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.

Handling History

History can't just stay in the past. It's an essential part of curriculum and, when properly covered, can give students and parents a unique perspective on today's events. After all, it was history that brought us where we are today.

If you are struggling to engage and enjoy the study of history, consider these ideas.

Find the Lesson

History enables us to learn from our mistakes. Have you ever touched a hot stove? Touched the thorn of a rose? Got a cavity? Most people have done at least one of these things, and learned a valuable lesson from it – don't touch hot surfaces, be careful with thorny plants, etc. Because of your history, you know to avoid these things.

Looking farther back into history can let us learn from the mistakes of others. When studying history, look for the lesson. What important lessons do we learn? How does it apply to life today?

Read it Firsthand

Find firsthand accounts of the history. Textbooks can be dull and distant, and remove the human elements of emotion. Reading a journal of someone who lived through the period being studied can pull emotional strings and make the study more engaging. For very recent history, try to locate a survivor in your area and interview them about their experiences.

Act it Out

Cast roles. Give each person a part to play and act it out within realistic and appropriate limitation. Becoming part of the action pushes players to learn their roles while gaining empathy and understanding by acting out the roles.

Eat It, Sense It

Engage the senses. As much as possible, incorporate tastes, smells, sounds and touch into the lesson. Make foods from that culture or period. Sing songs. Be creative.


Please comment! How do you handle history?

Rock Candy Science Experiment

It's been a long, long while since I've eaten rock candy, but the kids and I made some last week as part of our science studies. It's easier to make than you might think!

You'll Need: 
Clean wooden skewer (for each piece of rock candy)
A clothespin (for each)
A clean glass jar (for each)
Water
Sugar
Pan


The Process:

Boil water in a pan. Add food coloring if desired. Once the water is boiling, encourage each child write a hypothesis about how much sugar will dissolve in the water. Be sure to keep track of how much sugar you are adding to validate these hypotheses!

Add 1/4 of sugar at a time until no more sugar will dissolve in the water. Remove the mixture from the heat and cool for 20 minutes.

Dip each skewer into the mixture and roll it in sugar. Set the skewers aside and let it cool completely. (Investigate why rolling in the skewers makes the sugars grow faster!)

Pour the sugar water into each jar until the jar is at least 3/4 full.

Place one skewer in each jar with the sugar-coated side downward. The end of the skewer should be approximately an inch above the bottom of the glass. Use a clothespin to hold the skewer in place over the jar. Allow it to cool and wait 3 - 7 days for the sugar crystals to grow.

Thoughts about PE (Physical Education)

For many reasons, PE (physical education) can be a major homeschooling challenge. Although it is not a mandatory part of the curriculum in all states, it is required in some places. If you are struggling with PE in your homeschool environment, consider these ideas:

Active playtime counts! You don't need complex equipment or an expensive gym membership to exercise. Take time every day for active play--tag, Frisbee, dodgeball, basketball all count.

Chores are exercise, too--especially if strenuous outdoor work is involved.

Incorporate exercise into a family service activity. Clean up a park, or help build a playground! Go door to door and gather food for a food bank, or collect used magazines for an abused women's shelter.

Purchase fun exercise DVDs.

Visit parks and playgrounds! Older children may enjoy a visit to a skate park instead of a playground.

Have a dance! Turn up the music real loud and dance around.

Enroll children in community sports.

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.

Surviving Math

As students, many of us shuddered at the word. As homeschool parents, we still don't like it much.


One of the most common questions homeschoolers get asked is, "How do you teach subjects you don't like or aren't very good at?" This is truly one of the biggest challenges of homeschooling. Not every homeschool parent is great at every subject, and some of us stumbled as students in math, science, language arts, or another major subject.

For those of us who struggle with math, how can we teach it?

Learn Along

Homeschool parents who began teaching their children from the start have the benefit of learning alongside their children. Since math is learned in a definite sequence, starting to learn alongside your children and reviewing the basics can help you refresh and be better able to grasp difficult concepts.

Make it Fun

Have fun with numbers. Small children may enjoy using Goldfish crackers to help sovle equations. They can physically build the equations by making piles of crackers, and learn addition, subtraction, multiplication and division by manipulating those piles.

Older children can enjoy playing games online and offline that build math skills.

