JenOni

math

Slime is a Great Science Experiment and STEM at Home

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 National STEM Day, November 8th

Slime Making is STEM at Home

My soon to be 5th grader mastered the science of making slime.  I wanted her to take on the project without any supervision from me.    She is very resourceful and found different instructions on Elmer’s glue website.   We found all of her supplies: glue, baking soda and contact solution at Target.     I will include the link to Elmer’s glue below.

 

 

 

Elmer’s Glue Slime How To   (this is a nonsponsored post)*

 

Who said learning has to stop during the SUMMER?   In addition to the slime making, I have included an offline activity that involves science and math.  Thanks to Education.com.  This is a very interactive activity that utilizes math and science to learn about the solar system.    If you are interested in more activities, you can visit their site  here

Tour the Planets

Help your child learn the planets and practice math skills in this multi-player game! This learning mash-up is a great way to get your child interested in science and math while competing with his friends. Players will navigate the game through addition, subtraction and multiplication while exploring the solar system. Whoever colors in the most planets wins!

What You Need:

  • White paper
  • Markers
  • Deck of cards with the face cards (jacks, queens, and kings) removed
  • Pencil

What You Do:

Create The Scoresheet:

– Each player makes their own coloring sheet on a vertical piece of white paper. In the center of the page, draw the outline of a sun with a black marker.

– Draw 9 concentric rings around the sun, one ring per planet or the moon in our solar system. Make a black outline drawing of each planet or moon on it’s orbital line. They can be drawn as creatively as you like!

– Next to each drawing, write the corresponding initial. The initials in order around the sun should be:  M, V, E, M, J, S, U, N, P.

– Have your child shuffle the deck and place it face down.

Play The Game:

  1. Ask your child to shuffle the deck and place it face down. For this game aces = 1.
  2. Each player takes 2 cards at a time. They can choose to use any math system including addition, subtraction, or multiplication to combine the two cards they choose, trying to end up with any number between 1 and 9.
  3. If the answer is between 1 and 9, the player gets to color in the corresponding planet in order of their distance from the sun. For example, if a player’s number is 5, they would color in Jupiter, because it’s the 5th planet from the sun.
  4. Players can only color in the planets if their math is correct, they can name the planet, and the planet has not been colored in yet by another player.
  5. When all the planets have been named, each player should count the number of planets they have colored and whoever has colored the most planets is the winner!

Example:

 

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My Kid’s Chronicles- Summer Learning, What Are We Doing?


SummerLearning2015

As a child I was so excited for summer break, it was almost 3 months of no school and beautiful weather!!! Our winter season added a few snow days which extended the end of the school year.   I was excited to move to our new school district because I knew my DD would receive necessary support services.    In January, we met with the guidance counselor, psychologist, special education teacher and her homeroom teacher to review her IEP(Individualized Education Program).      I was a little anxious with how she was going to transition between two teachers and separate classes.     After a few weeks of getting acclimated and the assistance of an emotional support teacher she was off to a great start.    Her progress at the mid year review parent/teacher conference was phenomenal!!!!

During the last week of school,  her library hosts an end of year library event for students in grades K-5.    All the kids who attend are given grade level books to read over the summer.    This was a great way to send the kids off for the summer with a stockpile of books.   Most of my daughter’s books were brand new.  Prior to the event parents were asked to volunteer to host the event, donate refreshments items and books for various grade levels.

My goal for the summer was to keep the momentum going during the summer months without a break for learning.    After participating in a workshop last year I realized how much is lost over the summer.    I guess the old adage “out of sight, out of mind” applies during summer break.    For my DD I wanted to encourage her as much as possible by utilizing fun math workbooks, books from the library event and a subscription to Highlights.    The fact that Highlights is still in circulation  was a shock  after all of these years.    This magazine was a big treat as a kid because you received personal mail and then there were the fun activities inside.    I would get lost for hours!!!!

It has been a challenge to stay on a schedule.  We started off strong in June but have sizzled off in the month of July.   I believe DD’s camp activities are exhausting and she is physically drained once she gets home.   We also visited our local library and now DD has her own library card.  My fingers are crossed!!!!  I remember trips to my local library and this is no cost fun right in our backyard.

Do you have a summer learning curriculum?  How do you get your child(ren) to stay focused with the downtime? and additional activities draining their energy levels?

 

Khan Academy: BEST EDUCATIONAL TOOL

A friend told me about Khan Academy two years ago.  The company is the brainchild of Salman Khan, the MIT and Harvard graduate recorded over 3,000 videos on various academic subjects.  The videos are a great way to bring the subject matter to life.  I love the interactive approach of learning.  His goal is to have teachers modify their curriculum by allowing students to watch videos at home and use classroom to collectively work on subject content. Watch the video to see his progression of how it all started…..

As a former engineering student, this site would have been invaluable especially for my higher level math and science courses. The idea emerged after tutoring his cousins remotely when he started doing YouTube videos to reinforce each of the lessons.  The library of videos comprise math, science and humanities topics. Another fun fact is it is accessible to everyone and it is FREE.  The company has grown from one person recording videos in a closet to a staff of 34 employees.

For all the students in your world there are no more excuses, I stayed on the site for hours when I first learned about the site.

Sign up now for KHAN ACADEMY