Educational Enrichment Summer 2021 Special COVID-19 Addition No school should not mean “no learning.” Keep your kids active physically and mentally this summer by providing them fun, interesting, and educational things to do. This summer enrichment guide has 3 major parts: summer theme suggestions (this year focusing on the out-of-doors and fun at home), websites to find activities and events over the summer months, and suggested destinations within a 2 ½-3 hour radius of St. Thomas More. We are already planning ways to have fun over the summer. Joe has chosen a Hiking theme (our outdoor focus) and Michael has chosen Cooking (fun at home). Hopefully this guide will help your family do the same! Julie Esposito ([email protected]) Summer Theme Ideas Joe informed me six years ago that he wanted to study fossils. Michael, not wanting to be outdone, promptly said that if Joe got to study fossils, he wanted to study bones. Thus was born our new tradition of summer themes. Each child choses a topic and we look for books, websites, activities, events, destinations, and adventures centered around the theme. Other themes we have explored included gardens, forts, insects, airplanes & aviation, astronomy & the night sky, archeology, games, international, and Indians. Here are some of the ways we accomplish this: Check-out and read library books on the chosen topic(s) Search the web for videos and kid-friendly websites Have family discussion on topics related to the theme and family game nights Attend programs/activities offered locally for kids that fit in with the theme Visit places in town or as day trips to the surrounding area that fit the theme Look for ways to incorporate the theme in our vacation travel plans Plan cooking/dining experiences around the theme COVID-19: Did you know that in all the countries tracking COVID-19 outbreaks, there has been only one major identified outbreak outdoors? 90% of outbreak incidents took place in homes, workplaces, restaurants, and indoor gatherings (i.e. parties, religious services, and indoor sporting events). The moral: Get Outside! Below are some summer theme ideas for your family to consider. Here are the 30 themes from previous summers, along with two news themes for 2021—Hiking and Cooking (the themes my boys have chosen!). All themes have been updated with 2021 dates, and things are finally starting to open up again after 14 months of COVID cancellations and closures. I also tried to add some more web sites this year (always an ongoing goal). I tried to provide ideas for SAFE family fun! Be sure to check that museums and sites are open—some are still closed due to COVID, but more will open after June 2nd. 2021 New Themes Hiking Great spots for a short near-by hike: o Cincinnati Nature Center (Rowe Woods and Long Branch Farm)—consider a membership o Sycamore Park, Batavia and adjacent Wilson Nature Preserve o Woodland Mound Park, Anderson Twsp. o Johnson Hills Park, Anderson Twsp. o Shor Park on Tealtown Rd. o Pattison Park, Owensville o Batavia Township Park o East Fork State Park o Stonelick State Park o Withrow Nature Preserve, Anderson Twsp o California Nature Preserve, California, OH o Stanberry Park, Mt. Washington Great near-by hikes: o Yellow Springs, OH . John Bryan State Park . Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve . Glen Helen Nature Center o Caesar Creek State Park—take the Horseshoe Falls trail and look for fossils at the spillway o Cowan Lake State Park—see the Lotus Flowers in July o Hamilton County Parks—Miami Whitewater Forest, Winton Woods, Sharon Woods, Shawnee Lookout, Mitchell Memorial Forest, Glenwood Gardens o Edge of Appalachia Buzzard’s Roost Rock (Adams Co.) o Devou Park, Covington, KY o Cincinnati Metro Parks: Ault Park, Mt. Airy Forest, French Park o Bender Mountain Nature Preserve, Delhi o Caldwell Nature Preserve, Finneytown o Clifty Falls State Park, Indiana o Indian Mound Reserve Park, Greene County, OH o Gilmore MetroPark, Hamilton, OH o Burlington, KY . Boone Cliffs . Middle Creek Park . Dinsmore Woods . Gunpowder Creek Nature Park o Big Bone Lick State Park, Union, KY o Doe Run Lake Park, Covington, KY o A.J. Jolly Park, Alexandria, KY o Tower Park, Ft. Thomas, KY o Buttercup Valley Nature Preserve, Northside o Hueston Woods State Park Fun Day-Long or Weekend Trips o Hocking Hills o Buzzard’s Roost Nature Preserve, Chillicothe, OH o Red River Gorge (yes, we still go there even after losing Michael!) o Natural Bridge State Resport Park, KY o Carter Caves State Resort Park, KY o Mohican State Park o Bernheim Memorial Forest o Berea Pinnacles, Berea, KY o Jessamine Creek Gorge, Nicholasville, KY o Shaker Village, Harrodsburg, KY o Big South Fork—Kentucky/Tennessee border Want fun and exciting hiking activities