I often write about the importance of bringing your children to hear live music. It often stimulates a desire in them to play an instrument or perform in some way. It also offers the opportunity for them to see what the instruments that they've been listening to look like and how the musicians work together to make a complete sound. Children are never too young to go to concerts, though you may have to pick things that are appropriate. By that I don't necessarily mean what music is appropriate but rather what the crowd will be like. Are they rapt listeners? Then, you will want to wait until your child can sit quietly through a show. Is it a rowdy crowd? Then, maybe you don't want a small child in that environment.
My own children went to Grateful Dead concerts at a young age, back when a lot of kids accompanied their parents, and the crowds were more family-friendly. We stayed in the back of indoor venues, so the volume didn’t hurt their ears. Outdoor venues were no problem. We went to many outdoor concerts in various parks on the East and West Coasts. I was always aware of our surroundings and made sure they felt comfortable. Once, I took my youngest to an Alive at Five concert in Albany, NY where there was a lot of drinking. We both felt uncomfortable in a crowd that was inconsiderate and boisterous and left after just a couple of songs. Other times, the same venue was fine. It often depends on the band that’s playing and who they attract. I always checked in with them and left if they’d had enough. We also went to classical concerts geared for youth, pop concerts and even an operetta. My favorite music events to bring my family to were music festivals, some large and some small. Our favorite kid-friendly festivals were the GottaGetGone Festival in Ballston Spa, NY, Old Songs Festival in Altamont, NY, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in Hillsdale, NY and Champlain Valley Festival in Burlington, VT. My kids and grandkids ran around with a pack of other kids, some of whom they would see only once a year. We would camp for a weekend or extended weekend, sharing food, companionship and music. The kids would make new friends, mingle with the performers, make arts and crafts and often make their own music. The music communities at these festivals became family that we would see every year, widening our children’s horizons and enriching all our lives. I couldn’t possibly list all the benefits that children get from these experiences. They often grow up and then bring their own children. They remember the richness of those times forever. Even my adult children who have moved away and my adult grandson who can’t get away, still share fond memories of the festivals they attended and long to go back. You can purchase day tickets to try it out rather than deciding to camp. Or, if it’s a local festival, you can buy a full-festival ticket and commute. Every festival has volunteer opportunities, too. Some of the crews fill up fast such as my Activities 4 Kids crew at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. Others always seem to have a few spots available. At Falcon Ridge, you pay a nominal fee to volunteer and receive free admission and camping plus two meals a day, breakfast and dinner, with snacks and drinks provided throughout. That’s the best way to get to know people and join a wonderful community. Kids always get in free, and I’ve never met a kid yet who didn’t want to return year after year. I encourage you to try it, if you’re not already hooked. I'll be at Falcon Ridge this weekend, rain or shine, running the Activities 4 Kids tent. Maybe I'll see you there.
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This topic is another one requested by multiple parents. It's been a difficult one for me to write because it is so complex. This year we've had to deal with many school shootings as well as a stressful political climate. It's difficult not to let that creep into our home lives. Children are very aware of what is going on even when we don't actively talk with them about it. They hear the buzz from others around them and often overhear adult conversations. It's important to talk to them clearly about your concerns and theirs. However, you don't want to overwhelm them or make them afraid. They want to have information but it's important to give it to them at age-appropriate levels.
