Activities Hula Hoop Fun- Get a large Hula Hoop. Have your child: Jump in and out of the hoop. Jump, skip, hop, walk, etc around the hoop Plan a pretend camping trip. Ask your child what items would be needed. Such as: sleeping bags, tents, camping stove, food, canteen, clothing, flashlight, etc. Then ask, "What else will we need?" (Children might take different items than you would. Encourage any response.) Talk about the times when they have gone on a camping trip or have been on a picnic. Ask questions like: "Where did you sleep?" "Where did you eat?" "What did you eat?" "How did you fix your food?" "Where was the bathroom?" "Did you see any animals? If so, what kind?" Share stories with your child about a time that you went camping. Get store ads and look for camping equipment. Let your child cut out different items and glue them on a plain piece of paper. Name different creatures, some of which live in the water and some that do not: turtle, shark, lion, monkey, alligator, fish, seal, beaver, etc. Go on a family trip to the Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve or other park. While there, see if you can find any animal homes. Take your child fishing. Tell your child about a time when you went fishing. Ask your child questions such as, "If you had a fish for a pet, where would he live?" "If you were a little fish and a giant fish was going to eat you, what would you do?" "What do you think fish do for fun?" Play a "Follow the Fish" game like Follow the Leader. Many fish swim in schools. Talk about all of the movements that they make. Take turns being the "leader fish": dive, swim, eat, play, jump, rest, etc. Books Let's Play by Satomi Ichikawa Doctor Rabbit's Lost Scout by Jan Wahl Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe by Vera Williams Giants Go Camping by Jane Yolen Swimmy by Leo Lionni A Fish Out of Water by Helen Palmer Fingerplays Forest Fun by Dick Wilmes Worms and germs and rainy days, Or even tents that drip, Skunks and stumps and mosquito stings Won't ruin our camping trip. We're hardy forest campers Prepared for nature's wrath, But after a three day weekend, We're ready for a bath Animals Can you hop like a rabbit? Can you jump like a frog? Can you walk like a duck? Can you run like a dog? Can you swim like a fish? Can you sit by a campfire? Just like this? By the Campfire by Dick Wilmes We sat around the campfire On a chilly night, Telling spooky stories In the pale moonlight. Then we added some more logs To make the fire bright, And sang some favorite camp songs Together with all our might. And when the fire flickered And embers began to form, We snuggled in our sleeping bags All cozy, tired, and warm The Fish I hold my fingers like a fish, And wave them as I go! See them swimming with a swish, So swiftly to and fro. Three Frogs Three little frogs Asleep in the sun. WeÕll wake them up And then weÕll run. Mr. Bullfrog Here's Mr. Buyllfrog Sitting on a rock. Along comes a little girl/boy. Mr. Bullfrog jumps, KERPLOP!! This is My Turtle This is my turtle. He lives in a shell. He likes his home so very well. And he pulls it in when sleep is his mood. Recipes Crunchy Carrot Balls- 3 oz cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 1 tsp. honey 1 Cup finely shredded carrots 1/2 Cup Grape Nuts cereal To Make: In a medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and honey together until well blended. Stir in shredded carrots. Cover and chill for about 30 minutes. Shape into balls, cover and chill. Just before serving, roll the balls in the cereal. Camping Candles- You'll need: Apples Bananas Cherries Lettuce To Make: Core the apples and then cut in half crossways to form candle stands. Peel the bananas and cut them in half to form short "candles." Place the bananas in the apple bases and put on a bed of lettuce. Top the candle off by adding a big red cherry to the top. While you're enjoying your salad, talk about what you'd do if suddenly the lights went out