean Bags 
• Large sidewalk/ Driveway area

Instructions: 

1. Draw a bunch of circles that are spaced a foot or two apart and big enough for a bean bag to fit in with some extra room.
2. Inside each circle write a point value, targets that are further from the throwing point should be worth more points! You can also make different shapes and sizes for targets, making them smaller will make it more difficult!
3. Using your bean bags, try to aim them into your targets! If you are playing with someone, use 3-5 bean bags each, and each person can only get 1 bean bag per hole (for example if your hardest target is worth 25 points, you can only get credit for one of your bean bags landing in it). Determine your rules before hand about landing it in the target- if it is halfway in the target will it still count or will it be worth half the points?
4. Tally your points for all the bean bags that landed inside a circle, the person with the most points wins!

Activity by Amanda Cardinal, Upham Site
Photo Credit & Inspiration: www.whatmomslove.com 

What you’ll need:

• Markers (permanent and washable)
• Paper towels
• Water in a small tray
• Scissors

How to do it:

1. Take 1 piece of a square paper towel and fold it in half. Then, cut the paper towel so you have a small square with another small square behind it. 

2. Now it’s time to draw your pictures. Use your permanent markers to draw an outline of your picture on the top layer of the folded paper towel. It’s okay if you don’t have many permanent marker colors. You only need one color to draw the outline of your picture. 

3. When you lift up the top layer, you will see that the marker has gone through the paper towel onto the layer underneath it. Now, use your washable markers to color in your picture or add more detail to it. 

Materials:

• Something to contain your garden such as an old plastic container (tupperware, recycled food containers) or spare terra cotta pot
• Any random craft materials including (but not limited to):
  • Recycled yogurt container or tissue box
  • Marbles, beads, plastic jewels
  • Popsicle sticks
  • Feathers
  • Markers
  • Scraps of cardboard or fabric
  • Pipe Cleaners
  • Tacky Glue 
  • Scissors
  • Outdoor materials:
  • Soil or Dirt
  • Small Sticks, Leaves 
  • Small stones
  • Moss, Flower petals
• Your imagination!

Directions: 

These directions are just suggestions, feel free to make it however you like!

• Use your plastic container as your base and fill it with some dirt or soil as your base.
• Create a house for your fairy using a recycled yogurt container. Cut out a little rectangle as the door.  You could also build a small house out of popsicle sticks or glue popsicle sticks to a tissue box.
• Decorate your house with gems, buttons, and markers
• You can then add a walkway with marbles or stones.  Use the popsicle sticks for a fence instead.
• Make a welcome sign out of cardboard, attach it to a small stick, and set it in your dirt.
• Create the garden portion using moss or leaves as your greenery and petals for flowers.
• Of course you could also build a tiny table and chairs or stick feathers into the dirt for some texture and color.
• The options are endless, use your own creativity!

What you’ll need:

• 4 tablespoons of water
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of dish soap
• Winter gloves
• Bubble wands

How to make it:

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a shallow dish or cookie sheet. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
2. Now you’re ready to blow bubbles with your bubble wands! It’s that easy! Put the bubble wand in the solution, then take it out and gently blow to create bubbles!
3. To make the bubbles bounce you need to have gloves on. The gloves are necessary so the bubbles don’t come in contact with the oil on your hands which will make them pop. Blow the bubbles gently and let them softly bounce on your hand with gloves on.  It may be tricky if it’s windy outside but this is an activity you can do inside as well!

If you don’t have bubble wands, you can make your own!

What you’ll need:

• String
• 2 straws

How to make it:

1. Cut a piece of string about 3 feet long.
2. Thread 2 straws onto the string and tie the ends of the string together to make a loop.
3. Pull the straws to each side to make a rectangle.
4. Now you’re ready to blow bubbles with your new bubble wand!

Activity by Steph Finucane, Upham Site
Photo Credit & Inspiration: www.alittlepinchofperfect.com and www.buggyandbuddy.com

Materials:

• Large mixing bowl
• Spoon/spatulas
• 1 box of baking soda (1 lb. box) 
• ½ cup of cornstarch
• Very warm water
• Several containers or an ice cube tray/muffin tin to hold your chalk paint mixture (think one container per color)
• Food coloring
• Paint brushes
• Spray bottle filled with vinegar (turkey baster and a container of vinegar works as well)

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, add the baking soda and cornstarch 
2. With your spoon mix together 
3. Add water and stir
   1. Start with a small amount of water and add it until it resembles pancake batter
4. Add the mixture into several containers
5. Add a couple of drops of food coloring into their designated containers
6. Head outside with your colored mixtures, paintbrushes, spoon and spray bottle filled with vinegar
7. Start painting, drizzling and splattering
   1. You can use a paintbrush or a spoon to drizzle or splatter the paint
   2. If your paint dries out while you’re painting add some more water
8. Once you have completed your creation, get ready to FIZZZZZ!
   1. Spray your creation with vinegar and see science happen!

