Watch How You Eat

Don’t play with your food. Set the table properly. Eating habits are not all the same around the world – and they have changed over the years. So watch HOW you eat.

CONNECT:

• Forks are a relatively recent piece of silverware, according to some people. You can see and read its history at http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/design/2012/06/the_history_of_the_fork_when_we_started_using_forks_and_how_their_design_changed_over_time_.html
• When in Rome, do as the Romans. How about eating as the ancient Romans did? Find out more at http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/romans/food/dishes.htm
• What do kids around the world eat for breakfast? Read all about it at http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/08/magazine/eaters-all-over.html
• Ever try eating with a spork or a trong? Look at these fun eating utensils: http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/tools-test-kitchen/article/13-weird-eating-utensils-from-sporks-to-trongs

CREATE:

• By age 5 children should be able to handle chopsticks. Here are simple directions on how to use them: http://www.parenting.com/article/teach-your-child-to-use-chopsticks. And you can learn culturally-sensitive practices at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbldexGclbw
• Start early to learn how to use eating utensils with Sesame Street (… or not): http://watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=25430&CategoryID=7498
• Try some of these food customs from around around the world at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2RnaViWuuE

CARE:

• Here’s a video about teaching children how to set the table: http://watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=7886&CategoryID=7498
• Help make eating time pleasant by following Crawford the Cat’s habits: http://watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=33823&CategoryID=7498
• Eat to make money – to donate to a worthy cause. Here are some starting ideas: http://www.fundraiserinsight.org/ideas/eating-contest.html

CAREERS:

Getting a job, like eating, entails good manners. Here are some tips:

• http://study.com/articles/How_Good_Manners_Can_Help_You_Land_a_Great_Job.html
• https://www.umass.edu/careers/jobsearch/interviews/manners
• http://www.livecareer.com/interview-tips/during/attitude

Money Makes the World Go Round

Before money there was barter. Money is actually a symbol that indicates relative value of goods and services. That symbol has changed over time – and how we handle money as changed as well. These activities may change how you think about – and use -- money.

CONNECT:

• Read interesting money facts, learn about how to save money, watch videos about money (such as how it's printed), play money-themed games and more at http://kids.usa.gov/money/index.shtml
• Trace the history of money at http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/RDavies/arian/amser/chrono.html
• Geography is in your pocket when you collect money. Compare bank notes from around the world at http://www.banknoteworld.com/
• See how currency has changed American history at http://www.frbsf.org/education/teacher-resources/american-currency-exhibit
• Explore the transformation of money with the e-money revolution at http://www.pbs.org/opb/electricmoney/
• Read these great stories about money: http://www.common-place.org/vol-06/no-03/

CREATE:

• Play with money, and earn while you learn, in these interactive games: http://www.themint.org/kids/
• Bank some fun at http://www.bankingkids.com/index_m.html
• Create origami from dollar bills by following the directions at http://www.origami-instructions.com/dollar-bill-origami.html
• ­http://americanhistory.si.edu/numismatics/ is the official site of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Museum. Numismatic is the study of currency including coins and paper money and its history. Visit this museum virtually, and see their online collection of coins and money. You can start collection coins now, and watch their value grow as you grow up.
• Test your money smarts. Take this interactive quiz and learn about compounding interest, stocks, bonds, as well as other financial principles: ­­http://www.sec.gov/investor/tools/quiz.htm  (for older youth)
• Create a game based on converting money; how much is your allowance in rupees or yen, for instance? http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/
• Learn money making skills by managing this virtual lemonade stand: http://www.classbrain.com/cb_games/cb_gms_bag/lemonade.html

CARE:

• Improve the family’s financial literacy by doing the activities at https://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/
• Can you identify counterfeit money? Learn how from the US Secret Service: http://www.secretservice.gov/know_your_money.shtml
• Does your family have any damaged money? Watch and learn how BEP (Bureau of Engraving and Printing) examiners piece together mutilated currency in this segment produced by NBC's Today Show: http://www.moneyfactory.gov/uscurrency/damagedcurrency.html
• If you start saving early enough, you could become a millionaire. Calculate how at http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/savings/saving-million-dollars.aspx

CAREERS:

Want to be paid for handling money? Here are some leads:

http://www.investopedia.com/university/financial-careers/

http://www.bankingcareersinfo.com/

http://www.worldwidelearn.com/online-education-guide/business/finance-major.htm

http://www.onetonline.org/find/career?c=6

Comic Arts: Vision for the Whole Family

Comics and graphic novels are part of the rich and varied field of comic arts.  They can really draw you into their world.

CONNECT:

• Find out about the history of graphic novels, comics and manga, how to build a graphic novel collection, and where you can read them online! http://www.ipl.org/div/graphicnovels/
• This graphic novel review site targets kids and teens, and provides a Comics 101 page and links to further resources: http://www.noflyingnotights.com/
• View this comic strip about graphic novels: http://w-wp.com/resources/what-is-a-graphic-novel/
• Trace the history of comics at http://www.comic-art.com/history.htm
• How do comics reflect different cultures? Find out at http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-19112066

CREATE:

• Marvel Comics’ Stan Lee’s explains how to draw comics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdWsNp5KWdE&src_vid=B5tU2PuRdU8&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_573648619
• Make drawing a comic strip a fun family activity: http://www.mykidsadventures.com/create-comic-strip-kids/
• You can make comics by hand by following http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Comic  or
• http://marvel.com/games/play/34/create_your_own_comic
• Sesame Street shows how to read comics: http://ape-entertainment.com/kizoic/about/sesame-street/sesame-street-how-to-read/. And you can send your own comic art to this site.

