4 minute read
Craft Corner
4th of july water gun artwork
Time to get festive for the 4th with this super-fun, outdoor-messy craft! Get brave and give your kids water guns filled with watered-down paint and a target for them to create fireworks artwork! Take it from me— you’ll want to have more than one canvas ready for them to paint! Get the hose ready to spray the kids off after they’re done with this project! Step one: Start by filling the water guns. You’ll need a solution of about 3/4 paint to 1/4 water or 1/2 paint to 1/2 water, depending on the look you are going for. You can eyeball this and just pour each color and water directly into a separate water gun. Step two: If you want a bit less mess, put the paint and then the water into a plastic bag. Shake or mix the paint and water, cut a corner of the bag and pour into the water gun. Step three: Outside, find a place to prop up your canvas. Step four: Stand back and bravely hand your kids water guns filled with the paint and water mixture! Step five: Watch them create fireworks on the canvas and then probably ask for another canvas to keep painting!
Tip one: Warm outside temperatures will cause the paint and water mixture to dry quickly. You can continue to paint onto the dried canvas, but it will cause the colors to run. Tip two: The more water you use in your paint mixture, the more the colors will run. If you are after more of a firework look, use less water.
Janelle Cumro-Sultzer lives in Overland Park with her husband, son and two dogs. Janelle is a former health care executive director and is a mediator in Kansas, helping families in conflict. Janelle loves to focus on learning through play and getting messy with crafts.
Materials needed:
• White canvas or large posterboard • Little water guns • Red, white and blue paint • Three plastic bags (optional) • Scissors (optional) • Water
PICKING IN KC
July is National Blueberry Month. You’ll find many local u-pick blueberry patches in the area, and our online guide will give you up-to-date information. This is a guide to local blueberry patches and nearby field trips.
PRODUCE PICKING TIPS:
•Call ahead or check the farm’s Facebook page (linked in the status update for each farm) to verify picking times, as they vary from farm to farm. This is a MUST! • Remember comfortable shoes (you will be walking in fields) and wear sunscreen. • Bring bottled water and pack a picnic if the farm allows.
BERRYTON BEST: 2049 SE 61st St., Berryton, KS, 785.633.7374. On the way home from the berry patch, visit Clinton Lake State Park, a popular destination for fishing, picnicking and hiking.
THE BERRY PATCH: 22509 State Line Rd., Cleveland, MO, 816.618.3771. Tip: The largest blueberry patch in the area, they update their phone line with the picking report regularly, so you can visit on the prime picking days. This patch is its own field trip with a playground area, barrel train rides and picnic space.
COLONIAL GARDENS: 27610 E. Wyatt Rd., Blue Springs, 816.229.1277. Visit Burr Oak Woods Nature Center nearby where you can enjoy aquariums, exhibits and nature trails.
GIERINGER’S ORCHARD: 39675 W. 183rd St., Edgerton, KS, 913.893.9626. Visit Lanesfield School Historic Site for a field trip after berry picking.
HAPPY VALLEY FARM 29080 W. 95th, De Soto, 913.706.0370. Go for a hike or spend the afternoon fishing at the nearby Kill Creek Park, home to the 58-foot-tall Russell and Helen Means Observation Tower.
JOHN & LINDA’S U-PICK FARM: 2428 Texas Prairie Rd., Bates City, MO, 816.690.6293. If you follow I-70 a little farther to Odessa, you’ll find One Good Taste cheese store, a shop that sells specialty cheeses from Wisconsin.
OREGON TRAIL FARM: 19022 Santa Fe Trail, Leavenworth, KS, 520.249.0480. Visit one of Kansas’ most unique museums, the C.W. Parker Carousel Museum that tells the story of the man who produced carousels in Leavenworth. Visitors can ride a 1913 Parker carousel there.
SCHWEIZER ORCHARDS: S. Hwy. 169 & FF, St. Joseph, MO, 816.232.3999. The Patee House Museum in St. Joseph is one of the most unique museums in the area with a one-of-a-kind collection of historic artifacts and quirky treasures.
family mad lib
FUN GUIDE
1) Get creative with the list below using your imagination. 2) When you’re done, copy your words into the story blanks at the bottom. 3) Read your mad libs, laugh out loud and share with others.
One _______________________ summer night, _______________________ decided it would be fun to
grill ____________________ in the backyard and serve it with ____________________ and ____________________ .
____________________ thought that the family should play ____________________ . Afterward, everyone put
on ____________________ and played in the ____________________ sprinkler. Even ____________________ joined
in the fun. For dessert, we roasted ____________________ over the fire and told ____________________ stories.
______________________ played the ______________________ while ______________________ sang songs.
____________________ noticed ____________________ lighting up the sky and asked for a ____________________ to
keep them in. Then, we pulled out the ____________________ to look at the stars. It was a ____________________
summer night!
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