In February of 1935, at the end of a hellishly cold winter, a small group of writers bundled up in coats and carried signs as they walked in a circle in front of the Port Authority building in New York City. It was the first strike of the Writers’ Guild, a group that had organized to address the hunger, poverty, and joblessness that faced writers during the Depression. The leader carried a sign that read: “Children Need Books. Writers Need a Break. We Demand Projects.” The unemployment rate that year was twenty percent. Hundreds of people were living in makeshift shanties in Central Park. Hunger marches were common. Workers were fervently demanding relief from the government, and writers needed help,...
We've recently been learning about Weather for our home learning topic, so I thought I'd put together a list of some fun Weather themed crafts and experiments for children to enjoy!These fun activities will help teach your little ones all about why different types of weather occur, encouraging them to talk about it and harness their natural curiosity - plus how to enjoy all the types of weather too!Walking Rainbow ExperimentIf your child loves rainbows (I mean, who doesn't?) this little experiment would be perfect for them!1. To start, you'll need one sheet of kitchen roll and fold it in half. We also cut ours into a more rainbow shape. 2. Colour in the ends of the rainbow with felt tips...
Like many parents, I want to raise smart kids who reach their full potential. But as a pediatric nutritionist and mom, I know that parents face a reality that's hard to deny: While certain foods with nutrients like omega-3 DHA, choline and iron help promote brain development, the truth is young children aren't eager to eat these foods.Why is food important for brain development?It is well-known that food, and the nutrients it contains, helps the brain develop, grow and function. During infancy and the first 1,000 days, the brain is rapidly growing, laying the scaffolding and blueprint for information transmission, memory and learning.We can see babies and young toddlers practically morph before our eyes in everyday, simple things like purposeful...
Makerspaces and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) learning spaces are becoming common fixtures in schools, libraries and museums. Students of all ages can use them to learn coding, understand physics, build robots, learn sewing and more through self-led experiences with physical objects or virtual instruction on a tablet or device. But, when children interact with these tools, how much are they actually learning? Nesra Yannier, a systems scientist at CMU's Human-Computer Interaction Institute where she also received her Ph.D., and her colleagues Ken Koedinger and Scott Hudson, examined the effectiveness of learning spaces and developed a special "intelligent science station" to help improve children's ability to learn underlying scientific principles. Their research, published in the International Journal of...
Ah, the ocean. Sitting on the beach and watching the waves is so relaxing. Then you take a dive into the blue water and all your worries fade away. Since we can’t always be close to the ocean, why not bring the calming effect of the ocean to us? In this oil and water science activity, you are going to learn how to make an ocean in a bottle (or jar if that’s what’s available at home). This way, you literally have the ocean at the palm of your hand anytime you want to look at it! How to Make Ocean in a Bottle Materials: Baby oil (you can also use vegetable oil, but it will be yellow instead of...
