Monthly Archives: July 2011

Outdoor Summer Movies – DC Screen on the Green

From About.com

Screen on the Green is a favorite Washington, DC summer tradition. Bring a blanket to the National Mall on a warm night and watch a classic film on a gigantic movie screen. Films are shown on Monday nights beginning at dusk, around 8:30-9:00 p.m. People start to claim their spots on the lawn as early as 5 p.m. Movies play except in extreme weather and there are no rain days.

ScreenontheGreenScreen on the Green 2011

Mondays, July 25 – August 15

Movie Schedule

  • July 25 – In the Heat of the Night
  • August 1 – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
  • August 8 – Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
  • August 15 – Cool Hand Luke

Location
National Mall between 8th and 14th Streets, Washington DC.

Transportation and Parking
The best way to get to the National Mall is by Metro. The closest stations are Archives/Navy Memorial, Smithsonian and L’Enfant Plaza. Public parking is very limited in this part of the city. On-street parking in Washington, DC is restricted during the evening rush hour. Read more about parking near the National Mall.

Screen on the Green Hotline: 1-877-262-5866

Soccer Charity Event – July 31

soccerIf the ticket price for the Manchester United vs. FC Barcelona exceeds your budget, consider attending the Mia Hamm Celebrity Soccer Tournament on Sunday, July 31, 2011 at  10am.  The game will be played at the Kastles Stadium at the Wharf at 800 Water Street, SW, Washington, DC.  The cost of the event is $25 .

Click Here for all the details. You can pay online and to print a ticket at home.   This might be your best chance to meet some soccer stars and a few other celebrities.

**If you get a picture of yourself with a celebrity, send it to me and I will post it on the blog.**

July 24 is Amelia Earhart Day

amelia earhartJuly 24 is Amelia Earhart Day

Amelia Earhart became the first person, man or woman, to fly solo across the pacific. Another famous flight was her nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic in 1932, the first for a woman.

College Park Aviation Museum is a great place to take the kids for hands-on learning about aviation. Visit their website for hours and upcoming events.

Paper Plate Sundial

From the National Wildlife Federation website:

Many years ago people had to use the sun to tell him. Learn how people told time before the invention of watches and clocks by making a sun clock.

Paper plate Sundial

What you need:

  • paper plate
  • plastic straw
  • sharpened pencil
  • crayons
  • ruler
  • pushpins

What you do:

  1. Start this project on a sunny day just before noon.
  2. Use the pencil to poke a hole through the very center of the paper plate. Write the number 12 on the edge of the plate with a crayon. Using the ruler as a guide, draw a straight line from the number 12 to the hole in the center of the plate.
  3. At noon, take the plate and the straw outside. Put the plate on the ground and poke the straw through the hole. Slant the straw toward the line you drew. Now carefully turn the plate so that the shadow of the straw falls along the line to the number 12.
  4. Fasten the plate to the ground with some pushpins. Have your child predict where he/she thinks that the shadow of the straw will be pointing in one hour.
  5. One hour later, at one o’clock, check the position of the shadow along the edge of the plate and write the number 1 on that spot. Continue each hour predicting the position and then checking and marking the actual position and time on the edge of the plate.
  6. At the end of the day you and your child will have a sun clock. On the next sunny afternoon you will be able to tell time by watching where the shadow of the straw falls on your clock.

Note: Observation, prediction and communication are all very important science skills. This activity helps to develop them. Be sure to have your child talk about why he/she thinks the shadow is moving.

Photo: NWF

Summer Safety Reminders

summer_logoDehydration The little ones, especially, forget to drink or to tell you that they need to drink. If you find the children not looking well and/or getting cranky toward the afternoon, it might be because they’re tired, or it might be because they’re dehydrated. Remember: By the time a person feels thirsty, he’s already partly dehydrated, so drink to prevent thirst, not to quench it. Common symptoms of dehydration are crankiness, headaches, aches in the joints and weariness. And don’t allow your child to fill up on juice or soft drinks; these are dehydrators. Water or child-appropriate hydrating drinks are best.

However, if you or your child has severe dehydration (dry mouth, sunken eyes, reluctant to drink, unable to pee or cry, high fever, lethargy), call for emergency help and have your child sip an electrolyte-replacement fluid (such as Pedialyte).

Hot Cars: Don’t EVER leave children alone in the car — not even for a moment. Besides the danger of abduction, the temperature in a car can skyrocket in minutes. And, if you see an unattended young child in a vehicle, please call 911, the police or other emergency personnel. Your call could save the child’s life.

Drowning: Always actively supervise children in and around water. Infants and children can drown in bathtubs, swimming pools, ponds or almost any other water. Toddlers aren’t strong enough to lift themselves back out of a toilet, bucket, container or wading pool.

Sun Protection: Children’s skin and eyes are more sensitive to ultraviolet rays. Babies should be protected from direct sun entirely. Toddlers, preschoolers and older children should be covered well in sunscreen (SPF 30 or higher) at least one half hour before going out in the sun. Sunscreen should be reapplied every hour or so, and it should be reapplied after the child has been in water. Don’t forget ears, hands, feet, lips and under the eyes. Also, make sure your child wears a hat and sunglasses when out in the sun for any length of time.

Make Your Own Ice Cream

July 18th is National Ice Cream Day! Celebrate by enjoying a few scoops of your favorite flavor or by making your own ice cream at home. Here is a simple recipe. You can change it up by adding a little chocolate syrup, a few chocolate chips, or using a flavoring other than vanilla.

mixinbagIn a quart size zipper baggie, combine…
1 cup of whole milk or half and half
2 tablespoons of sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

In a gallon size zipper baggie…
Fill ½ way with ice cubes
Add 1/3 cup of rock salt (if you don’t have rock salt you can use table salt or kosher salt)

Seal the small baggie carefully and place the inside of the large bag. Seal the large bag and shake the bags until you can see the mixture thickening (about 5 minutes.) It will be cold to hold, so you may want to carefully pass it back and forth between yourself and a partner.  Remove the small baggie and wipe the top off (to remove salt water,) unzip and enjoy!

Air Quality Alerts

Are you familiar with the Air Quality Index? Do you know what it means when you hear on the weather forecast or news that it will be a code orange or code red day? It’s a good idea to learn what these codes mean. Discuss the codes with your host parents, so you know when it’s a good day to take the kids outdoors and when it would be best to find indoor activities, due to poor air quality.

aci graphic

Here is a website where you can check on air quality in your area.

National Blueberry Month

blueberries

July is Blueberry Month. It’s a great time to pick blueberries and prepare blueberry treats with your kids! In Maryland, blueberries are normally ready to pick in July.

Check on this website for Pick Your Own Farms in our area. They have them listed by county.

Easy Blueberry Cobbler Recipe

½ stick of butter or margarine
¾ cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup of milk
1 pint blueberries (rinsed and drained)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt butter and pour into a 3 quart casserole baking dish. Mix sugar, flour and milk. Pour over the butter, but do not mix. Pour the blueberries on top, but do not mix.  Bake at 350 degrees F for one hour.  Serve with or without ice cream. Enjoy!

Great Online Map of NYC

I just saw this website and thought it would be great if you are planning a trip to NYC. I don’t see a map of Washington, DC available. But, they do offer other cities such as Boston and San Francisco.

What I find interesting is that you can view the city like you would a mall directory. You can see what stores, restaurants and buildings are along the streets.

Check it out here: http://www.citymaps.com/

CityMaps

Au Pair Contest: First au pair in my cluster to email me (or send me a message on Facebook) with the name of their favorite U.S. city to visit will win a prize. Contest is closed – The winner is Tina!!!