Week of May 18, 2020
When school’s out, the Y is in! We hope you enjoy this edition of Y Kids News, a newsletter with games and activities you can do from home!
THIS WEEK'S THEME:
SPORTS
Hey sports fans! Read on for some creative and fun ways to get sporty at home — we're talking balloon tennis, a laser obstacle course and football burgers!
HEALTHY AND FUN CHALLENGES:
JUMP CHALLENGE
Directions:
Tape Lines: Get some help from the grownups, and make 5–10 separate lines of tape, each about a foot apart, on your floor or carpet. Label the first one the "start" line. Follow these instructions:
- Long Jump: See how many lines you can jump over. Try to beat your best score each time. Experiment with arms swinging vs. arms behind your back.
- Run 'n' Jump: Take a running start, and see if you can jump farther.
- Long Jump Backward: Increase the difficulty by performing the tasks jumping backward.
- Hop: How far can you jump on one leg?
- Reach 'n' Stretch: How far can you reach your leg reach with one foot on the "start" line?
HOCKEY SCIENCE
What will slide on ice?
Materials:
- Paper
- Pen
- Miscellaneous household items like glass marbles, muffin-tin crayons, milk jug caps, a rough piece of bark, a rough rock, puff balls, and small squares of felt.
- Cookie sheet with sides
Instructions:
- Fill your cookie sheet almost full with water and place in the freezer. Tip: Do this the day before you want to do the activity.
- Create a two-sided chart. The first side is for predictions, and the second side is for our results. The rows will be labeled with the items you found around your house that you will slide on the ice. The columns will be labeled "Slide" or "Not Slide"
- Go down the list and predict which items will slide on the ice and which items won’t.
- Test your guesses by sliding each item across the ice. Try to use the same force for each push so that each item has an equal chance.
BALLOON TENNIS
Materials:
- Balloon
- Two paper plates
- One or two paint stir sticks or two large craft sticks
Instructions:
- Make the paddles with the paint stick(s) or large craft sticks by gluing it to the back of a paper plate.
- Blow up the balloon
- Use the paddles to hit the balloon back and forth to each other. Challenge yourself and your partner to see how many hits you can make before the balloon touches the floor.
Variation: Balloon Volleyball
- Make a "net" by tying a piece of string between two chairs, and then hit the balloon back and forth by running from one side to the other, trying to keep it off the floor. If you have two or more players, hit it back and forth over the net as many times as you can without it falling.
See answers below
FOOTBALL-SHAPED BURGERS
Ingredients:
- Meat or veggie patties
- Buns
- Burger toppings: cheese, tomato, lettuce, pickles, ketchup, mustard, mayo
Instructions:
- Shape patty into a football.
- Cook on grill or stove.
- Add toppings and enjoy!
BASKETBALL CHEESE BALL SNACK
Ingredients:
- Paper cup
- Paper
- Marker
- Cheese balls
Instructions:
- Draw a backboard on a piece of card stock. You can use printer paper — just attach it to a thin piece of cardboard.
- Cut small slits into the backboard, one on each side of the square. Slide the backboards onto the cups, using tape or hot glue to secure.
- Add cheese balls to the cups, and get ready for the crowd to cheer!
BE THE ENTERTAINER
Sports Jokes
- What did the coach say to the broken vending machine?
- Why did the basketball player bring his suitcase to the game?
- How is a baseball team similar to a pancake?
- What is a ghost's favorite soccer position?
See answers below.
Sports Trivia
- In what game is the word "love" used?
- Which three sports form a triathlon?
- How many rings form the Olympic logo?
- Someone from the YMCA helped create what sport?
- The first women's World Cup was won by which country in 1991?
- In San Diego, who is known as Mr. Padre?
ACTIVITIES AT HOME
LASER OBSTACLE COURSE
Karisa R. from Palomar Family Y shows you how to make a laser obstacle course at your house. Get some string and tape, and you'll be ready to build.
Good luck! You could be featured on our social media channels when you share your picture or video!
BE INSPIRED
Look through these sports quotes, or find your own. Write your favorite quote in chalk somewhere for people to see and be inspired.
- "Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it or work around it." — Michael Jordan, former professional basketball player
- "You have to remember that the hard days are what make you stronger. The bad days make you realize what a good day is. If you never had any bad days, you would never have that sense of accomplishment." — Aly Raisman, American gymnast and Olympian gold medalist
- "You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.” — Michael Phelps, American swimmer and Olympian gold medalist
- "It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up." — Babe Ruth, former professional baseball player
- "Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back … play for her." — Mia Hamm, former professional soccer player and Olympic gold medalist
- "It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up." — Vince Lombardi, former football player, coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL)
- "Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy." — Wayne Gretzky, former professional hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL)
- "Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you." — Bethany Hamilton, champion surfer
- "Scientists have proven that it’s impossible to long-jump 30 feet, but I don’t listen to that kind of talk. Thoughts like that have a way of sinking into your feet." — Carl Lewis, former track and field athlete and Olympic gold medalist
- "It doesn’t matter what your background is or where you came from. If you have dreams and goals, that’s all that matters." — Serena Williams, professional tennis player
MORE SPORTS FUN
- Try one or 80 of these 87 Energy-Busting Indoor Games & Activities For Kids from the What Moms Love website.
- Find more fun with All-Star Sports: Sport Games Kids Will Love from Shaping Up to be a Mom.
FAMILY WORD WORKOUTS
Our Y families are staying active and having fun with Family Word Workouts. Each letter of the alphabet represents a different exercise! This week, we're challenging you to a sporty word workout every day:
- Monday: TENNIS
- Tuesday: SOFTBALL
- Wednesday: PLAYERS
- Thursday: COURT
- Friday: PADDLE
Also, check our social channels (@YMCASANDIEGO) throughout the week for more get-you-moving words. Download your alphabet workout sheet.
FLIP FOR GYMNASTICS!
Y Kids are having fun learning gymnastics tricks and practicing skills with coaches from our branches through our YMCA of San Diego Gymnastics Facebook group. You can get in on the fun, too! Note: A Facebook account is required to participate in this private group.
too!
JOKE AND TRIVIA ANSWERS:
Joke answers:
- I want my quarter back!
- Because he traveled a lot!
- They both need a good batter!
- Ghoul keeper
Trivia answers:
- Tennis
- Swimming, biking, running
- Five
- Basketball
- United States of America
- Tony Gwynn
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