I was born in 1953 and grew up in a household that always talked about current events and politics. It was the Cold War, and we practiced "Duck & Cover" in school. My dad was a political reporter for our local newspaper, and our family friends were mostly politicians, lawyers and other professionals. We watched the Viet Nam war on the evening news every night as well as assasinations and riots. We even had a school shooting when I was in high school. It would have been easy to feel terrified, and I did to a certain extent, but we also talked about everything as a family easing the terror quite a bit. Watching those horrific scenes on television made a lasting mark on me and so many others. On one hand, it's good that we don't see that anymore. On the other hand, it might be making us more complacent. When the Challenger exploded, my first two children were school age. My son was young enough that it didn't seem to make much difference to him,. but it affected my daughter very deeply. We talked about it a lot. When 911 happened, my youngest was school age. Again, we talked and talked. I tried to shield him from the news footage because it was so horrific, but he ended up seeing it anyway. That's an important thing to remember. We can't always protect our children from outside forces. What we can do is help them deal with their feelings and teach them how to be safe. We do this not by scaring them but by helping them find their power. If we are scared, we often attract negative energy and can't think clearly. If we feel powerful, we are in control and can figure out how to stay safe. In the same way that we teach our children internet safety and tell them not to go off with strangers, we can teach them how to stay safe in a school where there may be a shooter. We can teach them to be safe on the streets by being out on the streets with them, not by isolating them in a protective coccon. Some families get their children self-defense lessons. I'm not sure that's always necessary, but it doesn't hurt if it's done in the right spirit. I think the best way to help our children feel safe is by dealing with our own feelings first. If we are afraid, our children will feel afraid no matter what we tell them. Remember, our children learn from our example. If you're feeling overwhelmed by current events, try to turn off your news sources sometimes. Take a break from the world and focus on your own family. The news will be there when you're ready to come back and take a look. I'm not suggesting putting your head in the sand, just remembering what's important personally and having a little vacation from the news. Even my dad, whose job it was to report the news, took breaks now and then and focused on his family. When we went away on vacation, it was truly a vacation. There's nothing wrong with a mini staycation. You can model feeling safe and secure by enjoying your family, laughing and playing and remembering the really important things. This was a requested topic that I'm finally writing. This is a tough one for many parents and one I've struggled with myself. We often get so caught up with the mundane necessary tasks of parenting that we forget to enjoy ourselves and take joy in our children. It's mind boggling how fast they grow up. We go into parenthood thinking that we have so much time. Then, we blink, and they're going out into the world. It often leaves us wondering what happened to all of those years. The older we get, the faster time goes racing by. I noticed that with my third child, who came much later than his two siblings and have been noticing it again with my grandchildren. I finally realized that time seemed to go by quicker when I was older because as each year passed, it was a smaller percentage of my whole life. When I was twenty, ten years was half of my life. Now, it's less than a sixth of my life.
I was a stay-at-home mother with my first two then a teacher working in a school where my third child was with me all day. I had lots of time with them, and it still didn't feel like enough. With each of my three children, I lamented the things I didn't do, the things I didn't teach them or the things I didn't say. With the first two, I worried about keeping up with my house. It was never spotless because I did realize how important it was to spend time with them while they were young. I figured I could have a clean house later in my life. But, it did bother me. I would feel embarrassed when people came to visit, so I would yell at everyone about their messes. That was not an enjoyable part of the journey. Because my husband and I had decided to have me stay home instead of getting a job, we were dirt poor. He didn't have a degree or much training in anything. He worked in restaurants which was a thankless and stressful job. I took on odd jobs that I could do at home, babysitting, making and selling crafts, giving music lessons, whatever I could find. Life was stressful, and we fought a lot. We certainly were not enjoying that part of the journey either. However, I did enjoy my time spent with my kids. I took them on field trips, read to them, played games, cultivated their imaginations, took them swimming throughout the summers, sang and danced and was always available to listen to them. I felt badly that they didn't have things that their friends had, but they insisted it was okay. As adults, they told me that they never felt as though we were poor. That was gratifying and a huge relief. They always had a roof over their heads, food and clothing. I always figured out how to take them to occasional movies, and we went to every free event there was. We had a wide circle of friends and went to and hosted social events with them - potlucks, parties and music jams. We were rich in other ways, and I can see now how valuable that was. Did I enjoy the journey? Mostly, yes I did. Sometimes I got caught up in what I felt I was supposed to be doing or feeling guilty about our poverty, the condition of my house or my moods. I went through periods of time when I was very stressed out and through periods of depression, though that never lasted long because I always tried to appreciate what I had. I tried not to let those times affect my children, but I know it did. I realize now that every child will go through their trials, and many of those trials will be because of us. It's okay. That's part of what makes them strong. If they never have struggles, they'll never learn to survive them. I learned that the times I wasn't enjoying the journey were the times that I listened to others and let my feelings of inadequacy take over. Left on my own, I enjoyed every moment of time with my kids. I enjoyed foraging for wild foods and looking for signs of fairies and gnomes. I enjoyed cooking and baking. I even enjoyed the Christmas when we had no money for presents and I decided that we would only give gifts that we made or found. That was one of the best holidays ever. We spent so much time thinking about each family member and appreciating not only the journey but each other. Where do I even start? There is music all around us. Last night, I was listening to the birds. I live at the edge of wilderness where we often hear owls and lots of songbirds. There are so many birds around, and they all have their own unique sounds. As I was listening last night, I heard one bird whose call started on one tone then added another and finally a third note so that It was singing a triad. It happened very quickly, but was an amazing chord by the end. Soon, the frogs and nighttime bugs started singing their songs as well. It was a beautiful symphony of sounds. Now, at noon, I'm listending to the daytime symphony through my window as I type this post.
