Category: Education

Kids are full of natural curiosity. For them, discovering the world is a constant source of wonder and awe that entices them ever further down the path of knowledge. That virtuous circle makes scientific exploration particularly fun and engaging for them.

We can’t simply let learners run full-tilt into scientific study, though. There are a few measures we need to take so that kids get the maximum benefit while still keeping them – and everything else safe.

These tips will let your learners marvel at the natural world without you worrying about them getting bored or accidentally harming themselves.

1. Setting Up Safety Rules

Those of us with a taste for nostalgia remember well the mid-20th Century chemistry sets and science kits that were so popular in those days. The boxes most often included the words ‘fully tested’ and ‘safe’ but the pictures of budding scientists showed one glaring omission: any type of safety gear.

If you look at pictures of chemistry sets from the 1950s and later, they often feature boys with test tubes held at eye level, pouring something into them. Not one of those scientists was shown wearing splash goggles and, should a mentor or teacher feature in the design, he wasn’t shown wearing any either.

Thankfully, television science programs made up for that oversight by always insisting that everyone wear safety gear. You should do the same thing.

At the very least, you should have gloves on hand, as well as splash goggles and protective clothing. Also, you should have a hand-wash station nearby and conduct experiments in a well-ventilated space.

Finally, if your scientist is on the younger side, always supervise the experiments, especially if they involve chemical reactions or fire.

2. Awesome Science Experiments to Try at Home

Exciting science experiments don’t have to involve chemicals and it makes science easier for kids to understand.  There’s a whole range of demonstrations you could set up with ordinary household items.

Take the water glass experiment, for example. In your science study space, line your table with a waterproof cloth. Set up six to ten empty glasses, all the same size, and prepare a pitcher of water. You will also need various implements to tap each glass with: a pencil, a fork, a spoon and, if you have one, a nylon or silicone spatula.

While the glasses are empty, tap each implement against them and ask which ones render the clearest sounds. Eliminate those your student declares unfit for further experimentation.

Next, fill each glass with varying amounts of water. Have your scientists tap each one with the implement of their choice and comment on each glass’s sound, as well as how each sounds different from the others.

Note that the glasses should be made of glass; this experiment is far less satisfying when plastic cups are used.

Other fun experiments include the soap-and-pepper trick, the walking water experiment and the magic milk experiment.

Each time you conduct an experiment, ask your scientists what they predict the results will be before you tell them to put on their protective equipment and begin.

3. What Makes an Effective Science Lesson

Growing a lima bean sprout and turning a white carnation blue with a few drops of food coloring in its water are fun science activities but are they effective?

What can your scientists learn from such experiments? How do they learn from them?

Every time you launch such a learning session, you’re doing a lot of talking. You, the experiment leader, should narrate the experiment and ask open-end questions like “What do you think will happen?” and “What did you think about this experiment?”.

Likewise, your scientists should present their hypotheses, discuss their ideas and impressions and draw conclusions based on their observations.

The most important aspect of these experiments is not to observe phenomena but to learn how to think critically.

Sure, it’s a lot of fun to drop a Mento in a full cola bottle but fun is all that experiment is unless you and your scientists talk about what might happen and compare those ideas to what’s actually going on.

In short, effective science lessons are those that teach kids how to think critically and express their ideas.

4. Techniques to Make Science More Interactive Online

As we move ever deeper into the digital world, hands-on science experiments become more challenging. The pivot to online learning has spurred more creativity on teachers’ parts to keep their students engaged.

Experimentation has moved from teacher-centric to student-driven. Some teachers assign ongoing projects and task students to record their observations and conclusions; perhaps turning their written papers in as homework.

Such assignments might range from experiments in food decomposition to measuring the bounce height of different types of balls. You might task students with a bit of drain maintenance by pouring baking soda in the sink or shower, followed by vinegar. In cold weather, students may witness and record instances of static electricity and learn how friction generates heat.

hen possible, encourage students to record their experiments in a short video so they can show their work.

5. Using Technology to Make it Interesting

Kids love to play games. Luckily, there are plenty of science-based games online, many of them at no cost.

It’s not enough to direct your students to learning-games websites, though. You still have to take the lead, either by asking questions and leading discussions or by supervising gameplay. The younger the student, the more direction and input they will need from you.

Conclusion

The wealth of scientific experiments that can be safely conducted outside of the classroom makes learning about science even more fun and engaging. Still, no matter how keen your learners are to witness reactions and record impressions, make sure they follow all safety rules at all times, no exceptions allowed.

Making use of online tools to enrich students’ science education is the next, logical step to teaching science, at home or in the classroom. You only need to make sure that students’ screen time stays within healthy limits and don’t forget to discuss what they learned as they played.

Worried about your child catching a virus while in school? Most children are not as conscious about personal hygiene as they should be, which further increases their risk of illness. Teaching your kids the importance of proper hygiene will greatly help protect them from various illnesses like cough, cold, and fever.

