Tornadoes

With record-setting tornado outbreaks across the United States, now is an ideal time to introduce your children to these fierce phenomena. Already, the incomplete 2011 tornado season has set many records. As of today, it is the ninth deadliest tornado year on record. Sunday’s tornado in Joplin, Missouri, is the second deadliest single tornado in the NOAA-NWS Official record that dates back to 1950. The fourth deadliest single day in tornado history was April 27, 2011.

In addition to emergency preparation, this is an excellent opportunity to teach your children the science behind tornadoes.

Tornadoes are columns of air made from fast-moving wind. These storms can achieve wind speeds of 300 miles per hour.  Typically formed during thunderstorms, tornadoes are caused by instability in the atmosphere, when a downward flow of cold air meets a rising flow of warm air.

Tornadoes can range in severity from ‘F0’ to a ‘F5’ on the Fujita-Pearson scale, with each category representing a different amount of speed and damage.

F0	40 – 72 mile per hour winds cause light damage, such as breaking limbs from trees.
F1	73 – 112 mile per hour winds snap trees and damage roofs.
F2	113 – 157 mile per hour winds demolish mobile homes, uproot trees, etc.
F3	158 – 206 mile per hour winds overturn trains and lift cars.
F4	207 – 260 mile per hour winds level homes into debris and throw cars several hundred yards.
F5	261 – 318 mile per hour winds blow away homes and throw vehicles like missiles.

Tornado in a Bottle

Create a tornado in a bottle. Fill one two liter bottle halfway with water. Remove the cap from a second two liter bottle and set it on top so that the openings connect. Tape the bottles together with generous amounts of tape. Turn them over so that the bottle with the water is on top, and swirl the bottle to create a tornado inside the bottle.

Use a stopwatch to time the water as it drains into the lower bottle through the tornado. Flip the bottles over again and record the time it takes the water to drain without creating a vortex. Notice that the water drains into the lower bottle much faster after the vortex, or tornado, is created. This is because the hole in the center of the vortex allows air to come up into the upper bottle. This allows the water and air to move simultaneously.

Get Involved

One of the biggest benefits to homeschooling is the ability to get involved and ‘humanize’ the curriculum. You don’t just have to study tornadoes—you can make a difference.

Teach your children about the ongoing damage and suffering caused by this year’s tornado season. Share stories and news pieces of the damage. Share pictures and videos as you deem appropriate, based on the child’s age and maturity level.

Decide today to make a difference and teach your children compassion, something more valuable than science and current events. I encourage everyone who is able to donate to the relief effort through the American Red Cross (https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?df_id=5110&5110.donation=form1&s_src=RSG00000E000&s_subsrc=stateofmissouri-pub). The minimum acceptable donation amount is $10.

Officials have estimated that $15 will buy one family clean-up kit. $60 will provide sanitary kits for four victims. $80 offers a night in a hotel for a displaced victim. $115 buys one week’s groceries for a family of four. A very generous $500 gift will provide a disaster victim with medical supplies, equipment, medication and mental health counseling.

Please know that Homeschool Skills does not have any involvement with and does not recieve profit from the gathering of donations by the Red Cross.

Gardening 101

Periodically over the next few months, Homeschool Skills will highlight different lessons that can be taught through gardening. This is the first of that series.

Seize the opportunity this summer to plant a garden as part of your homeschool curriculum. Gardens provide enormous cross-curriculum opportunities for learning. Science and math have obvious applications, but gardens can also be tied into literature, geography, and history. In addition to curriculum applications, gardening provides children with a beneficial life skill--and it can help save money on groceries!

Worried about space? A full-scale garden is not necessary for these lessons. Plant a few items in a small garden box, a window box or even in cleaned out trash cans! If you will be growing your garden in containers, review this helpful article.

Some plants can be grown upside down. For more information on what plants can be grown in these conditions, read this. Other plants can be trained to climb poles, posts or fences.


The first step of gardening is planning. Plan the location, size and contents of the garden.

Choose a convenient locaton that recieves six to eight hours of sunlight every day. Ensure that there is adequate drainage and that the soil will not become waterlogged. If the soil is excessively wet. the plants will not grow properly. If the soil is inadequate, build raised beds and purchase better-quality soil. (Science -- Experiment to find the areas in your yard that have the best sunlight and soil.)


If you are planting in raised beds, outline the area where the bed

will be. Raised beds are usually built in rectangles so that all areas are easily reached. (Math -- Measurements.)

