Soccer, peach fuzz, blender bikes, fair, and more! Week 7 & 8 update.

Hello! I’m back with some updates on what I’ve been up to. It has been another crazy few weeks, but I’m having a blast!

Week 7

Did you know that you can blend food with a bike? Well, you can! And it is FUN! Monday, I went to Lincoln Elementary Summer School in Mt. Pleasant. We read a book about eating tomatoes, the kids then were able to choose what they wanted to put in salsa and we made it with the blender bike. The kids loved the bike and were amazed by it. My favorite salsa was by the 3rd grade, who decided to put mango in their salsa. So yummy! 

Then in the afternoon, I traveled to Columbus Junction to the Soccer For Success camp at the elementary school. It is great to see how the kids are improving in their skills and learning about healthy eating. 

Have you ever painted with marbles? Well, it is possible! Tuesday, I went to the Mediapolis Library program in Des Moines County. We read a book all about colors. The library made the book a story walk and put the pages in the windows all throughout the storefronts in town. The kids then were able to paint with marbles to discover the different colors and patterns they could make. None of them had ever painted with marbles and it was a hit.

In the afternoon, I traveled to Columbus Junction to the Soccer For Success camp at the elementary school. The kids are learning all about the colors of fruits and vegetables. They are also learning about the difference between fruits and vegetables. For soccer skills, they are learning to pass the ball and how to properly kick the ball further to prevent injury. At camp, they get to play all sorts of different games involving soccer to improve their skills and have fun. 

Wednesday, I went to Soccer For Success camp at the elementary school again. Then on Thursday, I went to Soccer For Success camp at the elementary school. The kids had a few new games they got to play and they learned how to do a scissors kick. They loved learning this new move and had a great time trying to perfect it!

In the evening, I traveled to the Jefferson Street Farmers’ Market in Burlington where we host PoP Club. This week was all about pollinators. The kids got to try peaches and cherries, which were so good! It was quite the experience for some who had never had fresh peaches or cherries before. Some didn’t know what to think of the fuzz on the peaches or the pits in the cherries! They then read a book about pollinators and then got a honey cookie with powdered sugar on top that they used to “pollinate” a fake flower. The honey cookies were so good and went along well with the pollinator theme (since bees are so important!). The kids were also able to play a matching game about different pollinators (insects, birds, bats, etc.) and what particular plants they pollinate. It is great to see all the fresh produce that the kids are buying with their tokens and trying new fruits and vegetables. 

Friday I went to Lee County and we made the story walk boards for the upcoming fair. The book is about a dairy farm and is very educational and interesting for both kids and their parents. It was fun using the Cricut and learning the whole process to create these boards. They turned out great! I am eager to use these at fairs and see families reading and enjoying the story walk!

Week 8

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a fun and safe 4th of July holiday! I know I got a sunburn, but enjoyed the long weekend! 

On Tuesday, we had the last Mediapolis Library Program for the summer. The kids read a book about a cat making pizza to learn about layers and collages in art. They then were able to make their own collage by cutting out pictures in magazines that they felt represented their interests. The kids did great and had a blast looking for what they thought fit their personalities. Since it was the last day of the program, we had pizza for the snack which went perfectly with the theme of layers since pizza has layers! Of course, the kids loved this snack! 

In the afternoon, I traveled to Columbus Junction for the last week of Soccer For Success camp at the elementary school. The kids learned about the grain food group. They also got to learn some new games that they really enjoyed. They continued to improve immensely in their soccer skills. 

Wednesday and Thursday I went to Soccer For Success camp at the elementary school. It was my last day at the camp and it was a little bittersweet to say goodbye to the kids that I had been coaching for the past month. I just hope that they will remember everything they learned about soccer and make healthy eating choices in the future now that they learned all about it! 

Thursday evening, I went to the Jefferson Street Farmers’ Market to host PoP Club. The kids got to try purple carrots (yes I said purple). Some of the kids were hesitant to try a purple carrot since they had never seen one before. And some were eager to try such a bizarre-looking carrot! We also had a scavenger hunt bingo activity for the kids. They had a bingo card that made them go all over the market to find different items. If they got a bingo, they got a prize. The prizes were snap pea-shaped pop-its (a fidget toy that’s really popular with kids). The kids had a blast with the scavenger hunt. 

Friday I got to go to my first fair of the summer. It was kid’s day at the Lee County Fair. There were all sorts of activities for the kids and a ton of free goodies! A lot of the activities were centered around safety. Brooke (Lee County’s summer intern) and I had a booth teaching kids about sunscreen and UV rays. At our booth, kids could make a UV bead bracelet that changes colors from the UV rays. We stressed the importance of sunscreen to protect their skin from the sun’s UV rays. They loved seeing how the beads changed colors. I think the kids thoroughly enjoyed watching a helicopter landing that they got to check out and learn about. We also had the story walk boards up for the entire fair for families to enjoy every day. Overall, it was a great day at the fair and they had great weather! And I got my corndog, so it was a great day!! 

I had a great couple of weeks and I’m excited for the other three county fairs coming up! Have a great week and come back to get an update on what I’m up to!

-Catie