One Activity Starter...Sooo Many Uses!

I recently finished reading an amazing book titled, 10 Mindful Minutes by Goldie Hawn. There were so many useful ideas and activities to help children (and adults) learn to be self-aware and happy. The premise is that being self-aware helps each one of us get to a calm place when needed, make rational decisions, be kind to others, and be truly happy. (This is a way too simplified explanation. I highly recommend reading the book.)

One activity from the book really resonated with me, so I put it to use at home after reading about it. Here is the loosely translated activity with a variation I added at the end...

The Traffic Signal Game

• Print out a photo of, draw, or create a traffic signal light with green, yellow and red.
• Use the color signals as a guide on any emotion that children need help processing and/or controlling (fear, anger, sadness, etc.).
• green = calm, rational decision-making, fully aware and in control of emotion
• yellow = heightened emotion, considers ways to respond and get back to green
• red = highest level of emotion, time for mindful breathing to calm enough to make decision on how to respond
• Go through the colors with the children discussing examples of each color. Have them explain/show what it may look like, how it may feel, etc.
• Decide where to place traffic signal in room/house where all can use it as a reminder and reference when needed.
• The next time there is an issue, refer to the traffic signal to help the child learn how to talk himself through calming and rational decision-making.

Variation/Addition to Activity:

• Have each child make their own personal traffic signal to put where they wish.
• This encourages the next step of self-awareness and the child helping themselves get to the green when needed.
• Using a clothespin, have the child clip it to the color he/she is in. When the emotions change, the clothespin can move.
• This is a great way to communicate when the words are not coming together, or the child just needs help and doesn't know how to get it out calmly. It also is a tangible and concrete method to help explain the emotions.
• To personalize this, I had my daughter decorate her clothespin the way she wanted and choose a place in her room where she would like to have it.

I have seen this one idea used many ways in schools, but liked this version the most. When I read about this version I immediately thought of toddlers and teens. Many of us know that both groups are virtually the same breed...hehehe...

Has anyone else used an activity like this, had success, experience anything they want to share?

Has anyone else read this book and have any insight, opinion, ideas on other activities mentioned?

Connections, connections, connections!

It was a little early for Leap Year Day,

but since the whole family was together,

we just had to try out our leaps!

Each member was a different color and it lead us to all sorts of deductions...who had the largest leap, who had the smallest tracks, etc.

The best part about the whole activity was all the connections we could make to other activities we had already done. Even just going back to the tracking lesson and now looking at the tracks we've made ourselves... It is so powerful to see the wheels turning in a child's mind, never mind when they start to connect to previous knowledge all on their own!

Leap Year Day Fun!

Why do we have Leap Years and good ol'

Leap Year Day on February 29th?

How did this come to be and why is it every

four years... most of the time?

The simplest answer to most of these questions is that the earth takes just under 365 ¼ days to revolve around the sun. If every year were only 365 days, eventually the seasons would shift from the calendar days we observe on our calendars. If every year there were 366 days, the same would happen, but in the opposite direction. That extra quarter day we “miss” each year is made up on the fourth year on February 29^th and is called “Leap Year Day”.

Here is a great online article explaining how leap year came to be:

http://www.highlightskids.com/stories/year-confusion

Here is another article with information on more specifics of how time has been changed to keep the clock in line with the sun:

http://www.rmg.co.uk/explore/astronomy-and-time/time-facts/leap-years

Activity ideas for the littlest leapers:

• Think of animals that leap (ex. frog) and leap high, leap fast, leap with paint on your hands and feet to mark where your leaping prints go!
• Recite the days of the week and months of the year.
• Count to 29!
• Teach:
  “Thirty days has September
  April, June, and November
  All the rest have thirty-one
  Not February, it's a different one
  It has twenty-eight, that's fine
  A Leap Year makes it twenty-nine”
  (There are many versions. I found this one here: http://leapyearday.com/content/days-month-poem)
•  Count out 29 beans (pieces of cereal, blueberries, etc.).
• Ask... “How many groups of three can you make?”, “How many groups of seven?”, “Is there any way to divide these up into groups that all look the same?”
• Give examples of odd and even numbers. Also give examples of dividing a larger amount into smaller groups in which the items all fit in evenly (same amount to each group) and when they don't (some groups have more or less).

