Fossils (From Magnets to Magic Mixtures)

Warm-up Game “Dino Hunt": This game is similar to the very popular "Bear Hunt." We listened to the lyrics and music "We are going on a Dino Hunt" by Dennis Westphall and imitate the movements (e.g., swimming through a river, climbing a mountain). 


 








Science Project “Fossils” : We created fossils using coffee grounds, coffee, flour, and salt (see recipe). We absolutely loved it and did a fantastic job working together.

Ingredients:

1 cup of used coffee grounds
1/2 cup of cold coffee
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of salt
Wax paper
Mixing bowl
Some small objects to make impressions in the dough
Empty plastic glasses
 

 
How to make it:

• Stir together the coffee grounds, cold coffee, flour, and salt until well mixed. If dough is too moist, add flour.
• Knead the dough together and then flatten it out onto the waxed paper. 
• Use the plastic glasses to cut out circles of the dough or use your hands to make slabs large enough to fit your "fossil" objects.

• Press your objects firmly into the dough. When you take the object out, you have your "fossil".   
• Let the fossils dry overnight.

Painting on Inclines (From Magnets to Magic Mixtures)

Sharing a Surfboard

Warm-up Game "Surfing": Today, we revisited this popular game from our summer Clubhouse session. Our self-made surfboards were spread out on the floor and we pretended to surf when the music (Beach Boys of course) played. When the music stopped, we found a surfboard to stand on (sharing surfboards was encouraged). 

Art Project “Incline Painting”: We were split into small groups and worked in teams. We used eye droppers and diluted paint in different colors and placed drops of water on a piece of paper that was attached to a cookie sheet or board. The twist was that the board was raised. We observed how long the drops stayed together until gravity pulled them down. This is a great activity to promote peer communication (e.g., negotiating what colors to use or mix, commenting, sharing observations, getting the communication partner's attention). 

From Revolving Surfaces and Inclined Planes (From Magnets to Magic Mixtures)

Today, we experimented with revolving surfaces and inclined planes.

Spin Art

We worked in small groups and experienced colors, patterns and centrifugal forces while using salad spinners: A paper plate was placed into a salad spinner. We added paint (different colors) with a spoon and then took turns spinning the salad spinner to create interesting patterns. 

 
We also practiced the following:

• Waiting our turn
• Taking turns
• Requesting, passing and sharing materials
• Helping each other, e.g., holding the salad spinner while our partner was spinning it.

Bowling and the Inclined Plane: Bowling is one of our favorite activities but today, we did it with a little twist. We placed a ball on an inclined plane and then let the ball roll down to knock over as many bowling pins as possible. We figured out quickly that the steeper the slope is, the faster the ball rolled down. We used self-made bowling pins, i.e., soda or water bottles that were filled with colored water.

Some ideas for interactive strategies while bowling:

• Group cheers for peer.
• Peer gives high fives to team members when roll is completed.
• Peer hands ball to peer to indicate whose turn it is next.
• Two peers work together and put up the bowling pins after they are knocked over.
• One peer keeps score for the group.
• Group works cooperatively to reach a certain score.

Magnets (From Magnets to Magic Mixtures)

Music Time “Magnets Attract”: We discussed that magnets attract and pretended to be magnets. Magnets were spread out on the floor. First, we danced around to music. When the music stopped, we found a magnet to stand on. The magnets were positioned in a way so that two students were facing each other. The partners then let certain body parts touch (e.g., hands to hands, knee to knee) pretending to be magnets.

Small Group Project “Magnet Painting”: We worked in teams and created paintings using magnets, paint and paper: 

1. Place and tape a sheet of plexiglas (approximately 11x14) on two large wooden blocks so that there is enough room under the plexi to move hands. 
2. Tape a piece of paper onto the plexi.
3. Place blobs of paint (different colors work best) on the paper.
4. Place magnet balls (1 for each child) on the plexi.
5. Move another magnet (1 for each child) against the underside of the plexi.

Magnet painting is not only a fun activity that lets everyone experience magnetism but is also a great project to promote teamwork and cooperative play. Here are some ideas:

• Students follow or chase each other, e.g., one student takes the lead by moving the magnet ball in one direction and the partner tries to follow.
• Students negotiate what patterns they want to create.
• Students let their magnets attract and paint as a team.