I've always encouraged my children and grandchildren to be active listeners, trying to get them to identify the different sounds. This can happen in the city, the suburbs or the country. In the city there are motorized vehicles that have unique sounds. A motorcycle can be distinguished from a car before it comes in sight. There are sirens and people playing music in their cars. Even in the city you can hear lots of bird songs and hear the wind blowing through the trees. Ask your children, "What do you hear?" "How many different sounds do you hear?" Write them down. How many can YOU identify? In addition to listening to the sounds around us, we can create our own music from things found around the house and yard. I taught at Helderberg Workshop one summer doing a session that focused on making music. We collected acorn tops, poked holes in the center and strung them on wire across a Y-shaped stick. When we shook them back and forth they became percussion instruments. We collected straight sticks, removed the bark and used sharp rocks to gouge horizontal lines in them to make our own rhythm sticks. We hiked in the woods listening to the sounds and wrote songs about what we heard and saw. In schools, I often have kids make their own kazoos out of toilet paper rolls, a rubber band and some waxed paper. * Poke a small hole in the side of the toilet paper roll, about halfway down. * Decorate it however you'd like. * Cut a square of waxed paper big enough to cover the top of the roll with enough to fold over generously. * Secure the waxed paper on the top of the roll with the rubber band, making sure that it doesn't cover the hole in the side. * Now, hum into the open side of the roll. Remember, don't blow. You have to hum. I like to remind people about the music in the natural world, but it's important to go out and hear live music this summer, too. There are so many opportunities for this. It seems as though every town has their own little music series. You can find free music in the parks, libraries, town squares, gazebos, just about everywhere. Go listen to a wide variety of music. Your children may not necessarily love the music you love. They need to be given lots of choices. I knew a boy who discovered classical music and would sing or hum the themes to this complex, instrumental music, and he couldn't get enough of it. Who knows what your child will like. And in the summer, it doesn't need to break the bank. We are very rich in our area. Go out and enjoy the richness. Weather is so fascinating, especially in these changing times. It's fun to look at the sky and determine whether or not it will rain or how hot we think it will be that day, based on the amount of sunshine. Do you have an outdoor thermometer? How about a rain gauge? Do you actively look for rainbows when there's rain and sun? Do you notice the sunsets or sunrises, the night sky? Many of us have become so dependent on our computers or phones to tell us what the weather will be, we've forgotten to look around us, but it's important for our children to learn that skill. Remember that old adage, "Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning. Red sky at night, sailor's delight." Rain gauges are easy to make. You will need: * an empty 2-liter plastic bottle * scissors or exacto knife * paper clips * some clean pebbles, marbles or glass beads * masking tape * water * a ruler * permanent marker How to make it: Carefully cut the bottle as straight as possible just below where it widens so that you have a consistent width all the way down. Fill the bottom of the bottle with enough pebbles or marbles to fill in the bottom and give it enough weight so that it doesn't blow over. Remove the cap and place the top upside-down inside the wide opening and fasten with paper clips or tape, lining up the two cut edges. The spout will now act as a funnel. Use the tape to make a straight long verticle strip down one side of the bottle. With your marker, make a line a little above the top of the pebbles. This will be the bottom of your gauge or the "0" mark. Now, with a ruler, carefully mark every quarter (or eighth) inch above that 0 mark on the tape. Set the bottle on a level surface and fill with water until it reaches your 0 mark. Now find the perfect spot to put your new rain guage. It needs to be a level spot that's not too windy where it won't get disturbed by animals or playing children. You will need to check it once in a while, especially if you think it will rain, to make sure the water hasn't evaporated. Check it after a rainfall to see how much rain actually fell. You can keep track in a notebook. Older kids can figure out average rainfall and so much more. When I was a kid, I loved learning about clouds. There are so many different shapes and sizes. There are Cirrus, Stratus, Cumulus and combinations of each of those. Here is a great