Activity ideas for larger leapers:

•  Ask thought-provoking questions like...
• • “If there is a leap year every four years, and this year is a leap year, when will the next leap year be?”
  • “Do we have to keep adding four to find out when the 7^th leap year in this century will be?”, “What other operation can we use that makes adding things over and over again easier?”
  • “If Steve was born on February 29, 2008, how many actual birthdays will he have by the year 2039?”
•  Visit “A Walk Through Time” together to learn about the history of measuring time.
• Plan a Leap Day party
• use the number 29 as your theme and let your brain go wild with ideas
• think of other cultures calendars...
• think of the seasons, the sun, the earth...
• Revolution and Rotation
• have one person stand in the middle and be the sun
• have another person "Earth" stand a few feet away from the "sun", facing the sun
• Earth begins by turning in place (rotating)
• one complete turn around is equal to one earth day
• Earth then starts to move in a circle around the sun, while still rotating
• motion of moving around sun is called revolving
• it takes just over 365 days for the Earth to make the trek around the sun!

The lesson extensions here seem infinite...from frog life cycles to vernal equinox to seasons to cultures to multiplication and division! I could go on and on, but will instead wait for the next blog lesson!

Please share any ideas you have, things you've tried that worked well, websites that are great resources, etc.! The best ideas are born through collaboration!

Ice Fishing Extra

As we count down the days to our ice fishing extravaganza, let's use all of the facts that have been gathered to create an imaginative story. Using the following story starter, motivate your student/child to develop a story using some, or all, of the previous lessons' vocabulary: liquid, solid, gas, water, ice, vapor, turnover, fish, ice fishing, ice thickness, habitat, food, food chain, shelter, space, structure, oxygen, conservation of energy, ecosystem, temperature, tracks, snow, winter, and fallen tree. (What an accomplishment it would be to incorporate all of the vocabulary!)

Story Starter
Peer down this ice fishing hole and imagine you are a fish under the ice. Explain what you feel, see, smell, taste, and hear. Vividly describe everything around you so those reading, or listening to, or watching your story get a clear picture of what life is like under the ice.

Example: This morning feels a little colder than usual, the temperature must have fallen. I think I'll move rather slowly today to conserve my energy. Fortunately, there's some food near this structure, which I think is a fallen tree, so I don't have to venture out into the lake to nab those smaller fish lower on the food chain. Guess those lucky little fish can suck oxygen out of the water for a few more days, unless caught this weekend during the ice fishing derby. (I think you get the idea!)

Storytelling Variations
This story starter can work for all ages, just vary the expected outcome as you see fit. Here are some ideas:
1. Have your student/child write the story as a narravite.
2. Have him/her write a script (maybe 2 fish are having a conversation).
3. Have your student/child tell you the story.
4. Have your him/her demonstrate the story (body movement/acting is always fun).

Guide your student/child as much or as little as you want depending on his/her ability level. This is something you could enjoy doing together as opposed to having your student/child work independently.
Just remember, any use of imagination and creativity is an accomp"fish"ment!

Ice Fishing Lesson #3 - Here Fishy, Fishy!

Just what are those fish doing down there

while it's soooo cold?!?!

Knowing what those fish are up to will help you have better chances of making a catch while ice fishing. Here are some things to consider...

Habitat:

• all animals need a place to live, called their habitat
• all animals have the same basic needs in their habitat... food, shelter, water, space
• fish can be found near a shelter and food source (weed bed, fallen tree, rock, etc.)

Animal Behavior in Winter:

• as the temperature drops, so does animal activity level
• many animals slow down when it's cold to conserve energy, therefore needing less food and oxygen (ex. Painted turtles breath so slowly that it may only be once every eight to ten minutes! source: New Hampshire Wildlife Journal, Jan./Feb. 2012, p. 24)
• cold-blooded animal's body temperature changes with their surroundings, so animals like fish move deep into the water near the mud
• fish also move nearer to food sources so they don't have to use to much energy to find food

Fish Fact Conclusion:

• they slow down in winter (move and eat less)
• they like to be near structure (protection from predators, food source)
  • ex. weed bed, land point extended out into water, fallen tree, rocks, place where the water changes depth quickly)
• they move deeper into the water (near food source)
• they move apart from each other (most of the water is the same temperature so they are not moving to a warm/cold spot with other fish)

As you head out on the lake/pond, take a look around you. What looks like a good place to check the depth of the water? Are there any structures visible from the surface to drill holes somewhat near? Also consider what type of fish you're hoping to catch... Different fish prefer to hang out in different regions. For example, pickerel like weed beds.

Games to play while waiting for the fish to bite:

Oh Deer! (or Oh Fish!) (six or more players)

• Form two equal lines of people and face away from each other, about 10-20 feet, depending on age group
• Pick one line of people to represent the deer (fish, bear, etc.)
• Both lines have each person choose to be: food (hands on belly), water (hands on mouth), shelter (hands together, pointing over head – looks like roof of house), or space (arms out wide). (No talking or peeking to see what others are choosing...)
• On the count of three, both lines turn around to face each other. The deer (bear, fish, etc.) run/swim/bound across to the other line to find a matching food/shelter/water/space. (The food/shelter/water/space people don't move. They wait patiently hoping an animal needs what they have to offer.)
• Those animals who find a match bring his/her match back across the playing field to where they started.
• Because the animal was able to find what it needed to survive, it was able to live and reproduce. The animals who didn't get a match, in other words get what they needed to survive, pass away and join the food/shelter/water/space line. Also, any food/shelter/water/space people who didn't get match stay in the line they were in.
• Continue this as many rounds as possible until all the animals have passed away, or run out of habitat requirements (become overpopulated).
• It should start to become obvious to participants that not every animal gets what it needs every time. If all animals did, there would be too many animals and not enough resources to go around.

