Look Up!

Today marks the 41st Anniversary of man first setting foot on the moon.

 
And here are some out-of-this-world ways we've come up with to celebrate:

Read: Mission Control, This is Apollo to learn more about the astronauts.

Another good book on the topic includes:  What is the Moon Made Of? And Other Questions Kids Have About Space by Donna H. Bowman. And for toddlers and preschoolers, check out our family's favorite by Dan Yaccarino, Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! I'm off the the Moon.


Bake your own Crater Cake. You can find the recipe here.

Snack Idea: Cut out some Swiss Cheese into circles and put them on round crackers for moon-faced snack.

Stargaze: Head outside tonight and see how many constellations you can find. Click here for a July skymap. 

Space Out: Learn how real scientists study the planets by visiting the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's online Cyber Center here.

Create your own Moon Notebook. On clear nights, draw a picture of the moon and write the date and time next to each picture. As time passes, your kids will see the moon in all of its phases. You can download your own chart here. 

Moon Trivia: Did you know that the moon is so far away, that if you were driving there in a car, it would take more than 6 months to reach it?

Bubbles, Bubbles, Everywhere

One of our very favorite things to do in the summer is blowing bubbles. Following are some of the best bubble ideas we've found for kids of every age.

A few years back we discovered Betz White's "Super Foam-erator". They're quick and easy to make - you just need an empty water bottle, a scrap of terry cloth and some dish soap.

 You can find the complete directions can be found here.

I also came across this post on making Gigantic Bubbles with things like Hula Hoops and coat hangers.

Their secret for such durable bubbles is glycerine, which can be found at most any pharmacy.

For something new this summer, we're going to trying these Dry Ice Giant Bubbles from Geek Dad:



Over at Ohdeedoh, they shared 9 recipes for your own bubble solution. And here's our family favorite:

You can download and print your own copy here.

Stargaze with your Kids

image via pacsci.org

This is the perfect time of year to gather your family and a blanket and head out for some stargazing. Here are some great tips to get you started:

First you need to find a good location. This could easily be your own backyard, but if you live near bright city lights, this might mean waiting for a long weekend in the country or the woods. Once you've seen the stars away from the city, you'll realize that what a difference it makes. 

If your kids are old enough, grab a few constellation charts and try to find them. If stargazing seems like a hobby your family enjoys, you might want to consider investing in a decent telescope so you can actually see some of the planets or the craters on the moon. A good way to check this out is by attending a Star Party - these are events held around the country by local amateur astronomers that allow you to "test drive" their equipment before you buy your own. We had a great time last summer out at the OMSI/Rose City Astronomers Star Party at Rooster Rock. We'll never forget seeing the rings of Saturn up close.

Once you've gone stargazing, you can continue to foster an interest by:

• Sticking some glow in the dark stars on your kids' bedroom ceiling

 

• Read books about the stars. A great one to start with is The Stars: A New Way to See Them by H.A Rey. If that name sounds familiar, you might now him better as the author of Curious George.

• Visit a Planetarium. Here in the Portland area you can visit the Kendall Planetarium at Omsi.  

•  Visit an Observatory. This summer we plan on visiting the Haggart Astronomical Observatory located on the campus of Clackamas Community College. 

•  Learn what's in the sky on any night at www.whatouttonight.com or clear sky chart

• Try some astronaut ice cream.  

 

•  Join the Pluto Fan Club Page at Olliebollen.com.  

•  Make your own glow in the dark comet

Berry Picking Time

Today we visited our favorite place, Kruger's Farm on Sauvie Island, for some berry picking.

Contrary to some local news reports, the fields were full of strawberries and raspberries. Blueberries, blackberries and marionberries should be ripe by July 4th.

I first read about this farm several years ago while living in Minneapolis and it was one of the first spots we visit ed when we moved to the Northwest. It instantly became a family favorite and we've returned many times since.  (Trust me, if they can get my city kids to want to hang out at their farm, they're doing something right.)