website that shows how to make your own barometer, how to make a cloud in a bottle, how to make fog and how to suck an egg into a bottle. You can also build a tornado machine out of just a few supplies. You will need: * 2 1-liter plastic bottles * a metal washer that will fit flush over the bottle opening * duct tape * water * glitter or very small "debris" (optional) How to make it: Remove the caps off of the two bottles and fill one with water up to an inch from the top. Put whatever debris you'd like into the water. This is optional. Place the metal washer on top of the filled bottle. Place the second bottle upside-down on top and duct tape securely. To make your volcano, turn the bottles over and swirl the top water-filled one in one direction. The direction doesn't matter. Soon, a whirlpool will form, just like the whirlpool in a bathtub when it's draining. Try swirly slowly and quickly to see what difference it makes. Try flipping the bottles over without swirling. You can learn 10 fun facts about tornadoes at this National Geographic Kids website. There are so many simple things to do at home. You can teach your children about evaporation and rain by putting boiling water into a mason jar and put the lid on tightly. Make sure they don't touch the hot bottle and burn themselves. As the hot water starts to cool, it will condense on the sides and top of the jar. The drops of water on the top will get heavy and "rain" into the jar. You can have rainbows in your home by hanging crystals in a sunny window or find them in glasses of water. As always, if your kids are interested, use your imaginations to find more things to do or look online. There are tons of great science sites out there. And, don't forget to have fun! More than a year and a half after this was written, I received a lovely email from the mom of a young girl who used this site to help with her science project. She asked that I include this site with safety tips and information on how to prepare for a tornado. Thak-you Michelle and Hannah for sending me this. https://www.austinrealestate.com/tornado-home-safety.php I love harvesting food from my garden, but I also love foraging for wild foods. There is an abundance of food growing all around us. Of course, there are berries that are easy to identify. There are wild strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, black caps and more. What child doesn't love to eat berries right from the plant? But, there is so much more. We've already passed by the violets, which are rich in vitamin C, but other flowers are edible, too. Evening primroses are a bright yellow flower that are blooming right now and are delicious in salads. Day Lilies will be blooming soon and the buds are edible and versatile. They can be eaten raw in salads, battered or just sauteed. Pansies are yummy on a cracker spread with cream cheese or tossed in a fruit salad. Zucchini blossoms can be dipped in batter and fried or just put on top of pizza. Borage flowers taste a little like cucumbers, making them great in salads. Nasturtiums are one of my favorite flowers to eat. They taste a little peppery and add a nice spice to salads, and the green seeds can be used instead of capers. Of course there are dandelion greens everywhere. The blossoms can be dipped in batter also. I like to throw them into a pancake batter. Another favorite edible flower is the rose. These are also packed with vitamin C and have a sweet taste. Any of these sweeter tasting flowers can be put into an iced summer drink or frozen into homemade popscicles for a little pizzazz. There are marigolds, clover blossoms, chive blossoms, lavendar, and so many more. My kids loved the novelty of eating flowers, just be sure your children understand that they always need to check with you before eating foods growing in the woods or in your yard. There are lots of healing plants growing wild as well. The best thing I've ever found for bee stings is wild plantain. It grows everywhere. To soothe a sting and draw out the venom, pick a few leaves and chew them well. It will leave a dry taste in your mouth, but they really need to be chewed and mixed with your saliva. Place this paste directly on the sting. You may need to repeat it once or twice, but within a few minutes all the discomfort is gone. It's like a miracle. I've done this often with very sceptical people, and they are always amazed at the results. Plantain can also be used as a band-aid. It's well worth researching other wild remedies. They often work like a charm. To find out more: http://www.askaprepper.com/23-medicinal-plants-native-americans-used-daily-basis/ I love making drinks from nature, too. Have you ever tried pine needle tea? I think it's delicious. Sumac lemonade is very refreshing in the summertime. There's also lots of wild mint growing around and in the fall, you can find rosehips on the wild