Space: Astronauts

Today  was a very busy day. It was our last session before the break and we had decorations up and took astronauts pictures with the help of our astronaut poster.









 

We practiced being kind by designing a Thank You poster for everyone at the Jewish Community High School of the Bay, our Clubhouse site. We used stamps made out of potatoes and also glued pictures of us onto the board.

We also played one of our favorite games again. We pretended to be planets and danced around the sun. This game quickly turned into a break dancing game. We had a blast!

Space: Paper Mache (part 2); Rocketship Turn-Taking Games

Art Project “Paper Mache Planets” (Part 2): We were excited that we got to finish our planets today by painting our hardened paper mache. We split up in two small groups and our task was to work together and to cover the whole paper mache balloon with paint. But first, we had to decide as a group what planet we wanted to make and pick the paint color accordingly. We looked at a picture of the different planets and then one group decided to make the sun and the other the planet Saturn. 

After we finished our art project we had a snack and then played some fun board games. The older kids in the group played the following game: 

Rocketship Cooperative Board Game: The objective of the game was to move all game pawns (our pretend astronauts) across the board to the rocketships. We used a color and number dice at the same time but the twist was that we did not pick a colored pawn but all worked as a team to get to the finish line. When the pawn landed on a colored circle, the player drew an action/question card. 

Here are some examples of the action/question cards.

   
The younger Clubhouse students played a fun rocketship matching game. 

Rocketship Matching Game: Each player chooses a game card with different colored rocketships. A bowl with corresponding colored rocketships is passed from one player to the next. The player whose turn it is draws a rocketship out of a container without being able to see what color it is. If the player draws a color that is represented on his or her own board, the player can match the rocketship to his/her on board or he/she can ask the other players if they need the color that was drawn. The player who has matched all colors on his board wins the game.

Space: Paper Mache Planets, Part 1

Walking on the Moon (Adapted Red Light/Green Light Game): We absolutely loved this game. We pretended to move like astronauts when the astronaut sign was up and had to stop moving when the red stop sign was held up. We took turns holding the signs and some of us even partnered up, i.e., one of us being in charge of the "stop" sign and one of us of the "astronaut" sign.

Art Project “Paper Mache Planets”: The paper mache art project was very popular today,  We worked in small groups. First, we created the paste for our project and then we started making our planets (the first step).

Flour Paste Recipe (for paper mache)

     1 cup flour
1 1/2cups water
1/2 TBS salt (optional)
1/4 cup white glue

      
      




Directions
Mix the flour and water together with a wire whisk or spoon until it is smooth and you have the consistency you want, should be similar to a heavy cream or a cream soup. If you want to thicken the paste, add flour. If you want to thin it, add a bit of water. 
Mix in the salt. Mix in the glue. The salt will help preserve the paste and prevent it from mold while the glue will help strengthen the paste. 

Blow up balloon, tie, let kids glue on strips of newspaper until the whole balloon is covered. Layering is recommended.

Planet Ink Block Painting (Space)

Stomp Rocket Scooter Board Obstacle Course: When the theme is "Space" the stomp rockets have to come out again. Stomp rockets are a highly motivating activity for kids of  a wide variety of ages. At Clubhouse, we always try to turn games into cooperative activities. We partnered up with a friend and pulled a bin that contained two foam rockets and was attached to a scooter board with the help of a rope across the field. We only had one scooter board and one rope so we had to work together to get everything across the field toward the stomp rocket devices. At the end of the course, we put the stomp rockets on the stomp rocket device and launched the rockets. We were in awe how high our rockets were flying.

Art Project “Planet Printing”:  Big sheets of plexi were taped to the  table. We worked in small groups, The first step was to put small dabbers of paint onto the plexi sheets and then to spread the paint onto the plexi by using a brayer. We used block printing ink. After applying the paint to the plexi, we  created patterns with wooden sticks. Then, we placed a ‘planet’ (circle cut out of poster board) onto the plexi and made an imprint. We used squeegees or wooden sticks to help with the transfer process. Before we got going with the art project, we discussed what planets we wanted to make by studying a picture of the solar system. We had to choose the colors accordingly. It was fun working with the brayer. We were amazed how much our art work resembled the real planets.

Space: Moon Rock Toss

“Planet Musical Chairs”:  The planets we made last week were spread out on the floor. First, we reviewed the names of the planets and then danced around our planets when the music played (to the music of "Space Jam" of course). When the music stopped, we found a planet to stand on (sharing our planets was encouraged). With each stoppage of the music, we removed one planet until no more planets were left. We love holding hands during dancing games but we also worked on respecting when one of our friends did not want o hold hands.

Partners

Moon Rocks

Moon Rock Hunt: We went outside and partnered up with a friend and looked together for hidden “moon rocks” (crumbled up aluminum foil, formed into balls). It was important that we stayed together as a team while looking for our moon rocks.


