Maker Kids

On an homeschooling list a question came up today
"Can anyone recommend some ways for me to incorporate making/engineering into our at-home time? Engineering curriculum for young kids? Resources?"

Here was my response:

The NoCo Mini-Maker Faire in Loveland is Oct. 4-5, there'll be hands on activities there for the kids, plus lots of local folks with ideas and resources.

If you don't live in Colorado, look for a Maker Faire near you.

Make Magazine has lots of projects on line, some are great for kids.

If you can afford a subscription you'd probably get some use out of the paper magazine too.  There are many projects in each vol, and many of them accessible to the layman or kids.

DIY is designed for kids and has ideas and give them the opportunity to share what they've done.

Google ran an online summer Maker Camp

My kids liked project books (because we're ancient and homeschooled before the internet was such a big part of everything)

Some favorites were

the Usborne Science Activities books Vol 1-3

Making Things, by Ann Sayre Wiseman

Science Crafts for Kids by Gwen Diehn

and  book about making musical instruments by hand.. sorry can't find the name of ti.

Remember too that "engineers" are often also artists and musicians.  That need to create runs deep.  I found that my role was to show how to safely use/ access the materials and then to just get out of the way.

Have fun!

Bombus

Look who Hot Dog found in the basement.

Instead of doing our normal academics we've spent out morning trying to figure out exactly what kind of bumble bee this is. 

We found several websites and decided that it is Bombus Morrisoni. 

We found lots of good sites:
Western Bumble Bee Guide
Mr. E's Mysterious Bees
bumble bee dot org

And now we are learning how to get bumble bees to nest in our yard. 

We love spring!

Something's Bugging Us

We've been enjoying the end of summer, tasting fall on the crisp morning air. One thing about these cooler days is that the insects are easier to catch. But of course then the kids want to identify them. What's a mom to do? Well, honestly I call my favorite entomologist, who is also another homeschooling mom. But sometimes she's not available, so sites like What's that Bug, and Insect Identification.org can help a bit.


Here's a beauty we haven't identified.This spider was HUGE, the abdomen longer than 1" and a leg span of ~ 3 inches.

On the underside she had dark stripes going the other way.


I've got tens of pictures of unidentified critters. Any suggestions about how to identify them, websites, real life resources, old fashioned books,... would be much appreciated!

Khan Academy

Just a quick note to share a find.

The Khan Academy is a new old find. It's got some nice visual tutorials on math and science, SAT tutorials in math, and much more than I can describe here. I'd found it months ago, but then didn't get back to it. NPR recently did an interview with the man who's doing it and so I was reminded of it.

My oldest recently purchased an refurbished ipod classic, and so has been enjoying some audio finds. Playing with the Khan Academy youtube video I discovered it can be downloaded and that my computer knows how to change it to an Apple ipod format. Yea! Now these tutorials can be watched on a portable device anywhere.

I sound like a commercial don't I? :-p

This is your brain, learning all the time

I know, I have been quite delinquent in my posting, or rather, lack there of. In my defense, I'm BUSY! Coaching an FLL team, doing music with the children for worship on Sundays, rehearsing and performing with two choirs, and oh ya, homeschooling three kids.... Which means while I have a lot I could post about, I don't have any time to post it. :^P

I've been reading some fascinating stuff recently. I can't quite tell where I'm going with the synthesis of it. One area I've been reading about is brain function and plasticity. With books like "The Brain That Changes Itself", "Proust and the Squid, the Story and Science of the Reading Brain", "Predictably Irrational" and then this video series:
http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/video/notes-neurons-full

It's worth watching the video series, if nothing else just to hear Bobby McFerrin.

Homeschooling Science

At a homeschooling information meeting I organized someone asked “What about science?” “How can a student learn science at home?”

I rambled a bit about the Discovery Center, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, books, experiments and on-line resources. But here's what I wished I had said.

Science is a method. The scientific method allows us a way to know our world, to make discoveries that are testable. Science isn't just what you find in a book of facts. That book of facts is great, but it's just the information we've learned using science. To really understand science you have to practice the scientific method and experience the power of it's application.

That can be done anywhere, anytime. Perception and wonder are a great start. Notice what is around you. Wonder how it got there, what it does, why it does that, how it does that. Observe. Make a guess (hypothesize) and test your guess against reality. Wonder and notice some more.

That said, it does help to have information to fill in the blanks.

Some books that we've liked:

DK EyeWitness books

Usborne Book of Science Activities (v1-3)

Science Crafts for Kids (this one is great!)

Making Things (more artsy, but uses basic principles you can highlight)

Also look for books about inventions, mistakes that worked, how things work... etc.

Don't forget that children's play is their "work". Science is naturally fascinating.
Here are some sources for toys that reinforce scientific principles
Edmund Scientific

American Science and Surplus

Museum Tour Catalog