The Older Kids Club has worked hard and played hard this semester so I wanted to treat them to a trip to Sweetie's for sno cones. We had beautiful weather, happy kids with big smiles, and great photos that captured the afternoon perfectly. Take a peek…
Thank you so much for letting me spend this time with your children. We have had a lot of fun and we have made many lasting memories. I will miss the 5th graders but wish them well for a great year at Steger! I hope to see the 4th graders (soon-to-be 5th graders) return for another year of Older Kids Club in the Fall! Best of Luck for a great summer.
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The O.K. Club bake sale was a great success! The kids took turns facilitating and they were very busy-on the first day we sold out in an hour and a half! We were lucky enough to receive so many donations of baked goods from Adventure Club families as well as from our staff. With these donations we were able to raise nearly $300 that will be part of our team donation for Relay for Life. Thank you so much to everyone who participated in our bake sale-we could not have done this without you!
Working hard on the bake sale posters..
Day 1 set-up...
Making a sale!
The O.K. Club working together...
Only a little bit left... Thanks to Miss Andrea for assisting during the bake sale ! |
We've exercised our inner scientist muscles while experimenting, there have been 2 field trips, and we've gotten our creative juices flowing with an art project. I felt it was time for the O.K. Club to whip up something delicious in the kitchen. Many of the kids have expressed interest in cooking so after thinking long and hard about a recipe that would not only be delicious but that would also be easy enough for them to make at home (bonus for you, parents), I decided on puppy chow, or muddy buddies, as it is also known. If you are unfamiliar with puppy chow, it is a mouth- watering combination of chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar. How can you go wrong? You simply can not. The kids felt the same way and were eagerly anticipating our cooking lesson. While I knew the level of excitement was high due to the fact that they were finally getting to attempt a recipe, I knew they were amped about getting to indulge in this special treat as well. We had 3 stations set up on one of our cafeteria tables. The first station was in charge of measuring and melting the chocolate and peanut butter in the microwave, the second station combined the melted peanut butter/chocolate mixture with the rice Chex cereal, and the third station tossed the cereal with the powdered sugar. It was simple, fun, a little messy, and we all had splashes of powdered sugar on our faces but… we loved every minute. Puppy Chow/Muddy Buddies 9 cups Rice Chex cereal (instead of measuring out 9 cups, you can just use all but ¼ of a large box-you need close to an entire box so leave a little to spare) ½ cup peanut butter (stick to smooth and creamy peanut butter-don't go with crunchy) 1 cup milk chocolate chips (the original recipe calls for semi-sweet but I like milk chocolate better for this recipe) 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 ½ cups of confectioners' sugar ~Begin by placing the chocolate chips in a glass bowl and microwaving them for about a minute and a half. It's important to remember to use the microwave carefully and melt the chips in 20 second increments. After each 20-25 second interval, stir the chocolate before placing it back in the microwave to continue the melting process. ~Once the chocolate is fully melted (you want it to be silky and easy to stir) add the peanut butter to the chocolate. Stir the mixture to fully combine. We put the chocolate-peanut butter combo back into the microwave for an additional 10 seconds to make the peanut butter a little softer. ~Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the chocolate/peanut butter mixture and stir to combine. ~Toss the mixture with the 9 cups of cereal. We used a large punch bowl and a spatula to make sure the cereal was evenly coated with the chocolate mixture. ~ Using a gallon sized Ziploc bag, take the cup and half of confectioners' sugar and pour it into the bag. Using a large spoon, scoop the cereal into the bag. Once the bag is about ¾ full, make sure the plastic bag is securely closed and start shaking the bag in order to coat the cereal in the powdered sugar. ~Serve and enjoy! **You can also store the puppy chow in the fridge for a few hours so it's nice and cold. It gets even better the colder it is.
The saying "too many cooks in the kitchen" doesn't apply to us...
