Week of April 27, 2020

Y KIDS NEWS

ocean finsWhen school’s out, the Y is in! We hope you enjoy this edition of Y Kids News, a newsletter with games and activities you can do from home!

THIS WEEK'S THEME: OCEAN

This week our activities are all about the sea! Did you know that, from space, the world looks like a blue marble? That's because most of Earth’s surface — more than 70 percent — is covered by oceans.

healthy challenges

BE A MASTER OF THE SEA

Do each activity 10 times to showcase your ocean animal abilities! If you complete all 12 activities, then you are a master of the sea!

  • STRETCH like a sea star
  • JUMP like a dolphin
  • WOBBLE like a sea jelly
  • GLIDE like a stingray
  • SWAY like an anemone
  • WALK like a crab
  • SLITHER like a sea snake
  • WIGGLE like an octopus
  • CHOMP like a shark
  • WADDLE like a penguin
  • PADDLE like a turtle
  • CLAP like a seal
  • STRETCH like a sea star
  • JUMP like a dolphin
  • WOBBLE like a sea jelly

HEALTHY CHALLENGE

Wash Up!

Esme from Jackie Robinson Family YMCA wants you to be the best hand washer you can be! Watch her quick lesson How to Wash Your Hands Correctly in English or Cómo Lavarse las Manos Correctamente in Spanish.

Double Tap

Tabatha from McGrath Family YMCA and her friends teach you how to play Double Tap, a fun game you can play with your family at home.

kids cooking

CRUNCHY APPLE BOATS

apple boatsIngredients:

  • Apples — each apple makes two boats
  • Your favorite spread — we used peanut butter but you could try honey, sun butter or Nutella
  • Puffed rice cereal or another type of cereal
  • Cheese
  • Toothpicks

family cooking in kitchenInstructions:

  • Cut the apple in half, removing the core.
  • Spread the open sides of the apple with your favorite spread.
  • On top of the spread, sprinkle puffed rice or other cereal.
  • Take a slice of cheese, and with parent supervision, cut a triangle shaped slice of cheese to be your sail.
  • Attach the cheese with a toothpick.
  • Enjoy your delicious snack!

CREATE A PAPER BOWL JELLYFISH

Make these cute jelly fish with paper bowls!

Materials:

  • Paper bowl
  • Colorful ribbons or yarn
  • Scrap or tissue paper
  • Glue
  • Tape
  • Scissors
  • Googly eyes or markers

Instructions:

  • Start by cutting up your tissue paper or color scrap paper into square pieces. Use a few different colors if you want to make your jellyfish craft extra colorful.
  • Turn your paper bowl upside down and add school glue all over the bottom of it and the sides.
  • Put your tissue paper squares all over your bowl, covering the bottom and sides of the bowl completely. You might to add a little more glue to corners of tissue paper that are still sticking up.
  • Let your glue dry completely.
  • Use your scissors to poke a small hole in the center of your paper bowl. Push the string through the hole, tie a knot in the end and tape it down inside the bowl.
  • Cut multiple ribbons or yarn for the tentacles. Attach 8-10 "tentacles" to the bottom of the bowl with tape. Position it so it hangs down from the center of the bowl.
  • Finish your cute and colorful jellyfish craft by gluing on googly eyes or drawing on eyes with markers.

SALTY SCIENCE: FLOATING EGG IN WATER

Materials:

  • Egg
  • ½ cup of salt
  • Measuring cup
  • Water
  • Large container such as cooking pot or bowl
  • 5 cups that hold at least 16 ounces each
  • Tape
  • Marker

Preparation:

  • Pour 1-1/2 cups of water into your large container.
  • Add one half cup of salt to the large container and stir to dissolve some of the salt (it will not all dissolve yet).
  • Add one more cup of water to the large container (making two and one half cups total) and stir to dissolve the remaining salt. The salt should be completely dissolved before you go on to the next step. It may take several (five to 10) minutes of stirring, so you may need to be patient. Question: Why do you think it's important to start out with a solution that has such a high concentration of salt?
  • Arrange the five cups on a surface, going in a line from left to right.
  • Label the cups 1 to 5. If you are using plastic cups, you can use a permanent marker to label them. If you are using nondisposable cups, you can use masking tape and a pen to label them.

