Week 2 - After School at Home


March 23, 2020

Mr. Balkovetz’s Comic, “Cat Burgular”

Mr. Jean-Mary’s Family Fireworks!

Materials

  • Table Salt
  • Paper (black really makes the colors pop!)
  • Watercolors (if you don't have watercolors, try using food coloring!)
  • White Glue
  • Cookie Sheet

Instructions

  1. Start by laying your paper on a cookie sheet so the salt doesn’t get all over the place.
  2. Draw out your design with the glue. It works better if you do it thick. If you aren’t comfortable free handing a design, draw it out with a white crayon or colored pencil first.
  3. Next, sprinkle salt over the glue before it dries. Apply generously! You want to get everything covered. Shake off excess salt onto your tray.
  4. Get your watercolors really wet, and lightly paint onto the salt. You can use food coloring and an eye dropper or pipette here if you’d prefer. You don’t want to drag it too much or it will mess up the salt. I tried to get my brush extra drippy so I barely had to tap the design. Have fun with colors! It looks great when they bleed together.

Let the project dry completely and you are done. Your kids will love how the salt sparkles when it dries.

Ms. Vitale’s Fantastic Fort

Materials

  • Pillows
  • Chairs
  • Blankets and sheets
  • Yoga mats (optional)
  1. Find some pillows or yoga mats and put them on the floor. This will be the floor of the fort.
  2. Put chairs around the area where the pillows and yoga mats are placed. This will be the walls of the fort.
  3. Find old sheets and blankets and put them on top of the chairs.
  4. Next name your fort, play some imagery games inside, perhaps hold a tea party and most importantly HAVE SOME FUN!

Workout Corner with Mr. Ridore

Mountain Climbers

Get into a push-up position and then alternate bringing your knee to your elbow. You can do same side connections or crisscross. The idea is to move fast and work up a sweat!

Star Jumps

Kids love these! Stand tall and then explosively jump into the air, expanding your legs and your arms so that you look like a large “X” in the air. At the height of the jump, be sure to exclaim, “I’m a STAR!”

Sit-ups

Another classic. Feel free to tuck your toes under the sofa or coffee table if you need a bit of support, or, ask your kids/parents to hold your feet and vice versa.

Push-ups

Straightforward and to the point. Just be sure your hands are in line with your pectorals and your seat isn't arced in the air. If you want to make it harder, try for push-up claps, diamond push-ups, or “Y” wide push-ups. Drop to the knee if your form is compromised.

Burpees

Who is up for the challenge? Start with a jump up, then drop to a plank, add a push-up, and then jump back up. It should be one fluid motion and try to not pause between repetitions. Make it a bit easier by opting out of the push up if you need to.

Playing Bora with Mr. Brewer

Mr Brewer Teaches Bora.mp4

Rules and helpful reminders.

Hand size: 4 cards

The trump suit is determined after all of the cards are dealt. Placed face up at the bottom of the draw pile.

Draw cards one at a time, starting with the person who won the last hand, going clockwise.

When leading, you may play any number of cards of the same suit. Can only be beaten by a higher card of the led suit or by the trump card. Must beat every card played in order to win the hand.

Four cards of the same suit is called a “Bora.” When you get a Bora, immediately play all four cards face down.

Card values: Ace = 11, Ten = 10, Jack = 4, Queen = 3, King = 2.

Count points at the end of each game.

Making Rock Candy With Mr. Corey

Materials:

  • 2+ cups sugar
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • sauce pot
  • wooden spoon
  • clean, narrow jar/s or glass/es
  • wooden skewers
  • clothes pins
  • candy or digital thermometer that reaches 240 degrees F
  • wax paper
  • food coloring (optional)
  • vanilla extract or other flavoring (optional)

Steps:

  • Boil 1 cup water in a small saucepan.
  • Slowly add 2 cups of sugar and mix with a wooden spoon until sugar dissolves.
  • Cook sugar solution until it’s 240 degrees F (also known as the soft ball stage in candy making).
  • Remove from the heat.
  • Add food coloring. Be generous.
  • Add flavor (we made one batch with pure vanilla extract and another with real lemon extract). We added about 1 tbsp. lemon, and 1/2 tsp vanilla.
  • Dangle sugar-covered skewer into sugar solution so that it’s about 2/3 of the way down the jar.
  • Attach a clothespin to the top to keep it in place. We put 2-3 skewers in the jars. I wonder if this will be too crowded to work?
  • Wait 3-7 Days. Sugar will form on the surface that you can snag if you’re feeling impatient.

Note - In lieu of skewers, you can use string and dangle it from the top. I did this as a kid, but it doesn’t work as well.

Make a Collage with Ms. May

Mr. Alford’s Corner Bookmark Activity

Materials

  • Origami or white printer paper
  • ruler (if necessary)
  • scissors (if necessary)
  • and coloring/drawing materials (optional)

Steps

  1. Use origami or white printer paper that is 15 cm. by 15 cm. If you do not have paper with 15 cm. by 15 cm. dimensions, use a ruler to measure 15 cm. on all sides then cut out the square.
  2. Twist the paper so you have a diamond.
  3. Fold the paper horizontally to form a triangle. Be sure to fold the paper firmly and neatly.
  4. Fold the bottom corners up to meet the top corner on both sides so you have a mini diamond.
  5. Open up the two folds so you have a triangle.
  6. Using the front flap, fold down the top corner so it is pointing down.
  7. Bring the right corner back up and tuck it into the flap. Make sure the pointy corner is all the way down the flap.
  8. Bring the left corner back up and tuck it into the flap. Make sure the pointy corner is all the way down the flap.
  9. Take the single top flap and fold it down on the opposite side of the corners. The final product is a little triangle.
  10. Feel free to design the corner bookmark (optional).
  11. Slide the bookmark onto the corner of a page.

Ms. Viki's Feelings Board

Ms. Viki has a feelings chart challenge for students. All you need is a sharpie or marker and some post-its.