Moon Rock Toss: Then we used our moon rocks to play a tossing game. Each player tossed the rocks into targets, e.g., hula hoops that represented our planets. Each player had 2 turns. We also added numbers to the planets so we could keep score. The planet that was the furthest away had the highest number since it was most challenging to hit it with the moon rocks. Of course, we also worked on cheering and turn taking.

Scooter Board Cooperative Game (Summertime - Fun Time)

Scooter Board Relay : We partnered with a friend and first filled a cup with dyed water and then placed it onto our scooter board. The scooter board had a rope attached and we had to work together to transport the filled cup from one end of the course to to the other. The objective was not to spill the cup (so we had to go slow rather than race). At the end of the course, we filled the water into a bottle. The game continued until the bottle was filled. We later added glitter and trinkets to the bottle and turned it into a treasure bottle. 

At a first glance, this game seems to be pretty straightforward but it addresses many different skills:

• Negotiating and compromising with a peer: Who fills the cup? Who can pour the cup into the bottle first?
• Impulse control: The team needs to find the perfect pace so the cup will not fall off the board.
• Cooperative Play: Pulling the rope at the same time in the same direction, checking in with the partner.

Bubble Wrap Painting: We also did some bubble wrap painting. We worked in a small group and covered the whole table with bubble wrap. We painted the bubble wrap with brushes and then made imprints by pressing a piece of paper onto the bubbles.Of course, we also had fun popping the bubbles.

Water Beads Fun (Summertime - Fun Time)

“Surfboard Musical Chairs”: Today, we revisited one of our favorite Clubhouse games. We spread out surfboards that were made out of foam board (we made those many summers ago at Clubhouse) on the floor and then put on some Beach Boys music ("Surfin' U.S.A." of course) and danced around the surfboards when the music played. When the music stopped, we found a surfboard to stand on. With each stoppage of the music, a surfboard was removed and we were encouraged to share surfboards. The game continued until all surfboards were removed.

Sensory Project “Water Beads”: This is the ultimate sensory fun on a hot summer day or any other day of the year. Kids of all ages love the feel and touch of the water beads and even adults can't stop playing with the beads. It's a colorful as well as soothing activity and we could have played for hours.

What are water beads? Water beads are actually meant to be used in flower arrangements to add color and shine. They come in many different colors and can be found in stores like Dollar Tree, Michael's or  can be ordered online. They look like very small beads at first and have to be soaked in water (for up to 12 hours) to grow. Then they look like marbles but are soft to the touch. They don't dissolve when popped but then turn into something that resembles Jell-O. We made enough water beads to fill two big bins and then added sea creatures, shells, containers, spoons, etc. While exploring the water beads, we worked on sharing toys and a space and to come up with different play ideas.

Here are some interactive play ideas:

• Look for small shells that are hidden in the water beads with a friend.
• Collect water beads of one specific color in a container.
• Fill a bottle with water beads.
• Add shaving cream to the water beads.

Caution: Water beads look a little bit like jelly beans so make sure kids understand the rule of not putting them in their mouths, especially when exploring water beads with very young children or children who like to explore objects with their mouths.

Watermelon Smoothies (Summertime - Fun Time)

Cooking together is a great way of practicing taking turns and waiting turns, following directions, and a sequence, acquiring new vocabulary and learning how to compromise (e.g., "You can pour the juice in and I add the sugar."). It also may encourage picky eaters to try something new.

Today. we made "Watermelon Smoothies." We split up into two small groups and one of us took over the role of the "head chef," i.e., making sure that everyone had a cutting board and a plastic knife as well as followed the recipe closely.

Here is the recipe:
3 cups of chopped watermelon

10 strawberries, cut

Juice of half a lemon

½ cup peach juice

1  tablespoon of sugar

Put all ingredients in blender and blend until mixed well.

At snack time, we tried our smoothies. Most of us really liked it and we all thought the smoothie tasted like summer.

Cloud Sand (Summertime - Fun Time)

Sensory Project “Cloud Sand” : We made cloud sand today. We worked in small groups. One of us was the group leader and kept track of the recipe and the supplies. Tip: Prepare a visual recipe so it's easy for the children to follow the steps.

Here is how it works:
Supplies:

-8 cups of flour
-1 cup of baby oil

Directions:
Measure ingredients with the help of a measuring cup. Pour in large container or bin. Mix the flour and baby oil together with a spoon and then your hands until the dough holds together when squeezed.  It could take 3-5 minutes of mixing.

“Sand Play”: We went outside and explored and experimented with the self-made cloud sand, e.g., using our hands to form the sand into different shapes, filling containers with shovels, letting the sand run through a big paper tube, etc. We had two bins going, one was filled with the cloud sand, one with craft sand. Since the craft sand is dry and the cloud sand more moist, both felt and behaved very differently.

A tender Clubhouse moment