Grammy on the Go
By Karen Shadrach
Let’s Have a Picnic! It’s almost time for the total solar eclipse, which is happening here in Northeast Ohio on April 8th. So many different events and opportunities to experience this special occasion have been scheduled, but if you want to avoid the crowds and traffic, which will definitely occur following the eclipse, having a picnic at your neighborhood park, or your own backyard, is a great alternative.
The grandkids love picnics! Just packing a simple lunch and eating it outdoors makes for a special treat. Picnic moments, such as being in fresh air, sitting together on a large blanket, and enjoying simple food and special goodies add value to relationships and prove to be memorable. Picnics make kids feel loved and heard, as the focus is on them.
For your picnic, you can pack your own food or pick up fast food (kid’s meals). Be sure to also pack a blanket, a plastic table covering (for a table or to place on damp grass under your blanket), plus paper towels and baby wipes for cleaning up hands and other messes.
Themed picnics are especially fun and this one will be a solar eclipse picnic!
FOOD: Special treats to pack can include sandwiches with bread cut into large circles and filled with PB&J or whatever the kids love to eat. Clementines, Milky Way candy bars, Sun chips, Eclipse or Orbit gum, crescent-shaped cookies, moon pies and sun tea to drink are more “solar” options.
Here is a recipe for solar eclipse trail mix–a somewhat healthy solar eclipse treat that the grandkids can snack on throughout the afternoon.
Combine together:
- 1 ½C O-shaped cereal
- 1/2C sunflower seeds, 1/4C Sun-Maid raisins
- 1/2C banana chips, 1/4C M&Ms
- If available at a store near you, also add Goldfish Space Adventures crackers.
FUN: It’s always fun to play games at a picnic and it’s especially important to plan some fun activities before and after the eclipse. Some of our favorite lawn games to take to a picnic include Flicken’ Chicken; a game where you throw a plastic chicken to hit a target. Toss a Frisbee or a Beano (a large padded ring), and bring along a beach ball, which is fun to throw back and forth and so soft that no one gets hurt. Maybe your park will have a playground close to your picnic area that will provide your grandkids some pre-eclipse entertainment.
A solar eclipse game that is easy to assemble and bring to your picnic is the Moon and Sun game. For this, you need a few plastic yellow (9-inch) and black (6-inch) disposable plates. Throw the larger yellow plate, representing the sun, out in front of you. Then see who can make a total or a partial solar eclipse by throwing the black plate, representing the moon, on top of the sun! You can give points to see which child can make the most solar eclipse models in a given amount of time.
Enjoy watching the solar eclipse through all of its stages. Make sure you have the special solar glasses ready for viewing and remind the kids never to look at the sun without wearing them!
Something to watch for is Bailey’s Beads, which are seen seconds before and after total eclipse. See if you can view them! The beads are formed from the light shining through the moon’s craters.
Also to be on the watch for are ringlets or sun crescents that are formed in the shade of trees through the leaves. If you are near or sitting under a tree, look for these! The leaves act like pinhole projectors.
As a fun and quick project before your picnic, you can purchase UV beads. The grandkids can make necklaces or bracelets, and then watch the colors change. The beads begin as white, but the greater the UV rays, the darker colors the beads will become, even when cloudy or raining. If given enough strong UV light beforehand, the brighter these color-changing beads will glow in the dark. During the total eclipse, the grandkids can watch the beads turn from white to color to glow-in-the-dark and back again.
With springtime now upon us, the weather will hopefully provide us with some nice, warm days in the near future. Planning a picnic with the grandkids is a fun idea. And, don’t forget that National Picnic Day is April 23. It will be a perfect time to enjoy some food, sun and great company!
All photos by Karen Shadrach
