According to statistics, homeschooling in the United States has increased 74% in the last eight years.
Why? We do not believe that it is because of a lack of faith in our public school systems as much as it is a growing desire to see MORE education and more focus on real issues that will eventually effect the home.
We have toured this country for many years teaching and presenting in thousands of schools and have addressed not only hundreds of thousands of school students but their very concerned parents. Disaster preparedness is always an issue that raises more questions than it provides answers. How do I teach it to my children without frightening them? How do I deal with the tough issues after a disaster? Do I allow my kids to see the news of current disasters? How do I involve them in our planning?
We have found that the world of disaster preparedness is a wide world of educational opportunity filled with science, history, social science, mathematics and literature. It is through this new blog that we intend to provide those tips, stories and insights that we have shared as we toured. Stay tuned here for programs, guides and curriculum additions as well.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

For those of you with snow...

As adults we see snow as one of those things we dread. Sure it is pretty and can make for a very romantic Christmas Eve, but the bottom line is this: we have to shovel, get out the snowblower, scrape our car windows, drive through it to get to the store, and the worst part is that we have to find boots that go with our “adult clothes” that don’t make us look like the kid in the Malt-O-Meal commercial!

As a child, things are different. Not only can snow transform the landscape into a wonderland, but it can provide a lot of material for learning.

While most of the country does not have any snow yet, back in Nebraska we have plenty already! The snowflakes today are the size of baseballs!
While October is not the best time to discuss snow in most situations, it seems pretty appropriate for our little homeschool here today.

Today we may work on finding out where snow comes from. We will talk about how snow crystals are born in the clouds when water vapor freezes on a particle of dust, a floating bit of bacteria, or another solid material. Today’s snow is just more of yesterday’s rain that has gotten too cold!

We will talk about when cloud temperatures are at the freezing point or below, and there is an ample supply of moisture in the air, ice crystals form around a core particle. As water vapor condenses and freezes, the complex pattern of a snowflake is born, one molecule at a time. A snowflake's hexagonal shape is born at the atomic level. It is here that water molecules bond together into stable crystal structures.

With flakes this big, we will classify snow into six basic patterns called: Needles, columns, plates, columns capped with plates, dendrites, and stars. Each type is the result of different atmospheric and temperature conditions within the cloud. You can find out what each of these are by clicking on http://school.familyeducation.com/science/teaching-methods/37626.html?detoured=1

There are several ways you can “investigate” snow flakes.

What you'll need:
Viewing platform: black velvet, dark cloth, or black construction paper
Magnifying glass

Snowflakes are delicate creatures and their fine crystalline shape can vanish at the touch of warmth. You'll need to freeze your viewing surface (keep it in the fridge or outside in a cold dry area). If the snow is falling, just hold your platform aloft to catch a few flakes and view with your magnifying glass. You may need to wear a scarf over the mouth and nose to avoid melting the flakes with a warm breath.

Try photography. Years ago it was expensive to hand your kids a camera and have them blow through a $4 roll of film that cost $5 to develop, but now, with digital cameras, teaching and journaling can be fun! See how close you can get to take a picture! Can you capture the whole snow fall and then a single flake?

Keeping journals is a great way to interest any child in observation. My son amazed the filmmaker from Canada that was visiting a few weeks ago by explaining to him that he had journaled all of our regional weather for the last six months!
In your snow journal, keep 1. Date, time and amount of the snowfall 2. Temperature of the air and how it effects “snowball making” 3. The kinds of crystals you observe and if your are ambitious, 4. The weight unit of the snow. Use a small container such as a measuring cup and gather enough snow to fill the container without packing it. Use a ruler or knife to level the snow with the top of the container and weigh it on a postage scale. The idea is, after several “readings” to find that the higher the weight, the higher the water content, so make sure you keep the amounts of snow approximately the same each time. Taking measurements every few hours will allow your child to see how “heavy” the snowfall is. You may want to look back over your midday readings and evening readings to see if colder air effects snow weight!

Now, when all this has been done and your child has become a snow expert ready for the rest of winter, find their coat, gloves, hat, scarf and boots and go make snow angels!