The Parks Department will run the 2008 summer lunch program, which provides free lunches to children at pools, parks and recreation centers in Providence.

The program will begin on Monday, June 30 and run five days a week until Friday, Aug. 22, 2008.

Lunches include a sandwich or pizza, fruit, milk and juice. Any child 18 or younger is eligible to receive a free lunch (no questions asked), as long as he or she eats it on site.

Check the Kidoinfo summer guide for a list of pools and waterparks.

When the temperature starts rising like it did recently, we need to find ways to help our kids (and us) cool off fast while hopefully entertaining them at the same time. Make sure you always have plenty of cold water on hand for you and your child to drink.

INDOORS:
Visit your local branch of the Public Library
Visit the Mystic Aquarium (inside part) or NE Aquarium
Visit a museum
Go to the mall (Emerald Square Mall has a carousel in the food court)
See a movie for free
Grocery shop
Hop on the bus (though not all are air conditioned) — free on ozone alert days
Explore the indoor play areas at McDonald’s or Burger King (you do not have to buy anything to use the play equipment)
Take a cool bath

OUTDOORS:
Play with spray bottles filled with water
Make water balloons
Eat popsicles
Set up the sprinkler/kiddie pool in a shady spot in the backyard
Head to a local water park (Open July-August)
Visit a shady park like the Baby Park, Lincoln Woods, or Colt State Park
Take a walk after dinner to your local ice cream shop

Tell us your ways for staying cool and having fun when it heats up outside!

By Kristen Swanberg
Audubon Senior Director of Education

Earth Day provides a special opportunity –not only to celebrate the wonders and diversity of our planet, but also to explore many of the environmental challenges it faces.

Today there is a lot of talk about climate change and how it is affecting our planet. Newspapers and scientists report that global warming is causing icebergs to melt and creating bizarre weather patterns around the world. Global warming can be a bit overwhelming and a little scary to think about – especially for kids.

It is important to remind them that even though people are the cause of global warming, we are also the solution. And they can play an important part in helping planet Earth. Making simple changes in the way you do things can make a big difference.

Here are some ideas for families:

• First and foremost remember the 3 R’s: REDUCE • REUSE • RECYCLE

• Have children spend more time outside learning and discovering nature in their neighborhoods. The more they know about the environment, the better prepared they will be to help it. And remind them to share what they’ve learned with others.

• Turn your backyard into a wildlife habitat - add birdfeeders, native plants, and water for wildlife.

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Time to shed the winter coats (I wish) and welcome the first day of Spring. However, since I live in Rhode Island we may have to put them right back on again. I love the snow and wish we had more of it this winter—but now that it is NOT winter I am looking forward to spending time in my garden.

I love the website, Garden Tykes - full of great ideas and products for children (of all ages). Find books, seed and bug kits, fishing gear, games and more for the nature loving kid.

Kid’s Watering Can Tool Kit pictured.

By Michelle Riggen-Ransom

Snowshoeing is a great winter activity for getting outside and keeping active. More convenient (and cheaper!) than downhill skiing or snowboarding, and easier for little kids than cross-country skiing, snowshoeing is something the whole family can enjoy with just a little preparation and investment.

Last winter, my husband and I bought these nice “step-in” snowshoes from L.L. Bean, which means you can use pretty much any snow boot with them. Since we were only planning on being occasional users, we opted not to get poles (although I could see poles being handy for more hardcore enthusiasts). That meant that the snowshoes were the only equipment we needed before heading out into the great snowy wilderness, aside from the usual winter layers of clothing, hats, and gloves.

For my four-year-old son, we originally purchased a pair of Snow Paw children’s snowshoes. While my son loved the cute bear prints these shoes left behind on shorter trips (read: around the backyard and down the driveway), I found the straps difficult to adjust and rather flimsy. A longer hike down a snowy beach left me exhilarated, but my son fell a number of times and ended up facedown in a drift of snow sobbing about returning to the car. Not exactly what I pictured for our wintertime family fun.

I would definitely recommend choosing substance over style for kids’ snowshoes. For our next excursion, we upgraded to these Little Bear Spiderman snowshoes: they still looked cool but stayed on a lot better and felt much sturdier. My sister got the L.L. Bean Winter Walker snowshoes for her two-year-old, and both mom and babe have been happy with them. Each brand adjusts to fit up to 50 to 60 pounds, so the kids should be able to wear them for at least a few years.

The best thing about snowshoeing is that once you have the snowshoes, pretty much all you need is snow. Mother Nature’s been a bit fickle about that recently but when it does snow, you should head out as soon as possible. There’s something incredibly peaceful about walking atop fresh snow, feeling the winter sun on your face, and thinking maybe, just maybe, you heard the first robin tentatively calling out for spring.

