Children's Weekly Challenges

Week 6-Ultimate Treasure

Complete 2 of the following activities to achieve your Week 6 activity quest badge in Beanstack.

Create

Create: Imagine a Dragon: Everyone knows what a dragon looks like, or do they? Imagine your own dragon and draw it. It can be any color. It can have two legs or four. It can have wings, breathe fire, be enormous, or not! This is your dragon. Feel free to share your creation on our social media pages or email them to rebeccafeirer@lakemills.lib.wi.us.

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Craft

Craft: Wizard Hat: Supplies: -Construction Paper -Stars and Moons (cut out of paper or use stickers) -Pencil and string OR compass -Scissors -Glue -Ruler. Draw a half circle on construction paper using a compass or a pencil tied to a string. The radius of your circle should be around 11 inches.. Cut out the half circle. Bring the two ends of the half circle together to create a cone. Adjust the cone so it fits your head. Staple, tape, or glue the cone at the seam. To make a brim for your hat, cut short fringes of equal length approximately 1 inch apart along the base of the cone. Fold out the fringes. Measure the diameter of the inside of your cone. Mark the length of the diameter on your construction paper. Mark the midpoint of the diameter as well. With a compass anchored at the midpoint, or a pencil tied to a string, draw a circle following the end points of the diameter. With a compass still anchored at the midpoint, or a pencil tied to a string, draw a larger circle to define the brim. Cut out the big circle as well as the inner circle to come up with the brim. Test the brim's fit on your cone. The brim should fit perfectly and lay flat against the cone's bottom fringes. Remove the brim and apply glue around the hole. Insert the brim from the top of the cone. Press on the edges around the brim's hole to glue the fringes in place. Decorate the hat with moon and star stickers or cut out some paper shapes. Decorate them with glitter if you like. Allow them to dry completely before gluing them all around your wizard hat. This craft is a little complicated, but worth it for the awesome hat you get when you are finished. For pictures that go along with each step, and more detailed instructions, check out this website: https://www.firstpalette.com/craft/wizard-hat.html.

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STEAM

STEAM: Hansel and Gretel Candy House: Supplies: -Playdough (If you don't have playdough make your own--See the Kitchen Science activity for this week) -Cardboard -Glue or Tape -Candy, Lego bricks, or other decorations. Construct a house out of cardboard, cover it in playdough and decorate it with candy or items that look like candy (legos, pom poms, pipe cleaners, buttons). How will you build your cardboard house? Cut the pieces out and figure out how to connect them together. Do you need a base to keep the house standing up? Are there other materials that would help your house be more sturdy? When you are ready, build your cardboard house. Once your house is sturdy, cover it in playdough. Then you can decorate your house with candy! Was it difficult to build a house that was sturdy enough to stand up on its own? Did you need to use materials other than cardboard. Did covering your house with playdough and candy make your house fall over? How did you fix it? What could you do differently next time? Could you build a house out of playdough without using the cardboard as a base? Does the playdough stand up on its own? Is there another material that might help the playdough stand up? Before decorating with candy, roll a dice, use the number on the dice to tell you how much of each type of candy to put on.

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Watch Miss Becca read "Hansel and Gretel" from the book A Treasury of Fairy Tales before beginning your STEAM challenge.

Kitchen Science

Kitchen science: Playdough: Supplies: -1 Cup Flour -1/4 Cup Salt -3/4 Cup Water MINUS 3 Tbs. -3 Tbs Lemon Juice -1 Tbs Cooking Oil -2 Packets Kool-Aid (Optional for fragrance and coloring. Measure the water and lemon juice into a heatproof, microwavable 2-cup measuring cup. Heat in the microwave until just boiling, about three minutes. Mix together the flour and salt. If using Kool Aid, slowly (the mixture will foam a bit) pour the kool-aid packets into the HOT water and lemon juice mixture and add additional food coloring to intensify the color if desired. Slowly pour the liquid into the flour and salt mixture, and stir with a wooden paddle until it just barely begins to form a dough. Drizzle the tablespoon of cooking oil over the dough and stir again until it forms a ball. At this point, you may want to knead the dough with your hands. It may feel a bit sticky, but DO NOT add more flour. As the dough cools it will thicken and become less sticky. Once the dough is completely cooled, you may add flour a tablespoon at a time until it is the perfect consistency. This recipe makes a small batch. Each batch makes just a bit over one cup of play dough. If you want to do rainbow colors like the above photo, you will have to make several batches with different colors of Kool-Aid/food coloring.

