Suggested Family Activity • It’s National Chocolate 🍫🥛 Milk Day Today is National Milk Chocolate Day, a day to celebrate all things good and chocolatey. You might enjoy this classic sweet in a variety of ways, such as making smores, baking chocolate chip cookies 🍪 or having a plain chocolate bar 🍫. You can also heat chocolate pieces to drizzle on plain cookies, cakes, or even popcorn. Or you can add it to milk to Read more…
Suggested Family Activity • Summer 🍅🥒🍉 Gardens Many summer gardens are producing lots of great fruits and vegetables right now so take advantage of the variety of local produce available to get some fresh and healthy food for your family. Selections can be picked up from several places – your favorite grocery store, Farmer’s Markets located in many communities, or just roadside stands run by people who want to share their extra produce. This would Read more…
Suggested Family Activity • Disc ⛳ Golf If you are looking for a fun activity to do outside, disc golf is gaining in popularity everywhere. And one of the best things about it is all you need to start the fun is a disc (a special disc golf one or just a frisbee) and a course to play on. Some city parks departments have started incorporating disc golf courses within their parks and along walking Read more…
Suggested Family Activity • Picnic 🧺 Before the summer ends, make sure you go on a picnic one day. You can pack a traditional picnic in a wicker basket or just grab some snacks and sandwiches and head outside with a blanket to enjoy your food. Take time to sit and really enjoy nature, whether you stay at home in your backyard or go to a nearby park. Make sure to spend at least part Read more…
Suggested Family Activity • Shark 🦈 Shapes For a combination craft project and learning activity, try out this fun idea: On a piece of paper or cardboard, draw a picture of a shark’s head with its mouth spread wide open (or find an image online to print out). Cut out the mouth area from the center of the picture. Don’t forget to draw some shark teeth around the whole mouth! Use tape, such as painter’s Read more…
Suggested Family Activity • Painting 🐟 Fish The website education.com has a really great idea for how you and your family can paint fish with your fingerprints. Check out a sample picture and instructions here. Did you check out a NERL Story Walk at a walking trail near you this summer? Unfortunately, we have had to take some of our Story Walks down because of damage and theft but you still have another week to Read more…
Suggested Family Activities • Summer ☀ Reading Packets Have you picked up your Summer Reading Program packets yet? They are filled with lots of fun activities – coloring sheets; activity sheets such as mazes, color by number, hide and seek, crossword puzzles, and connect the dots; craft projects; and more. Additional special sheets this week include a recommended reading list for “Water Tales,” a color your own ocean scene that can be cut apart to Read more…
Suggested Family Activity • Aquarium 🎥 Cams Even if you can’t visit an aquarium in person this summer, you can always check out some of the great Aquarium Cams located at many facilities. The Monterey Bay, California aquarium has webcams so you can see live views of sea nettles, moon jellyfish, sardines and leopard sharks swimming through a kelp forest, as well as sharks and many other fish inside their aquarium. They even have live Read more…
Suggested Family Activity • Hand ✋ Imprints If you like to turn your child’s handprint into fun pieces of art, this week’s Summer Reading Theme of “Water Tales” will give you lots of ideas! If you take an imprint of their hand with the fingers facing down, you can turn it into a cute octopus by painting on a face in the palm area. Let them decorate an underwater scene around it – and don’t Read more…
Suggested Family Activity • National Pet 🐕 Fire 🔥 Safety Day Today is National Pet Fire Safety Day, a day set aside each year to help us to remember a few safety tips concerning our pets and the hazards of fire. Our pets are treasured members of our families and we would do anything to keep them safe. The ASPCA offers the following tips (additional information can be found on their website at https://www.aspca.org/news/fire-safety-and-your-pets-keeping-them-safe-unexpected): Keep Read more…
