Warmer weather is here for many of us, and for those of you “up North”, the days will soon turn balmy for you as well (I promise!).  With warmer weather we get to enjoy budding plants, more outside playtime, and (our favorite) BUGS!

Exploring the world around us should be an integral part of growing up and learning.  Studying nature and the outside world allows children the opportunity to learn more about how we, as humans, work and live with and in the environment, taking care of our planet and the inhabitants thereof.  Through nature, children can explore patterns and solve problems.  They can learn to make decisions based on how that decision affects others around them, and they can observe life cycles of other creatures to learn more about themselves.  And, nature is simply COOL.  Bugs included!  Just ask any child what a worm or a beetle is, and they can certainly tell you!

WonderBrains offers a variety of products to promote observation of living creatures in a safe way - safe for children as well as the creatures!  Products, such as the Bug Explorer, are perfect for safely “catching” a variety of insects and observe them in a non-threatening way.  And, the insects can be released back into their natural habitat.  Or, look into products such as an ant farm or ladybug farm to bring insects that might be more difficult to capture into a safe observation area.  One of our favorite insect-toys in our family is the butterfly habitat.  With it, my boys can send off for caterpillars that the boys then watch as they grow and metamophosize into beautiful butterflies.  We then release them in our own back yard, where they can be spotted for quite some time afterward. 

Whether using store-bought product or making your own collection system (jars with holes in the lids, plastic containers, nets), bugs can be easily observed and recorded.  Even little tikes love to draw pictures of what they see.  Simply stapling a few sheets of paper together to make a journal or record book can open up many doors and opportunities to learn.  Encourage your child to ask questions, to look for answers, and to write or draw what they see.  Keep a journal of types of bugs found in your backyard, and encourage your child to keep track of the numbers of each kind they see and find.  Take photos of different insects to use as a reference when looking for more information at your local library or online.

As with any type of creature, teach your child some safety tips when handling living things.  Try not to touch any creature so as not to harm the animal (or have the animal harm your child!).  Always ask an adult before attempting to capture an animal/insect in order to make sure that the child is being safe and aware of the surroundings.  Try not to disturb the animal’s habitat, and be sure to release the animal back at the same place it was found so as not to confuse it.

Bugs can offer a multitude of learning opportunities and adventures!

Are you looking for a few ideas to hold your sanity in tact until warmer weather arrives?  Even if you are already seeing signs of Spring, these are great activities in ANY kind of weather!

• Let’s go on a treasure hunt!  Hide a treasure somewhere outside, then leave a trail of colorful aquarium rocks, bread crumbs or even cereal for them to follow to find it.  If there’s snow around, the edible trail idea will be great for hungry animal-friends!  Too chilly for those little bodies?  Create a treasure hunt indoors!
• Become a weather bug! Have your child monitor the weather each day by writing or drawing what he or she sees.  Make a journal or chart of the changes in your local weather, and see if your child can predict what might happen the next day.
• If you are in an area still covered with snow, fill a few squirt bottles with colored water and bundle those kids up.  Have them spray the snow to create fantastic works of art right there on the ground!
• If springtime storms are starting to make an appearance, have your child create a picture with watercolor markers on a piece of posterboard or even a paper plate.  When the rain comes, place the drawing outside and watch what happens.
• Create an indoor snowman…make good use of those styrofoam packing peanuts be drawing an outline of a snowman on a piece of heavy paper.  Have your child glue packing peanuts all over the snowman, then embellish with spare buttons, scrap material, twigs, bottle caps or whatever goodies you have just sitting around!

My husband watched this weekend, in apparent horror, as our four year old took the HUGE bin of Hot Wheels cars and dumped them in the middle of the living room floor.  While I see this quite often at our house, my husband is usually at work or away and misses these lovely events.  I knew what his initial reaction would be, and I made sure to make quick eye contact with him and let him know that it was okay.  He just needed to watch - and learn.