Talk To Your Kids About Hygiene

One way to help our kids thrive in school is to keep them healthy. Teachers often discuss proper hygiene in the classroom, but it’s crucial for parents to constantly remind their children about it.

With some practice and a little guidance, you can help your child develop healthy habits wherever they go.

Tell them why hygiene is necessary and how they can get sick if they don’t practice them regularly. It can be difficult to get a child’s buy-in when it comes to health and wellness, so a little creativity can help.

For example, you can read them stories about hygiene to help them understand the cause and effect of practicing it.

Hygiene Starts With The Hands

Children can easily get exposed to germs and viruses when touching dirty surfaces and putting their hands on their faces.

One way to stop the spread of infections among schoolers is hand washing. It’s one of the most important hygiene habits that you should teach your child as early as possible.

Teach your child to wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water for at least twenty seconds.

Remind them to wash their hands before and after eating, after using the toilet, coughing or sneezing, or when playing on the school ground.

Let them carry a hygiene kit to school which contains antibacterial soap, wipes, hand sanitizer, and alcohol. In case they are not able to wash their hands, instruct them to apply hand sanitizer or alcohol.

Keep Hands Away From Eyes, Nose, And Mouth

Educate your child how germs can enter their body so they can keep their hands away from their eyes, nose, and mouth. Now, this can be a tricky habit to learn so you have to constantly remind them.

Provide your kids with tissue or a handkerchief they can use to scratch an itch without touching their face directly. Alternately, tell them they can only touch their face after hand washing or sanitizing their hands.

Also, try to keep their hair out of their face. Stray hairs tickle the face, causing an urge to touch their face frequently.

Limit Use Of Shared Objects

While you want your children to develop the value of sharing and caring, you also want to make them understand how germs and bacteria can spread quickly when they are touching surfaces and sharing objects like art supplies, cell phones, food, utensils, pencils, and personal items like combs and face towels.

If sharing snacks, pack them in separate ziplock containers so your child can just hand them over to their friends.

Cover Nose While Coughing Or Sneezing

Always remind your child to cover their nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing with tissue. Encourage them to use a handkerchief or wear a face mask.

Don’t forget to teach them to properly dispose of tissue and face masks, and then wash or sanitize their hands after.

Stay Home When Sick

If your child has a cold, cough, or fever, let them stay home and rest. They should also stay home if they have a contagious disease. It’s very hard to stop the spread of illnesses, especially in a school classroom where children are seated close to each other and are continually touching surfaces.

Disinfect Frequently Touched Surfaces

Teach your kids the right way to disinfect cell phones, tablets, water bottles, and other personal belongings regularly, especially once they arrive home. Consider spraying their bags and shoes with disinfectant too.

Give your child a ziplock bag where they can put used clothes, food containers, and other dirty items that need to be washed and sanitized at home.

Conclusion

Prevention is better than cure. Remind your children that although germs are not visibly present, they are everywhere – from air particles to frequently touched surfaces. Thus, they have to be extra conscious about proper hygiene so they won’t get sick and have more time for play and school.

Read about best hygiene practices in childcare.

Writing a book report need not be difficult. However, kids do dread it because it seems like an overwhelming task. If that is the case with your kids, let them know the first step in the process can actually be fun. They simply need to book they will enjoy.  From there, here is how you can help them with their book reports.

Read the Book and Take Notes

A good place to start would be the book itself. Reading the source material will help you understand the key points that the book is trying to make. It will also allow you to capture the main ideas that the writer is trying to convey. Unless you read the book, you might miss out on the many details hidden between the lines. And without these details, the book report may feel incomplete.

Kids are often oblivious to these minor details, and they have a higher chance of running past them while reading the book. Hence, it is your responsibility to take notes of such details, and then help your kids realize their importance.

For taking notes, you should follow a chapter-by-chapter approach. Maintain a separate set of notes for any characters mentioned in the story. Word meanings are important as well if you are doing a report on a book of poems.

Along with those, you might also want to make notes on the various similes, metaphors, and analogies mentioned in the poem or story. This will make it less difficult for kids to make sense of these things.

Go Through Existing Reports and Summaries

While reading the book is the ultimate approach to writing a book summary or report, it is likely to feel monotonous at one point. Plus, after a certain time, you might start missing out on certain details within the book that are crucial to the plot. In such cases, it is always a wise decision to go through existing book summaries and reports before you help your kids write theirs.

Of course, you will need some expert opinion regarding the matter, which is why you should look for reports and summaries on trusted websites and platforms only. SweetStudy’s new book summaries section is the ideal place to look for this purpose. Each book listed in this particular section of the website has a critical review of itself written by literature experts.

The books also contain helpful notes. These notes are available for each chapter of the book. The chapter-wise notes make sure that you do not miss a single key detail that is vital to the plot, or any sort of character development.

