Continuing with our Summer Spirit study of the New Creed – this week’s activities to do with the family centre around Air and Water
A New Creed
We believe in God: who has created and is creating
AIR & WATER
Have you ever walked on a beach with your toes wading in the warm water and the fresh air rushing past you on the breeze? Those are two of God’s amazing gifts to us….Air and Water. We need air to breathe and water to drink so God made sure we had both. And now it’s up to us to make sure that we take care of them.
Think of all the different ways you use water each day. How much do you use? Are you lucky to have clean water? Does everyone in the world have clean water to drink? If not, what could you do to change that? Is there anything you can change to take better care of our water?
What about the air? There are lots of things that can cause air pollution, like cars and factories. Even forest fires make the air hard to breath. How can you help? See how many things you can come up with to help keep our air and water clean.
Facts about Water:
71% of the Earth is covered in water.
97% of the Earth’s water is found in the oceans.
60% of our bodies are made up of water.
Only 3% of the Earth’s water is fresh water and good for drinking.
Most of the Earth’s fresh water is not easy to get at as it’s frozen in glaciers, in the soil or in the atmosphere.
All of the water on the Earth today is the same water that was around when dinosaurs roamed the Earth!
A jellyfish and a cucumber are both 93% water!
Facts about Air
Air contains the oxygen that we all need to breathe.
Humans, animals and even plants need air to live.
Air can hold water…especially in the summer when it gets really humid outside!
Air feels heavier by the ocean than it does on top of a mountain.
The air in our atmosphere protects the Earth like a giant bubble.
When air moves, it can carry things along with it such as seeds that then plant themselves a long way from where they started!
Shoreline Clean-Up
Our oceans are very precious gifts from God. But sometimes, people are careless with their garbage and leave it behind on the beaches or toss it off a boat into the water. Let’s help take care of the oceans by spending an afternoon as a family cleaning up a stretch of beach or shoreline near you. You might even find some interesting treasures while you’re at it!
Make A Paper Boat
If you live near a pond or a lake, trying making your own paper boat to float! Simple instructions on how to make one can be seen at – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wu5oKy4m5s.
Make Your Own Aquarium
While you’re at the beach, collect some pebbles & shells to make your own aquarium. When you get home, find an empty glass mason jar and put your pebbles and shells inside. Then fill it up with water…maybe even adding a few drops of blue or green food colouring to the water for a good ocean water effect…then seal the lid tight! You can cut out fish shapes to glue on the outside of the jar to make it look like fish are swimming in your aquarium or if you have small plastic toy fish, add those to the jar before you seal it. You could even paint some seaweed on the outside of the jar. Use your imagination!
Fly A Kite
A wonderful thing to do on an afternoon at the beach or the park is to fly a kite! You need a bit of wind to get it flying so head out on a breezy day and watch how the air can make your kite soar! If you’re feeling adventurous, try making your own kite to fly. Here’s a video that shows you how to make a very simple one using a plastic sheet, 2 wooden dowels and some string. It also gives you a bit of a science lesson about how a kite stays in the air! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc3AUuuj9_I
Make Your Own Iced Drinks
On a hot summer day, our bodies need lots and lots of water! So here are a couple of recipes to make you own Ice Tea and Lemonade to keep you nice and cool! Don’t forget to make lots of ice to go with them!
Iced Tea
Ingredients:
2-1/4 cups water
6 regular-size tea bags
6 cups cold water
Granulated sugar
Lemon wedges for garnish
Mint sprigs for garnish
Preparation:
In a small saucepan, bring the 2-1/4 cups water to a gentle boil. Add the tea bags, remove the saucepan from the heat, and cover. Steep for 15 minutes.
Remove the tea bags without squeezing them (which would add bitterness) and pour the steeped tea into a 2-1/2-quart heatproof container (like a large Pyrex liquid measure). Add the 6 cups cold water and mix. Let cool at room temperature and then refrigerate until cold. Serve over ice & sweeten to taste. Then garnish lemon wedges, and mint sprigs.
Lemonade
Ingredients:
1 cup white, granulated sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 cup water (for the simple syrup)
1 cup lemon juice
2 to 3 cups cold water (to dilute)
Preparation:
Make “simple syrup”: Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stir so that the sugar dissolves completely and remove from heat. Juice the lemons: While the water is heating for the simple syrup, juice your lemons. Depending on the size of the lemons, 4 to 6 of them should be enough for one cup of juice.
Combine lemon juice, simple syrup, water: Pour the juice and the simple syrup sugar water into a serving pitcher. Add 2 to 3 cups of cold water and taste. Add more water if you would like it to be more diluted (though note that when you add ice, it will melt and naturally dilute the lemonade). If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more straight lemon juice to it. Chill: Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes.Serve with ice, sliced lemons.
Help Your Garden Grow
Here in Vancouver, we get a lot of rain! So why not collect it and use it to water your garden this summer? Find a bucket or barrel and place it under one of the drain spouts on your house or somewhere where it can catch lots of water. You could even measure the water after a big rainfall to see how much water fell!
Make A Paper Airplane
All you need is a piece pf paper to make your own airplane. Then head outside and see how far you can make it fly. You can make a bunch of airplanes using with different kids of paper to see which one will fly the furthest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0a0p8ygfQM
Make A Raindrop Suncatcher
Supplies:
Blue crayons (different shades with the paper peeled off)
Pencil or crayon sharpener
Waxed paper (2 even sheets)
Iron (for adult use only)
Scissors
String or thread for hanging
Raindrop template (PDF attached below)
Instructions:
Lay out one sheet of wax paper on a flat surface. Then cover the wax paper with crayon “shavings” using the sharpener. Use several different shades of blue crayon if you can. Then, lay the second piece of wax paper on top and have an adult use an iron on the lowest setting to melt the two pieces together. It should only take one or two swipes with the iron. Once the wax paper & crayons have cooled, use the raindrop template below to trace out your raindrop shapes and cut them out. Then hang them with string in your window.