Our four year-old then proceeded to sort through his collection of metal vehicles.  First, he separated the vans, motorcycles, trucks, cars and planes into different groups.  He lined them all up, then he took each group and sorted those by color: reds together, yellows, greens, making arbitrary decisions on those with several colors.  All the cars were lined up, facing my husband, grouped and sorted.  Then, my son dashed off to find his brother and play a little soccer outside.

While we need to work on the “clean up” phase of playing (obviously), what my husband and I just witnessed was a wonderful display of our son’s developmental skills.  Sorting is an essential pre-reading and pre-math skill.  Being able to classify objects into groups based on shape, size, color, or even ability (it rolls, it flies, it bounces…) leads to distinguishing between subtle characteristics of letters, such as “O” and “Q” or “b” and “d”.  Classification is an essential higher-order thinking skill and should be encouraged with young children.

Sorting and classification is not just relegated to toys; trail mix can be sorted.  Bath toys can be sorted.  Have your child sort silverware when helping to empty the dishwasher.  Sort cups according to size.  Sort canned goods in the pantry according to type and size.  Sort rocks or sticks based on whatever characteristic your child can find.

And, if you find a way to incorporate cleaning up into this, please let me know…my nine year-old is STILL working on that one…

Winter weather means it is time for one of my most favorite science activities - ALL THINGS STATIC ELECTRICITY!  What causes static electricity to be so prevalent in the winter months?  It is primarily based on two facts:  wintertime is typically drier than summer, when the air is more humid.  Electricity needs the dry air in order to hold the charge.  And, we tend to wear things (such as wool hats and scarves, jackets and socks) that increase the presence of static electricity.

Without bogging down on how static electricity is formed, it simply needs two “insulators” to rub together.  Insulators are things made of plastic, cloth, or glass.  These can hold charged atoms, called ions.  When they come into contact with a “conductor”, such as metal, the energy is transferred (and we get a shock!).  Here are some great things to try on a cold, dry day to experiment with static electricity.

• Take a piece of dry cereal, such as an “O” shaped cereal, and tie it to a thread about a foot long.  Tape the thread on the side of a table so that the cereal hangs loosely without touching anything.  Next take a clean, dry comb and rub it on a sweater or comb through dry hair.  Now, hold the comb close to the cereal.  What does the cereal do?  When the cereal is hanging loose again, recharge the comb and place it near the cereal again.  Are the results the same or different?  Why?
• Rub a dry, clean comb on a sweater or through dry hair and hold it near a running faucet (run the faucet in a slow, steady stream, not full-blast).  Watch what happens to the stream of water.
• This is my favorite, but it definitely requires an adult to do it.  Take a fluorescent light bulb into a dark room.  Rub a dry, clean comb on a sweater or through dry hair (do this a lot to build up a good charge).  Touch the comb to the light bulb and see what happens.  Try touching the light bulb in different places and see if the results change.

These experiments can be done with balloons that are blown up and tied as well.  Try it both ways and see which way works best!

As a teacher, I’ve witnessed firsthand how excited children get when they get to share something at school with their friends.  Everything from a coveted toy or stuffed animal to a shiny rock found on the sidewalk is fair game, and each item is meaningful and unique in its own way.  It is a time most, if not all, children look forward to.

In our house, we have incorporated this idea into some family time.  On nights that we don’t have sports commitments, piano lessons or church obligations, we have a designated “Show and Tell” session.  Our boys are asked to share something from either school or an activity they are in.  It can be a test paper, an art project, a special skill from baseball, or a book they are reading.  In turn, my husband and I share something with our boys that WE are interested in: my scrapbooking or photography and my husband’s interest in cars are just a few.  We practice being good listeners and positive feedback-givers.

It is an excellent opportunity for our 9 year old to share something he’s exceptionally proud of (even though he’s probably told us about it a dozen times - he doesn’t mind sharing once more!).  It is also great practice for our four year old in speaking in front of others.  And, it gives us a special time to share together as well!