CARE:

• Create your own comic strips online! Print them out or email them to friends. http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/.  Here are some tools to generate more advanced digital comics: http://mashable.com/2010/10/24/create-your-own-comics/. Consider making graphic novels to cheer someone up.
• Did you know that comics can help doctors improve their practice? Find out how and why at http://www.bbc.com/news/health-25112785
• Fotonovelas are a popular way to teach good health habits and other positive practices. See examples, and share some of them with people in need: http://www.rwhp.org/fotonovela.html
• How about volunteering for “Reading with Pictures” ? This group tries to get comics into schools: http://www.readingwithpictures.org/Reading_With_Pictures/Home.html
• Comic book stores care about access to comics, so they offer free comics on the first Saturday of May. Participate and get the word out at http://www.freecomicbookday.com/Home/1/1/27/992

CAREERS:

When you think of comics, do you think of drawing? Think about fotonovelas and photography. And there’s the publisher and seller.

• Dreaming of a career in comic arts? Start here: http://dw-wp.com/how-to-use-this-site/students/
• View the life of a comics journalist at https://medium.com/@susie_c/eight-years-of-solitude-110ee3276edf
• Here’s the in-between world of the graphic novelist: http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-in-between-world-of-the-graphic-novelist 
• Watch this panel of graphic novelists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZb3tRiATZI

Maps: We Get Around

Interested in maps? You need them when you travel or try to navigate around. Maps are visual representations that show relationships among the mapped items, be they cities or ideas. Atlases are collections of maps. Consider that even websites have site maps. Explore the variety of maps, and how to make them. It’s a fun way to get around.

CONNECT:

• What are maps for? Find your way around maps at http://www.k-8visual.info/maps.html, http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/ttravis/social_studies_class.cfm?subpage=648434, and http://msnucleus.org/membership/html/jh/earth/mapstype/lesson1/mapstypes01a.html
• How do you take a 3D globe and make it into a 2D map? Think about taking an orange peel, and making it flat. How does it impact how you perceive that orange’s shape? Different world map projections can also impact your world view, literally and culturally (Africa is bigger or smaller depending on the map’s projection). Find out details at http://www.progonos.com/furuti/MapProj/Normal/TOC/. For another perspective, look at the world upside down:  http://flourish.org/upsidedownmap/.  Does it alter your view about each continent’s importance?
• How have geography regions changed over time? The U.S. Geological Survey has produced topographic (land mass) maps for more than 125. See how your region has changed by searching the agency’s historical map collection online at http://nationalmap.gov/historical/.
• Do you what “mappa mundi” means? Is any European map of the world. Take a look at at ancient maps at http://ancientworldmaps.blogspot.com/
• Find out how to read weather maps by using Discovery Education’s lesson plan, which contains several kinds of weather maps: http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/weather-maps.cfm.
• How about mapping the sky? A brain? What kinds of legends or keys would you use? Here are some examples to explore: http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/brain.html, http://www.skymaponline.net/, http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/22/time-explains-genome-sequencing/, http://arctic.fws.gov/birdworldmig.htm.

CREATE:

• Personalize your journeys, be they your family’s history or a fantasy trip. It might be your family’s immigration journey. Go to Google Earth (http://earth.google.com/‎), and download it for free. Follow their directions about adding features to the map.
• Going on a family car trip – or wish to? Choose a destination across the country, and see how it’s tracked by car on http://maps.yahoo.com. Figure out reasonable stopping times and places. Then use the site to find lodging, dining spots, and local sites. You can use a spreadsheet to calculate the cost of the trip (don’t forget the cost of gas!). Each family member might make their own choices, and then compare the results, or it can be done as a family project.
• Try your hand at creating an imaginary map. http://www.fantasticmaps.com/ provides great tips and examples.
• You can map any area, even the moon – or an imaginary place! You can make a map from several types of image documents (jpg, png, gif) by using UMapper (http://www.umapper.com/). You can make a journey through the body, for instance, such as the blood’s journey from the heart, or food from the mouth on down.This application also allows you to create your own geography game.

CARE:

• Create a neighborhood or school map for visually impaired. It might be a raised map, or a podcast that can serve as an audio tour. You can start by printing out a digital map from http://maps.google.com or http://maps.yahoo.com, or you can create your own using digital or traditional drawing tools.
• Travel ecologically. Visualize different ways to get to a family destination by using http://maps.google.com. It enables you to map your path by car, public transportation, bicycle, and foot. See how far you can get by using only public transportation.
• Is there a park in the area? You can create a nature walk, and map it. Get ideas for projects at http://www.stormthecastle.com/nature-walk-ideas-and-projects.htm.
• Create maps from data using UN statistics (http://hdr.undp.org/en/data/map/) or Harvard University’s data sets (http://hdr.undp.org/en/data/map/). See if you can see issues arising as a result of visualizing the statistics.

CAREER:

Like maps? You can become a cartographer: a map maker. You are also likely to use a map for many jobs: city planning, pilots, shippers, engineers, GIS programmers, scientists, performers, even writers. Here are some career leads that involve mapping skills.

http://www.cccarto.com/gisjobs/gisjobs.html

http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-maps-and-related-promising-careers.html

http://www.distancelearningplan.com/cartographers-surveyors-and-other-map-related-professions.html

http://www.aag.org/careers

http://www.superscholar.org/careers/technology/mapping-engineer/