Homeschool hub: Hartford

You need: Cardboard from a cereal box; A few leaves, fresh or dry; White glue; A small paintbrush or a twig; A stick; Tape.

1. A grown-up cuts a star from the cardboard.
2. Brush glue over the star. A bundle of twigs makes a fun little "broom."
3. Press leaf pieces all over the star, a little overlapped.
4. Tape the stick to the back as a handle.
5. Let it dry, then wave it and make up a spell.

Pairs well with a witch-and-broom picture book.

You need: A tub or bowl of water; A spoon, a lid, a leaf, a sponge, a rock and a toy; A towel.

1. Gather the six things from the list.
2. Guess for each one: sink or float?
3. Drop them in one at a time.
4. Sort them into two piles, then talk about why.

Skip anything small enough to swallow.

You need: A paper bag or basket.

1. Pick red, blue or green for the day.
2. Walk around the house or yard and find things that color.
3. Put the safe ones in the bag.
4. Pull them out and name each one. Pick a new color and go again.

You need: Several sheets of paper; A tape measure or ruler; A pencil and paper for notes.

1. Fold three different airplanes, one with wide wings, one with narrow wings and one with a bent-up tip.
2. Guess which will fly farthest.
3. Throw each one three times from the same spot and measure each flight.
4. Write down the distances and find the winner.
5. Change one thing on the winner, like adding a paper clip, and test again.

You need: Two paper plates or cardstock circles, one smaller; A pencil; A brad or a pin; Scissors.

1. Draw 26 equal sections around the edge of each circle.
2. Write A to Z around the big circle and again around the small one.
3. A grown-up pins the small circle on the center of the big one.
4. Turn the small wheel to line up A with another letter, and write a short message using the matching letters.
5. Share the starting letter with a friend, who can decode it.

You need: A page from an old newspaper or discarded book; A pencil; A black marker.

1. Read the page and circle words that catch your eye.
2. Choose words that can be read in order to make a short poem.
3. Black out everything else with the marker.
4. Read your poem aloud and give it a title.

Use a page that is going to be thrown out.