Keep kids busy with pine cone bird feeders to watch the birds after school. To do this, gather pine cones. If you have evergreen trees near your facility, have students help to gather the pine cones. You could even make it a competition to see who can gather the most pine cones. After there are enough pine cones for each student to have at least one, have students cover their pine cones with peanut butter to act as a glue. If any students in the group have peanut allergies, consider using another spread, such as sunflower seed butter. After the cones are covered in peanut or sunflower seed butter, have students roll them in birdseed. Tie pieces of string or yarn to the pine cones and hang them outside in visible trees or on another surface for easy bird watching. Give students time to watch the birds come and eat the seed. Ask older students to keep a log of the birds they see.
Inspire culinary creativity with an herb garden. Divide your students into a few groups and give each group a small plot of land. If your facility doesn't have available space, consider giving each group a few large pots that they can keep outside. Give each group several herbs to plant in their pots or the ground. Help them pour the basic potting soil and plant the herbs. You could start with seeds, but to ensure that more herbs sprout, consider sticking with seedlings or fully-grown plants. As the herbs grow, provide students a new recipe each week to take home, along with enough of their herbs to make the recipes. Or, if kitchen facilities are available at your location, consider making food together. Some examples include basil for pesto or cilantro for salsa.
When the weather forces children inside, consider engaging their creative sides with bubble painting. To do this, gather liquid tempera paint, dish washing soap, water straws, markers and an empty jar. To make the paint, put a couple tablespoons of your desired color of tempura paint, one tablespoon of dish washing liquid and a cup of water in an empty jar and mix. Have a student put the straw in the jar and blow---not suck---until a large bubble forms, and when it does, tell him to move the bubble to his paper. When it pops, it will leave an imprint. He can use a marker to manipulate and move the paint around the paper to create a design.