Apply It

Look for real-life applications to the various math functions you are teaching. For example, paint a fence to learn about area. Go shopping and calculate how much you have saved using coupons. Encourage sports-minded children to calculate statistics. For more ideas on applying math to daily life, consider books like "Mathematics for Consumers" or "Life Skills Mathematics" (available in the Homeschool Skills store (http://homeschool.storenvy.com/collections/20835-books-math)).

Refresher Course

As a college student, I have the added "benefit" (some days it feels like a curse) of taking several required math courses for my degree. I seize these opportunities and try to dread them less because I realize that these classes better prepare me to teach my own children. I strongly recommend parents who have the time and resources to attend classes at a local community college, online school or other institution. It can be a wonderful experience, and it helps you teach your children by example the great value of continuing your education.

Tutors

If math is a subject you feel you can't handle, hire a tutor to teach in your home. Sit in the lessons with your children, and learn how to grasp those concepts. Like attending outside college classes, this helps teach your children the value of continuing learning.

Field Trips for Less: Discounts, Deals & Freebies

Shaking up the educational experience with a field trip can keep learning fresh and interesting for busy children and bored teens. It’s not necessary to spend hundreds to go to unusual and exciting places, however.

Another great way to save money is to look for discounts and coupons.

First, check for any discounts you may be eligible for. Veterans, seniors, disabled individuals, etc. can often get a few dollars or a certain percentage shaved off of their price just by showing an ID.

Look for discounts and deals in the community.  Entertainment Books for most areas can be found on Amazon.com (click the product link and do a search for your specific area!) contain many coupons, but the initial price can be steep. Many places offer coupons on their website that can be printed, so always look online before planning a trip. Some grocery stores offer discounted tickets to certain places, such as water parks.

Homeschooling groups that organize field trips together can benefit from group discounts. A later post will provide more information about homeschool groups.

While families on a budget may wonder what they can do to supplement their educational experience, there are many options.

Watch for the word “free.” Free is my favorite price! In Seattle, there are several museums that participate in a free museum night on the first Thursday night of every month. During certain hours, entry to these places is totally and completely free.  In Olympia WA, the children’s museum is free on the first Friday evenings of each month. Look for free events in the community and don’t miss them!

Summer is an especially easy time to find free events. Keep tabs on local newspapers and kid’s magazines. A magazine called “Seattle’s Child” offers a calendar of free and fee events in the Western Washington area. Getting a subscription to magazines like this can provide you with periodic reminders to check for freebies (which can be very useful because, let’s face it, homeschoolers are busy!).

Also, simple searches like “Free events Seattle” or “Free events Houston” etc. can find free events in major cities near you (of course, that only works if you search for cities near you… I don’t generally look in Houston. =D)

What are you favorite ways to find low-cost or free field trips? Share your ideas in the comments below, or in the discussion forums (in the 'Discuss' tab at the top of the page!)

Field Trips for Less: Passes

Field trips aren’t just for public schools—in fact, field trips are ideal for homeschool students. Since homeschool parents do not have to take 20+ children with them, spur-of-the-moment detours and regular errands can become memorable teaching moments. For example, grocery stores can be a very educational place for vigilant homeschooling families (more information on grocery store trips will be posted on a later date).

Families can go to (almost) every single place that the schools go—planetariums, zoos, museums, theater performances, etc. While admission to these places can be expensive, families can get more for their money by considering season/annual passes.

For example, my children love exploring the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington. One trip alone would cost our family $35 or more (definitely more when you include paying for parking!). However, we spent $80 on our first trip and purchased an annual membership that allows six named individuals unlimited admission to the regular exhibits, plus 15 free regular IMAX film passes for the year and five free guest passes to the regular exhibits per year. We added my husband’s parents to the pass for an additional $10 apiece—that’s annual admission for less than the cost of a single one-time adult admission! Now, we can take the kids to the Science Center (or their grandparents can) anytime during the year without worrying about the price of admission. In the first month of owning the pass, it’s already paid for itself. Parking, of course, is still a pain.

Another side benefit of certain membership plans, such as the one for the Pacific Science Center, is reciprocal admission programs. By holding a Pacific Science Center pass, we get free admission to more than 290 science centers that participate in the ASTC Passport Program. Since we often travel out-of-state, we are eager to explore all of the science centers we will be able to visit free of charge.