What attracts? We experimented with different materials and determined what objects attract to magnets. We looked for magnetic items in a bin filled with sand with the help of a magnetic wand. We then placed the items that are magnetic on a green paper and the ones that are not on a red piece of paper.

 

The Magical Liquid Water (From Magnets to Magic Mixtures)

Art Project “Wet on Wet Painting”: Today, we experimented with watercolors. We dipped a sheet of watercolor paper in a tray with water and then let the water drain off it. We then painted with watercolors on the wet surface and watched the colors blend and blur. 

Busy at work

“The Leaking Cup”  Race: We partnered up with a friend. A bin with water as well as 2 yogurt cups with a hole were placed at the start line and one bin with a bottle and a funnel at the finish line. We lined up at the start line and filled our leaky cups with water from the bin. We had to run as fast as possible to the finish line to fill the bottle. Then, we ran back to the start line and handed the cup off to the next players. The game continued until the bottle at the finish line was filled with water. Before we started the race, we brainstormed what we had to do to compensate for the hole in the cup (e.g., run fast, cover the whole with a finger). It was a fun game and we also practiced cheering.

Hot Lava and Volcanos (from Magnets to Magic Mixtures)

Music Time “Dance on a Volcano” (adapted “Freeze Game”): Volcanos were spread out on the floor and the students danced around the volcanos when the music played. We discussed that lava is very hot and that we can’t step on the volcanos. The kids then “froze” according to the song but needed to pay attention not to step on the volcanos.

Art Project "Lava Collage": We created a lava collage by painting a big piece of paper in the colors of lava/fire. We also added tissue paper in red/orange/yellow. We all worked together and negotiated how to best create the lava collage.

Instant Volcanos: Of course, a session about volcanos would not be complete without creating instant volcanos with baking soda, vinegar and Kool-aid (see 8/16/11 for specific instructions). We loved watching the "eruptions." 

A Big Eruption!!!

Bubbles, Bubbles Everywhere! (From Magnets to Magic Mixtures)

Music Time “Bubbles” (adapted musical chairs):  Our “bubbles” (different colored circles) were spread out on the floor and we danced around the bubbles when the music played. When the music stopped, we found a bubble to stand on. Bubbles were blown while we were standing on the circles and we tried to catch and pop them. With each stoppage of the music, we removed bubbles in a certain color.

Art Project “Bubbles Everywhere”: First, we painted a paper with watercolors and used only colors that represented the sky.  After finishing our sky, we used round objects that first were dipped into paint to make bubble imprints on the paper. We later compared how different our bubble pictures looked.

Magic Bubbles: We went outside and created bubbles using different devices such as strawberry baskets, pipe cleaners and gigantic wands. Some of us tried to make huge bubbles, other tried to create many small ones. We used a self-made bubble solution created out of water (2 1/2 quarts), liquid dish detergent (1 cup) and light corn syrup (1/2 cup).

Ocean in a Ziploc Bag (Summer Outdoor Fun)

Sensory/Art Project "Under the Sea"

Today, we created our own ocean in a Ziploc bag:

1) We squirted blue hair gel into a Ziploc bag. Since this was tricky, we had to make sure to help each other and to work as a team, i.e., one of us was holding the Ziploc bag open while our partner squirted the gel in.
2) We added glitter, plastic sea creatures and foam fish to the hair gel.
3) Next, we had to make sure to get the air out of the Ziploc bag and then we closed it and taped  the top with clear packaging tape.
4) We had a lot of fun moving the gel and sea creatures around in our bag.
5) We added some stickers such as dolphins, turtles, sharks to the outside of our bags.
6) We put our final product in another Ziploc bag, sealed the bag with tape and attached it to a poster board.

It was amazing  how different our oceans looked.

  
Water Balloon Beach Toss: This game required a lot of teamwork and cooperation. We used a beach towel to launch water balloons into targets (hula hoops). Two of us were holding the corners of a beach towel and lifted it up in the air on the count of three.

Seashell Painting (Summer Outdoor Fun)

“Seashell Painting”: Everyone likes to go to the beach in the summer and collect seashells. Today, we painted seashells with watercolors and glitter glue. It was amazing how different our painted seashells looked. We also worked on taking over group responsibilities during art, e.g., handing out the water brushes to our friends, cleaning up the art supplies.

Volcano: This was our favorite activity of the day. We could not believe how long we got our "lava" to flow.

