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Archive for the ‘Activities’ Category

National Gardening Association Announces Continuation of Youth Garden Grants Program

Posted in Activities, Funding Opportunities on May 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Sponsor: National Gardening Association

Deadline: 11/2/2009

Amount: varies

Type: Environment, Education, Social & Economic

Description: The National Gardening Association has announced that the Home Depot is returning as the Youth Garden Grants sponsor for 2010.

NGA annually awards Youth Garden Grants to schools and community organizations with child-centered garden programs across the United States. Schools, youth groups, community centers, camps, clubs, treatment facilities, and intergenerational groups throughout the United States are eligible. Applicants must plan to garden with at least 15 children between the ages of three and 18 years. Previous Youth Garden Grant winners who wish to reapply may do so, but must wait one year before applying again, and must have significantly expanded their garden programs.

For the 2010 grant cycle, 100 grants are available. Five programs will each receive gift cards valued at $1,000 (a $500 gift card to the Home Depot and a $500 gift card to the Gardening with Kids catalog and educational materials from NGA). Ninety-five programs will each receive a $500 gift card to the Home Depot and educational materials from NGA.

Complete program guidelines are available at the NGA KidsGardening Web site.

Website: Link to RFP

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History Channel Grants

Posted in Activities, Funding Opportunities on May 22, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Connect with a historical organization in your community to instill in children the importance of protecting and promoting its history. Each year, the History Channel offers an opportunity for a history organization to partner with an after-school program or youth group and propose a project.
Winning applicants are awarded up to $10,000 for their project.

The main criteria for applications are:
· Proposed projects must focus on exploring and preserving a significant aspect of community history.
· Proposed projects must raise awareness among children, youth and community members about the significance of their local heritage and the importance of preserving it.
· Proposed projects must include a tangible resource that captures students’ efforts to learn about and preserve their local history in a unique, creative way.

The deadline for applications, which must be completed online, is June 5. For rules and more information, go to www.history.com/content/saveourhistory/ and click on the “grant program” link.

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FOAM BASEBALL

Posted in Activities on May 19, 2009| Leave a Comment »

foam-baseball-spring-games-photo-180-FF0509BINA13

In this softer version of a backyard classic, a foam noodle and foam balls become a bat and bases. And unlike in the big leagues, corks in this bat are legal — and needed to keep the wooden dowel from sliding out. To make a bat, use scissors to cut a pool noodle to 33 inches. Make the bat rigid by inserting a 28-inch length of a 5/8-inch-diameter wooden dowel into the noodle. Place a cork in each end. Wrap duct tape around one end of the noodle for a grip. For bases, use scissors or a small saw to cut old foam balls in half (an adult’s job). Then use your homemade equipment with a foam ball to play backyard baseball. Our youngest testers liked that everything was soft — from the bat to the ball to the bases. And we think your windows and cars will appreciate that too.

PASS IT TO ME
This group challenge for three or more players lets kids practice both their Peyton Manning and Randy Moss moves (quarterback and wide receiver, for those of you not up on your NFL stars). Start by designating a spot in the middle of a large playing area (you can use one of the foam bases from above or any other soft object). Players form a circle around the object, then take five steps back. At the count of three, each player tosses a football to the player on her left while trying to catch the football tossed to her. If everyone is successful, players take five more steps back and repeat. If not, they return to the center and start over. The goal: to see how far from the center you can get.

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NASA Afterschool Universe – Tucson Training

Posted in Activities, Professional Development and Training, Resources on May 15, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Afterschool Universe is a hands-on out-of-school-time astronomy program for middle school children. This program is now available to out-of-school-time program providers who are looking to include engaging and high-quality science programming in their organization’s portfolio. The Program Overview page describes the basic structure of the program and includes an outline of all the sessions.

We offer Afterschool Universe training workshops throughout the year, in locations around the United States. After training, we provide leaders with resources to run the program in their communities — including a manual, downloadable files, worksheets and evaluation forms, posters, and a mini kit with some of the program’s materials that are only available from specialized suppliers. We will also provide a NASA certificate of completion for those who participate in our training.

