21 minute read
Dear Teachers
QA DEARTEACHERS &
BY PEGGY GISLER AND MARGE EBERTS
PARENTS: Your children may not have had the opportunity to do many hands-on science experiments this past year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our summer science activities will give them a chance to not only learn more about basic science concepts, but also have fun doing it.
Be sure to choose activities for them that are age-appropriate. Some will require parental supervision to ensure their safety. You can find more science activities on our Dear Teacher website under “Learning Activities - Science.” Plus, there are endless science activities online. Just search for “science experiments for kids.” You can add the words easy, fun and video to reveal even more choices.
A SCIENCE EXPERIMENT WITH SOUND
Children love to make noise, and this experiment is all about an audio ruckus. Sound is part of physical science, so here is an opportunity to learn more about it by making a water xylophone. To do this, kids need water, four or more mason jars (or the same size tall glasses), wooden sticks (tinker toys, bamboo skewers) and food coloring. Here are the steps they should follow:
1. Tap the empty jars or glasses with the wooden sticks to get an idea of the starting sound.
2. Fill the jars or glasses with varying levels of water.
3. Add food coloring to each one. 4. Tap the different jars or glasses to observe the sound or pitch each produces.
5. Note how the tapping sounds when tapping the top of containers rather than the sides. Is it a purer sound?
EXPANDING THE EXPERIMENT
1. Tap with a table fork instead of a wooden stick and observe whether it produces a different sound.
2. Fill two glasses to the same level with different liquids. See how the sounds differ. Because the liquids have different densities, the sound waves will travel differently through them.
THE SCIENCE OF TASTE
Pizza tastes great—and so does chocolate ice cream. This is mostly thanks to the 10,000 taste buds on your tongue that send a message to your brain. Wait a minute! You can’t give all the credit for how foods taste to your tongue, though. The nose also plays a role. Food releases chemicals that travel up your nose. This activity will let you investigate how great a role your nose plays in determining what you taste. Parents should supervise this test to make sure the foods are handled in a safe way.
1. Choose eight different foods—two each of sweet, salty, sour and bitter flavors. 2. Mash up the foods so their texture is not recognizable. 3. Divide the food into bowls so that everyone doing the tasting will have two samples of each food. 4. For your taste test, all foods should be at room temperature. 5. To begin the experiment, have everyone doing the test put on a blindfold and a nose plug like the ones used in swimming. 6. Be sure to explain to your test volunteers that everything they taste will be a familiar food and that they will taste all the foods first with the nose plug on and then with it off. 7. Have one volunteer at a time taste the food. The other volunteers should be in another room. 8. Have the volunteer take a sip of water before each food tasting. 9. For each food, ask the volunteer to identify the food, then record the result as correct or incorrect. 10. After the volunteer has tasted all the foods wearing a nose plug, repeat the experiment without the nose plug. 11. When all the volunteers have completed the taste test, your results will show you the role the nose plays in identifying the taste of foods. 12. Do let the volunteers see the foods after each one’s taste test is complete, so everyone can see what role the nose plays in food identification. CLEANING COINS IS SCIENCE
When you want to get your clothes clean, you put them in the washing machine with soap. You do the same thing to yourself when you are dirty and hop in the bathtub or shower with a bar of soap. But did you know that you can clean the penny in your pocket—but not with soap?
To remove the dirt on a penny, you need dirty pennies and a glass jar, vinegar and salt. Fill half of the jar with vinegar and put in one teaspoon of salt. When the salt dissolves, add a few dirty pennies. Wait a few minutes, then take out some of the pennies and lay them on a paper towel to dry. Then take out the remaining pennies, but rinse them well in water before putting them out to dry. Next, study the two different sets of dry pennies. You will see some of the pennies are bright and shiny, while the others have turned a bluishgreen color.
What happened? The vinegar solution remained on the pennies that were not rinsed in water. When the oxygen in the air hit them, they lost their shiny new look and turned bluish-green. However, when the other pennies were rinsed, the cleaning stopped, so they remained shiny.
You can continue this experiment by trying it on other coins. Do you think the same thing will happen? To learn about how coins are made, visit USMint.gov.
Parents should send questions and comments to dearteacher@dearteacher.com or to the Dear Teacher website.
©Compass Syndicate Corporation, 2020
A great way to keep kids reading over the summer is to get involved with your local library’s summer reading program. Visit KCParent.com for a list of summer reading programs all over the KC metro.