While going through the existing reports and summaries, you should make notes of your own. These notes, paired with the knowledge you gathered by reading the books, will be more than enough to start working on the book report.

Help Your Kids Realize the Main Ideas of the Book

You have everything you need to help your kid with their book report. However, it is not enough, at least not yet. Your understanding of the book, its plot, characters, and the way it progresses will not be the same as your child’s.

Thus, it is important that you help them realize the main ideas of the book, as well as the key takeaways from the notes you took. Here, you are to incorporate your findings from the book, and the chapter-by-chapter notes you got from SweetStudy, or whatever book summary repository you used.

Once you have everything ready, you start helping your kids with difficult words or phrases and help them understand how analogies and similes work (if they are necessary for the book report).

To help them realize the main ideas of the book, you must first ask them what they think is happening, what the takeaway is, what is the writer/characters trying to say, what the emotion is for a certain scene, and so on. Afterward, you tell them whether they are right or wrong and if wrong, inform them why.

Start Writing

A typical book report has three parts:

1. Introduction.
2. The main body.
3. Conclusion.

Ask your kids to make subsections in the main body. For instance, the subsections can be something like characters, key plot points, plot twists, etc. Subsections can also talk about noteworthy scenes in general, like for instance Hamlet encountering his father’s ghost for the first time in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

The conclusion can be a personal note from your kid on what impact the story or book has in literature or their personal lives.

And with that, your kid will have a perfect book report if not the best in their class.

Additional Writing Resources

• Writing an Argumentative Essay: A Middle School Guide to Writing
• A Guide to Introducing Cursive Writing to your Kids

Kindergarten students are eager to learn! Many people think that kindergartners don’t know much, but the truth is that they have a lot of knowledge already! After all, within the first five years kids are sponges for information. This rapid development continues into kindergarten.

Therefore, it’s vitally important that students are taught six different subjects.

These subjects are:

1.  Reading

Reading is the most important subject you should teach your kindergarten students because it is the foundation of everything. If a student doesn’t have good reading skills, they will have a hard time in their future classes. Reading involves knowing how to read, sounding out words, spelling words, and using good grammar when speaking or writing.

2.  Writing

Writing is another very important subject for your kindergarten students because they need to know how to communicate in writing! Even though learning how to write might seem difficult for some kids at first, it’s really easy after you spend some time practicing! Kids can learn how to write by forming letters correctly (both uppercase and lowercase), starting sentences with capital letters, forming full words instead of just a letter, and writing words they know.

3.  Math

Math is the study of numbers and operations. The most important math skills for kindergartners are counting, identifying shapes, sorting objects by attributes (such as color or shape), comparing numbers to ten, drawing given number patterns, and recognizing quantity relationships. For example: during your child’s first year in school, they should be able to learn how to count from 1-10 to show their understanding of quantity relationships.

4.  Science

Science is one of the most interesting subjects because there are so many cool things to discover! Some science topics that kindergarten students might be interested in learning about are animals, weather, space/planets, how light works, and anatomy for kids. The best way to teach your students about science is by taking them outside to explore nature or visiting a museum where they can learn more about science in a fun way!

5.  Social Studies

Social studies is a combination of history, geography, economics, sociology, and civics/government. It teaches children about different cultures throughout time and around the world. To make social studies more interesting for students, it would be helpful to create games that involve learning new vocabulary words for each unit you teach your class.

Again, art is also a fun subject to teach your students! There are plenty of avenues an artist can take, but some examples include drawing, painting, sculpting with clay or Play-Doh™, making music using instruments, and dancing! Just like science, the best way to teach your students about art is to teach them about colors.  Taking them outside to be creative or visiting an art museum where they can learn more about art in a fun way!

6.  Health and Physical Education

Health and physical education is a very important subject for students because it helps them stay fit and healthy! During kindergarten, students should be taught the names of different parts of their body (such as eyes, nose, mouth, etc.) and keep their bodies healthy by washing their hands before they eat and after they go to the bathroom. Also, kids need to know that it’s okay to say “no” when someone asks them to do something harmful for them, such as smoking cigarettes or doing drugs. By teaching these six subjects in your kindergarten classroom, you can prepare your students for future success in school.

Also, health and safety go hand-in-hand because, without health, we cannot have safety! In kindergarten, students should learn all about staying healthy and happy. This means learning how to wash their hands, brush their teeth, be active throughout the day, eat nutritious food, sleep well, not get sick easily by taking care of themselves. Health is our most important asset, so it’s important to take care of ourselves!

Conclusion

In conclusion, teaching kindergarten students is an important job! These six subjects will help your students learn, prepare for future grades and build good study habits. Remember, learning resources aren’t just found in books or online – whether it’s a field trip to the library or a science experiment during science time – exciting hands-on experiences will keep students engaged and eager to learn! Thanks for reading, and be sure to share this article with other school teachers you know!