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Week 5-Moment of Despair

Complete 2 of the following activities to achieve your Week 5 activity quest badge in Beanstack.

Create

Create: We've started the pictures for you, can you finish them? Click below for your starting images. If you don't want to finish the images, just create your own doodles. Feel free to share your creations on our social media pages or email them to rebeccafeirer@lakemills.lib.wi.us.

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Craft

Craft: Fairy House: -White Paper Cups -Colored Pencils -Markers -Cardstock or Construction Paper -Red and White Felt (Optional) -Glue -Scissors. Use a black marker to draw a door and windows on your paper cup. Add more color and details to your cup with colored pencils-Use brown to create a wood feel or green to make it mossy. Use a small plate to trace a circle on your cardstock or construction paper. Cut out the circle and then cut out a line to the center of the circle. Roll the two sides of your circles inward to create a cone. Staple or tape the edges in place. If you don't have felt, color and decorate the cardstock to look like a toadstool. If you do have felt, lay your cone onto your red felt and cut out a circle slightly larger than the cone. Cut a line to the center of your felt. Then glue the felt to the cardstock cone. Cut the edges of your felt in a wavy line to look like a toadstool. Stick your roof to your paper cup with tape or glue. Add finishing touches like a chimney or vines. Optional: To make your house light up put a battery operated tea light under your cup.

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STEAM

STEAM: Little Red Riding Hood's Basket: -Straws -Pipe Cleaners (Optional) -Craft Sticks -String/Yarn -Tape -Rubber Bands -Scissors -Weights (can use anything---coins, washers, ect.). Construct a basket out of the materials provided. (If you don't have these exact materials, find other things around your house that you can create with). What materials will work best to make the basket? How can you combine materials to make the basket sturdy? Make a drawing of your ideas before building. When you are ready, build your basket! After you have built your basket, place weight inside while you are holding the handle. How much weight can your basket hold? Did your basket work like you thought it would? What worked best in your plan? What would you change if you built it again? Why? How could you get your basket to hold more weight? Build another basket. Use other materials this time. What materials can you find around your house to build with? Which materials do you think will work the best? Why? Can you make a bigger basket? What about a really small basket? Which one is easier to make? Which one holds more weight?

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Watch Miss Becca read "Little Red Riding Hood" from the book Yummy by Lucy Cousins before beginning your STEAM challenge.

Kitchen Science

Kitchen science: Bubble Lamp in a Bag: -Food Coloring -Sandwich bag -Water -1.5 Cups Vegetable Oil or Baby Oil -Antacid Tablet (containing active ingredients of 1000mg citric acid and 1916mg sodium bicarbonate) -Highlighter and Paper Towel (Optional). Pour the ½ cup of water into a sandwich bag (avoid filling the bag beyond half its size). Add two to three drops of food coloring and mix together. Pour 1½ cups of oil into the bag (avoid filling the bag beyond half its size) and firmly seal the bag. Observe what happens to the oil and the water. Which substance floats to the top? Break one antacid tablet into pieces (only use one tablet at a time). Drop the pieces into the bag. You made a bubble lamp! As the bubbles rise, they give a temporary lift to the water. As the bubbles burst at the surface, the water falls back down. To create a glowing bubble lamp, make fluorescent water with a highlighter. Use the highlighter (yellow or green work best) to color a paper towel sheet until it’s completely covered. Soak the colored sheet in a ½ cup of water for 15 seconds, until all the color has been absorbed by the water and the towel is almost inkless. Remove and wring out the paper towel to get as much of the ink into the water as you can. Now repeat Steps 1-3with the highlighter water in place of the food coloring water.

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Week 4-Enter the Dragon's Lair

Complete 2 of the following activities to achieve your Week 4 activity quest badge in Beanstack.

Create

Create: write a fractured tale. What is your favorite fairy tale or folk tale? Three Little Pigs? Cinderella? The Gingerbread Man? Pick your favorite and rewrite it as if you were the main character. What would you do differently? Would it still be in the same place, like a castle, or would it be at your house or apartment? Will the ending be the same?