Helping Kids Reset After a BAD DAY
When bad days hit, they hit, and not just for parents. Kids have bad days, too, and they aren’t shy about making it known when they return home from a busy day at school or daycare. Seeing them trudge into the house with a scowl immediately puts us in fix-it mode. We want to instantly make them feel better. However, this is when we need to stop and rethink the situation. When we try to fix everything for our children, they don’t learn how to work through their problems. When we try to “make it all better,” it deprives them of the opportunity to feel grumpy and let it out when they return home. Instead, we need to look at why their mood comes out when they return home. They’re exhausted, and home is where they’re comfortable letting off steam after a long day of following rules at school. So here are some tips on healthy ways to help your kiddos reset their moods while still allowing them to feel their emotions along the way.
Allow your child to vent. Let her know it’s okay to be upset, and it’s good to let it out. Practice “reflective listening.” Pay close attention to what she is saying, and let her know that she is being heard and understood.
Breathe together. One of the single best ways to alleviate negativity is with deep belly breaths. Stand across from your child and breathe with him. Take a deep inhale as you raise your arms and a slow exhale as you lower them back down. Repeat three to five times.
Take a nature walk. Step outside and get some fresh air together. Bring a bag with you so your child can collect nature finds along the way. When you get home, go through the bag of goodies she found and reminisce about your walk.
Enjoy story time. Listen to an audiobook together. Let your child select the story.
Build together. Take out the Legos and build together. It’s very therapeutic and relaxing.
Color them happy. Take out some coloring books and crayons or colored pencils. Coloring is a relaxing, meditative activity that pairs well with music and audiobooks.
Take a bath. Spending some time in the warm water is sure to relax a grumpy child. Add some bubbles and bath toys, and your little one’s frown is sure to turn upside down.
Play games together. Whether it’s a video game or board game, take out your child’s favorite and play! Games always bring out the smiles.
Get crafty. Pull out the art supplies and get crafty! You can find all kinds of fun things to craft on sites like Pinterest or PBS.org. Bake something yummy. Whether you choose brownies, cookies or banana bread, make it a special time together. Let your child do most of the work (and decorating). Take lots of pictures! This is something that is sure to change a bad mood to good (especially when it’s time to taste the finished product).
Put a puzzle together. Puzzles are peaceful activities that invite conversation and relaxation.
Go to the library. Browsing the aisles of books and checking out some great finds to bring home is always a mood booster for kids. On the drive home, they’ll enjoy relaxing in the car while flipping through their books.
Get moving. Have a dance party or water balloon fight or set up an obstacle course in your living room. Getting physical not only boosts your children’s mood, but it also improves their school performance and helps them sleep more soundly.
Play music. The right tune can distract us from fatigue and pain, elevate our mood and increase our endurance and focus. The right music can completely flip your mindset.
Get in the car. Sometimes what everyone needs is a relaxing ride around town in the car. Buckle up, turn on some music and then just drive around town. You may decide to stop for an ice cream treat at the drive-thru, or you might just want to cruise favorite parts of the city or countryside for a while. This gives everyone some time to relax, think and reflect.
Give thanks. Start a daily gratitude practice, such as a gratitude jar. Have your child write down what he’s grateful for on a small slip of paper at the end of each day and put it in the jar. This can help him default to positivity more often. (This is a great activity for the entire family!)
Give a hug. Hugs make everything better.
A good reminder for children is that they can do things to make themselves feel better. But sometimes when kids are upset, it’s hard for them to remember the positive, joyful things in their lives. That’s where you come in and remind them what it is that often makes them feel better. For instance, “I’ve noticed you like to listen to your favorite songs when you feel like this, or draw pictures of your favorite characters.” A simple reminder like this is how you help your kids rebound from a bad day and build problem-solving skills.
Kansas City mom and author Gina Klein enjoys helping her two teen daughters reset after their bad days with hugs, nature walks, crafts, the library, shopping and the gratitude jar.
When your children are having a rough day (no matter what ages), here are some go-to phrases that just may help them feel better.
I love you.
Do you want a hug?
Take a deep breath.
Do you want to talk about it?
I’m here for you.
It will be okay.
Is there anything I can do to help?
I’m already proud of you.
I know you’ll be able to figure this out.
How about some ice cream?
Studies show that taking part in a wide variety of experiences can increase positive emotions and minimize negative ones. But that may be difficult for children who resist trying new things. Whether you have a toddler who rejects every food except pasta, a grade-schooler who’s scared to join an after-school club or a teen who’s learning to navigate a new job, here are a few ways to help kids embrace fresh experiences.