Activity by Erin Bigelow, Upham Site Coordinator

Photo Credit & Inspiration: www.simpleplayideas.com

What you’ll need:

• 5-15 objects from nature
• blindfold
• blanket or towel

How to play:

1. First, you need to collect your objects. Go for a nature walk and collect 5-15 objects. You can choose how challenging you want this game to be. The more objects you have, the more difficult the game will be. Try to pick objects that are distinctly different from each other. Some examples are leaves, sticks, feathers, rocks and flowers.
2. Spread out the blanket or towel on the ground and place all of the objects you found in front of you and the other players. Whichever player is guessing first should take a few minutes to memorize the objects.
3. Put the blindfold on the person who is guessing. Then, Take away one of the objects.
4. Once one of the objects has been removed, the player who is blindfolded can take off their blindfold and guess which object is missing.
5. Once the player guesses correctly, put the missing object back on the blanket or towel and play again. Take turns guessing and taking away objects.

Here are some ways to make the game more challenging:

1. Play the game backwards by adding objects, one by one, instead of taking them away.
2. Take away more than 1 object and see if the player who is guessing can figure out all of the objects that are missing.
3. Leave the blindfold on while the player is guessing. This way, the guesser has to guess which object is missing by touching them instead of looking at them.
4. To make this game a little more competitive, if you’re playing with 3 or more players, blindfold all of the players (except the one who is taking away the objects) and then see who can think of the missing object first. 

Activity by Steph Finucane, Upham Site
Photo Credit & Inspiration: www.rainorshinemamma.com

Materials: 

• Tissue Paper or Plastic Bag
• Ruler
• Scissors 
• Tape 
• Hole Punch
• Twine 
• Small non-breakable action figure, small block, or piece of clay to attach to parachute
• Place to drop parachutes, staircase balcony, structure, etc.

Instructions:

1. Cut out tissue paper or plastic bags into 12” x 12” square.
2. Use your tape to cover the corners, adding an extra layer of protection to the tissue paper or plastic.  Then hole punch your four corners.
3. Cut your twine into four (4) 12 inch pieces, tie each one onto one of the four corners of the tissue paper or plastic bag, do not do anything with the loose ends yet.
4. Fold your tissue paper or plastic bag into fourths, so that all the hole punched corners are on top of each other.
5. Take the loose ends of twine and tie them altogether. Then attach your action figure or other item with tape or tying tightly with the twine.
6. Using your scissors (your parachute should still be folded in fourths), hold it by the corner with the hole punches and the corner opposite of that one. Cut the corner opposite the one with hole punches. This will create a hole in the center of your parachute
7. Go to your launch spot and release your parachute!

Apple Donuts:

Ingredients & Supplies Needed:

• Apples 
• Fruit Corer
• Cream Cheese
• Butter Knife
• Sprinkles 
• Food Coloring (optional)

Directions:

1. Core and thinly slice your apple.
2. Next, add your cream cheese (frosting) – you could add a drop or two of food coloring to the cream cheese for a colorful look.
3. Add as many sprinkles as you’d like for a healthy alternative to a real donut!

Nut (or Nut Free) Butter and Jelly Sushi Rolls

• Sliced bread 
• Butter of your choice (peanut, almond, sun)
• Jelly
• Butter knife
• Rolling pin
• Chopsticks (Optional)

1. Cut the crust off of a slice of bread.
2. Use your rolling pin to flatten your bread into a thin layer.
3. Add your toppings and roll your bread together.
4. Cut the roll into one inch pieces and enjoy!  Challenge yourself by trying to eat them with real chopsticks!

What you’ll need:

• Balloons
• 1 container of play-doh for every balloon that is used
• Sharpies
• Yarn

How to make it:

1. Roll out the play-doh into a long thin line. Remember, use one tub of play-doh for each balloon.
2. Stretch out the balloon as wide as you can and stuff the play-doh inside. Parents might need to help some kids with this but rolling the play-doh into a line will make it easier to stuff it in the balloon.
3. Press the filled balloon flat to get as much air out as possible. Then, tie a knot on the balloon.
4. Now it’s time to decorate! Use the sharpies to draw a face or they can make their stress balls into anything they want! They can make it into sports balls, movie characters or they can simply just draw designs. Tie the yarn around the top to make some crazy hair!

Some other ideas: You can get all yellow balloons and make it an emoji project. Or you can make it a halloween project! The sky is the limit!