Fish Frenzy

• Pretend to be a fish under the ice, swimming in the water, by lying on your belly on the ice
• In summer the fish move around quickly, so when someone yells “Summer!”, it's time to swim as fast as you can!
• (“Autumn” = slower, “Winter” = slowest, “Spring” = speed up a little, “Summer” = swim fast)
• Participants can take turns picking a season to shout out or one person can be the season shouter.
• (This could also be done as a race. The fastest fish, while adhering to the correct speed of movement for the proper season, could be the first to get to food/shelter.)
• So many variations! Just have fun with it!

The big day is almost here! After hikes in the woods looking at fallen trees, tracking wild animals, quests across the ice, we're so excited to get out there and fish! There's is always more to learn and more connections to make!

*Here's a connection from our quest on the ice today... Old tracks across the ice that have now become part of the ice!

Ice Fishing Lesson #2 - Ice Safety and Exploration

The sun was bright, the breeze was cold, and the day was just perfect! We left home around mid-morning on a quest to scope out the ice for next weekend's ice fishing extravaganza. The hike there was peaceful, as the crunch of icy snow under heavy boots could be heard, not much else. Not too many tracks to note on the trail or ice, but one thing I can say; the squirrels have been busy!

As we reached the lake, one bob house and three fishermen were spotted. Oh yeah, and let's not forget the dog riding on a four-wheeler, with his master driving of course! The ice was as hard as a solid can be. The little bit of snow on top of the ice was more of ice pellets than fluff. We chose the best route available and followed the tracks of a previous snowmobiler who went right across the middle of the lake. (If the ice could hold this snowmobile recently, then it should be able to hold us. We had checked the ice about a month earlier and it had eight inches in the area we were walking toward.)

As we worked our way out of the bay, the goal was to try to stay on the little bit of crunchy snow for traction and near the path of the snowmobiler. (There was lots of exposed ice and boy was it slippery!) We passed an ice fisher checking his tip-ups and had to talk "fish talk". Things like "How thick is the ice today?" and "Any catches?" are common. Another common piece of any conversation out on the ice usually revolves around the idea that just being out there is the best part, no matter how well the fish are or aren't biting. This person we chatted with was happy to report "13 to 14 inches of ice" and "perch"!

Once out into the broad of the lake, "glug, glug, GLUG" echoed across the lake. A-ha! Nature, right on cue, to remind us that the solid we were walking on is floating on top of a liquid, the lake! This sound, along with the loud cracking often heard out on the ice, was the perfect cue to talk about ice safety. It was also a great opportunity to talk about how magical the ice is by allowing us to walk on water for the winter. It's quite a view to be on the lake, looking across, without a boat keeping you afloat!

You've mastered "solid", "liquid", and "gas"! Now it's time to see these three states in action! Find a pond or lake near you and go exploring!

• How do we know if the ice is safe? What are some clues to look for?
• What are some ways to check the thickness of the ice?
• Is the layer of ice one solid mass?
• Is the ice the same thickness across the whole pond/lake?
• What are the fish and frogs doing during the winter?
• How do fishermen get the fish out of the water while ice fishing?
• What is an example of a "solid" here? "liquid"? "gas"?

Here are some resources for the topic of "ice safety":

http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/ierd/ice_safety/safety.html

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/ice/thickness.html

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fishing/Fishing_PDFs/Ice_Safety_Brochure.pdf



Math Connection:
Give students a bunch of hypothetical situations to choose from (snowmobile = .25 tons, truck = 1 ton, person = 0.0875 tons , deer = 0.125 tons, etc.). Have the students use the following equation to figure out how thick the ice needs to be for each.

How thick does it need to be?

A simple formula to estimate the minimum ice thickness required to support a load is

where h is the ice thickness in inches and P is the load, or gross weight, in tons.

(source: http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/ierd/ice_safety/safety.html)

***Math Reminders***

• Follow order of operations (PEMDAS).
• Check your answer and also ask yourself if the answer makes sense.
• Ask yourself, "Now that I've found the mathematical answer, what information have I gained?"

Please feel free to share any adventures you have had out on the ice! A good story is always worth sharing!