Patriots vs. Redcoats: An Outdoor Social Studies Game

This outdoor game, a modification of "Capture the Flag", uses ball, baskets, and foam to re-enact the fight between the Redcoats and the Patriots in Massachusetts in 1775.

Can your foam-armed "Patriots" stop the "Redcoats" from capturing Concord's armory? You'll find out!

What You Need:

• 10-20 tennis balls, or other soft, rubber balls, at least two per person
• Three empty baskets—laundry baskets work great
• 2-3 short sticks of foam, such as a section from an old pool “noodle”, about 12-18”
• 8 sport cones or other markers to place on the field
• Optional: red, white, and blue streamers; duct tape

Set-Up:

1. Assemble the props and clear the field area. Collect tennis balls (or any rubber balls of any size) that you have on hand or that you can borrow from friends and family. Place the balls in one of the baskets, and take a quick count. These balls will be the "cannonballs" in the armory for the game.
2. Gather the foam sticks which will act as the “bayonet muskets” for the patriots. These foam sticks will help young kids extend their reach, so they should be soft to avoid injury. To add more color to the game, have the kids decorate their foam sticks by wrapping red, blue, and white streamers around them, so everyone can be very clear who and where the “Patriots” are!
3. Set up the field. Find an open space that will accommodate all the kids. At one end of the space, place one empty basket and put four cones around it. This basket represents the British headquarters in "Boston". At the other end, place the basket full of balls and put four cones around it. This basket represents the "Concord Armory." In the middle of the field, place the third basket. This middle basket will represent the patriots' "secret stash" basket that was the property of the Continental Army.

What You Do:

1. Choose the teams. Depending on the size of the group, select three or so “Patriots” (more, if the group is large). Have the patriots stand in the middle of the field, and give each of them a “bayonet musket” to hold. Everyone else will be a Redcoat.
2. The Redcoats' goal is to run across the field without being tagged, grab no more than two "cannonballs" from the armory, and make it back to the other end of the field, or "Boston". As long as they have not been tagged, the Redcoats can keep running back and forth until they have brought all their arms back to their side.
3. The Patriot's goal is to tag the Redcoats with their "bayonet muskets". If a Patriot tags a Redcoat, the Redcoat must sit down where he was tagged on the field until the round is over. Any cannonballs the tagged Redcoat was carrying will be confiscated by the Continental Army and placed them in the "secret stash" basket in the middle of the field.
4. Each round ends either when all the Redcoats are tagged, or when all the cannonballs have been removed from the "Concord Armory".
5. The final cannonball count signals the victory: if the majority of the balls have returned to "Boston", then the Redcoats have won, but if the majority of the balls are in the Patriots' stash or in the armory, the Patriots win!

Did You Know?

What really happened in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775?

On that day, American colonists in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord entered a decisive moment in history. Early that morning, British General Thomas Gage sent 700 “Redcoat” soldiers from Boston to capture the Patriots Samuel Adams and John Hancock in Lexington, and to destroy the Patriots’ armory in Concord.

But thanks to the famous warning from Paul Revere (with help from Dr. Samuel Prescott), Samuel Adams and John Hancock were able to escape the night before the battle. When the British troops did make it to Concord on the morning of April 19, 1775, they began seizing gunpowder and arms until the colonists stood their ground at the Old North Bridge at the edge of the town. Astonished by the colonists' resistance, the British tried to retreat back to Boston. However, by that time, colonists from local towns had poured out of their homes and lined the road to fight.

By the end of the day, the British had lost nearly 300 men, and a clear message had been sent by the colonists: the Americans wanted their independence, and they weren’t going to give up the fight. They didn’t, and today, centuries later, we can still thank them for their gift.

By Julie Williams

Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school History and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA. 

Source: http://www.education.com

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Posted in: Activities for Kids

Create a Two-Sided Opposites Painting

Create a colorful painting—twice! Transform a single sheet of card stock into a double-sided painting of opposites: on one side, a bright daytime landscape, on the other, a dusky evening scene. Not only is this a great way to let your kids dive into art and explore their artistic side, it also provides an excellent lesson on the concept of opposites and the differences between night and day. And as always, any hands-on art project like this also helps strengthen little hand muscles for writing.

What You Need:

• Card stock or other thick paper
• Pencil
• Tempera paints
• Paint brush
• Water cup (make sure it's one you won't reuse for food or drinks)
• Paint palette or washable art tray
• Hole punch
• Scissors
• Yarn or thin ribbon

What To Do:

1. Sit by a window (or outside if possible) and have your child make a pencil sketch of what he sees on the card stock. This is a great time to introduce him to art terminology such as landscape, horizon line (where the earth meets the sky), foreground, middle ground, and background. Ask him to really look at the area he's drawing. Do trees that are further back look bigger or smaller than the ones that are closer to him? What colors and shapes does he see? Is it sunny, rainy, or cloudy?
2. Take the drawing to a suitable workspace such as a flat table or an easel. Lay small puddles of paint onto the palette or tray. Try using just the primary colors (blue, red, and yellow) and white. Use this opportunity to talk about the color wheel: encourage him to mix the primary colors together to get new colors, and use the white paint to make lighter shades.
3. Now start the painting. Invite him to color in his landscape sketch by painting over it with the tempera paint. Once he's finished, set the painting aside to dry.
4. At dusk, have him sit in the same spot he was in for step 1, and ask him to sketch what he sees on the reverse side of the painting (if you started the activity in the afternoon, wait until the following day to do this step so the front side has time to dry completely). Talk about the landscape: does it look different now than it did earlier in the day? Do the shapes still look as sharp? Is there more or less to see? What does the sky look like?
5. Bring the drawing to the workspace and encourage him to paint his new nighttime landscape. Talk about the colors he'll need for this painting. Once he's done painting, set the work aside to dry.
6. Once the painting is completely dry, punch a hole in the top of the painting with the hole punch. Cut a piece of ribbon or yarn, thread it through the hole, and tie a knot just above the edge of the painting.
7. Hang the painting mobile style so both sides are displayed.

Explore other "opposite" concepts for more art activities. Try themes as simple as inside/outside or beginning/end or as complicated as Impressionism/Realism or classical art/pop art.

By Erica Loop

Erica Loop has a MS in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education. She has many years of teaching experience working in early childhood education, and as an arts educator at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. 

Source: http://www.education.com

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Posted in: Activities for Kids

2 Grade Math Facts Secret Codes Actvities

When it comes to those basic math facts, there's nothing like practice, practice, practice. But making them interesting is quite another matter. Here's an irresistible activity you can use with your second grader to send messages in “secret code.” Next time you pack a school lunch, for example, try putting in a special note with your love and good wishes … in a code that your child and her friends can decipher over their meal.

What You Need:

• Paper
• Pen
• Math Fact "Decoder" Key
• Sample message

What to Do:

1. Download our Math Fact code sheet, or make your own based on your child's level.
2. Write your message on the decoder key, by making a small line for each letter of the alphabet in the message. See our sample message as an example.
3. Write out your message lines, and then let your child take a whack at the math facts to decode your words. The sum of each pair of numbers appears under each line of the message, and matches up with a letter. For a child who is making good progress on math facts, this is a fairly fast activity … but one that will bring a sense of accomplishment that lasts all day and beyond!

By Julie Williams

Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school History and English for seventeen years. Since then, she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA. 

Source: http://www.education.com

Read more »

Posted in: Activities for Kids