Determine the material that you will use to outline the raised beds. Wood, bricks, and stones are all excellent choices. However, pressure treated wood should never be used because the chemicals used to treat the wood can affect the soil and plants. (Science -- Experiment to find out what materials work best. Math -- determine the measurements for the required materials and the total area of the garden.)


Fill the raised beds with commercial soil or with a soil-compost mix. Raised beds are more vulnerable to extreme temperatures and dryness than other gardens, so be sure to water regularly.  (Science -- learn about composting and fertilization. Perhaps you want to create several different, smaller garden areas to create a season-long growing experiment using different types of soil, compost, watering schedules, etc?) More information on raised garden beds here.

Select seeds that will grow well in your area and within the limitations of the garden you are planting. You don't want to plant something that spreads, like pumpkins, if your entire garden is only 2 or 3 feet square... unless, of course, you want to train the pumpkin plants to climb up a nearby shed, fence, or other surface. For more information on that, look at this page.


Taller plants should be planted on the north end of the garden so that they don't cast

shadows over the shorter plants.


Add some history to your garden by Introducing a traditional Native American gardening combination called 'the three sisters' to your garden. Plant corn closely together in a clump and plant climbing beans around the edges. The beans will grow up and around the corn stalks. Plant pumpkin around the edge of the beans, so that the vines will creep in and around these plants and keep the weeds away.

Focus on cultures you will be studying by growing culture or region-specific produce. If you are studying Mexico, grow a variety of peppers, tomatoes, and onions and celebrate the end-of-season harvest with a fresh homemade salsa. Irish studies can be augmented by growing onions, potatoes, carrots, cabbage and green beans, which can later be used to create this Irish recipe.

Earthquake & Tsunami Lesson Ideas

Last week, Japan suffered an 8.9 magnitude earthquake, followed by a severe tsunami that washed up to 6 miles in shore in places. News coverage has been continuous—for ongoing coverage, visit http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/.

 This is an excellent time to teach children about earthquakes and tsunamis. As a part of this lesson, develop a family emergency plan. Make and practice an earthquake and, if applicable to your area, tsunami plan.

Earthquake and Tsunami activities (ordered easy to difficult):

1.  Simulate an earthquake. Place a thick layer of dirt over a cookie sheet. Use sticks and thread to create power lines and branches for trees. Use cars and figurine people. Have the child guess what the safest location would be. Shake the cookie sheet to simulate an earthquake, and watch what happens. Discuss the results compared to the child’s guess. (http://www.fema.gov/kids/jessnsam/ex01.htm)
2. Simulate a tsunami. In a rectangular aquarium, create a beach out of sand and gravel. Add little houses, cars, trees, people etc. for effect. Fill a large bag with rocks and empty it quickly in the opposite end of the aquarium. Watch to see the effects of the wave. (http://www.odec.ca/projects/2005/nara5n0/public_html/) (or do it this way -- http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/science_fair_projects/25/297/ba2fb6f2868bf01ab540c85addda5309.html)
3. Make a seismograph with these instructions: http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Geo_p017.shtml?fave=no&isb=empty&from=TSW
4. Demonstrate the different types of earthquakes with hand motions and a sealed bag full of water.  http://thehappyscientist.com/science-experiment/earthquakes-and-tsunami
5. Make a shake table using these designs: http://jclahr.com/science/earth_science/shake/plans/deni/index.html
6. Determine what type of harbor barriers best protect against tsunamis (http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2005/Projects/J0608.pdf)

As always, the depth of lesson should depend on the age, maturity and prior knowledge of your children. Below are some resources that can help you teach tsunami and earthquake lessons!

If possible, consider donating a Japanese Disaster Relief fund: http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html

New York Times: 20 Ways to Teach about the Disaster in Japan Across the Curriculum

This interesting list offers 20 suggestions on ways to teach specifically about the Japanese earthquake and tsunami disaster.

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/20-ways-to-teach-about-the-disaster-in-japan-across-the-curriculum/

USGS Kids

In addition to showing maps with all of the recent quakes, the USGS website contains valuable facts, visuals and interactive materials.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/kids/kidsLearningLinks.php

NOAA Tsunami Brochure

This brochure provides safety instructions in the event of a tsunami.

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures/tsunami6.htm

United States Search & Rescue Task Force: Tsunamis

This site offers some good information on tsunamis.

http://www.ussartf.org/tsunamis.htm