TODDLER YEARS
Almost 50 percent of parents identify their preschoolers as picky eaters, which means time at the dinner table can be a power struggle. We’ve all begged and pleaded with our toddlers to try just one bite of their veggies only to end with a tantrum at the table. The term neophobia refers to an overwhelming fear of new or unfamiliar foods. Fear of new foods is common, but it might be easier to overcome than you think.
Research shows it can take 10-15 tries before a child likes a new food, so don’t give up! If tots don’t like the food the first time, don’t force them to eat it—but don’t let that stop you from introducing the food to them again and again. Try cooking the same food different ways and spicing it up differently each time. Hopefully, you will find how your child likes that food prepared, and the struggle will be over.
To help toddlers embrace trying new foods like veggies, you can also let them choose the new foods they’d like to try while you are shopping at the grocery store. They will be more likely to try it if they make the choice on their own. I know I tend to always buy vegetables I prefer, but I realized my daughter likes different ones than I do. All it took was a trip to the store where she picked out veggies she had tried at school or had seen her friends enjoying at lunchtime.
It’s also a good idea to pair a new food like broccoli with an old favorite like macaroni and cheese. Seeing a favorite food on their plate will seem much less daunting to kids than facing the task of trying several unfamiliar foods at once. If your toddlers still balk
HELPING KIDS at the idea of trying new foods, don’t be afraid to EMBRACE NEW THINGS sneak in some nutrition in the form of spinach in their fruit smoothies or pureed vegetables in their macaroni and cheese. I still sneak pureed veggies into my 6-year-old’s macaroni and cheese, and she has yet to notice or catch me! ELEMENTARY YEARS Elementary age is a great time for kids to explore all the extracurricular activities available to them. After-school activities can give them a sense of belonging, help them discover their passions and help with social skills. Whether they opt for coding club, Scouts, soccer or chess club, your children will reap the benefits. The only problem is kids in grade school tend to be reluctant to try new extracurricular activities. Setting your expectations for them can help with their hesitance. Let your kids know you expect them to participate in at least one activity each school year, no exceptions. It’s important to make sure you ultimately leave the choice of what the activity is up to them. If they aren’t sure, help them explore ideas that would coincide with their interests. Be clear that they must complete the school year or season of the activity they choose. When the school year or season is over, they can decide whether they want to participate in the same activity again or switch to something else. Fear of failure tends to be a major factor in kids hesitating to try new things. They prefer to only do things they know they will
– RICH WALKER, PSYCHOLOGIST
excel in, so trying anything new seems like a major risk. This is one reason why it’s important to praise your children for their hard work and effort, rather than just their successes. Comments like “I love watching you play soccer!” instead of “You almost got a goal!” let them know you love them even if they aren’t the best at everything. They will slowly gain confidence as they progress in the new activity, which will encourage them to get involved in other activities that might be out of their comfort zone. If your kids are still reluctant to try something new, try reminding them of all the other things they have tried and knew nothing about but ended up ultimately loving.
It’s also helpful to let them invite a friend to the activity with them. They might feel more comfortable with a familiar face who is taking a risk and trying something new right along with them.
HIGH SCHOOL
High school students face many changes at once, including moving to a larger school, driving and starting their first job. They are slowly gaining independence through their teen years, and getting their first job is just one of the ways they begin growing into young adults. Teens can often see getting a job as intimidating and as a first step into adulthood. It can sometimes be a bit overwhelming for them to move out of their day-to-day routine and take on something new. To help them take the leap, be positive and encourage them to pursue a job they would enjoy. To do this, sit down with them and discuss their interests. Do they love film? Try a job at the movie theater. Do they love swimming? Try lifeguarding. Do they want to be a writer? Have them intern at a local newspaper. They will gain experience and confidence in their abilities, and hopefully the jobs will inspire them to continue working toward their long-term goals. Hopefully, as they grow into adulthood, they will embrace the idea of taking on a new job, because they know they’ve succeeded before.
You can also talk to teens about what they can get out of starting a job. They can build independence by earning and saving their own money. They might even be able to save enough to buy a car. They will build friendships by meeting coworkers at their job and relationships with people in the community. They will also gain knowledge about how businesses are run and possibly come out of their job with a new passion to pursue.
Regan Lyons is a freelance writer who lives in St. Joseph, MO, with her husband, Cale, and daughters, Atley, 6, and Ensley, 9 months old.