...and the end result: success! |
Relay for Life
Our most recent newsletter highlighted an event that Adventure Club is participating in and that the Older Kids Club is in charge of facilitating which will consist of working together to raise money for Relay for Life. As I previously mentioned, Relay for Life is an event that brings awareness to cancer, in all its forms. Survivors, those that have lost their lives, and those that still continue to fight this disease all gather together on this one night to honor and remember loved ones. The O.K. Club is at the head of this event, but the invitation to participate in the event is extended to all Adventure Club families. The date of the Relay for Life event is June 22, 2012 at Moss Field located at Hixon Middle School. The O.K. Club is hard at work planning for this event and we have scheduled a bake sale for the week of April 23rd in order to raise money for our team's donation. Our bake sale will be located in the Bristol cafeteria on April 24th, 25th, and 26th. The O.K. Club kids will take turns working the bake sale during the afternoon in Adventure Club. All of the participants in the O.K. Club are encouraged to bring in baked goods that can be sold at the bake sale. Items such as cookies, brownies, and cupcakes would be great and all donations are welcomed! The theme of this year's Relay for Life event is "Hope around the World." Mrs. Hahn and I have chosen a team name as well: the AC Braves. Some synonyms for brave are confident, courageous, heroic, and strong. We feel these words best describe the message we are trying to convey while participating in this event. We are currently working on a t-shirt design that will be available for purchase and can be worn during the event on June 22nd. We are also in the process of planning a trivia night that will take place sometime in May. All Adventure Club kids and their families from each of the six schools will be invited to participate in a fun and entertaining night that is guaranteed to be a great time! Each school (AC staff and kids) will be a team and will challenge the other school with trivia questions. The cost will be $2 per trivia game participant and all of the proceeds will be a part of our team donation for Relay for Life. We will have snacks and beverages for everyone as well as other activities available for friends and family members. We hope to see you all there!
**If you have any questions regarding our Relay for Life event, please feel free to stop by the AC office or email me at magee.elizabeth@wgmail.org |
 Does Ivory soap float? Do you think it would sink if you put it in a bucket of water? This is what we were wondering in the O.K. Club during one of our experiments. As I was browsing the internet, looking for fun, interactive activities to do with the kids, I came across an experiment using Ivory soap. Apparently, Ivory soap has a whipped texture that traps air and that air makes the soap more dense than water so it floats. Who knew? In addition, I found a link to a blog that featured another experiment using Ivory soap; this time, in the microwave. I thought it was so cool and knew the kids would love it and better yet, wouldn't expect the outcome at all. It turns out I was right. The experiment is as follows: ~I began by asking the kids if they thought the soap would sink or float and why they came to their conclusion. Most said it would sink because it was too heavy to float but there were a few who declared "it will float for sure!" ~Next, I placed the soap in a bucket of room temperature water and we all saw that indeed, the soap did float. That garnered a few "oooohs" and "ahhhhhs" but they didn't know anything about what was to come next. ~I continued by asking them what they thought would happen if we were to put the soap in the microwave for a couple minutes...now this, they were interested in finding out. ~We took a microwave safe plate, placed the soap in the middle of the plate, set the microwave for a little less than 2 minutes and were amazed to see the soap expand and fluff up into what looked like a cloud! ~Once the 2 minutes were over, we took the soap out and placed each bar at tables for the kids to test out. After it was zapped in the microwave, I placed the bars at the tables and we were able to play with it and the kids were very into squishing and smashing the soap. Who would've thought we'd have so much fun with a bar of soap? Here are the materials you'll need if you'd like to try this one out at home: (Side note- I told my husband about how much fun the kids had doing this during the O.K. Club and he was very intrigued, so since I had an extra bar of soap, we tried it out at home. He had the same reaction-utterly amazed at a little bar of soap.) Bar of Ivory soap Bucket of water Microwave safe plate Microwave **Here is the link to the blog I mentioned if you're interested: www.housingaforest.com/ivory-soap-experiment/ |
 We are having a blast in the O.K. Club! The 4th and 5th grade participants have been quite the mini-scientists, working hard experimenting. During one of our meetings, we tested an experiment entitled "Elephant Toothpaste." The kids really seemed to enjoy themselves and they also learned about cause and effect with various substances. This was a fun and easy project that you can easily do at home on a rainy or cold winter day or when you're simply looking for some fun!
Elephant Toothpaste Experiment 16 oz. plastic soda bottle (preferably one with a narrow neck such as a Coca-Cola bottle) 1/2 cup 20-volume hydrogen peroxide (you don't necessarily need 20 volume which is typically found at a beauty supply store- we used topical hydrogen peroxide that is used to clean wounds and it worked just fine) 1 squirt of Dawn dish soap (any liquid dish soap will work) 3-4 drops of food coloring 1 tsp. of yeast dissolved in approximately 2 tablespoons of very warm water Funnel (optional: we didn't have funnels for each group of kids so we poured the liquids carefully!) Baking sheets
1. Stand the soda bottle upright and place in the middle of the baking sheet. Add 3 to 4 drops of the food coloring to the hydrogen peroxide and then pour into the soda bottle. 2. Add one squirt of liquid dish detergent to the peroxide in the bottle. 3. Pour the yeast mixture into the bottle and be prepared to be amazed!
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