Every Vote Matters!

  Every Vote Matters!

 In every election, every vote counts, even though you might not realize it. One vote could turn the tide of an election. This is why it’s important to vote. Even if your vote isn’t a tiebreaker, or you don’t think it will have any effect on something, you could always be surprised. Voting is a way for you to express your opinion, and to be a part of something big in your community, without any pressure from people around you. You choose what your vote is for, because you care about what you are voting for.

No person’s opinion is less important than another's. People will vote differently, and that doesn’t matter. This will always happen. The thing to focus on is what you feel you should vote for. Every vote is important, even if it is a vote you don’t like. If your vote is different from others, you can try to understand where people are coming from, you can learn, you can express yourself in a comfortable way, and you can be a part of a big decision in your community. Every vote matters.

Outdoor Time: Why is It Important to You?

 I am collecting stories from kids and teachers in New Hampshire schools about how outdoor learning and spending time outdoors at school has affected them during the pandemic. Because many schools have increased outdoor time during COVID, it’s a great opportunity to see what kids think of being outdoors during the school day. 

There is a form that you can fill out if you want to submit a story, with parent’s permission. It simply asks you to introduce yourself (school, age, etc.) explain what you like about learning and spending more time outdoors, why it is important to you to be outdoors, and to include a drawing or photo if you want to.

Stories will be collected in a booklet and presented to New Hampshire legislators to show them that it is important to increase outdoor time at school.

New Hampshire lawmakers need to hear directly from kids about why spending more time outdoors during the school day is important. Your story will help lawmakers understand why they need to take action to help kids spend more time outdoors.

Fill out the form here!

Printable Version Here!

Autumn Tree Observation Mission

   Fall is here! The season of cold winds and campfires. But what is autumn most known for? Its trees! Every year something special happens to each tree. The leaves will start to change colors, and so will other things that you might not expect. Fill out these questions at the and watch an amazing transformation! Let’s get started.

1. Find a tree. It could be anywhere, in your yard, maybe at school, or maybe just around the block.This tree is your tree. You will be observing it for the next two weeks. If you miss a day, no worries! Just keep going! 

2. You will observe your tree for 14 days to see how the leaves change color, what happens to the leaves, and how it affects other life around it.

  

   For starters, list everything you can about your tree now. This is Day One. You could record anything from the color of the bark to what kind of tree it is! Things you record don’t have to be connected to the tree’s change. This is for you to get to know your tree! You could even give it a name! (Mine is Leroy!)

View, download, and print the full activity here!

Supporting Time Outdoors

Back before the pandemic started, as kid governor I had one goal. To get kids outdoors more. I testified to support a bill to establish a committee to research the benefits of extended recess. It was an incredible experience, to see all the people getting up in front of the legislators, saying what they had to say, and being heard. Many of those people spoke from their hearts. I too spoke about my past experiences. I got to meet our legislators and speak to ordinary people who were making themselves heard.

When the pandemic happened, my goals had to change. For most people, everything had to change. I started focusing on what I could do to support people during this crisis. I realized we need to focus on what we can do, and not what we could have done.

Through the generosity of neighbors, family, and friends, I was able to put together 35 summer fun bags that were distributed to Concord students with limited resources. Each bag contained sidewalk chalk, a jump rope, bubbles, and a ball, in addition to other items for outdoor fun. I hope that these bags helped kids get outside to enjoy a little fun during a stressful time. I am continuing my Sunshine Time project to help Friends of Forgotten Children reach their goal of putting together 1000 bags for kids in need of some fun outdoor activities this summer. I will be collecting donations all summer to help them make this happen.

While this isn’t exactly what I planned, it wasn’t as hard as I thought to find a different way to reach my goal. I’m so thankful and glad that so many people are willing to help in a time like this.

Outdoor Challenge: Chalk-Art

We’ve been home for nearly five weeks because of the pandemic. People are stuck at home, and the ones that aren’t risk getting the virus to make sure we’re safe. It might start to feel discouraging... which is why I’ve decided that our new outdoor challenge is going to be chalk-art!  

   This is something that lots of people have been doing to keep everybody in high spirits! You can write out positive messages on the sidewalk, like ‘stay positive!’ and ‘stay safe!’. You could thank the people who are working, like teachers and doctors and your community for staying safe. You can also do art to go along with these sayings, from giant stained-glass hearts to smiling suns and spring creatures, to decorative patterns around the sayings. Even the letters can be art, if you make bubble letters or loopy letters. Have fun with this, and be creative! We’re in this together!

Outdoor Interactive Color Hunt!

    We’ve been stuck at home for a couple weeks already, and I hope you’re getting outside on the days we’ve had sun! But… you’ve gone outside everyday! You’ve been hiking, you’ve gone bike-riding, you’ve played and played and played outside, so, what to do? If you’re out of ideas, I have just the thing! I’m guessing so many people out there wish they could be outside with friends, but that’s not possible...or is it?

    The Outdoor Interactive Color Hunt (OICH) is a way to have fun outside AND hang out with friends! Below is the list of materials and rules.

Materials: Some sort of communication device. 

How it works: On your device, call a friend or two and tell them about OICH. Next, choose a color. You can take turns. You will be looking for something outdoors that is that color, so you might not want to choose something like rainbow! Then choose a set amount of time to find a certain number of things that are that color. You can also see who can find the most in that time. I would recommend one to two minutes to look. When the time is up, show your friends what you found. If something is too big or you are unable to move it you can simply find the object and show them from where it is. And, most importantly, HAVE FUN!

Welcome to Spring!

Spring is here! The snow has melted, and with no school, it’s a great chance to be outside! If you can’t think of anything to do, here are a few suggestions:

Hiking- You can go for a stroll in the woods, and look out for wildlife and interesting things. Just the other day, I saw tadpoles swimming around! Another thing you can do while hiking is looking for vernal pools. They’re beautiful, but sometimes hard to find!

Biking- You can take your bike for a spin around the block, or you can even just ride it in your driveway! Some of you might even be able to do a bit of mountain biking, and do some of the things you can do while hiking! Not only is biking good exercise, It’s fun too!

Make something up- If you’re not feeling up to going anywhere, this might be a good activity! Get out some sports equipment and your thinking cap, and you can create an outdoor activity of your own.