Headphones for after-school jamming
INTO A NEW SCHOOL YEAR
Jeans that fit just right A fun top that's sure to turn heads
Shoes to walk the halls in style
NINE WAYS
TO INSTILL LEADERSHIP QUALITIES IN KIDS
Kids who have well developed leadership skills are more confident, responsible and push themselves to their full potential. Leadership helps them develop better and more creative coping skills when it comes to problem solving and project management. The art of compromise, empathy and good decision making skills, things most parents strive to teach their children, are also important benefits of having well developed leadership skills. For some children, leadership comes naturally, and for others it must be developed and encouraged over time. Either way, parents can help develop their children’s leadership qualities so that when they are ready to attend college and enter the workforce, leading others and knowing when to follow someone else’s lead are already second nature.
Set an example
Parents can help their kids develop good leadership by showing them what a good leader looks like on a daily basis. When you lead others, including your own children, try to be optimistic and a good listener. Treat people fairly and do the right thing. Your kids will learn these skills simply by modeling your good example. Set them up for success
Kids who are successful at the things they try are more confident and more willing to get out of their comfort zone and help others in the future. You can foster this by encouraging them to try activities where they have natural strengths and talent or assist them in projects just enough to help them succeed while still allowing them to bear the majority of the decisions and work the project involves.
Build communication skills
Listening and good communication are keys to making a leader successful and wellliked by peers. Encourage your children to put their communication skills into practice by developing listening skills, speaking in public and expressing their frustrations in a healthy way. Parents can do this by asking their children to order their own food at a restaurant, encouraging them to approach coaches or teachers themselves when there is a problem and teaching them to ask questions after listening to a friend who’s talking.
Be a team player
School projects, team sports, clubs or involvement in a band, orchestra or choir helps kids understand how to work toward a goal as a group. These experiences help your child understand how to be a good leader and when to listen to others—and why both are equally important.
Encourage lifelong skills
Integrity, empathy, work ethic, respect, negotiation and compromise are great skills for any leader, as well as any student, employee or friend. You can encourage these skills by setting a good example and talking through situations where these traits are either on display or lacking. Ask your kids how they would have handled this differently and why. Praise them when they have done a good job using these skills and encourage them when needed.
Show them the value of diversity
There is great value in diversity. Everyone has different backgrounds, experiences and gifts. Encourage your kids to learn about other cultures and experiences and help them see that differences are what make us a stronger team. They can learn to stand up for those who are singled out or viewed as different than others. This is what makes a great leader.
Ask for help
Kids who know when to problem solve and when to ask for guidance are better teammates and stronger leaders. It’s also important to offer help to others in the group who may be struggling. Lead by example and be encouraging and helpful when needed.
Develop good work habits
Kids who have responsibilities at a young age are better prepared to lead others. Encourage your child to get a part-time job at a young age or pick up jobs like yard work, babysitting or volunteer work, so they can build their leadership skills, develop their work ethic and get experience in a variety of areas.
Manage time
When your children have a large project to complete, encourage them to map out their plan for getting it done on time. Create steps and set goals to accomplish that will help meet the deadline. Good project management skills will serve them well in their roles as a leader and an employee in the future.
As your children develop strong leadership skills, it’s important to understand that they will not always be the person in charge. Having good leadership skills doesn’t mean you are always the one who is leading. Being respectful and willing to listen to others and compromise while not officially being the person “in charge” of the group are still ways to lead others. Whether your child is a natural leader or a great teammate, these leadership skills will serve anyone well in the future.
Extracurricular Activities That Build Leadership Skills Team sports – Being part of a team helps build leadership and helps kids learn to work as a group and understand the art of leading and following others.
Student government – Being part of student council or government helps kids learn to lead and build speaking and negotiating skills. Start your own club – If your children are interested in something specific, chances are others their age are as well. Starting their own club is a great way to learn how to lead others and share common interests. Volunteer work – Giving of their time helps kids put others first, work on a project for the greater good, develop a good work ethic and build leadership skills.
Academic teams or clubs – Being part of an academic team or clubs such as robotics, mathletes, speech and debate, National Honor Society and science club, are great ways to build skills in areas that interest kids but also give them leadership skills they can use in college and the workforce. Music and arts – Not everyone is drawn to team sports, but being part of a choir, orchestra, band or theater or working on a creative project as a group can have the same benefits as team sports do when it comes to leadership skills. Scouts – Groups like Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts give kids the opportunity to work as a team and individually while helping others and being exposed to diversity, volunteer work, team building and life skills.
Sarah Lyons is a freelance writer and stay-athome mom living in Olathe with her husband and their six children.
ENROLLING FOR FALL
AGES 3-5