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Craft

Craft: Fire Breathing Dragon. Supplies: -Toilet paper tube -4 Green pom poms (Optional) -Green paint OR Green construction Paper -2 Googly eyes (Optional) -Glue -Red, yellow, and orange streamers, tissue paper, or construction paper. Paint your tube green OR cut a piece of construction paper to fit the tube and glue the paper around the tube to cover it. Glue two pom poms on one side of the tube for eyes and two pom poms on the other side for nostrils. If you don't have pom poms, use construction paper. Add googly eyes to your pom poms or use construction paper and markers to create eyes. Tape red, yellow, and orange streamers into the dragons mouth. Blow into the dragon to make it "breathe fire!"

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STEAM

STEAM: The Three Little Pigs. Supplies: -Straws OR paper cut into strips -Craft Sticks OR sticks from your yard -Legos OR Building Blocks -Hair dryer OR Fan. Construct a house for each pig. The straw house can be made out of straws or paper cut into strips. The stick house can be made out of sticks found in your yard or craft sticks. The brick house can be made out of legos or building blocks. Think about the best way to build each of these houses. If you want to, you can research some construction techniques online. Make a drawing of all three of your houses before you construct them. Build your three houses. Which was the most difficult to construct? Why? Were you able to follow your drawing? Why or why not? First try to blow each house over using just your breath. If a house is still standing, try to blow it over using a fan or blow dryer. Are any of your houses still standing? Was there a house that withstood more wind than you thought it would? What would you change if you created these houses again? What other materials can you find around your house to build with? Construction paper, cardboard, egg cartons? Try blowing these houses over. What materials can you build with outside? Sticks, mud, grass, leaves? Can you blow these houses over?

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Watch Miss Becca read "The Three Little Pigs" from the book Yummy by Lucy Cousins before beginning your STEAM challenge.

Kitchen Science

Kitchen science: Rainbow Rubber eggs Supplies -Food Coloring -6 Jars -Vinegar -Spoon -Measuring Cup Step 1 Fill each container about 1/2 full of vinegar. Add about 10 drops of food coloring to each jar. Make each jar a different color of the rainbow. Step 2 Carefully place a raw egg inside each jar. Let the eggs sit for about 48-72 hours in the vinegar. Step 3 Optional: Try putting other eggs in different liquids to see if they produce a different or similar reaction. Step 4 When the surface of the water has a weird scummy film, the eggs are ready to come out. Remove the eggs from the jars and rinse them in water. The egg should be completely whole, but soft! Step 5 Gently roll and bounce the eggs and watch what happens! Step 6 When you are done playing with the eggs, break them open. You might be surprised to see that the egg yolk is still yellow! The high protein content of the yolk prevents the egg's cells from absorbing the colored liquid that is absorbed by the rest of the egg. where did the shell go? Did you know that inside of every egg shell is a membrane holding the “guts” of the egg in place? This membrane is located between the egg shell and the egg white. The membranes protect the growing chick from exposure to bacteria, In this experiment, the vinegar eats through the egg's calcium shell, but cannot dissolve the egg’s membrane. The egg membrane is strong, which is how you can gently play with and bounce the egg without breaking it. Source: https://www.steamsational.com/rainbow-naked-eggs-experiment/

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Week 3-Tests of Endurance

Complete 2 of the following activities to achieve your Week 3 activity quest badge in Beanstack.

Craft

Craft: Egg Carton Frog Prince.-Egg Carton -White, yellow, and red paper -Black and green paint (or markers) -Scissors -Glue. Cut 2 cups from a recycled egg carton and trim them so they fit together and lay flat. Paint or color the egg carton cups green and let them dry. Cut out a tongue, eyes, a bow tie, a crown, and any other accessories you would like on your frog. Dip the end of your paintbrush in black paint and use it to put two dots of black paint under the eyes. Set the egg carton cups on top of each other (you can glue them together of leave them apart). Glue all of the other pieces on your frog. Source: https://www.craftymorning.com/egg-carton-frog-prince-craft-for-kids/

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STEAM

STEAM: Three Billy Goats Gruff. -Legos or Lego Duplos -Construction Paper -Scissors -Tape -Small, Medium, and Large Billy Goat (Print out picture or draw pictures). The Three Billy Goats need to cross the bridge, but is it strong enough to hold all three of them? Construct a bridge out of Legos and construction paper that can bring all 3 Billy Goats safely across the water. Build 3 block stacks: Small, medium, and large. Tape each goat onto the stack that matches its size. Use the internet to look at examples of bridges. Are there different kinds? What kind do you think will work best? Think about the bridge you are going to build. Make a sketch of it before you begin. When you are ready, build your bridge using Legos as the base and paper for the bridge. Set your goats on your bridge one at a time. Does it hold up? How can you make your paper stronger? How does your bridge need to change for each goat? Build a bridge using only Legos. Or try building a bridge with carboard. Which materials work the best? Why? See how much weight your bridge can hold. Can it hold all three billy goats at the same time?

