INITIATIVE
Moving Into Action
Water, Water Everywhere - Younger
*Science
*Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion
Water is great for stimulating scientific thinking.
For these activities, you need water, ice trays, salt,
an egg, and some dishes.
Put water into an ice tray and set it in the freezer.
How long does it take to freeze? Try this with different
levels of water in different sections of the tray.
Put a few ice cubes on the table. How long do they
take to melt? Put them in different places around
the room. Do they melt faster in some places than
in others?
Salty and Fresh Water: Make some salt water by adding
a couple of teaspoons of salt to two cups of water.
Fill an ice tray with this water. Fill another tray,
but for this one use tap water only. Put them in the
freezer and check them after a few hours. What do
you see? Is the one with the ordinary tap water frozen?
Is the salty one jellylike?
Float an egg in both salt and fresh water. Which
water holds the egg higher? Salt water is more buoyant.
From that you might go on to discuss salt in the Dead
Sea and how easy it is for people to float there.
Evaporation: Put some water in an open dish in a
sunny place. Let your child make a mark to show the
water level. Use another dish with an equal amount
of water and put this one in the shade. Which one
dries first? Watch what happens, and talk about what
you see.
Gather and Go - Older
*Thinking
*Organizing and Presenting Information
Children seem to be forever forgetting things, especially
dates and responsibilities. This activity provides
a memory jogger. You need a calendar, markers or crayons.
Get a plain calendar with large squares for each day.
Start any time. Talk about the days, weeks and months
spread out before you.
Start filling in the squares with special days, such
as birthdays and upcoming events. Include medical
appointments and team practices.
Let your child decorate the calendar. Find ways to
personalize it, with special colors for each family
member, for example or with drawings or pictures for
special days. Use the calendar for generating children's
suggestions; for example, list special foods children
wants or ideas for places to go on family outings.
Use this calendar to write special messages to each
other. Of course, there will always be: "Mom,
I need lunch money" or I really do need those
new jeans." But remember, praise is a miracle
worker. Here are messages everyone likes to get: "Joe,
I like your smile." "Mom, thanks for helping
me with my homework." "Dad, you make terrific
spaghetti." "Sally, you ride your bike well."
