Midsummer

Summer Solstice: June 21



berry cobbler lemonade solar tea oranges with candy straws green man dessert

Make butterflies. Have your children fold a piece of paper in half. Have them paint on one side of it. Have them fold it back again, and press down. Unfold. Let dry. Cut into a butterfly shape and glue on a butterfly body.
Let the children make their own wands just for fun. Have them either find a suitable branch or twig, or buy a dowel. Let them sand their wand. Then have them paint it any way they want.
Have the children make their own "Green Man" mask. Cut eye-holes in a paper plate. Let them glue on real or construction paper leaves.
Go berry picking. I had the children chose their best berry and throw it back into the berry bushes as they thanked the Goddess and the bushes for the fruit.
Read "The Year at Maple Hill Farm" by Alice & Morton Provenson.
Berry Cobbler
1/2 cup butter
4 cups blackberries or other fresh berries or fruit
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup sugar (if using blackberries)
1 cup flour
Wash the berries. If they are blackberries, sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar.
In a seperate bowl, mix together the butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and flour.
Crumble the mixture on top of the berries or fruit in a baking dish.
Bake in 350 degree oven until warm and golden brown.
Serve warm with ice cream.
Lemonade
1 cup sugar
1 cup lemon juice (six lemons)
1 cup water
2 1/2 quarts water
grated rind of one lemon
Boil one cup of water and one cup of sugar for five minutes. Add lemon juice, grated rind, and 2 1/2 quarts of water. Mix well. Oranges can be substituted for the lemons.
Solar Tea
1 large jar with a very tight fitting lid
cold water
2 tea bags for each quart of water
1 orange, unpeeled, well washed, and cut into small pieces
1/2 lemon, unpeeled, well washed, and cut into small pieces
Fill the jar with water. Add the orange, the lemon, and the tea bags. Place in full sunlight for two hours. Refrigerate immediately. Serve over ice.
Oranges with Candy Straws
1 ripe orange for each person
1 thick, short peppermint stick for each person
Have a grown-up use a knife to cut a hole in the top side of the orange. Push the peppermint stick into the orange like a straw. Suck on the peppermint stick, and soon, juice from the orange will come through the stick.
Green Man Dessert
2 cups minature marshmallows
1 box pistachio pudding mix
1-2 cups blueberries
1 can undrained pineapple chunks
1 container whipped topping
Mix marshmallows, pudding, and pineapple in a bowl. Mix in 1/2 of the whipped topping. Spoon into cups. Spoon on a layer of whipped topping into each cup, top with blueberries.

Click here for a sun coloring page.