Bottle Rockets- an “Out of This World” Reunion Activity

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When I decided on a space theme for our 2020 family reunion, there were two activities I was sure I wanted to do.  The first was moon stilts (I’ll write that bog when  I get some good photos) and the second, was water  bottle rockets.

Our family has a big party every Independence Day and one our traditions is making and launching water bottle rockets.  We invite all of our guests to make a water bottle rocket and bring it to the party but,  for our  reunion, I’ll  bring the supplies, poster  board, duct tape, markers and bottles and let reunion  goers make their rockets on site.

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Basically, to build a bottle rocket, you start by rolling a piece of paper into a cone shape and attach it to the bottom of an empty 1 or 2 liter plastic bottle.  To help your rocket fly, you need to cut out 4 cardboard triangles to make your rocket fins. (There are lots of videos  on YouTube to walk you through  this process.)

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At our Independence Day party, our seasoned rocket builders come up with some pretty creative designs for their rockets .  Most add parachutes  to soften the landing and some even include small,  plastic toys that they send into  space.  No  matter what the design, spectators love to watch the rockets blast off and their landings can be quite exciting.

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For safety reasons, we  only let adults operate the launcher.  We have a homemade launcher and  one  we  purchased from Amazon.  Both work great but, keep in mind when planning your reunion, that you need to have a water source and hose available to fill the rockets with  water.

AquaPod Bottle Launcher

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At our reunion this year, we will give  prizes for best design, most unusual design and most creative design.  We will also give an award to the  rocket that stays in  the air the longest which we will determine by timing with  a stopwatch on our phones.  At our Independence Day parties, that award  has been won by my son in law for the last 4 years.  He’s a very talented engineer and his rocket designs are quite impressive and fun to watch.

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Rocket creative award

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Campfire Cookies

An Easy to Make Treat for Your Camping Family Reunion

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One side of our family always goes camping for our family reunions and when I saw a photo of these campfire cookies I just knew we needed to add them to our reunion schedule.

Begin by frosting a sugar cookie with green frosting. Crush 2 snack size Oreo cookies on top of the frosting to resemble dirt.

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Add 3 unwrapped Tootsie Roll candies for logs and cut up red, yellow and orange gummy candies to resemble fire.

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Put 3 mini marshmallows on the ends of 3 pretzel sticks. Place sticks on each cookie in a pyramid shape over the campfire, making sure the marshmallows touch at the top.

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For added fun, take a lighter and run it over the marshmallows to give them a roasted look!

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Water Games for Your Family Reunion

Or… some fun ways to cool off on  a hot summer day!
For the Little Ones

Birdie In My Cup

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Players form a circle and one player goes to the center with a cup of water or a squirt bottle. He says, “I have a little birdie in my cup. What color is he? He then goes around the circle and gives each player a chance to guess the color. If they guess correctly he flicks or sprays water on the the player. Then they switch places and that player becomes ”It”.

Sprinkler Red Light Green Light Splish Splash Elements (11)

One child stands at the far side of the yard to be the caller and the rest of the children line up at the opposite side of the yard. Set up a sprinkler in the middle of the yard and turn it on. The caller will turn their back to the other kids and says “green light.” When they say green light, the rest of the kids will try to move across the yard to reach the caller. When the caller turns around and says, “red light,” kids have to freeze where they are. If they don’t freeze, they will be sent back to the starting line.

Whoever can tag the caller first wins and becomes the next caller.

For the Older “Kids”
Sponge Soaker

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In sponge soaker, teams take turns running to a bucket to fill their sponge with water and run back (keeping the sponge above their head).  Then squeeze it into an empty bucket, the winning team is the first to have a full bucket of water. You can also play this game with a glass of water instead of sponges.

WATER BALLOON DODGEBALL

Disclaimer: I’m not a fan of water balloPool Party Kit 2 Elements (4)ons. Water balloons are labor intensive and a safety hazard if you don’t get them all picked up, but I always make an exception for Water Balloon Dodge ball.

For this game you will need water balloons (about 5 per person) and a container. (To keep your balloons from breaking prematurely, fill the container with water so the balloons can float rather than put pressure on each other. If you prefer not to use water to fill your container, try a plastic trash bag: This allows the balloons to spread out and may help to relieve the pressure.)

Divide the playing field into two halves using rope, tape or cones to make a line to mark the middle . Fill up the balloons and put them in the middle of the playing field. For this game, you probably want water balloons that are a bit bigger so they break easily (but not so easily they break when you throw it).
 
Split players into two teams and have one team go on each side of the line. Water balloon dodge ball is just like regular dodge ball. Players have to race to get a water balloon out of the bucket in the middle of the field and throw water balloons at each other from their side of the yard- no head shots.  When the balloons are gone, the team with the most players is the winning team.  Losing team has to help fill balloons for the next round.  Be prepared with tons of water balloons.

 

Beach Ball Race. Pool Party Kit 2 Elements (26)

You’ll need an inflatable beach ball and water gun for each player. Designate a Starting Line and a Finish Line. To begin, line up the beach balls on the Starting Line. On “Go”, everyone shoots their balls with their water guns. The first ball over the finish line wins.

Freeze Water Gun Tag

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You’ll need one water-gun. Select one player to be “It”. Give “It” the water gun, and on “Go” have “It” try to tag the other players by squirting them. Whoever gets tagged becomes frozen until another player crawls between their legs.

 

Water Surprise
This is my favorite game!Pool Party Kit 2 Elements (8)

Put a line of cups on a table. Fill about half of the cups full with water and leave the other ones empty.

Play: Take turns and have each player one at a time choose a cup without looking (blindfold or cover their eyes). Once they’ve chosen the cup, they have to dump it on their head.