to keep younger children engaged on a hike, Email me at [email protected]. I’ll send you my trail activity cards that I put together when my kids were little (we still use the games and themes when we hike!) Plan a progressive lunch or dinner on a trail—pack re-closable drink bottles and meal items that are easily eaten on a trail. Find a different scenic stop to eat each “course” of your progressive meal. Plan a scavenger hunt hike—email me if you need a game board, or make up your own! Take a family treasure hunt hike (requires participation of at least 2 adults)—Prepare a treasure ahead of time, then select a loop trail. Split your group in half with each group going in opposite ways around the loop. Hide your treasure and draw a map as you work toward meeting in the middle. Exchange maps and continue on, now looking for the treasure the other group hid! Participate in a hiking event at the Cincinnati Nature Center https://calendar.cincynature.org o Make a hiking stick o Participate in the Hike for Your Health Passport Program—record your hikes on all of the Cincinnati Nature Center trails and win prizes o Participate in a guide group themed hike (many to choose from) o Participate in a Trail Yoga program Hike to a waterfall (see Waterfall theme below)—wear your Keenes so that you can wade in the water and cool off! Pack watercolors and paper—hike to a scenic overlook and pain the scene. Take a field guide along—how many trees/birds/insects etc. can you identify on your hike? Plan a cool post-hike treat—scout out the nearest ice cream shop before leaving home. Our favorite: Young’s Dairy in Yellow Springs, OH Traveling this summer? Plan a hike as part of your vacation. It is a great way to experience nature in a different habitat. Cooking Spend time in the kitchen at the beginning of the summer covering the basics of cooking: following a recipe, kitchen hygiene, basic units of measure, knife/stove/oven safety, kitchen appliance use, etc. Make sure to make some fun foods, so your kids enjoy these basic lessons! Consider signing your budding chef up for a cooking class: https://ohparent.com/best-kids- cooking-classes-in-cincinnati/ Or tryout an online program: https://www.thespruceeats.com/best-online-cooking-classes-for- kids-5073859 Take older kids with you to Dream Dinners in Anderson Town Center. Let them help you measure everything out for your pre-prepped meals. Then have fun cooking the meals together. Choose a different focus each week. Examples may include: appetizers, desserts, campfire cooking, grilling, crock pot cooking, pressure cooker cooking, etc. Explore kids cooking activities online. Choose your favorite activities to try in your home “test kitchen.” https://www.kids-cooking-activities.com/ Cook out: plan a dinner at a park or campsite cooked over a wood or charcoal fire. Try stick cookery, foil packet cooking, or putting the vented can of beans or beef stew right in the hot coals (cook until it bubbles up through the vents!)—don’t forget the s’mores!!! Create a Family Cookbook or Recipe File (digital or printed) with your families favorite recipes Plan at least one day a week to cook together as a family. Grow vegetables or herbs in a garden or in containers—incorporate your fresh produce in your cooking. Find a themed cookbook that appeals to your kids—Harry Potter, Disney, Minecraft, etc. Purchase the book or check it out of the library. Let your kids choose their favorite recipe and prepare it! Practice culinary calculating and conversions—double or triple a recipe and work on fractions and multiplication. For younger kids, use measuring cups and pitchers of water colored with food coloring to practice measuring and explore the relationship between tea spoons, tablespoons, and the standard measuring cups. Visit Jungle Jims and choose a unique ingredient that you have never tried before—incorporate it in your cooking. Have a family cook-off: divide your family into teams and have them compete (on different nights or different weeks) to see who can put the tastiest, fanciest, or (name your own superlative) meal on the table. Cook culinary dishes typically served in other countries. o Try a different international dish each week. (Do it from home!) o Try an international culinary kids kit from www.eat2explore.com ($25) (Do it from home!) Experience food and cooking from past eras with one of these events: o An Evening on the Canal at Johnston Farm, Piqua, OH August 7, 2021 https://johnstonfarmohio.com/PDF/Events/2021/2021%20Happenings.pdf o Attend a Period Dinner at the Heritage Village in Sharon Woods August 25, 2021 https://heritagevillagecincinnati.org/events/period-dinner/ Other Themes to Consider—30 Themes with updated Event Dates *Remember to always check that a business