Your online hub for recreation and mindfulness within the City of Mountain View

MV STAY-CAY

August 10-18, 2020

Want a printable version of the calendar? Click here.

Monday: Today, a game of Frisbee can get you moving, jumping and throwing. We recommend Eagle Park, Rengstorff Park or Cooper Park for the large grass space. Afterwards, try searching for bugs. While you could try to collect them in a jar for close viewing, we recommend taking photos of them and building your bug photo collection. For a variety of bugs, try going to Heritage Park and search around the garden beds. When you get home, make a rainbow fruit kabob - try to include a fruit you've never tried before. Click here for fruit kabob inspiration. As the sky darkens, try your hand at shadow puppets. All you need is a flashlight (the light from your phone could work too) and a hand! To improve your puppetry skills, check out this how to video.

Tuesday: Tuesdays are for walking! We challenge you to walk to your neighborhood park. Want a list of all City parks? Click here. Once at the park, play freeze tag with your family. After a fun game at the park, it's time to relax... and build the ultimate pillow fort! Optional materials include blankets, chairs, sofa cushions, flashlights. Want an easy fort idea? Throw a large blanket on your kitchen table and call it done. After the fort in built, its time for family game night! You can bust out your favorite board or card game or try something new. We're partial to charades.

Wednesday: Start your activities outside with a little game of lawn bowling. Keep it simple - empty cans or bottles work best - and bowl with a standard rubber ball. After your quick games, its time to work on your chalk masterpiece. Recreate a famous artwork or draw a scene of your wildest imagination. All that fun must work up an appetite. Time for a taste test of summer fruits! Summer fruits are at peak ripeness, so explore your local food market for FIVE different fruits. At home, rate and rank your favorites. Bonus points if you can find a recipe using your top ranked fruit. To round out the evening, round up your stuffed animals. Create a little habitat for them to play, eat and run around in.

Thursday: Today's the day to try a new sport! Perhaps you've always wanted to try tennis or even ribbon dancing? Try it out. No regrets! Afterwards it is time to play, or should we say YALP, because it is opposite day. Try eating breakfast for dinner, wearing your clothes backwards or switching roles - maybe the child makes dinner and mom gets to play? At the end of the day, grab a jar and head outside. Create a jar terrarium and then take a look up at the sky. How many stars can you count? How many constellations can you identify?

Friday: Splish, splash! Use a hose, squirt gun or even a sponge! As long as everyone is getting wet, it's all fun. After drying off, take a walk around the neighborhood. Is there a street you haven't walked down before? If so, today's the day to take a detour. When you get home, change into some comfys and get ready for s'mores. While traditional s'mores are made roasting marshmallows over a fire pit, we know that not everyone has a pit or grill. If so, try these s'mores cookies or microwaved s'mores mug cakes. When the treats are ready, you'll know it's movie time. Need some inspiration? Try a classic!

Saturday: Ready for a busy day? Us too! Before it gets too hot, go for a hike. Rancho San Antonio and Shoreline at Mountain View have some great trails. While exploring, keep a lookout for birds. At Shoreline, see if you can spot sand pipers, cormorants, and swallows, oh my! At Rancho San Antonio, can you spot a red-tailed hawk or California towhee? Take this bird bingo card and see how many you can identify. After all that activity... let's go home and tye-dye! Socks, shirts, and bandanas all work well. At the end of the night, get your mind focused for trivia. Set the scene, get the scorecards ready, and let's play! Here are some resources for an online trivia game or your standard question & answers.

Sunday: Namaste it's Sunday. Reach for the mat and let's start the day early with yoga. Are you stretching with little ones? Try Cosmic Yoga. If you'd like a little challenge, try Yoga with Adriene. With mind and body centered, time to get some fun and healthy food. The Mountain View Farmers Market is open from 9am-1pm at the Mountain View Caltrain Station. The afternoon brings the best wind to Mountain View at Shoreline. Did you know there is a kite flying area? To round out the week, time to build a bird feeder. For science!

We hope you've enjoyed this fun and active stay-cation. Give us some feedback. What did you like? Would you like to see another stay-cation around Thanksgiving break? Email us at Recreation@MountainView.gov.

MOVEMENT

We are lucky to live in an area surrounded by trees, trails, mountains, and incredible outdoor opportunities. If you are considering visiting a park and are able to travel further afield, now may be a good time to explore some or our region’s larger or more remote natural areas, which may be less crowded.

• Go bird watching at Shoreline at Mountain View.
• Visit some of Mountain View's less known parks- bonus points if you visit them all #MindSocialDistance
• Find an open space preserve where you can hike, ride or walk the dog.
• Take a Tree Walk at Pioneer Park or Cuesta Park. Canopy has partnered with the City of Mountain View to create tree guides you can download and take along with you.
• While exploring, discover and record local flora and fauna with the following apps and websites: iNaturalist, Plant Snap, Leaf Snap, Merlin Bird ID, Celebrate Urban Birds, Creek Critters, or LEPS.
• Got a green thumb? Gardening is a great way to get outside and get some light exercise. Here's how to create a garden using your dinner scraps - no seed packets needed.

