Spring into Summer

It’s now officially summer. What does that entail? What’s special about this time of the year? And how do you make the most of summer days? Find out with these Internet-based activities.

CONNECT:

• Why are the days so long in the summer? Get the inside angle about the summer solstice at http://www.factmonster.com/spot/solsticeforkids.html
• On June 21 you might have seen a strawberry moon. If not, you can see this rare phenomenon (and learn the background of this special moon view) at http://www.space.com/33240-delicious-strawberry-full-moon-wows-stargazers.html
• Step into the Way Back Machine to see what summer camp and family car trips were like years ago: http://kids.pbskids.org/wayback/summer/features.html
• Imagine dancing for 16 days! Discover the Native American Sun Dance ceremony: http://www.brownielocks.com/sundance.html

CREATE:

• June 6 was National Yo-Yo Day. Watch this video to see how to make a yo-yo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uoldaHVt0s.  Then watch how to play with one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDiioSreoPc
• Now that school is out, you have lots of time for summer crafts: https://www.care.com/a/62-summer-crafts-for-kids-1307010525
• Try some of these creative car games for summer road trips: http://www.pbs.org/parents/summer/road-trip-games-for-kids/
• Gear up for the summer Olympics by finding out its history, symbols, and competitions: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/collection/gear-summer-olympics.  Hold your own summer olympic games.

CARE:

• Need a special day to show you care? Go to https://www.checkiday.com/06/01/2016. Just on June 1 alone you can observe Heimlich Maneuver Day, Global Day of Parents, Say for Children, and Say Something Nice Day!  
• Take care of your summer skin. Here are natural sunscreen alternatives as well as natural sunburn treatments: https://sunwarrior.com/healthhub/natural-sunscreen-alternatives
• Got bitten by an insect or spider? Here are some home treatments that doctors suggest: http://www.webmd.com/first-aid/tc/insect-bites-and-stings-and-spider-bites-home-treatment
• Did you know that a lemonade stand can help fight cancer? Check it out at http://www.alexslemonade.org/campaign/kids-corner.  You can help too.

CAREERS:

• Is there a teen in your family? This website provides a great collection of summer seasonal jobs and tips: https://www.livecareer.com/quintessential/summer-job-sites
• What about working abroad this summer? Here are some good short-term jobs abroad: http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/shortterm/summer_jobs_abroad.shtml
• College Board provides tips on how to find a great summer job – and why: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-started/outside-the-classroom/how-to-find-a-great-summer-job

Father's Day Every Day

Fathers come in all sizes and shapes, and serve in different roles: from founders of our country to spiritual advisors. It’s not just biology that makes a father; it’s how one acts and how others perceive a father. Discover the variety – and the universality -- of fathers in these activities.

CONNECT:

• Read the stories of America’s Founding Fathers: http://colonialhall.com/
• Did you know that Father’s Day started in Spokane in 1910? Sonora Smart Dodd wanted to honor her father, who was a civil war veteran who singlehanded raised his six children. (Trivia fact: Ms. Dodd was this blogger’s Sunday School teacher.) It took 62 years for Father’s Day to become a national holiday. Get the details from the History Channel: http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/fathers-day
• What’s the word for “father” in different languages? Pick out some name at http://www.loveyoufather.com/father-in-different-languages.html, and use them with a father you know.
• See the animal kingdom’s top ten dads at http://www.animalplanet.com/wild-animals/10-animal-dads/

CREATE:

• Learn how to write a poem from Father Goose (aka Charles Ghigna): an American children’s poet: http://www.charlesghigna.com/poemhowto.html
• Try these activities and resources for the celebration of Father's Day, including games, clip art, stories, and  crafts: http://www.dltk-holidays.com/dad/
• Make some fun father’s day food: http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/53963/fun-fathers-day-food
• Here’s Father’s Day by the numbers; try creating a game from them: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2016/cb16-ff11.html

CARE:

• Here are 29 Father’s Day gifts that kids can make for someone’s dad: https://www.care.com/a/29-fathers-day-gifts-kids-can-make-1305280622
• Father Flanagan founded Boys Town, a place for at-risk children. Find out about this caring person and service at http://www.boystown.org.
• “Father” is a name often given to Catholic priests. Find out  how they became fathers: http://bustedhalo.com/questionbox/when-did-the-use-of-father-become-a-practice-in-the-catholic-church-for-ordained-priests
• This national initiative helps men be better fathers: http://www.fatherhood.org/

CAREERS:

Being a father is a career in itself. This article points how how fathers can affect one’s career: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2013/12/23/7-ways-your-father-affected-your-career/#6efc08cb7537

Your Government Voice

The political system is a central aspect of all countries. At every level, citizens elect their representatives. Presidential elections are especially important, and showcase each person’s involvement as active citizens. Whether it’s voting for a class president or the President of the U.S., you should be informed because your voting voice does count.