Our favorite thing is their summer concert series. They've got concerts every Thursday evening throughout the summer (just $10 per carload.) In addition to great live music, they're are hayrides and the fields are open for berry picking. It's the perfect spot for a picnic or you can buy food there. They've got delicious burgers, roasted corn and now a wood-fired pizza oven.

If you want to pick berries yourself, check out www.PickYourOwn.org for a list of all the farms near you. They've got a comprehensive list for the entire US.

Summer Rules

 image via Jacky's blog

We've still got one more day until we dive head first into Summer Vacation, but after reading this and this, I was inspired to come up with a few Summer Rules to keep our home running smoothly over the next few months. Our summer routine is pretty relaxed around here, but a little structure is good for everyone too, especially for a family with a work-at-home mom.

Our kids are getting older (now 7 and 10) and are becoming more independent and able to entertain themselves, but it can also be a bit too easy for them to just lay on the couch and watch Spongebob and eat popsicles all day.  

Here are a few rules that we've come up with - daily reading, at least one hour spent outside daily, screen time limits for tv and computer (this means mom and dad too), family walks or bike rides after dinner and mom gets one hour of time for work each day.

Do you have any "summer rules" for your family?

Glad Midsommar!

Having Scandinavian roots, I love the celebration of Midsommer. In Scandinavia, it's one of the most popular holidays, right up there with Christmas.  You can learn more about the celebration here, here, and here.

In Sweden, houses are decorated inside and out with wreaths and flower garlands. Then they dance around the decorated midsummer pole while listening to traditional folk songs.

 image via huset-shop.com

The celebration of Midsummer  also includes bonfires, and divining the future, especially one's future spouse. On Midsummer Eve, young girls pick seven types of flower to place under their pillows when they go to sleep in the belief that they will dream of their future love. 

If you live in the Portland area, check out Saturday's Midsummer Festival at the German American Cultural Center. There's something for everyone in the family -  food, crafts, music, Viking reenactments, and dancing around the Maypole. We went last year and had a wonderful time.

 

photos via scanheritage.org

Glad Midsommar!

Summer Reading

On this day back in 1938, the very first Caldecott Medal was awarded to Animals of the Bible by Dorothy P. Lathrop. The Caldecott Medal has been awarded annually ever since by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year. It was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. We've come up with 10 ideas for ways to celebrate this day.

1.) Read a book from the list of former winners. This year's winner is The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney.

Other former winners that are favorites in our family are:

Flotsam by David Wiesner - a great read,

especially if you're planning a trip to the beach this summer.

And The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

The illustrations in this book are absolutely amazing.

Martin Scorsese is currently working on the film version of it.

You can find more activities related to this book, including the film that inspired it here.

2. Sign up for your local public library's summer reading program. (For those of you here in SW Washington, click here for more info.) We've been doing this with our kids since they could first walk and they always look forward to it.  Our public library also provides great FREE summer entertainment, including Mad Science, jugglers and our favorite, the Creature Feature.

 

3.) Sign up for Barnes & Noble's Passport to Summer Reading program. Click here to download your passport. After your child reads eight books they can turn in their passport for a FREE book. 

4.) Sign up for Border's Double Dog Dare Summer Reading Program. Click here for more details. After your child reads ten books, they get a FREE book. 

5.) Print out some FREE bookplates by artist Helen Dardik and let you kids put them in their books. She's kindly offered four different designs, including this one. Just click here and here

via Helen Dardik

6.) For some great summer reading suggestions for your kids, check out Read Kiddo Read, a site created by author James Patterson, dedicated to creating readers for life. They've compiled lists for kids of all ages.

7.) If you've got a boy in your house, check out Guys Read, for some great reading ideas for him.

8.) How about starting a Mother-Daughter Book Club? You can read more about one mom's experiences here.

9.) Buy some great book related art for your kids' rooms, like this print from Studio Mela's Etsy Shop. . You can find more great reading related prints here, via Oh Dee Doh. Or commission a custom painting of your child's bookshelf by artist, Jane Mount. 10.) Let your kids become book reviewers. Just print out these bookmarks and let your kids fill in the blanks for each book they read. Click here to download your own. What's on your kids' summer reading lists this summer?  How do you encourage your kids to read during the summer months?