Can’t get out? Explore virtual options!

There’s nothing like getting outside, feeling the sunshine, breathing in fresh air and connecting with nature. But during these difficult times, we recognize that the opportunity to get outside is going to be limited for many. Several organizations have put together great free resources for online exercise classes, virtual at-home workouts, and other ways to explore your world and connect with others remotely. Mountain View Recreation is also working to explore virtual fitness and recreation programming and we will have more information about these opportunities soon. In the meantime, check out these resources:

• The SilverSneakers have a variety of exercises for older adults, including yoga, cardio, stretches, and more.
• Tighten your soccer skills with Futsal Kingz.
• Nama-stay home and try yoga with your kids.
• Practice soccer drills with Kidz Love Soccer.
• Visit Skyhawks Sports Family Resource Center for virtual lessons and resources.
• You've been challenged! The View Teen Center staff Scott calls teens to take a 20 sec push-up challenge.

MOTIVATION

If you find yourself with a little more time on your hands or need some stimulus for your little ones, perhaps its time to pick up a hobby or learn a new skill.

• Check out our series of Mountain View Rec Breaks on our City YouTube page.
• Feeling crafty? Create a wooden geoboard, make a zine from a single piece of paper, blow gigantic bubbles with DIY bubble soap, brighten up your house with coffee filter poppies, DIY macrame home decor, build a mid-century modern shoebox house (because why not).
• Join your neighbors as we celebrate community while practicing social distancing with a Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt! Create works of art in the daily theme and place in your windows for your neighbors to see. Visit www.facebook.com/mountainviewrecreation for a list of the daily themes.
  
• Just because the Library is closed doesn't mean you can't check out books! Visit the Library's resource page to download eBooks or audiobooks for FREE.
• Ever wanted to learn a new language? You can access language learning classes for free with your Library card through MANGO.
• Learn a new skill, hobby or discuss mind maps from experts in the field through Creative Mornings - Virtual Field Trips (for adults).
• Podcast at home! You've got a voice, learn how to share it from the experts at NPR.
• Learn to draw with Young Rembrandts.
• We know you have a story in you. Try The Story Starter to get random prompts that may lead to the next best seller.
• Americas Test Kitchen has a full resource center for kids learning to cook - including how-to videos, the science behind the food and best tips.
• Watch an online health class for kids with Little Medical School.
• Explore the mystery and learn the history behind the Winchester Mystery House through a virtual tour.

MOOD BOOSTERS 

It's a stressful situation, we get it. If you need a mental break, check out the below links to relax, breathe and maybe even laugh.

• Nowhere Else We'd Rather Be - City of Mountain View. We've adapted the popular downtown graphic to an 11x17 poster. Feel free to print and share.
• Try a Mountain View Rec Word Search! Need some help? Click here for the answer sheet.
• For pure fun - use your keyboard to create a graphic and sound experience with Patatap.
• Find your zen while watching the Monterey Bay Aquarium live.
• Consider this your official owl from Hogwarts.
• Tiny Chef is the tiny kitchen friend we didn't know we needed.
• Step back and take a tour through the cosmos.
• Bring the ZOO to you with Oakland Zoo's Zoo@Home.
• Khan Academy has free daily schedules and academic resources to help during the shelter-in-place.
• "When you name your exhaustion, it becomes easier to see that it's not a problem in your head; it's a problem in your circumstances", writes Adam Grant for a New York Times Article. Check out the Feeling Wheel and see if you can name your emotions.
• Need a break from all the chores around the house? Check out this list of FREE online puzzles and games compiled by staff to use on the computer or phone. Have fun!
• Midpeninsula Open Space has a variety of word puzzles, scavenger hunts and crafts to appreciate the outdoors while staying indoors.

and MORE!

Below are a list of resources that might help you or a neighbor stay informed or access essentials.

• For residents 60+, check out our senior resource guides for information on housing, legal assistance, grief counseling and more.
• There are a variety of local food services programs for seniors - View the resource sheet for contact info, hours of operation and locations.
• Looking for a comprehensive list of stores offering special shopping hours for seniors - view this list of local retailers with age requirements and hours.
• The Mountain View Senior Center is looking for volunteers to make cloth face masks for seniors. Drop off your new cloth masks at the Senior Center front door on Tuesdays from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. All masks will be disinfected and distributed to nutrition program participants the following week.
• Do you have puzzles you'd like to donate? The Mountain View Senior Center and Youth Advisory Committee have organized a puzzle drive! Community members can drop off puzzles on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. at the Mountain View Senior Center. Puzzles are sanitized by staff and distributed to community members (aged 55 or older) on Tuesdays from 1-4 p.m. at the front doors of the Mountain View Senior Center. For more information, please call (650) 903-6330.

Got an idea to share? Email recreation@mountainview.gov. We'd love to hear from you. The City of Mountain View does not endorse or receive funds to advertise any of the third party sites or services linked or referenced on this page.