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As parents we often give children sexist toys for birthdays and Christmas presents. We do not do it intentionally but we reinforce stereotypes all the time. When was the last time you gave a little girl blocks, cars or any other mechanical type item as a present? We can however help to level the playing field so that boys are not the only technical ones in a rapidly advancing technological world. Introducing your child to science and engendering a love of the subject, as early as possible, is vital in helping to lay a solid grounding for your child’s educational future. You do not have to be ‘scientifically minded’ to be able to help your child: a lot of science is common everyday knowledge that you use without thinking all the time.
Organize a picnic with your child. Discuss what types of food you would like to take. Go through what food is healthy as well as unhealthy and explain why. For example, tell him that sweets are unhealthy because they cause tooth decay and that makes your teeth fall out. While milk is healthy because it aids with strong bones, and potatoes and bread are nice to have as they fill you up and give you energy. Let your child choose foods with different tastes (sweet –chocolates; sour –yogurt; bitter –lemons; salty – peanuts), as well as different textures (a slimy banana, crunchy apples, soft bread, chewy toffee, etc). Talk to your child about what crockery and cutlery you will need as well as suitable things to sit on ad why you would use them. Discuss the difference between a cloth blanket on a muddy field or a plastic one. Make a list of all the things you and your child have to make as well as buy on the way, and get your child to draw a few of them.
This will have helped your child learn about planning, insulation, arranging, absorbency, balanced diets, taste and texture.
Washing of clothes can be a boring task so use this opportunity to teach your child about evaporation, cleaning, heat and thickness. Ask your child if you should use washing powder (or liquid), and ask them to explain why. Ask them if you just used water, would your clothes still get cleaned? Give them a bowl of cold and another of hot water and ask them to wash a teddy bear or an item of their clothes. See which bowl works the best for removing dirt. Then add soap to the bowls and let them see which one works better now. Allow them to dry the clothes and the teddy bear next to each other and ask them which one will dry first. Explain the concept of wet and dry and why the one with more water inside it will take longer to dry.
Lets go back into the kitchen, this time to make ice-lollies. Allow your child to mix the juice with water, and use about four or five different jugs so that the concentration will vary. Explain what the concentrate is (just juice with no water added), as well as what diluting is (with water as opposed to without water). Allow him to pour the juice mix into different moulds and as you go explain about full and empty as well as less, more and half. Mark them before they go into the freezer and leave them overnight. Ask your child what he is expecting them to look like when they come out. The next day remove them from the freezer and ask your child how each one has changed, and which level of concentrate he prefers. Talk about how cold they are and what they feel like as they are taken into the sun and melt over his hand. Talk about how they change shape, texture and colour as they run. Mention it being a solid thing and turning to liquid when it heated up in the warmth. All of this will help your child understand the concepts of hot, cold, solid, liquid, mixing, pouring, measuring, counting and carrying out instructions.
Water is a wonderful learning tool, and great fun, especially in the summer months. Get hold of some old washing liquid holders that have squirters on the top. Fill them with water and draw a line on the ground. Which one squirts the water a greater distance than the others? Experiment by filling them with more and less water to see which one has the most power behind it. These games will teach your child to quantify, recycle, measure, the concept of distance, weigh and predict.
How many times did you, as a kid, build forts, tents and camps? Kids always enjoy doing this and it can help them learn all about textures, light, estimation, colors, sizing, dark, reflections, measuring, shapes, fixing and creating their own space. Firstly decide on the materials you will need. If it is going to be built outside discuss whether a plastic or wool groundsheet would be a better option and why, (no moms it isn’t because it is harder to clean though that can come into, but because of water proofing). Try and supervise the building of the ‘house’ as they can collapse. Take a sheet/curtain or blanket and get them to drape it over the frame. Talk about which material allows the most light into the tent as well as what colour the light is (a red blanket, for example, will give off a red light inside the tent). Allow him to use a cardboard box with cling film or plastic over it to create a window, but supervise the cutting and sticking, as cling film can be dangerous for a child.
Even a visit to the local playground can be informative, as opposites (such as high/low, fast/slow, stop/go, in/out, backwards/forwards) can be illustrated. While you push him on a swing talk about the feeling of being pushed (a force), and as the child swings on the roundabout ask them if they can feel the way they are being pushed to the outside of the roundabout. Pushing and pulling are referred to as ‘forces’ in the educational environment so get your child used to the concepts themselves as early as possible. Explain that the reason he will always come back to earth is due to gravity (the feeling of being pulled earthwards).
Keep your explanations as simple as possible you don’t have to go into detail and if there is something you aren’t sure of then look it up together in an encyclopedia or ask someone who will know. You’ll be surprised at what you will learn while helping your children.
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