Kids Page

An Activity Page For Young People

Toy Maker For a Day

The Ohio Art Company celebrates its 100th Anniversary in 2008. Through the years they have created hundreds of toys, such as the World famous Etch A Sketch, for boy sand girls to play with. If you could make a toy what would it be. Create a toy and name it. Would your toy be colorful, big , little or loud. Have fun playing!

A Fun Fall Treat: Popcorn Balls

Please have a parent help you with this project

To make popcorn balls you need:

5 quarts of popcorn, popped

2 cups of sugar

1 1/2 cups of water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vinegar

1teaspoon vanilla

Keep popped popcorn hot and crisp in oven (300-325 F). Butter sides of saucepan. In it Combine sugar, water, salt corn syrup, and vinegar.

Cook to hard –stage(250 F). Add vanilla. Pour slowly over hot popped corn, mixing well to coat every kernel. Pres into balls (butter hands if necessary). Makes eight delicious popcorn balls. Enjoy!!

It’s In The Bag

Find something at home that is symbolic of our great county of Williams! Place it in a bag (to keep it a secret). Write some clues about your item on this sheet. Read them to a friend to see if they can guess “what’s in the bag?

The Big Ohio Activity Book. Carole Mash. 2000.

How Big is Our County?

Our county, Williams County was formed in 1820 becoming the 63rd county in Ohio. Can you answer the following questions ?

1. How many counties are in the state of Ohio?

2. How many townships are in Williams County?

3. What township do you live in?

4.Where is the county seat? Hint: It is where the courthouse is.

5. How many cities, towns, and villages are in Williams County?

Ohio Buckeye Tree

It is a tree that grows 30 feet tall and has a rounded appearance. In the autumn it turns bright orange. Each leaf has five little leaflets. The flowers of the Ohio Buckeye are small, slightly tubular, and greenish yellow. The fruits are round and smooth nuts covered with a green, sometimes spiny husk.

In 1953, the Ohio legislature designated the Ohio Buckeye, Aesculus glabra, as Ohio's official state tree. Ohioans have referred to themselves as Buckeyes since at least the presidential election of 1840, when Ohio resident William Henry Harrison won the presidency. Harrison's supporters carved campaign souvenirs out of buckeye wood to illustrate their support for their fellow Ohioan.

Settler’s Corn Husk Doll You can make a corn husk doll similar to the dolls Ohio settlers’ children played with! Here’s how:

You will need:

• corn husks (or strips of cloth)

• string

• scissors

• marker

1. Select a long piece of corn husk and fold it in half. Tie the string about one inch down from the fold to make the doll’s head.

2. Roll a husk and put it between the layers of the tied husk, next to the string. Tie another string around the longer husk, just below the rolled husk. Now your doll has arms! Tie short pieces of string at the ends of the rolled husk to make the doll’s hand.

3. Make your doll’s waist by tying another string around the longer husk.

4. If you want your doll to have legs, cut the longer husk up the middle. Tie the two halves at the bottom to make feet.

Add eyes and a nose to your doll with a marker. You could use corn silk for the doll’s hair.

The Big Ohio Activity Book. Carole Mash. 2000.

Move to the Big City

You have lived on a farm in Williams County all your life. Your family has made the decision to move to a big city. What will you do? Where will you live? How will you get around? You write a letter to your cousin in Cincinnati and ask her all these questions. Now make up her answer back to you. Write it in the form of a letter on lined paper.

The Big Ohio Activity Book. Carole Marsh. 2000.

Secret Message: Send A Juicy Letter

Want to share a secret message between just you and a friend? Then try writing a letter using Invisible Ink!

To write a letter in Invisible Ink, you’ll need:

1 small stick.

1 tbsp lemon juice.

1 small cup.

white paper.

1. Find a stick shaped like a pencil.

2. Squeeze the lemon juice into the cup.

3. Dip the stick into the lemon juice and write a message on a sheet of white paper. When the lemon juice dries, the page will appear blank.

4. To decode the message, hold the paper near a light bulb. The heat from the lamp will cook the lemon juice and turn it to carbon, making the message appear black.

The Kids Summer Handbook. 1994

You've Got Mail!

Send an email to the past. Email a boy or girl from early Williams County and tell them what they are missing in today's world.

If you could get a message back, it would be written on parchment with a quill pen telling you what you are missing from a simpler time!

Virtual Williams County

Using your knowledge of Williams County, make a website that explains different places in the county. You can even draw pictures of places, buildings, people, etc. to make your very own website interesting.

The Big Ohio Activity Book. Carol Marsh. 2000

Spangler Candy Company: A Brief History

In 1906, a century ago, Arthur Spangler used money he earned from his paper route to buy a company. This factory made baking soda, corn starch and spices in Bryan, Ohio. Two years later, his brother Ernest said, "Let's make candy." Another brother, Omar, wanted to help, too. The Spangler brothers made yummy peanut clusters, cocoanut balls, ice cream cones and even cough drops! By 1920, the 4th brother, Truman, wanted be a salesman. By now everything they made was candy, so they named it the Spangler Candy Company. Soon, they were making hard candy and the penny apple sucker was a big favorite with kids. It took another 25 years until the famous Dum-Dum Pops started coming off the assembly line. Just a year later, Christmas Candy Canes joined the sweet treats. Today, you can even slurp Astro Pops and Atomic Fireballs.

Pretend you work at the Spangler Candy Company & invent 3 new kinds of candy. Instructions: Give each one an original name. Describe your candy. And draw your candy. Now imagine eating it!

www.spanglercandy.com
The Big Ohio Activity Book. Carol Marsh. 2000.