1. First, we took turns filling the bottom of a medium-sized paper cup with baking soda. We filled the cup approximately 2/3 with baking soda.
2. Then, we added red Kool-aid powder and mixed it into the baking soda. 
3. We attached a second medium-sized paper cup with a pre-cut hole (approximately the size of a dime) upside down over the paper cup with baking soda. We had to make sure that the cups were taped together securely. Therefore, we used strong clear packaging tape.
4. Last, we took turns pouring vinegar with the help of an empty yogurt cup into the hole. We had to pour really slowly. It was very exciting to watch the "lava" come up through the hole. We just had to make sure not to get too close to the hole so the vinegar would not get into our eyes since everyone knows volcanoes can be dangerous.

Everyone did a fantastic job waiting his or her turn and we were also very proud of our great teamwork. 


 

Ocean in a Bottle (Summer Outdoor Fun)

Ocean in a Bottle: Today, we created ocean waves in plastic bottles.

1. First, we added glitter, shells and sea creatures to the bottle.
2. Then, we filled the bottle halfway with blue water. We used a funnel and helped each other, e.g., one of us was holding the funnel while our partner was pouring the water into the funnel.
3. We topped off the rest of the bottle with vegetable oil and then screwed the cap onto the bottle and taped the cap.

It was a lot of fun to move the bottle back and forth and to watch our ocean waves. 

Water Balloon Relay: We partnered up with a friend and went around obstacles, each of us holding a container with a water balloon in our hands. At the end of the obstacle course, we tossed the water balloons into hula hoops. We had to pay close attention to our partner and the container with the water balloon.

Summer Outdoor Fun: Smoothies

Shark Island: Dancing Together

1.     “Shark Island”: Islands (beach towels) and fake sharks were spread out on the floor. When the music played, the students danced around the beach towels. When the music stopped, they found an island to stand on. With each stoppage of the music, the island got smaller (fold towel). The kids had fun to share the islands and to save each other from the sharks in the water.

2. Small group project “Orange Banana Smoothie”: Today, we had a lot of fun preparing our summer smoothies. First, we discussed what we like to eat when it is hot outside. Ice cream and popsicles were on the top of our list.

Here is our smoothie recipe (6 servings):

• 3 cups freshly squeezed orange juice (8 oranges)
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 cups strawberries, tops removed, and cut in 1/2
• 3 ripe bananas, cut 

Combine the orange juice, lime juice, strawberries, and bananas in a blender and process until smooth. 

We all worked together to make our smoothies. The smoothies were delicious. Yummy!

Roger: "We are little chefs."

Welcome Back! Summer Outdoor Fun!

We were so excited to see our Clubhouse friends again and to get started:

Art Project "Summer Placemats”: We decorated a construction paper with the help of sea creature and summer stamps. We used paint and ink pads for the stamps. At the end, we glued our photo onto the paper since we will turn our art work into placemats. While doing art with our friends, we had great conversations about our favorite sea animals and the things we like to do when it is hot outside.



Obstacle Course "Water Bottle Relay": We partnered up with a friend and went through an obstacle course together. Each of us was holding a cup of water in our hands. At the end of the obstacle course, we poured water into a bottle. The relay continued until the bottle was filled. Everyone had fun coming up with new ways of cheering for our friends (e.g., doing a little dance while cheering).

Games Galore!

Today was our last spring session. We not only learned many fun new games this session such as Zingo, Hiss, Listen & Move but also created our own Clubhouse board game.

Most importantly, we strengthened our friendships:

Games Galore: Hiss

    Art Project 'Thank You' Poster: We decorated a poster board with different collage materials (stickers, paper scraps, glitter glue, etc.). We also glued on pictures showing us having fun at Clubhouse. With the poster, we wanted to say thank you to our friends at JCHS. Without JCHS, we would not be able to run our San Francisco Clubhouse program.

     Red Light/Green Light: We took turns holding the signs and being the traffic light and practiced paying close attention to the signs. The green sign meant that we had to run as fast as we could to get to the other side. When the red sign was up, we had to stop.

Turn-taking game “Hiss”: Students were divided into two teams and engaged in the game of “Hiss.”  "Hiss" is a great game for all ages and skill levels. The players match colors and make snakes from heads to tails. It can be played as a cooperative game, i.e., all players work together to get as many completed snakes as possible or each player plays against the others. We focused on cooperation today and we all worked together to finish long and short snakes and put them into our snake pit. Slither....