The Adventurers: Pirate Treasure Hunt (Rainy Day Fun and Magic)

Pirate Treasure Hunt: Last week, we decided that we wanted to do a pirate treasure hunt. We  had to complete certain "pirate tasks" in order to find a treasure. We learned quickly that it was all about teamwork and cooperation.

• “Pirate Hats”: First, we had to turn into real pirates so we created pirate hats out of construction paper and added a skull and bones flag. 

•  Walk the Plank: We partnered up and balanced on wooden boards while holding a beach ball between us.

• Fill the Bottle Brigade:  A starting and finish line was established, and a full bin of water was placed at the starting line and an empty water bottle at the finish line. We had to transfer all of the water from the bin at the starting line to the bottle at the finish line until the bottle was filled. We all  lined up between the bin and the bottle, each of us was holding a cup. The person who was standing next to the full bin at the starting line dipped his or her cup in the water and poured it into the next person’s cup. The water continued down the line being poured from one cup to the next. The friend closest to the empty bottle poured his cup into it and raced to the opposite end near the full bin with water. He dipped his cup in the full bin to begin the brigade again.

• Find the Treasure: We looked for hidden gold coins. The gold coins could be traded in for a pirate prize.

The Explorers: Marble Painting (Rainy Day Fun and Magic)

Music Time “Bop ‘Til You Drop": Today, we learned a new music and movement game "Bop 'Til You Drop" by Greg and Steve. We had to follow different movements such as floating like a feather, bouncing, spinning, etc.

Small Group Art Project “Marble Painting”: We worked in small groups (2 to 3 students) and inserted paper (e.g., construction paper) into a cardboard mailing tube. Then, we added paint with a spoon (different colors) and marbles (2-3), closed the tube and shook the tube. It was very exciting when the paper was taken out of the tube and opened up to reveal the beautiful patterns the marbles had created on the paper. 

 
Some tips to make this activity successful: Make sure that the students place the color blobs onto the paper, demonstrate how to cover the lids of the tube with your hands while shaking the tube so the marbles won't come flying out.



Some interactive strategies:

• One peer holds the tube while his partner adds paint to the paper.
• Students can experiment with and brainstorm different ways of shaking the tube.
• Peers can cheer for their partner who is shaking the tube.

The Adventurers: Havens School (Rainy Day Fun and Magic)

Today, we were super excited to check out our new Clubhouse location. Thanks to the generosity of our friends at the Havens Elementary School in Piedmont who have given us access to their beautiful campus, we have a new East Bay Clubhouse home. We love being in Patti's classroom and we also enjoy the outdoor areas of the Havens School. 

We were very happy to see our Clubhouse buddies again. It was a long break and we missed each other. We also welcomed our new Clubhouse friend.

Then, we got busy and tried out 
the marble painting (for a detailed description see Explorers on 1/25/12) . We absolutely loved this activity.

The Explorers: Welcome Back! (Rainy Day Fun and Magic)

Welcome back, Explorers. We were eager to get going and to explore the new Clubhouse location.

 

 Art Project “Foil Print”: We were split into small groups and painted a big piece of  aluminum foil using different types of brushes (e.g., foam brushes). Then, we placed a piece of colored paper over the painted foil to make an imprint.

     Bowling: In order to discover the outdoor areas of Havens Elementary School and since we were lucky and it was not raining, we engaged in a bowling game, which is always a lot of fun.

The Adventurers: From Fossils to Dinosaurs (From Magnets to Magic Mixtures)

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 / Materials:

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 the fossils:

• 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 out 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. 

Dino Hunt! We looked for dinosaur pieces that were hidden outside. The puzzle pieces had different colored dots on the back so after we had found all the pieces we had to sort them. We then split up into three teams. The goal was to work together and to put the puzzle pieces together to create the dinosaurs.

The Exploreres: From Fossils and Dinosaurs (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 had a blast making the fossils (for a detailed description of the activity see Adventurers on November 10) and could not decide what was more fun making the dough or playing with it.