Living vs Nonliving: Early Childhood

We are zoo members, and we visit OFTEN!  Most recently, the boys and I explored the zoo in the context of living versus non-living things.  

Living: boys, trees, grass
Nonliving: mechanical dinosaur
No longer living: wood chips

For my little ones, we asked ourselves:  

Q. Does it eat or use energy?
Q  Does it grow?
Q. Does it respond to its environment?  (leaves are green because of the sunlight) (turtle retracted its head into the shell when we reached for it)
Q. Could it reproduce (or make babies or make more like itself)?

Then, there was the not so obvious choice.   Is water a living thing?

Living: Tree, plants, algae
Nonliving: water

Malcolm: "Yes."
Me: "How do you know?"
Malcolm: "Because it moves."
Me: "Okay, that's right.  But is it moving on its own, or is something forcing it to move?  Let's think about the other questions...."
Malcolm: "Okay.  It's not alive."
Me: "Water supports or helps living things.  There are many living things inside of the water, too."

Living: Grizzly bear
Nonliving: tire, ball, water
No longer living: wood chips, branches

Living: turtles, algae
Nonliving: water

Living: salamander hiding under a rock
Nonliving: rocks, water

STEM related YA Fiction and Other Resources

     In undeniable ways my daughter embodies the characteristics of her generation, coined the iGeneration, Gen Z, or Gen Next.  Though she's a social butterfly, she can be spotted in her bliss, simultaneously surrounded by her IPad, tablet, and cellular phone.  I commonly observe her multitasking between these devices.  And though it makes me a little anxious to watch, she's content, it seems.  

   
    Still, part of her personality is so, well, retro.  For instance, on her mannequins she designs the cutest eclectic clothing from scraps of fabric.  She thinks reruns of Full House and The Cosby Show are cool.  In musical taste, one of her favorites is a young acapella group by the name of Pentatonix.  (very talented)  And, just the other day as we were acquiring our next summer read, she requested a paperback over a digital download.  Go figure.

     Nevertheless, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, our next summer read, is a young adult science-fiction novel.  It is the first in a popular dystopic book series, and is soon to be a major motion picture.  It has been mentioned in 2011 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers and 2011 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults.
   
     Why have I mentioned it in this blog entry?  Mainly to direct you to the Young Adult Library Services Association's (YALSA) STEM book recommendations:  YOUNG ADULT FICTION WITH TIES TO STEM
 
     On a related note, pressingly there is a need to attract more girls toward STEM professions.  In the periodical, Scientific American, contributing editor Anna Kuchment argues storytelling may attract more girls to science.  
  Back to my middle school gal.  "A paperback?  Sure, let's stop by the library on our way home," I answered.  But, the book we wanted, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, was unavailable, as there were about 100 holds on 30 copies.  I again suggested we get a digital copy for our Kindle.  Nope. She prefers the flexible bend of a paperback.  The ability to fan through the paper pages.  Minutes later, we were at the check out counter in Barnes and Noble.  So '90s.  

Fly Swatter Activities

   When you buy a fly swatter, pick up an extra one just for the learner in your home.  Why, you ask?  These are glorified pointers.  They won't hurt your wall, and physical learners (kinesthetic) benefit from the movement while learning.  

   To make: Cut out a rectangular window as shown below.  This creates a frame for the word, letter, or number that is to be swatted.  My boys enjoy a variety of activities with their swatters:

• For phonemic awareness, I prompt, "Whack a letter that makes this sound s ."  
• We recite the alphabet and numbers while whacking away!  
• We take a word tour through the house.  Label objects with sight words, then have your child take you on a tour using her/his pointer.

The possibilities abound!

Add/Subtract Game: Dinos in a Cave

     I came across a playful way to help introduce addition and subtraction to my 4 year old, Malcolm, called Bears in the Cave. (link provided) With an upside down styrofoam bowl, we cut out an entrance and pretended it was a dinosaur cave.  As it was, all I had this size were miniature dinosaurs.  Still, it's all the same.

     Kids learn the possibilities of how to add or subtract using 5 counters by placing dinos of varying amount (up to 5) in the cave.  

• We made up stories to go with the actions.  (2 dinos were sleepy and they went into the cave)
• We also kept track of the combinations verbally such as:  5 dinos in + 0 dinos out = 5 dinos in all
• Malcolm "helped" me to write down combinations on a dry erase board.
• I'm thinking next time, we'll decorate the cave!

Elmo Floats! Sink or Float Experiment

Thus far, one of our favorite STEM activities from Sesame Street's Little Discoverers has been the Sink or Float experiment.  Using aluminum foil, a small storage container, ordinary tap water, and lightweight objects we were able to explore buoyancy and engineering concepts.  First we constructed boats out of the foil.  Next, we tested how many pennies the boats were able to hold.  Finally, after we tried our own boat creations, we attempted the better boat design from the  Rocco's boat video.

Check out our boat!  Elmo floats!

A better boat with foil and pencils

P.S.,

The boys were entranced with the Sink or Float Interactive Game

Atoms and Molecules: A Refreshingly Relatable Explanation

Recently, I had my middle-schooler, Michaiah, view this refreshingly relatable video explaining the concept of atoms and molecules on Khan Academy.  Parents, this 5 minute video is a must see, IMHO.  I was doing Kiah's hair on a Saturday afternoon, and asked her opinion of this video.  If your kid watches it, be sure to follow up with questions/conversation.  Who knows, your child might have a monumental WHOA-I-GET-IT-NOW moment.  Or, as in my particular case, a less than life altering moment will ensue. Kiah thought the video was very helpful.  So there you have it, a middle schooler's rare, dry endorsement and my emphatic one.

Building Shapes with Marshmallows and Toothpicks

Matthew: 3-D Cube 

     A mom's two favorite f-words are 'fun' and 'free.'  Well, at least on the PG list.  Recently, we had fun exploring 2-D and 3-D shapes using mini-marshmallows and toothpicks.  Pretty much your on hand pantry items.  I was inspired by Rachelle Rosenblit's fun and free download at teacherspayteachers.com store.  Additionally, I extended this idea to include tactile exploration of 3-D shapes.
   
     For our toddler, the main goal was to reinforce identification of 2-D shapes and number of sides .  As for our preschooler, we counted the number of sides and corners.  To my surprise and delight, Malcolm called his corners angles.  I'll credit his ace preschool teacher, Mrs. Maxon for his geometry vocabulary!  

You can imagine, Malcolm and Matthew ate a gazillion marshmallows during this activity. 

2-D shapes

3-D Tetrahedral Shape

 A FAMILY GAME NIGHT MEMORY
     During family game night, we competed to build the best bridge using marshmallows and toothpicks. Marlon (dad) and Michaiah competed against Malcolm, Matthew, and me.  Though my team had 3 players, I call foul. (Uh no offense to Malcolm and Matthew)  Needless to say, my team lost, as Matthew dismantled and Malcolm redesigned along the way.  I say it was worth the learning, laughs, and memories, despite the fact that Marlon can really gloat!

Do any of you have other ideas/experiences about teaching shapes?

Or, taught other concepts using toothpicks/marshmallows?

First Post

Friends, 

Welcome to Stem and Flower blog!  As a mom of three fantastic at times mischievous college-bound kids, I started this blog in appreciation of fun and engaging parent-child enrichment. You will notice an emphasis upon science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts through fun and creative activities with my kiddos.  Please share your ideas, comments, and experiences, I'd love to hear from you on enrichment!                              

The Marvelous Millers
(our tween, our toddler, and our preschooler)

Best,

Anthea "Thea"