Holiday Weekend Family Fun

Chances are you're getting together with friends and family this holiday weekend.

So how can you have fun? Whether you have kids around, or you like to act like a kid, Beth Engelman has ideas for you. She's founder of the website Mommy On A Shoestring (www.mommyonashoestring.com) and a contributor for Family Fun Magazine (http://www.parents.com/familyfun-magazine/). Beth came into our ABC 7 Eyewitness News studio to show us family-friendly activities, including how to make s'mores without fire!

Beth also told us about a free family reading event that is part of the Meatheads Voracious Reader Program. She will be hosting several of the events this summer. The program encourages kids to read.

Beth's Family Fun Ideas:

(Used with permission of Family Fun Magazine)

1. Solar S'mores

Materials:

Large pizza box (already made)

Wooden Dowel or Stick

Rock (1-2)

Aluminum foil

Clear tape

Graham crackers

Chocolate bars

Marshmallows

Directions:

1. On the top of the pizza box, draw a square that is an inch smaller than the lid all the way around. Use a craft knife (adults only) to cut through the cardboard along three sides, and then fold the cardboard up along the uncut line to form a flap.

2. Glue aluminum foil, shiny side out, to the bottom of the flap, keeping it as wrinkle-free as you can.

Glue another piece of foil to the inside bottom of the box, then tape black construction paper on top of the foil.

3. Tape clear plastic to the underside of the lid to seal the opening created by the flap. For the best results, the seal should be as airtight as possible.

4. Place your oven outdoors in direct sunlight with the flap opened toward the sun. For each s'more, center two graham crackers on the construction paper. Top one with chocolate and the other with a marshmallow. Close the box and then use a stick or dowel to prop the flap open at the angle that reflects the most sunlight into the box (check it periodically to adjust the angle).

5. Within an hour (or sooner if it's a really hot day), the chocolate squares and marshmallows should melt enough to assemble into s'mores.

Note: If it's a windy day, use rocks to keep your oven in place.

To Use/ What's Happening:

• If you've learned about the greenhouse effect, you may have already guessed how the oven works.


• The foil flap gathers sunlight and reflects it through the plastic and into the oven, doubling the amount of incoming light.


• The black paper absorbs the light and converts it to heat, and the clear plastic allows the sun to shine in while keeping all that heat from escaping.


• (In the greenhouse effect, atmospheric gases allow sunlight to pass through to the earth's surface but keep the heat it generates from escaping back into space.)


• As more light hits the black paper, more heat is created and trapped.


• After an hour or so on a sunny day, the oven can be as hot as 275 degrees -- hot enough to melt chocolate and marshmallows.

2. Confetti Poppers

Materials:

Plastic bottles

Blue and white Scotch tape

Balloons

Child safe scissors x2

Construction paper (colored)

Directions:

1. Cut the top 2 to 3 inches from a clean plastic bottle and discard the rest.

2. Cover the cut edge with tape.

3. Stretch the mouth of a party balloon over the bottle's opening. Work the neck of the balloon over the threads of the bottleneck.

4. Cut paper into confetti, then pour the pieces into the popper.

To Play:

Hold onto the bottleneck with one hand, and pull down on the bottom of the balloon with the other. Let the balloon snap to launch a shower of confetti.

(Note: This also works well with pom poms!)

3. Sweet and Salty Sparklers

Materials:

Waxed paper

12 Pretzel Rods

1 cup White Chocolate Chips

Red and Clue Cpinkles

Red and blue M&M's

Directions:

1. Cover a baking sheet with waxed paper.

2. Melt 1 cup of white chocolate chips in a medium, heat-safe bowl according to the package directions.

3. Use a spoon to drizzle 1 pretzel rod at a time with chocolate

4. Place rod on the prepared sheet and scatter it with red and blue sprinkles and M&M's.

5. Chill the pretzels in the refrigerator until the chocolate sets, about 15 minutes.

4. Festive Hats

Materials:

Plastic Cups (18-inch disposable cups in Red and Blue)

Pipe Cleaners (red, white and blue)

Pom poms

Glue

Colorful Card Stock

Elastic beading cord or ribbon

Duct Tape

Directions:

1. Set up a crafting station where kids can turn plastic cups into custom hats.

2. Simply put out A disposable cups, pipe cleaners, pom-poms, card stock, glue, and any other festive decorations!

3. To keep hats on heads, cut 18-inch lengths of elastic beading cord and knot the ends. Use duct tape to secure the ends, just below the knots, to the inside of the cups.

Free Family-Friendly Reading Event

July 5

10-11 a.m.

Meatheads

549 Roosevelt Rd.

Glen Ellyn, Ill.