rose bushes. Harvest the large hips and dry them to keep over the winter or, if you get enough of them, they make a great jam. We've used wild grape leaves to make our own stuffed grape leaves, and they work well if you pick the young leaves. There are also lots of foods to throw into salads. There's dandelion leaves, sorrel, chickweed, lambs quarters and so much more. Always pick the young leaves. If you wait until they're full grown or gone to seed, they will taste a little bitter. There are many other foods that are edible but not very tasty, in my opinion. Native Americans used acorns for flour, ate cattails, milkweed, etc. I'm not fond of these foods, but give them a try if you're feeling brave. Just be sure you learn how to prepare them correctly. Some of them can be toxic or just nasty tasting if not cooked the right way. If you like these ideas, I encourage you to investigate more. I loved taking my children and grandchildren into the yard or out in the woods to look for food to bring home for our table. We've lost a lot of our survival skills because we haven't needed them. I always liked to think that if I was ever lost in the woods, I could manage for quite a while eating the foods around me. Once again, there is so much to do when learning about rocks and minerals. It's one of my favorite topics. Even as a child, I loved rocks, and my mother collected rocks from all over the world. Whenever a friend was going to be traveling somewhere, Mom would ask them to bring back a rock for her, and it seemed as though everyone did. She numbered them and kept a list of where each one came from. Many of them migrated to her beautiful rock garden. When one of my sons became interested, I was thrilled to jump into the topic again. Now, when you visit my gardens, you'll find all kinds of treasures hidden around my yard as well. We collected gems and ordinary rocks. We found quartz and granite in our own backyard, took a trip to Thatcher Park and hunted for fossils, went to the Herkimer Diamond Mine, Howe Caverns and the lesser known Secret Caverns, my personal favorite with it's 100 foot underground waterfall. We also went to The Petrified Sea Gardens which is owned by the quarry and is (sadly) now closed. There we found fossils of algae that grew at the sea bottom. They look like fossilized flat roses. You can still find some of these spectacular 500-million-year-old fossil formations, called Stromatolites, at Lester Park in Saratoga Springs. We also took a trip to Shelburne Falls, Massachusets to visit the glacial potholes found there. These were formed when the glaciers melted creating whirlpools of rocks and gravel that dug round holes through the rocks. When we went there, you could still walk out onto the rocks and swim, but alas, like so many things, they stopped allowing that because of too many injuries. However, Shelburne Falls is a fascinating place to visit anyway with a glass blower, a flower bridge and a great sandwich shop right on the main drag. All of these places have great educational materials for you to browse. Then, don't forget about our own NYS Museum and they're amazing collection of rocks and minerals. We also have a local rock and mineral club that hosts a show at the museum every winter. They also hold their meetings there the first Thursday of each month during the school year. This club is geared more toward adults, but if you're interested in rocks, it's worth checking out. Here's another resource to find places to hunt for fossils: https://www.newyorkupstate.com/attractions/2015/09/fossil_digs_in_upstate_new_york_5_places_to_look.html In addition to potential field trips, which are numerous, there are simple experiments that can be done. Epsom Salt crystals are easy and inexpensive to grow. Epsom Salt Crystal Materials
What You Do:
Here's a site on how to make salt & vinegar crystals: https://layers-of-learning.com/salt-and-vinegar-crystals/ Of course, we made lots of rock candy, which are just sugar crystals, and what kid doesn't love sugar? You can flavor them, color them or just grow them plain. They are simple to make, but it's important to follow the directions. Basically, all you need to make rock candy is sugar and hot water. The color of your crystals will depend on the type of sugar you use (raw sugar is more golden and refined granulated sugar) and whether or not you add coloring. Any food-grade dye will work. Rock Candy Materials
