summer session week three

​SUMMER SESSION WEEK THREE
Music and Dance
 
The 4th of July is the beginning of summer season for most of us.  School is over and we should be heading out on vacations and road trips.  This year will be a little different but you can still make some fun summer memories by creating you own road trips, parades and summer treats.
 
Music In The Park – or this year at Home
Musical Chimes
This needs to be a supervised activity.  Using thick glass containers – jelly jars, mason canning jars or glasses that are not easily broken.
~ Line up the glass containers
~ Fill them with water - full to empty - in increments depending on how many containers you have.
~ If you use 8 containers you can make a simple scale.
~Using the eraser end of a pencil tap lightly on the glasses and paly a song.
 
Homemade Drum
~Tape a piece of cardstock or cardboard to the top of a bowl.
~Use the eraser end of two pencils as drumsticks
 
Tissue Box Guitar
~stretch four rubber bands with different thicknesses over the opening of a tissue box (or any box with a hole cut in it)
~strum a tune on their guitar
 
Listen to Nature making music
~stop and listen to the birds, bees, frogs as they make their own music.
 
Record your child 
~ making music.  
~ singing with their instruments
~ humming a tune for others to guess
~ creating sound effects for a story
 
Need a quieter activity?  
Make a Whisper Tube.  Using a long cardboard tube, have your child/children decorate their own whisper tube.  Then have them use it to “talk”, in a whisper, to you/each other. Then have the person answer them back, using a whisper, from the other side.
 
Vacation Travel
Parachutes
4 pieces of string
square piece of cloth
large paper clip
~Tie the four pieces of string to the four corners of the cloth
~Tie the loose ends of the string to the paper clip
~Ball up the cloth and throw it high in the air OR drop it from a high place.
~The parachute should pop open and drift slowly to the ground.
 
Paper Airplanes
Make several paper airplanes and see which one flies the furthest, makes trick moves, flies the fastest.
 
Road Trip
On the sidewalk or the driveway draw a roadway.  Take some chalk and draw a road.  Depending on the size of your ‘map’ you can add intersections, stop signs, places to visit and “home”.  Take a road trip on your scooter, bike or little car.

Picnic in the Park
Have your child help you make a picnic then go to a park for lunch, snack time or dinner. Read a book while eating your picnic food.  Even a picnic in the backyard, or living room, is a fun way to spend the afternoon.
 
It is Parade Time
It is going to be a different 4th of July but you can still celebrate this holiday with your own parade.
Make you own shakers, a special hat, put on some marching music and have a family parade.
 
Parade Noise Maker
Using masking tape, or duct tape, cover one end of a toilet paper roll.  Fill it with something that makes noise --  bells, beans, popcorn or combination of several items.  Tape the other end of the toilet paper roll.  Add streamers to one end and decorate the tube.
 
Make a headband out of construction paper.  Cut out red, white and blue (or any color you choose) stars (or any shape). Tape each star to a pipe cleaner.  Tape the other end of the pipe cleaner to the inside of the headband. Add decorations to the headband if you choose.  The stars will dance as your child marches in the parade.
 
Play some fun March Music and go on your own parade around the neighborhood or your backyard / house.  If you have neighbors involved they can sit on their front porches and clap as you march by.
 
 
Summer is a time when we usually go on vacation, visit family,  go to parades and fairs.  Food can be a big part of these community and family gatherings. Celebrate summer with this recipe for frozen bananas.
 
​Frozen Chocolate Bananas
Frozen treats are a summer tradition and bananas are favorite snack so the two together make a great summer snack idea.
6 ripe bananas. Recipe makes 12 bananas
1 cup chocolate chips
1 TBS butter
1 cup crushed graham crackers - optional
~ cut a ripe peeled banana in half
~ insert a popsicle 
~cover with plastic wrap and freeze
~melt chocolate chips in the microwave on high for 1-2 minutes.  Or use a double broiler to melt the chocolate.
~take the banana out of the freezer 
~dip and roll the banana in the chocolate. 
~sprinkle with graham crackers or anything you choose while the chocolate is still warm.
Eat at once or freeze up to ½ an hour.
 
Have fun!  Happy 4thof July!
~Teacher Janice