CONNECT:

• Ben Franklin’s avator explains the election process for different age groups: http://bensguide.gpo.gov/9-12/election/index.html
• Television greatly expanded the access to presidential debates. Watch the history and debate the quality of today’s election debates: http://www.museum.tv/debateweb/html/
• It’s important to be media literate in election season. Get informed at “The Living Room Candidate” about presidential commercials: http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/
• Technically, it’s the Electoral College who elects the President; watch how at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFJ2e82Nvnw
• The Machinery of Democracy (http://americanhistory.si.edu/vote/index.html) explores how ballots and voting systems have evolved over the years.

CREATE:

• Make your prediction about presidential winners at http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/map/predict.html
• Look at historical political cartoons at http://elections.harpweek.com/, and compare them to today’s cartoons. Try making your own – maybe about elections at school.
• Create a trivia game using fun facts about US elections: http://www.gallopade.com/client/electionsforkids/index-1.html
• Create your own voting booth by following the directions at http://creeksidelearning.com/elections-for-kids/

CARE:

• How can kids participate in elections? PBS shows how at http://pbskids.org/democracy/vote/
• Watch kid reporters in the current election cycle, and take a poll about the presidential election at http://election.scholastic.com/kid-reporters/
• Speak up for kids during elections. Washington state’s Children’s Alliance gives suggestions for actions: http://www.childrensalliance.org/our-current-work/vote-kids
• Stay informed, and raise your voice about election issues at http://www.nick.com/kpp/

 CAREER:

Politics can be a lifetime career – or a one-time effort. And there are many careers that related to politics: journalism and other mass communications jobs, marketing, historian, lobbyist, lawyer.

https://www.themuse.com/advice/love-politics-make-it-your-job

http://www.apsanet.org/CAREERS/Careers-In-Political-Science

https://gspm.gwu.edu/sites/gspm.gwu.edu/files/downloads/careersebook.pdf

  

Happy Trails to You!

Trails mark the landscape of civilizations – as well as animals. Track some famous trails, and learn how to make your own.

CONNECT:

• ·         This site allows you to view the Inca Trail, and track it with its interactive map: http://raingod.com/angus/Gallery/Photos/SouthAmerica/Peru/IncaTrail.html
• ·         Site maps, riders, history of the trail, museums, stations, statues, facts and a quiz about the Pony Express are found at http://www.xphomestation.com/
• ·         The National Park Service provides a map of the Lewis and Clark trail, a brief history of the expedition, and a look at the trail today: https://www.nps.gov/lecl/index.htm
• ·         Take a journey along Wisconsin’s glacial landscapes of its Ice Age Trail: http://www.iceagetrail.org/#sthash.ixt0AWRY.dpuf
• ·         How do we know the exact trails that explorers made? This website, http://www.floridahistory.com/inset44.html, points out the many sources of information – and assumptions – that lead or mislead historians to figure out how to track past trails.

CREATE:

• ·         The Iditarod Trail, now a National Historic Trail, had its beginnings as a mail and supply route from the coastal towns of Seward and Knik to the interior mining camps. Try out one of these activities about the Iditarod Trail, which is now a dogsledding race: http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/Iditarod-Resources-for-Grades-K-5.html.
• ·         Follow the Oregon Trail at http://oregontrail101.com/. Did you know that a glass of water could cost $100 on the Oregon Trail? You can make a Trivia game based on fascinating facts about the trail.
• ·         Take a cyber trail of the Santa Fe Trail as it winds through the current West: http://www.kansasheritage.org/research/sft/sft-cities.html
• ·         This class mapped animal trails in their back yard: http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/trail/trail.htm. Try making your own animal backyard trail map.
• ·         Follow the legendary Paul Bunyan Trail at http://www.paulbunyantrail.com/talltale.html
• ·         Welcome to the Tolkien Trail, traveller! You are about to embark upon a journey that takes you across Middle Earth, as described in J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings. Your guide on this tour is the famed wizard Gandalf. Along the way, you will encounter games, fan fiction, music, and original artwork at http://tolkientrail.com/

CARE:

·         Learn how to read and comply with trail signs: http://howtowilderness.com/trail-signs/

• ·        Enjoy hiking trails, and help maintain them: http://mylandplan.org/content/hiking-0
• ·         Follow these steps to make your own trails: https://www.trails.com/how_2436_build-trails.html
• ·         Ever dreamed of snowmobiling? There are safety tips as you follow – or make – your own snow trail: http://www.snowmobile.org/snowmobiling-safety.html
• ·         Help preserve California and Oregon trails: http://www.octa-trails.org/preserve

CAREERS:

Make your own career trail, or follow the career paths of others who like trails: historians, cartographers, naturalists, rangers, recreation specialists.

·         http://dnr.wi.gov/eek/job/naturalist.htm

·         http://www.environmentalscience.org/career/forest-ranger

·         http://www.americantrails.org/nttp/default.htm

·         http://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2013/03/new-cartographers

·         https://www.historians.org/jobs-and-professional-development/career-resources/careers-for-history-majors

Easy as ABC or एबीसी

Little children learn their ABCs – or or other writing system. Each language has its own system of grammar or writing, and that system may change over time. Maybe ABC isn’t so simple after all.

