As summer comes to an end, the residents and staff of the National Home came together to share lunch and hear about all the great activities that the kids have participated in throughout the summer. The Summer Work Crew continued their tradition of volunteering at the VA Medical Center in Battle Creek. There they spent time visiting with the veterans and enjoyed hearing about their experiences. They also completed many jobs around campus, from landscaping projects to painting. Our Education Department staff members worked with the kids on activities focused on reading, science and learning about different countries. One favorite and fun way to learn is by going on fieldtrips so they visited the State Capital and area museums. We expanded our 4-H program this year, which was a big hit! In addition to raising pigs and rabbits, younger kids enjoyed making no-sew blankets, bottle rockets and hand painting t-shirts. A little guy named Jack shared his story about his favorite summer activity: “Riley and I had lots of fun doing this activity. To make our bottle rocket, which we named the Jaguar Rattlesnake rocket, we started with a liter bottle. First, we added a nose cone made of foam. Then, during flight, the nose cone got bent. A few days later we fixed it with duct tape. We added 4 rocks to make it heavier so that it would fly farther. We added clay all around the sides of the rocket to add decoration and weight. We noticed that the rocket flew a lot farther. We got first place! Once we added more water for the more pressure, we were ustoppable! We loved this activity and we would like to thank Laura, Ethan, and Dave for teaching us about the science of the bottle rocket and for helping us along the way.” It has been a great summer at the VFW National Home for Children!