Last week, I ran a super fun program as part of my "Diggin' into Fun" series for tweens (ages 9-14) at our Library,
SECRET AGENT TRAINING. Since it was a lot of fun, I thought I would share it with you all.
I started out the program dressed in a black trench coat and black fedora (sorry, I forgot to take a picture!). Though several of the kids told me how much they liked my outfit and I thanked them, we then began with a discussion about why my outfit was the worst possible choice for a spy!
We talked about how
cover stories and blending in were important skills for spies. They each got to pick a random job description that was their "cover story" and then I had some mustaches, a hat, some sunglasses, and two ties that they could hold up as their
disguises while they demonstrated their cover personalities for everyone to guess.
Each little spy then received a scratch ticket that I made (I'll put the "recipe" at the end of this post - they were super easy to make!!) that revealed their
code names (Agent 0021 or Agent 0013, etc) so that they safeguard their real identities.
We sat down and played a game of
"telephone" with some neat spy sounding phrases to practice both our whisper enunciation and our eavesdropping skills. Turns out the kids were *really* bad at it, but they had fun trying to make funny phrases instead, LOL.
Next, we talked about why a spy might choose certain weapons for attacking or defending themselves. Stealth versus firepower, etc. I set up three bulls-eyes and let the kids line up to shoot a cheap suction cup
bow and arrow set at the targets. While they were in line, I also taught them how to send
secret messages in class or on the go with rubber bands. If you stretch a rubber band and write a message in small letters, when the band is shrunk back down to regular size you can't even tell it's really writing on the rubber. Then you can drop the rubber band nonchalantly on someone's desk or near their feet and they can stretch the band back out to read your secret message! Super easy.
Lastly, we ended with the biggest hit. A
"laser maze" and a tunnel to practice their spy agility. It wasn't anything amazingly spectacular, but the kids LOVED it. They each went through at least twice and were scrambling to see who could do it without touching the yarn I strung up for lasers.
All in all, this was a pretty easy program to set up and the kids had a blast!
In case you're interested, here is the "recipe" for the homemade scratch tickets:
Ingredients -
1 tablespoon dish soap (any brand will work)
2 tablespoons acrylic paint in whatever color you choose
Mix until paint starts to bubble, then let settle so that you don't end up with too many bubbles on your scratch tickets.
Next put a piece of packing (or book) tape over the section of card that you want kids to be able to scratch and reveal. Paint over that section. Allow the paint to dry. Once it's dry, you'll be able to scratch the paint right off with a coin! Super easy.
Then to start our party off right, we had some rocket launching practice. I bought two cheap foam rocket sets (1 launcher and 4 mini-rockets per set) and hung up three cardboard bulls-eyes for them to try hitting. I purposely drew the three centers different sizes so that kids will have a higher success rate. One bulls-eye is hug (see below) and then one is slightly small and then the last one is very small. 
For the second half of the program, each child made their own minion to take home! Using a photo that I found online for inspiration, I created a minion craft out of a cereal box. The downside to this particular craft was that cereal boxes come in different sizes, so I had to measure and cut the construction paper to fit each box. I cut two large yellow pieces to fit the front and back of the box, two small yellow strips to fit the sides and one small yellow strip to fit the top of the box. (I actually cut one end of the box open to help it stand and to be one less surface to cover.) 
When I gave each child their cereal box, it contained the yellow and blue strips cut to fit that specific box. They glued those pieces on first with white Elmer's glue, then I handed out the smaller pieces. I let each child choose whether they wanted one or two eyes for their minion and I also put out markers so that they could draw their minions eye expressions, mouths and any other decorations they wanted. 
At the very end, I also sent each child home with a "Despicable Me" coloring sheet and a little candy minion. These were fairly easy to make, though it's been so hot and humid here in New England lately that my minions were a little more melty than I had anticipated, making the icing way harder to work with! For these I got yellow (vanilla-flavored) candy melts at Michael's, as well as candy eyeballs and black icing. I melted the candy, then dipped the spoons into the candy. I only coated the backs of the spoons rather than dipping the entire bowl of the spoon in to cut down on the amount of pure sugar that they kids got to eat. Then I stuck one or two candy eyeballs into the candy. I put them in the fridge for a while to solidify, then took them back out to use the icing to make the goggles around the eyeballs. They came out really cute and both the kids and their parents loved them! 
Each little spy then received a scratch ticket that I made (I'll put the "recipe" at the end of this post - they were super easy to make!!) that revealed their code names (Agent 0021 or Agent 0013, etc) so that they safeguard their real identities. 
Lastly, we ended with the biggest hit. A "laser maze" and a tunnel to practice their spy agility. It wasn't anything amazingly spectacular, but the kids LOVED it. They each went through at least twice and were scrambling to see who could do it without touching the yarn I strung up for lasers.
.jpg)