CONNECT:

·         Explore writing systems from around the world from prehistory to the present day:  http://www.ancientscripts.com/ws.html

·         The ancient Sumerians were the first people to develop an actual written language:  cuneiform. Fnd out  more at http://mesopotamia.mrdonn.org/cuneiform.html

·         Uncover the holy writings of Egypt: hieroglyphics, at http://www.ngkids.co.uk/history/Hieroglyphics-uncovered

·         Not all alphabet letters last. What happened to the letters wynn, yogh, ash, and eth, for instance? Find out about these extinct letters (at least in English) at http://mentalfloss.com/article/31904/12-letters-didnt-make-alphabet

·         Even a single alphabet can be written in several ways, as shown in this typeface periodic table:

http://www.squidspot.com/Periodic_Table_of_Typefaces/Periodic_Table_of_Typefaces_large.jpg

CREATE:

·         Public TV offers fun ABC activities for little ones: http://pbskids.org/games/abc/

·         Play alphabet whack-a-mole and other alphabet game: http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/alphabet_games.html

·         An anagram is a word or phrase formed by reordering the letters of another word or phrase, such as satin to stain. At http://www.wordsmith.org/anagram/index.html you input words or names and it will rearrange the letters into combinations of other words.

·         Write a message in ASCII (computer binary system to code letters) and ASCII-based graphics (such as barbwire, tinker toy, trek) using this ASCII generator: http://www.network-science.de/ascii/

·         Try your hand at calligraphy: http://tinkerlab.com/introduce-kids-calligraphy/

·         Make your own alphabet or even your own language: http://www.instructables.com/id/Making-your-own-Language/

CARE:

·         Morse Code was often used to signal for help. Try communicating using Morse Code letters:  http://www.happychild.org.uk/ifs/00003mrs.htm

·         The most commonly used system of writing by and for blind persons is called Braille: a system of 63 raised characters made of clusters of dots. Learn how to write in Braille, even music notation! http://braillebug.afb.org/Braille.asp

·         Some people with hearing impairments communicate in sign language: creating letters and words with your hands and body. Watch sign language about school at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uW2OQtEzUc

·         Make an alphabet book for a little child following these simple directions: http://www.education.com/activity/article/letterbook_preschool/

CAREERS:

The writing system is a key to communicating across the world and over the ages. You can make a career studying and using alphabets: as a anthropologist, linguist, graphic designer, publisher, and book maker, to name a few.

http://www.allaboutcareers.com/careers/career-path/calligraphy-typography

http://www.theguardian.com/careers/behind-the-job-title-typeface-designer

http://orthographic-projection.weebly.com/who-uses-orthographic-drawings.html

Birds of a Feather

Birds are all around us, but do we really see or value them? Find out about the original Bird Land by doing these activities.

CONNECT:

• Explore the evolution and diversity by clicking on this wall of birds: https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/features/wallofbirds/
• Watch birds migrate across the hemisphere: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/mesmerizing-migration-watch-118-bird-species-migrate-across-a-map-of-the-western-hemisphere/
• View a Quicktime time-lapse movie of a hatching chick: http://www.msichicago.org/experiment/videos/the-hatchery/
• Each bird has a distinctive sound; hear the sounds of Florida’s birds at http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/birds/florida-bird-sounds/; compare them to New York birds: http://www.math.stonybrook.edu/~tony/birds/
• Get an eggs-tra special look at birds through their eggs: http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/exhibits/online/eggs/vexhome/egghome.htm
• What makes a bird of prey? Find out at http://idahoptv.org/sciencetrek/topics/birds_of_prey/index.cfm

CREATE:

• Discover why birds have different bills, and see if you can match each bird to its favorite food: http://projectbeak.org/adaptations/beaks_test.htm
• How much do you know about the feathered visitors to your backyard? Put your bird brain to work on this quiz: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/backyard-birds-quiz/
• Try these fun activities from Audubon about birds: http://web4.audubon.org/educate/kids/
• Make your own craft-y birds following the directions at http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/birds.html
• Birds come in a range of sizes: from 3 inches to six feet; browse them at http://www.whatbird.com/browse/attribute/birds_na_147/51/Size/

CARE:

• Considering owning a pet bird? Here’s a guide to parrots and other exotic pet birds: http://www.birdsnways.com/
• Feed the birds by creating a garden for them: http://feederwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/BirdNote13-Creating-a-Garden-2012-03-27-RGB.pdf
• Bird watching is not only a fun activity, but it can also be a service. See how you and other kids can make a difference in the science field at http://gbbc.birdcount.org
• Why do birds hit windows – and how can you help prevent that happening? Find out at http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/bird_safe_windows.html

CAREERS:

There are many careers “for the birds”: ornithologist, naturalist, researcher, veterinarian, illustrator, writer, photographer, trainer, entertainer, sales person, manufacturer and many more. Read stories of bird lovers with careers at http://betterwords.typepad.com/birdvice/2009/01/careers-in-birds.html

Here are some other leads:

http://ebird.org/content/ybn/resources/careers/

http://www.environmentalscience.org/career/ornithologist