Check out this site for how to grow alum crystals. And, if you love these experiments and want to do more, there are plenty of kits to buy with all of the materials you need. There are magic rock kits and kits that have you growing crystals on absorbant paper. These have been popular with my family especially during the winter holidays. The main thing is, be sure to have lots of fun while exploring the exciting world of rocks and minerals. By Dakota L. - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18521528 What child doesn't have some kind of fascination with bugs? They either love them, hate them or have an unreasonable fear of them. My daughter was always afraid of moths and butterflies and got traumatized by grasshoppers when she was about 5 or 6. The brother closest to her age was fascinated by all creepy crawly things. He once collected a whole goldfish bowl full of caterpillars to watch. He filled it with leaves and sticks but didn't realized when he put it in the sunniest window in the house that the glass would intensify the sunrays, cooking them to a crisp. That was a tough lesson, but a valuable one. When we lived in Stephentown on a dead-end dirt road in the woods, there were yellow and black garden spiders that showed up in the late summer/early fall and made webs all over our porch rails and the plants and bushes surrounding the front of the house. They were quite big and made beautiful webs. They eat the center of the web each night, recycling the chemicals and reweave it in the morning. They are fascinating to watch. My son and I would catch bugs to throw into the web and watch the spiders race over, paralyze the bug and wrap it tightly. There are always craft projects that reinforce each topic. Spiderwebs, can be made by punching holes along the edge of a paper plate and let your children weave across the plate in any direction they want. You can even carefully cut out the center after they're finished. When I ran my summer camp program, we made our own spiderwebs, hatched butterflies, built an ant farm, hatched sea monkeys and triops and identified various bugs. Beautiful butterflies can be made out of white coffee filters and a wooden clothespin or pipe cleaner. Drip watery paint onto the filter so that it spreads throughout the absorbant paper. Once it dries, pinch it together in the middle and attach the clothespin or pipe cleaner to the pinched middle. You can add googly eyes and antennae, if you want, and can paint the clothespin. There are butterfly hatching kits available to buy at a science store or online. Farnsworth Middle School, in Guilderland, runs a butterfly garden that is open to the public during the summer. Hours are limited, so be sure to check the schedule before heading out. Ants can be made out of cardboard egg cartons. You can teach your children about the different sections of the ants' bodies, the head, thorax and abdomen. Use three sections, one for each body part. Paint them and add pipe cleaners for legs and antennae. How many legs do they have? They have three. Paint or glue on eyes. Ant farms can be purchased inexpensively and are fun to watch. They are such busy creatures. You can find them in the wild, too. Just lift up a large rock, a board or a log and watch them scurry. If you collect your own ants for your farm, be sure to take them from the same colony or they will fight to the death. You can see that I've barely scratched the surface. Worms are fun as well as beetles, lady bugs, and how about praying mantises? As always, use your imaginations, and also ask your children what they would like to learn about? They may surprise you. There are so many things to learn and places to visit with this topic. I love the Pine Bush Discovery Center with exhibits about Karner Blue Butterflies and more, the Emma Treadwell Thacher Nature Center at Thomsons Lake that houses a bee hive encased in glass where you can watch the bees doing their busy work, Five Rivers Environmental Education Center and on and on. This area is very rich in educational adventures. I encourage you to go out exploring but, speaking of bugs, be sure to protect yourselves against ticks! And remember that in the late summer and during the fall, yellow jackets and ground hornets are very active and just looking for something to sting. Common plantain, which grows everywhere, is wonderful for taking the venom out of bee stings. Chew a few leaves (they taste horrible, but the saliva activates the healing properties) and apply the paste. It's like magic! Also remember to teach your children that not all bugs are harmless. Some spiders and ants bite and can cause a harsh reaction. I’m always soliciting topics for this Family Blog. This week, I was asked to write about things to do when your kids are home all summer. This may be the easiest one I’ve ever written. It will definitely have to be another series because there are so many options. Someone asked me once, not in a very friendly way, why I always turned everything into a teaching moment. My answer was, “Because I’m a teacher.” As parents, we should be teaching our children as much as we can. I did very poorly in school but excelled in tests and written assignments because my parents were constantly teaching me at home. I learned reading, writing, science, social studies