Procedure:

  • Add 3/4 cup of the salty solution you prepared to cup 1.
  • Add 3/4 cup of plain tap water to cups 2 through 5. (Cup 5 will be plain tap water.)
  • Add 3/4 cup of the salty solution you prepared to cup 2 and mix it. Question: What is the salt concentration in cup two compared with cup one?
  • Add 3/4 cup of the salt solution from cup 2 to cup 3 and mix it. Question: What is the salt concentration in cup 3 compared with cups 1 and 2?
  • Add 3/4 cup of the salt solution from cup 3 to cup 4 and mix it. Question: What is the salt concentration in cup 4 compared with the other cups?
  • Use a soup spoon to place an egg in cup 5. Question: Does the egg float?
  • Use the spoon to take the egg out and place it in cup 4. Question: Does the egg float?
  • Repeat this process with cups 3, 2 and then 1. Questions: In which cup does the egg first float? If the egg floated in more than one cup, did you notice any difference in how it floated? What does this tell you about the density of the egg?

EXTRA CREDIT!

  • In this science activity you figured out, within a factor of two, how much salt it takes to float an egg. You could narrow down the range further by testing additional saltwater solutions to try and determine the egg’s density. To do this, start your solution with the salt concentration in which the egg first floated and make a new dilution series, as you did before. Now in which cup does the egg first float? What does this tell you about the density of the egg?
  • Repeat this activity using several more eggs, possibly both hard-boiled and uncooked eggs. Do you get the same results with other eggs or is there some variation between different eggs? For testing hard-boiled versus raw eggs, you should test the same egg, first raw and then after hard-boiling it to investigate any differences.
  • Find out how much salt there is in seawater. From the results of your activity, do you think an egg would float or sink in seawater?

jokes and trivia

BE THE ENTERTAINER

kids laughing

Jokes:

  1. What did Cinderella wear when she swam in the ocean?
  2. What kind of hair do oceans have?
  3. How do you make an octopus laugh?
  4. What is the most popular TV show in the ocean?

See answers below

Trivia:

  • The largest coral reef in the world is located off the Australian cost and is called the Great Barrier Reef.
  • Oceans and seas cover more than 71% of the Earth’s surface.
  • There are mountains and volcanoes on the bottom of oceans.
  • The deepest point in the ocean is called the Mariana Trench.
  • The biggest animal in the ocean is the blue whale.

OCEAN ACTIVITIES

OCEAN FUN

Check out these 21 ocean activities and crafts for kids on the Little Bins for Little Hands website.

Ocean Voices

Visit Ocean Voices — (https://halseyburgund.com/ov/info.php) — and listen to other people of all ages speak about their connection to the ocean or speak about your own connection to the ocean. Share your voice and spread of the words of others around globe about ocean conservation.

FAMILY WORD WORKOUTS

word gameOur Y families are staying active and having fun with Family Word Workouts. Each letter of the alphabet represents a different exercise! This week, we're challenging you to an ocean-going workout every day:

Our Y families are staying active and having fun with Family Word Workouts. Each letter of the alphabet represents a different exercise! This week, we're challenging you to an ocean-going workout every day:

  • Monday: STINGRAY
  • Tuesday: ANENOME
  • Wednesday: OCTOPUS
  • Thursday: DOLPHIN
  • Friday: BIOLUMINESCENCE

Check our social channels (@YMCASanDiego) for the Family Word Workout. Each letter of the alphabet represents a different exercise Look for new, get-you-moving words throughout the week. Download your alphabet workout sheet.

FLIP FOR GYMNASTICS!

gymnasticsY Kids are having fun learning gymnastics tricks and practicing skills with coaches from our branches through our new YMCA of San Diego Gymnastics Facebook group. You can get in on the fun, too! Take part in weekly challenges (like handstands and pushups); learn skills (like parkour and balance beam) and get access to crafts, puzzles and more. Note: A Facebook account is required to participate in this private group.

Also, check our social channels (@YMCASANDIEGO) throughout the week for more get-you-moving words. Download your alphabet workout sheet.

JOKE ANSWERS:

  1. Glass flippers
  2. Wavy
  3. With TEN-ticles
  4. "Whale of Fortune"

Check out every issue of Kids News!
April 6: It's a Jungle Out There
April 13: Harry Potter Edition
April 20: Earth Day Edition