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Watch Miss Becca read "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" from the book Yummy by Lucy Cousins before beginning your STEAM challenge.

Kitchen Science

Kitchen science: Oobleck Dough. -Dish Soap -Cornstarch -Small mixing bowl -Spoon. Mix 1 Tbs of dish soap and 1 tsp of cornstarch.Mix and explore the consistency of the mixture. Does it flow like a liquid? Is it powdery like cornstarch? Can you stretch it? Break it? Play around with the consistency until it feels like oobleck dough, a thick syrupy consistency that seems to be a solid when you touch it with a lot of force. You can stop here, or, keep adding cornstarch until you get a pliable dough. Add more dish soap if it gets too dry. Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid, a fancy name for a material that changes viscosity (thickness) with pressure. Give it hard push, it feels solid. Be more gentle, and it flows like a liquid. Oobleck and slime are examples of shear-thickening non-Newtonian fluids, meaning they get thicker with more pressure. Nail polish and ketchup are examples of shear thinning non-Newtonian fluids, meaning they get thinner with pressure. Oobleck got its name from a Dr. Seuss book called "Bartholomew and the Oobleck." It’s a story about a gooey substance that falls from the sky because the king is bored with normal weather.  

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Week 2-Crossing the Threshold

Complete 2 of the following activities to achieve your Week 2 activity quest badge in Beanstack.

Create

Gather up all the recycled materials you can find around your house and create something! You can use toilet paper tubes, cardboard boxes, plastic containers, egg cartons, and all sorts of other supplies. Feel free to share your creations on our social media pages or email them to rebeccafeirer@lakemills.lib.wi.us.

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Craft

Craft: knight shield-Cardboard or Empty Cereal Box -Tin Foil (optional) -Construction paper, paint, markers, and other items to decorate with -Scissors -Glue or tape. Draw the shape of a shield onto something study you can cut, like cardboard or a cereal box. Cut out the cardboard shape. Optional: Put Tin Foil around the edge of the shield and secure it with glue. Decorate your shield using construction paper, markers, paint, or anything else you can find. To attach a handle to the back of the shield, use a strip of leftover cardboard or cereal box. Attach the handle with tape or glue.

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STEAM

STEAM: Rapunzel's Tower. -Pencils or craft sticks -Tape -Index Cards -Construction Paper -Rapunzel (Print out a picture, draw a picture, or use an action figure to represent Rapunzel). Construct the tallest tower you can out of the materials provided. Use the internet to look at examples of towers. What do you notice about them? Think about the tower you are going to build. Make a sketch of it before you begin. When you are ready, build your tower! If it doesn't work the first time try again! Place Rapunzel on top of the tower when you are done. Make sure your tower can hold her. If you really want a challenge, tape some coins to Rapunzel for added weight.

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Watch Miss Becca Read "Rapunzel" by Natalie Hinrichsen before beginning your STEAM challenge.

Kitchen Science

Salt Dough Dragon Eggs. -1 Cup Flour -1/2 Cupt Salt -1/2 Cup Water -Rolling Pin -Ruler -Egg Shape Cutter -Straw for making holes-Baking sheets -Parchment paper -Spray or acrylic paint -Paint pens (optional) -Clear coat sealer (optional) -Twine or ribbon. To make the salt dough, stir together flour, salt, and water until a dough forms. Kneading the dough a couple times can help make it smoother. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 in. thick and cut out egg shapes (you can use any cookie cutter and cut out any shape you want). Place the eggs on a parchment covered baking sheet. Use the straw to poke a hole in the top of the egg if you plan to hang it like an ornament. Bake at 250 for 2 hours. Once the shapes are baked, dried, and cooled, you can paint them using spray paint or acrylic paint.

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Week 1-Call to Adventure

Complete 2 of the following activities to achieve your Week 1 activity quest badge in Beanstack.

Create

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Craft

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STEAM

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Watch Miss Becca Read "Jack and the Beanstalk" by Gavin Scott before beginning your STEAM challenge.

Kitchen Science

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