  • Upcoming Training Workshops:
    Just Announced!  

    • May 27-28, 2009 in Tucson, Arizona
    • June 3-4, 2009 in Greenbelt, MD at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

    <!–Please contact us if you are want to register for either of these workshops. Let us know which organization you will be representing and which of the two workshops you are registering for. –>Register for Training Workshop.

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2009 Take 25 Campaign

Posted in Activities, Advocacy, Events on May 11, 2009| Leave a Comment »

National Missing Childrens Day is quickly approaching! This May, and throughout the year, make child safety a priority by participating in the Take 25 campaign.

About Take 25
Take 25, a program of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) , was created in commemoration of National Missing Childrens Day, May 25th. Take 25 encourages parents, guardians, law enforcement, and others to spend twenty-five minutes talking to children about personal safety.

Event Registration
Register your Take 25 event now!  Once you’ve registered your event online, you will receive an Event ID and will be prompted to visit our materials ordering site  where you can order free child safety materials for your event.  With more events being scheduled than anticipated, materials are being requested in record numbers. To ensure you get plenty of materials for your event, we encourage you to register your event and request materials as soon as possible.   

How Can I Learn More?
To learn more about how you can become involved:
visit www.take25.org or contact Take 25 staff at take25@ncmec.org.

www.take25.org 

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Connecting with Comets Field Study

Posted in Activities, Resources on May 11, 2009| Leave a Comment »

http://epoxi.umd.edu/5education/index.shtml

Classroom teachers and afterschool educators, are you interested in testing the “Comet on a Stick” classroom activity? The Education and Public Outreach team for NASA’s EPOXI mission http://epoxi.umd.edu/
offers a standards-driven activity designed to meet the needs of all students, including disadvantaged and under-served.

To learn more and sign up for the spring field study:
Contact Dr. Stephanie B. Wilkerson
EPOXI E/PO Principal Evaluator, Magnolia Consulting, LLC; 434.984.5540;
stephanie@magnoliaconsulting.org.

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Cinco de Mayo Activities

Posted in Activities on May 4, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Family Fun Magazine has great ideas for games, crafts and recipes; here are just two samples, you can see more and sign up for an email newsletter at http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/family/specialfeature/cinco-de-mayo/cinco-de-mayo.html?cmp=NLC-NL_Recipe_050409_more

Sombrero Cookies

On May 5th, communities across Mexico and beyond will celebrate Cinco de Mayo – the Mexican holiday honoring the country’s triumph over invading French forces in 1862. In honor of this historic day, whip up a batch of these sombrero treats. 0504_ej_sombrero

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
1 sugar cookie 
white icing 
nonpareils, colored 
white gumdrop

1. To make one, frost the edge of a sugar cookie with white icing and roll it in colored nonpareils.

2. Next, coat the bottom and the lower edge of a small white gumdrop with frosting. Roll the edge of the gumdrop in the nonpareils, then set the gumdrop in the center of the cookie.

 

Bark Paintings
 
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo by making a version of a Mexican papel amate (bark paper) painting. The “canvas” used in this folk art is made by boiling bark and pounding it flat; for our no-sweat substitute, we used a section of a brown paper bag.  bark-paintings-dove-craft-photo-180-ff0509efa02

CRAFT MATERIALS:
Scissors
Brown paper grocery bag 
Water 
Iron 
Wide-tipped black marker 
Acrylic, tempera, or craft paint 

Time needed: About 1 to 2 Hours
 1. Cut a large rectangle from a grocery bag, wet it with water, and crumple it up. Squeeze out the extra water, then flatten out the paper. Use an iron set on low to dry the paper and to smooth it further.

2. Draw the outline of your design using a wide-tipped black marker, then fill in the spaces with colorful acrylic, tempera, or craft paint. To make your paint colors brighter against the brown paper background, mix in a bit of white paint.

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