In my son’s school, I have noticed a significant shift away from creating children who can write neatly.  So, I try to find ways to get my kids motivated about writing - and writing legibly - without feeling like it is such a chore.  Here are a couple of suggestions to try with your young writer:

• Making a (shopping) list - on the way to the store, I dictate a short list to my son of things we need to purchase.  Then, I allow him to add one or two extra items that he feels we may need (we talk about them first, though, before adding them!).  He realizes how important it is to write well when others will be using your “work”!
• Portable writing center - this is an idea I gleaned from my preschool classroom.  I try to keep a supply of paper and pens or pencils in the car, usually in the glove box or among the children’s belongings in the front seat.  When we are out running errands, I let my sons write letters to their friends.  They can also choose to write relatives or far away friends as well, and we mail those off to get to their destination.  From time to time, I will stock my car with postage-paid postcards for my boys to write letters.  Then, we make our final errand stop the post office!  To practice writing for another person’s enjoyment is a good motivator to use legible handwriting.

What are some ideas you have for getting kids to write legibly?

So many times, I find myself focusing on my son’s faults in regards to school - rushing through work, needing to read a bit more, get that homework done and correct the ones that I’ve checked.  It is equally, if not more, important to let our children know what they are doing that is AWESOME in school.  Try some of these activities to make sure your budding einstein gets the recognition he or she deserves!

1. Frame It!  I bought an inexpensive frame at the discount store (less than $3) that will hold most papers my third grader brings home ( a 9 x 12 frame works well).  Anytime my son brings home work that he is exceptionally proud of, whether it is a test, a written assignment, an art project, whatever, it goes in the frame.  We display this on the counter in our kitchen and rotate the pieces through as he sees fit.  It is a great way for Dad to catch up with the good stuff from school!
2. Showcase It On the Computer!  Going a step beyond the framable work, I will take pictures from time to time of my children with their proudest work.  When I upload the picture to my computer, I save it as my backdrop.  It is a great visual reminder when I sit down to work at how amazing my children are.
3. Get The Family Involved!  Nothing feels quite as good has having a family member tell you how proud they are of you, so give that gift to your child.  Have grandparents, aunts, uncles, or even neighbors comment on your child’s successes.  Sometimes, it can feel a bit more special when it comes from someone other than “just” mom or dad!
4. Hang It High!  Create your own personalized magnets by simply mounting a photo of your child on cardboard or posterboard.  Cut around your child’s outline and glue this to a clothespin.  Attach a magnet to the other side of the clothespin, and use this awesome little display tool to hold report cards, important papers or awards won on the refrigerator!
5. Celebrate Over Breakfast!  When my boys do something exceptionally outstanding, such as participating in a class play or making good grades on a report card, we celebrate with breakfast out.  The kids get to decide where we’ll eat, and we enjoy some family time before we all start our busy days.

Do you have any ideas to share?  Leave a comment and let us know!

Mashable has a great post today about Brightstorm, a company that offers tutorials and learning videos aimed at teens. Well worth a look! It got me thinking about how technology is used in our classrooms. Even my preschooler has computers in her room, with educational games that simultaneously teach and entertain.

This past weekend, at a local “playnasium”, both of my girls were most interested in the computer games, tied only with the plastic roller coaster they could ride. In addition to the classic “workstation” setup, the playnasium also offered computers that were connected to an apparatus that looked like a cross between a stationary bike and the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disney World. The kids actually interact with the computer through the bike, not through a keyboard and mouse.

Technology plays such an important role in our lives, so it’s great that it breaks into our learning environments and that we can interact with it in various ways. If this topic interests you, here are a few more resources online:

• Integrating Technology Into the Classroom - Methods and Means (focuses on secondary educators)
• Using Technology in the Early Childhood Classroom, an inteview from Scholastic with Dr. Bruce D. Perry
• 4Teachers.org, a full website to help educators integrate technology into their teaching