If there is water in the cup, they get wet and are out. If there is not water, they continue to the next round. The last dry kid standing wins.

For the Artsy Family Members

KOOL-AID PAINTING… Sprinkle unsweetened Kool-Aid on a piece a paper. Move a piece of ice over the Kool-Aid. Watch as the Kool-Aid turns to liquid and makes a yummy smelling picture.

SIDE WALK PAINT- a twist on sidewalk chalk.

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You will need equal portions of water and corn starch and mix well. Mix by adding a little at a time of both the water and cornstarch until you have the quantity and texture that you want. Your paint” should be thick and not runny. (Remember, cornstarch will get super thick as you’re mixing and thin out when you stop.) Start with 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. cornstarch and add a little less than 1/4 cup of cold water. To make colors add a drop of food coloring. You can then use this paint to paint on the sidewalk. Give it a few minutes to dry and you’ll have a wonderful work of ART! It washes off easily with a pail of water or hose.  

Silver Dollar Game for Your Independence Day Party

4th of July Games

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We have a Independence Day tradition in our family- Whenever we get together for a family or reunion or party around Independence Day we play the “Silver Dollar” game. The Silver Dollar game is a game my Mom invented to encourage us to remember our American history and important United States facts.

Mom would ask a US history question and the first one to get the answer right would get a sliver dollar. Mom has a fun way off tossing the silver dollar to the winner- I’m not sure how to describe,  it  but basically she just tosses it to the family member that has the correct answer to the question.

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Plan to play the Silver Dollar game at your Independence Day family reunion or party. Don’t have Silver Dollars? How about using 50 states quarters, red, white and blue taffy, or patriotic pencils?

Warning: If your family is competitive, like mine is, you may have to assign someone to be the judge and determine who is the first to raise their hand and watch out- even if you do get the answer right someone may just reach out and snatch your prize right out of the air, Oh well, it’s just part of the game and family fun!

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Below are a list of questions you can use for your Silver Dollar game:

Below are a list of questions you can use for your Silver Dollar game:

1. What is the title of the National Anthem?
Answer:
The Star-Spangled Banner

2.  Which right is guaranteed by the first amendment
Answer:
Freedom of Religion

3.  What is the title of the head of a city government
Answer:
Mayor

4.  Who has the ability to declare war?
Answer:
The Congress

5.  How many full terms may a Senator serve?
Answer:
No term limits for Senators

6.  How many full terms can a President serve?
Answer:
2

7.  How many years is a full term for a Representative?
Answer:
2

8.  Which amendment sets the minimum voting age to 18?
Answer:
26th

9.  Who becomes President if both the President and Vice President die?
Answer:
The Speaker of the House

10.  On July 4th, 1776 we declared Independence from whom?
Answer:
Great Britain

11.  How many branches of government do we have?
Answer:
3

12.  Which is part of the Judicial branch at the federal level? 
Answer:
The Supreme Court

13.  Who elects the President of the United States?
Answer:
The Electoral College

14.  How many states are there?
Answer:
50

15.  How many stripes are there on the American Flag?
Answer:
13

16.  Who was the President of the United States during the civil war?
Answer:
Abraham Lincoln

17. What is the introduction to the Constitution called?
Answer: The Preamble

18. Who is the President of the United States?
Answer:  Donald Trump

19.  Who is the current Vice President of the United States?
Answer: Mike Pence

20.  Why did the Pilgrims come to America?
Answer:
to find religious freedom

21.  How many total Senators are there?
Answer:
100

22.  The Constitution has how many Amendments?
Answer:
27

23. Who was the main writer of the Declaration of Independence?
Answer: Thomas Jefferson

24.  According to the Constitution, a person must meet certain requirements in order to be eligible to become President. Name one of these requirements.

Answer: Must be a natural born citizen of the United States; must be at least 35 years old by the time he/she will serve; must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.

25. How many Presidents have been impeached
Answer:
2 Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.

26.  What is the Official Language of the United States?
Answer:
None

27.  Who was the first Vice President of the United States?
Answer:
John Adams

28.  Who said “Give me liberty or give me death?”
Answer:
Patrick Henry

29.  How many Presidents were assassinated while in office?
Answer:
4 Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, John F. Kennedy.

30. Is it ever appropriate to fly the flag upside down?
Answer: Yes, but only in an emergency. “The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.”

31. What is the tallest mountain the US?
Answer: Mt McKinley, located in the state of Alaska it reaches 20,320 ft (6,194 m) above sea level.

32. Who was the first man to walk on the moon?
Answer: American Neil Armstrong (July 21, 1969).

33. What ocean is off the Florida coast?
Answer: The Atlantic Ocean

Giant Yardzee Game For Your Reunion or Outdoor Party

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I’ve never gotten too excited about all the “giant” yard games you  find on the internet but a couple of weeks ago I actually saw a giant Yahtzee game. I got to touch it, roll the dice and count up my score and I thought, “Hey this would be fun for our next family reunion!”  (I  think that about a lot of things)

Giant Yardzee is pretty simple to make.  You’ll need  5 dice cut from 4″x”4″ fence posts.  Cut each cube to 3.5 inches to make a perfect cube.Sand as necessary and paint in bright colors.  To make dots use a circle template to paint them on or use stickers or circles cut with a 1 inch hole punch.

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This is a very cute bucket to store Yardzee score cards and markers in but a 5 gallon bucket is more practical as it will also hold your dice.

Print off giant sized Yahtzee score cards- there are many free ones on the internet- here’s one resource.http://www.memory-improvement-tips.com/support-files/yahtzee-score-sheet-large.pdf

Playing using normal Yahtzee rules.

Did you know- A single “dice” is called a die and multiples are called dice. The round dots on a die are called pips!