and more. The only thing lacking in my home education was math. Because I worked as a teacher during the school year, I had summers off with my kids. I often took in other kids during summers as well. I even ran an informal summer camp at my home for a while. I realized quickly that I needed to keep all these kids engaged or they would resort to bickering or finding their own entertainment, a scary prospect. I had themes throughout the summer and took them on field trips based on those themes. We also went swimming every day, sometimes at pools, sometimes at a beach. Usually, the first theme of the summer was plants and gardening. Plants are fascinating. You can learn about their root systems by lining a clear jar with paper towel, packing some more paper towel, or anything that will hold the flat layer in place against the glass, and placing beans between the glass and the paper towel. Then fill the jar with water and wait for the beans to sprout. After studying the roots and the sprout itself, you can carefully plant it in dirt, either in a pot or directly in the ground. This can also be done inside a plastic sandwich bag. You can learn about how the plants take the water from the ground all the way up into their leaves by placing a stalk of celery in a glass of colored water. This works with carnations too, but with the celery, you can often see the colored water in the veins of the stalk as it works its way up to the leaves. A dark colored water works best. After a while, the leaves (or petals, if you use carnations) have changed color. If using a carnation, try splitting the stem and put each half in a glass with different colors. Some other fun experiments are:
* Plant a seed in a cup or a flower pot and lay it on its side. The plant will always bend its stem to grow vertically, reaching for the sun. * Plant seeds in many different pots. Put one in a sunny window, one on a shelf with indirect light and one in a cabinet or closet with little or no light. Water one moderately, overwater another and give the last one no water. Let your kids figure out what a plant needs to grow. Encourage them to be creative and come up with other ideas (water them with orange juice or milk, put one in a sealed container with no air flow, etc.) * Terrariums are fun and easy to make. This can lead to a lesson in evaporation and rainfall. In addition to science experiments, you can always go to a formal or botanical garden or an arboretum. Here are a few that are nearby: https://www.union.edu/news/stories/2015/05/jacksons-garden-a-peaceful-retreat-at-union-college.php https://www.pinehollowarboretum.org/ or if you don’t mind taking a little longer ride, https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/ The Schenectady Rose Garden in Central Park is beautiful, and you can stop off at the playground while you’re there. Collins Park is not far away, if you want to swim in the lake, and there is a playground there, too. https://schenectadyrose.org/ and https://www.iloveny.com/listing/collins-park/1713/ Other fun things include pressing flowers to turn into art projects later by gently laying them between paper towels inside a large book. Certain flowers will work better than others, so you’ll have to experiment with many varieties. The flat blossoms are good to start with. I’ve also always enjoyed going on a hike to look for edible plants. If you do this, be sure your children understand that they need to check with you before eating wild plants. Start with plants that are easily recognized. Dandelions and violets are good first choices. And, have you ever had pine needle tea or sumac lemonade? Yum! To make sumac lemonade, pick about a dozen red clusters. Then rub, crunch, and squeeze them in about a gallon of cold water for five to 10 minutes to release the flavor. Next, drape a piece of cheesecloth over a bowl, and strain the liquid. Don't be confused and use poison sumac. Use the red berry clusters from the sumac tree. There are lots of other fun ideas for projects to do with or about plants. I could spend a whole summer just on this one topic, but there are other equally fun things around that I will get to each week. Leave a comment letting me know what you tried and how it went, or other ideas you may have that you can share here. I have been teacher for many more years than I would like to admit. For 12 years, I worked at The Albany Free School, one of the oldest alternative schools in the U.S. The founder, Mary Leue, taught me much about how children learn. She taught me how to instill a love of learning in them and how to get out of their way but still be available to help when asked. I learned how to make learning fun, and I learned a lot about myself, what motivates me and how I learn. The years I spent there gave me invaluable experience that has helped me, not only as a teacher, but in my life as well.