Zoo passes have similar benefits. The Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington, is an amazing place. Their passes are based upon how many people are in your family, and their ages. Adults are $42 apiece and children 3-18 are $11 each. However, you are also granted free or half-price admission to nearly 150 additional zoos and aquariums across the country.

Also consider buying passes for places that aren’t strictly “school” based. One of our favorite places to go as a family is the water park. Homeschool may seem like just a great excuse to justify the expense, but our children have learned the principles of buoyancy (positive and negative), current, etc. by playing in lazy rivers and wave pools. Other principles, like inertia and gravity can also be taught there.

Be creative. Create memories. Have fun! Always remember that school can be more than just an educational experience. It can also build and strengthen relationships.  

Check back Friday for more field trip savings ideas!

Grocery School

The grocery store holds more teaching opportunities than most people recognize. Few people recognize just how many things there are to learn there!

Here are a sample of the things that children can learn and practice at the grocery store (and/or at home, after the grocery trip). This list is not all-inclusive. If you are interested in more grocery store homeschool ideas, let me know and I’ll make another list!  

Young Children (Preschool & Younger):

• Colors
• Shapes
• Names of produce
• Sorting

Math

• Write a grocery list and have children guess the prices you will spend. Compare to the end receipt.
• Have children keep track of how much you are spending on calculators. Or, have them keep track of how much you are saving by buying items on sale or using coupons.
• Determine unit costs. If something costs $6.79 per pound, how much is it for an ounce? Two ounces? How much can you buy for $5.00? Challenge children to find the cheapest item by unit (instead of the price per can, determine the price per ounce, etc)
• Before you leave, have children clip coupons and determine how cheap the shopping trip can be. If they decide it is cheapest to shop at multiple stores due to coupon or discounts, have them factor the cost of gas to travel to both stores. Compare the end results of the shopping trip to their predictions.
• A scientist, Dan Meyer, determined a mathematic formula to determine what checkout line is fastest. Each item takes 2.9 seconds and each person takes 48 seconds to get through the line (ergo, it is faster to be in line behind one person with more items than three people with fewer items) (Orzel, 2009). Have children guess which line will be fastest, based on this formula. Have each child stand in line with an item and “race” to see who finishes their transaction first.

Science

• Learn the meanings of the food labels. What does it mean if something is pasteurized? Homogenized?
• Cooking itself an act of chemistry. According to the MIT class Kitchen Chemistry, “Cooking may be the oldest and most widespread application of chemistry and recipes may be the oldest practical result of chemical research” (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009). Discuss how different ingredients and methods of cooking produce different textures, flavors, etc. (Ideas on specific Kitchen Chemistry experiments in a later post!)

Geography & Nature

• Where does your food come from? Make a map when you get home. Or, before you leave home, decide to experience a culinary world tour, and deliberately by meals from different countries.
• Where are pineapples grown? Bananas? Peanuts? How do they grow? Can you grow them in your area? Why or why not? How would your diet change if you could only eat locally-grown produce?

History

• What did people do before grocery stores existed? What would life be like for you if you couldn’t run to the grocery store?
• Did you know the first self-service grocery store was called Piggly Wiggly? It was opened on September 9, 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee. In 14 years, there were 2,600 Piggly Wiggly stores and other stores began changing to self-service.

Reading

• Read the labels and discuss what is in each item. There are some pretty weird food ingredients out there. Do you know what polydimethylsiloxane is? It’s a common fast food ingredient… and it’s also used in Silly Putty, head-lice treatments, and breast implants (Science Channel, 2009). You may not come across polydimethylsiloxane in your grocery trip, but you will most likely encounter (at least in passing) foods that contain high fructose corn syrup (candy), phosphoric acid (soda), etc. If you don’t know what an ingredient is, look it up when you get home and learn!
• Play a game where your family decides to avoid a certain item (like tomatoes or corn syrup) during the shopping trip and anyone who places an item containing that ingredient into the cart gets a penalty. If you have multiple children, encourage success by offering a reward for the person who makes the fewest mistakes (rewards could include a treat or not having to unload groceries at home)

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