Summer Activity Guide

June 11, 2020 by Leave a comment

SAG-covers-who-i-am-ages5-9-2logos-232x300-1The 50 State Afterschool Network, with leadership from the Georgia Statewide Afterschool Network (GSAN), has created the Summer Activity Guide to engage and support children and youth nationwide during this atypical summer,

Resources will be released gradually over the summer, running through the week of  August 14. The guide will include activities and challenges for children and youth as well as resources for providers. Activity guides are broken down into age groups with a lot of fun and educational ideas.

 

 

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What to do on a Rainy Afternoon

May 8, 2020 by Leave a comment

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Visit the Decatur Library (virtually of course!)

 

Take a Trip to the Atlanta Zoo (be sure to bring a snack!)

  • Zoo Atlanta is proud to be the U.S. partner of the international launch of Wildeverse, a NEW free mobile game that transforms your home into the jungle with Augmented Reality. You can download to your phone or tablet.
  • The PandaCam is now BirdCam before noon. Enjoy watching the birds and then the pandas.
  • Saturday, May 9 is World Migratory Birds Day. Learn about them and enjoy some virtual activities.

Museums

  • Visit the Fernbank Museum at Home for science adventures, storytimes, nature experiences and a whole lot more! Many are interactive.
  • Stay connected with the High Museum of art with their High Museum at Home art activities, stories, virtual museum tours, coloring pages, and more.
  • Explore contemporary art at the Atlanta Contemporary with virtual tours and programmings.

Stay Active!

  • Enjoy a free yoga class with Yoga with Adriene
  • Gather the family and do a fun family workout. There are a lot of videos on YouTube. You may want to start with this one.
  • And lastly, take a walk in the rain! Get your rain boots on and jump in some puddles. Observe any animals you see and how they respond to the rain. Are the birds flying? Do you see any earthworms?

For more ideas, check out the Decatur Virtual Recreation Center.

 

 

 

 

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Make a Vision Board

April 23, 2020 by Leave a comment

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On a rainy day like today, it is nice to have a fun indoor activity that everyone in the family can do.   Why not have your family members make vision boards?

Also known as a dream board or goal board, a vision board is basically a collage of images and/or words used as a visualization tool. The images and words can be cut out from magazine pages, drawn, written, or printed out.

The collage represents your goals or dreams. By putting these all in one place, it becomes easier for you to visualize and manifest them in your life.

Here are 51 vision board ideas to get you started.

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Get Creative With Photography

April 21, 2020 by Leave a comment

downloadThe High Museum has a page on their website devoted to teaching you how to get creative at home and take portraits of your loved ones along with some teaching tools for the kids.

Get some tips on digital photography at National Geographic.

Check out Nikon’s photography classes – they are free for the month of April.

Post your photos and tag them #stayactivedecatur and @beactivedecatur.

Have fun!

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Staying Safe During COVID-19

April 17, 2020 by Leave a comment

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These tips come from Anthem Blue Cross:

You can help slow the spread of COVID-19 and still keep in touch with family and friends.

Try these tips to stay safely connected while at home:

Reach out. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves how much a phone call, text or video chat can mean to others. Use this time to talk to that long-lost friend or a long-distance family member.

Connect virtually. Use technology such as video chat to stay connected with friends and family.

Go outdoors, if you can. Take a walk around the block. Check your community’s guidelines to see if parks or local areas are open. Be sure to keep a safe distance from others.

Limit media overload. Too much online news can be overwhelming. Step away and watch a funny movie or read a book to take your mind off the news.

If you want more information, here are credible resources that offer additional information and support:

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Easter Crafts for the Whole Family

April 8, 2020 by Leave a comment

easter-crafts-bunny-hats-diy-1551129783                                 Photo from GoodHousekeeping.com 

Everyone loves an Easter craft to get in the spirit. Gather the family and have some fun creating.

It’s easy and fun to make Crystal Geode Eggs. All you need are some egg shells, epsom salt, egg dye (optional) craft glue and toothpicks. Find the directions here.

Make some Easter Bunny handprint art.

Make a few bunny and chick bookmarks and get ready to read!

Wouldn’t it be fun to wear some Easter Bunny hats for dinner?

Make some Easter stick puppets and put on a show.

And for the table, make some spring daffodils.

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Rainy Day Fun at Home

March 31, 2020 by Leave a comment

4c82f2ca051c152fe146755e4704710e_rainy-day-monday-kel-mel-blog-clip-art-library_600-345The rain today reminds me of a skit Lily Tomlin did back in the day. It was raining out, so her character said she put the children in the car and said “Let’s play car wash!” While I am not recommending that (although it could be fun for about 5 minutes!), I found some other ideas on what to do on a rainy day.

RealSimple.com has 14 ideas of what to do on a rainy day. I like the Family Recipe Book. You could think up recipes to make with whatever you have in the pantry. Or write down your favorite family dinner recipes.

You may want to organize your own Film Festival or map out a city on paper. Try mapping Decatur and add the places your family likes to go. You can use this map to get  started.

There are also 50 more ideas on MyKidsTime.com.

Have fun and stay safe!

 

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Family Activity: Plan a Trip for the Future

March 24, 2020 by Leave a comment

plan-your-trip-now-round-line-concept-vector-summer-vacation-planning-map-place-pointer-route-beach-icons-palm-90021785Looking to take a trip in the future when all of this is over? Start doing your research now and have something fun to look forward to.

Start by selecting a place you want to go and gather all the information you can. Have members of the family find places they want to visit in your selected destination. Let the children make a schedule, find the prices of things they want to see, and create a budget.

Good for learning to read maps, honing up the research and math skills, and it’s fun! You could even have the family draw pictures of what they would like to explore.

My Travel Obsession and Pack More Into Life have some tips for trip planning.

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