My two younger children were avid readers and learned to read early on. My youngest son, who was quite a bit younger than his siblings, was not interested in books. He loved listening to stories but didn't want to "waste his time" reading for himself. He also was exposed to more electronic devices because of his older siblings. At one point, he showed a little interest in learning to read but never really dove into it. Although, it drove me crazy, I remembered all of my training and stepped back, hoping he would finally make a break through in reading. He discovered Shakespeare in 4th grade and finally learned to read by reading Shakespeare. He even starred in a Shakespeare play put on in the school and had a role in a more public play as well. He did learn to read, but still doesn't love it the way his siblings do. My older grandson also does not love reading, These two boys are only three years apart in age, causing me to wonder if it's a generational thing or a backlash of the technology boom. Both of these boys were born during the growth of electronic gaming and computer technology. I love technology and was one of the first people to buy a personal computer when they became available to the public. I also saw to it that my young children had access to that computer and learned early primitive programming. I could see it was the wave of the future. However, I've also seen the changes it has brought about in our young people. I've seen lots of kids who are unable to entertain themselves. Even modern baby toys have all sorts of flashing lights, bells and whistles to keep them entertained. Yet, I remember when I would lay my babies down on the floor with a few simple toys or a mobile hanging above them, and they were perfectly contented to watch me busy myself around them, straightening up or cooking, whatever needed doing. I also talked or sang to them as I worked, and television was severely restricted until they were older - a constant battle with their father. Much later, my granddaughter lived with me (full-time at first, then part-time) from the time she was 1 year until she was 10. She also had no interest in reading but has now become an avid reader. Once again, I struggled with how to help her find her way into a love of books. The first thing I did was give her much less screen time than my son had. She was left to her own devices a lot. She had playdates and went outdoors. She had no electronics around her until she started school. She, like my youngest son, was a little older than usual for a beginning reader and was very precocious. With each of them, I needed to find things that would interest them. Years ago, publishers created books that were high interest and comprehension but still easy readers. It's not hard to do, just have complex story lines using simple words. Now, they can't be found. I checked with my local library, and was told that they no longer catered to these slower learners. Like me, the librarian was dismayed at this but had no helpful suggestions. I decided to transcribe their own stories for them to read back to me. When the summer reading program was happening, I went back to the librarian, explained the situation and asked if she would count these hand written stories as books they had read. She eagerly agreed. They illustrated them either with stickers or with their own drawings and brought them in to show the librarian. It was a huge success. Then, I finally found a book that my granddaughter loved, and that changed the tide. It was "Pirate Mom". I would never have guessed that would be the magic book. We went to the library every week looking through the readers, looking for the right one, and that was it. After that, she suddenly couldn't get enough to read. I think we have to work a little harder now to battle the adverse effects of technology on our children. We have to look harder for that "just right" book. We have to work very hard at limiting screen time and be willing to fight with them about it because we know it's in their best interest. And, we have to start when they are very young to instill independence and a love of learning by insisting that they have alone time and down time. I always read to my kids and read my own books around them, but in this modern age, reading doesn't seem to be enough. I had to set stronger limits and express my expectations. However, it's impossible to force children to read. It sets up a power struggle that we can't possibly win, and we don't want them to have negative feelings about reading. We want them to see the advantages and feel the joy in reading. I still love technology and recognize that our children need to be able to keep up with their peers. They need to learn all of the technological advances and be proficient in computers and telecommunication. However, do they really need to start as babies and toddlers? Do they need a toy computer or cell phone before they are even in school? I don't think so. I think they need to enjoy being children for as long as they can, playing in the dirt, running and jumping, and learning about the world around them. There will be plenty of time for them to jump into the world of technology. For now, why don't we let them enjoy being kids. |
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