Nature/Nurture, written by Michelle Riggen-Ransom, is an occasional column with ideas and information to help kids and their families engage with the natural world in fun, interesting ways. Share your thoughts and explorations by adding your comment below, or contact us with your story ideas.

I recently wrote about cutting snowflakes from a folded piece of paper. This traditional method worked fine, and my boys and I cut a lot of snowflakes. However on my latest trip to the grocery store, a display of packaged doily circles brought back vague memories of using doilies in grade school to cut snowflakes.

Using the doilies turned out to be super fast and produced beautiful lace-like snowflakes.

Look at images of Wilson A. Bentley’s real snowflakes for snowy inspiration.

Here’s how to hack your own six-sided snowflake.

Supplies:
1 package of round doilies, any size (I used round 5.5”)
Scissors
Dustpan and broom to sweep up the paper cuttings

How-To (PDF):
Fold circle in half
Fold in thirds
Fold in half again
Make various cuts along the edges to customize your own snowflake.

Here are a few of my favorite wintertime books - about animals, snow, and making snowmen. These stories are great reads before or after heading outdoors to enjoy a winter wonderland. If you live in an area (like Rhode Island) where snow does not always blanket the ground this time of year, try some of the indoor activities listed below.

Snowballs by Lois Ehlert
This is a simple story told by a child about how, with a little imagination and some odds ‘n ends from home, to make a snow family. Lovely collages colorfully show what each member of the snow family looks like.

Winter: An Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur, illustrated by Leslie Evans
On each page, a winter-related word provides the basis for an acrostic that reads like a short poem. Lovely hand-colored prints illustrate the adventures of a girl and her dog. This story is filled with vocabulary words related to the winter season.

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman
A lovely book about a hibernating bear who eventually wakes up after a long winter nap to be surprised by all his guests.

Stranger in the Woods by Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick
This beautifully photographed book is about woodland animals (bluejays, chickadees, deer, owls, squirrels and others) that become apprehensive when there is a stranger in their woods. The stranger turns out to be a snowman.

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The traditional way to make a snowman is to head outdoors, roll a few snowballs, stack them up and adorn. If, however, you do not live in a snowy climate or there is no white stuff on the ground at present, here is an alternative snowman project for you and your kids.

Collage Snowman
Read Snowballs by Lois Ehlert for additional inspiration.

Materials:
• old magazines, wrapping paper, or tissue paper
• odds ‘n ends like buttons, beads, beans, toothpicks, scraps of fabric, felt
• scissors
• glue sticks, Elmer’s Glue or Mod Podge
• construction paper or cardstock paper

How-To:
• For young kids, it is helpful to precut 3 different size circles out of white paper. (Glasses, bowls and pot covers are great for tracing circles.)
• Older kids can trace and/or cut their own white circles out of paper or old magazines.
• Glue 3 circles to form the snowman body on blue colored paper or cardstock.
• Cut more shapes from magazines or add odds ‘n ends with glue to make eyes, nose, mouth, hat, scarf, and arms.
• Make one snowman or a whole snow family. Great for cards, to make a book, or to frame.

Cutting snowflakes out of paper seems pretty easy. And even though we make them every year to celebrate winter, I still manage to be a little rusty on the how-to part. I usually try a few different ways of folding the paper before getting it right so I don’t end up with square snowflakes (not that there’s anything wrong with that). This year I found this easy-to-follow template on Ms T’s website. My boys and I decided to fill our house with snow.

By Katy Killilea

Among tree-trimming families in Rhode Island, there are four groups: those who want to hack down their own tree in a bucolic setting, those who want a tree strapped to the top of their car as efficiently as possible; those who advocate reusing an artificial tree year after year; and those who are just as happy decorating a large rosemary plant and avoiding the whole tree massacre/misuse of land issue. If you see yourself as a member of groups one or two, here is some information to help you find the right tree for your home. (Please note that calling ahead to check on the hours is always a good idea. Prices are not listed here but the range was between $30-$60, depending on the size and variety of tree):

TREE FARMS
Friends gently pointed out to me several times that I really ought to have tagged my family’s tree by now. If you need your tree “just so,” you have, no doubt, already taken care of the tagging. Happily, for those of us who do not mind Charlie Brown style trees, this is not an issue.

Patchet Brook Farm - 4484 Main Road, Tiverton.
Captures all the magic of “over the trees and into the woods” and satisfies the hunter-gatherer instinct in us city folk.
Phone: 401-624-4872
Open everyday, 10 am - 4 pm
Web: www.patchetbrook.com

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