Fantastic! Beasts!

If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you have probably of its fantastic beasts. However, fantastic beasts have existed for thousands of years. Experience these imaginative creatures in the activities below.

CONNECT:

• Watch the myth and truth about mythical creatures from around the world at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgLzwPQB0_4
• Learn how science explains about mythical creatures at https://theportalist.com/7-mythological-creatures-explained-by-science
• OK, let’s recognize the obvious: Rowling’s fantastic beasts. And where do you find them besides in a book? Here at https://www.pottermore.com/features/care-of-magical-creatures-illustrations-introducing-new-fantastic-beasts
• Can animals fantasize? Find out the answer at http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130207-can-animals-imagine

CREATE:

• Little ones will enjoy these playful games about mythical creatures: https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/category/topics/mythical-creatures
• Watch this video to see how to draw your own fantasy animals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYTR9f6Xl9E
• Enjoy these kid-friendly mythical creature crafts: http://learncreatelove.com/crafts/character-mythical-crafts/
• Want to play unicorn? Try these DIY costumes: https://www.seventeen.com/fashion/g2907/diy-unicorn-costumes/

CARE:

• Want to cheer up a friend or relative? Try reading them fantasy poems: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poems/other/fantasy
• Write a fantasy animal tale for a friend using these story starters: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/story-starters/fantasy-writing-prompts/
• To help you further with storytelling, use this fantasy animal name generator: http://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/fantasy-animal-names.php
• Share your happiness with a unicorn party: http://www.eatingwell.com/article/290721/magical-unicorn-birthday-party-ideas-for-kids/

CAREERS:

Do you fantasize about your career? It may merge with fantastic creatures: as a writer, illustrator, film-maker, or designer. Imagine the possibilities here:

http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/writing-fantasy-how-to-write-fresh-when-following-a-recipe

http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/05/fantasy-illustrations-alexandra-khitrova/

https://www.filmconnection.com/movie-genres/scifi/

https://www.disd.edu/careers-interior-design.php

sfd

Feeling antsy?

Ants are hearty little animals. They are found around the world. They predate us – and will probably outlast us.  Discover more about out little neighbors.

CONNECT:

• There are more than 12,000 species of ants. Explore five species at https://pestworldforkids.org/pest-guide/ants/
• Watch the life cycle of ants in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er-OnJCn1gg
• Have questions about ants? Check out these questions and answers about ants at http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Formicidae/
• Watch 20 facts about ants on video at http://antark.net/ant-facts/
• Extra: Imagine a whole encyclopedia about ants! That’s a reality at http://ant.miyakyo-u.ac.jp/INTRODUCTION/Gakken79E/Page_02.html

CREATE:

• Get crafty about ants at https://3boysandadog.com/ant-activities-for-kids/
• Have fun with these ant activities: https://lifestyle.howstuffworks.com/crafts/animal-crafts/ant-activities.htm
• Do you eat ants? Many people do. See this video that gives a case for eating bugs: http://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/the-case-for-eating-bugs-gross-science
• Create a trivia game using these cool facts about ants: https://www.coolkidfacts.com/ant-facts-for-kids/

CARE:

• Ants can bite and sting. Learn how to treat those hurts at https://www.std-gov.org/blog/ant-bites/
• Ants can be a problem inside the home. Here are 13 simple solutions to take your family’s ant problem: https://www.rd.com/home/cleaning-organizing/13-common-items-for-getting-rid-of-ants/
• Do you have a sandbox? It’s not a good idea to share that sand with ants. Who wants ants in their pants? Here’s how to vacate them: https://www.earthkind.com/blog/ants-in-sandbox/
• Ants as pets? Want to start an art colony? It involves more than scooping up some wayward ants. Get details at http://antfarmsforkids.com/

CAREERS:

Do you go bugs about ants? You might want to become an entomologist: http://www.aboutbioscience.org/careers/entomologist/

https://www.environmentalscience.org/career/entomologist

https://www1.cfnc.org/Plan/For_A_Career/Career_Profile/Career_Profile.aspx?id=pcBcU66mNl0F4Sa39hJ17gXAP3DPAXXAP3DPAX

Here’s an interview with an entomologist: http://blog.hmns.org/2010/03/for-all-the-future-entomologists-out-there/

Or how about wrangling insects for a living? https://www.careermatch.com/job-prep/career-insights/profiles/insect-wrangler/

What’s Average?

Numbers can be informative – or misleading. Learn how to make sense of groups of numbers and other types of data. You’ll discover a new meaning for mean – and more -- through these un-average activities.

CONNECT:

• What is data? How many kinds of data are there? See examples at https://www.mathsisfun.com/data/data.html
• What are statistics? And why are they useful? Watch the answers at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_GBJhu65asTedEd
• Map is a map more than a map? When it shows data that you can compare with similar maps: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/07/upshot/music-fandom-maps.html
• What are some some of the amazing statistics about your world? See them – and maybe your future  -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGGYIw_pIj8

CREATE:

• Become an M&M data expert doing these activities: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bring-science-home-statistical-candy/ (NOTE: You can’t have your data and eat it too)
• How often do you see snake eyes? Learn about probabilities by playing with dice: https://www.education.com/activity/article/probability-dice-game/
• Play these data handling games at https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/data-handling
• Use data to improve your baseball performance: https://www.education.com/activity/article/pitch_and_hit_data_second/

CARE:

• You can help the environment through data: see examples at http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/DataandScience/index.html
• Save the day with data at https://ca.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/kids-lab-oos-afterschool-operation-data-saves-day/operation-data-saves-the-day-activity-plan-pbs-kids-afterschool-adventure/
• Here’s another way to look at the spread of poverty and wealth: by visualizing the data: https://www.gapminder.org/dollar-street/matrix
• Some people lie with statistical graphs. Learn how to not get fooled by them at https://www.frontporchmath.com/topics/probability-statistics/graphs/misleading-graphs/

CAREERS:

There’s a large number of careers that deal with data and statistics: scientist, engineer, economist, marketer, poll taker, reporter, code-breaker.  You can count on a high probability of finding a good job in this area.

https://www.cnbc.com/2014/05/30/why-your-kids-will-want-to-be-data-scientists.html

https://www.ma.utexas.edu/users/mks/statund/careers.html

https://www.learnhowtobecome.org/careers-for-numbers-people/

https://www.careers.govt.nz/resources/tools-and-activities/maths-statistics/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/metabrown/2017/08/28/20-data-analytics-careers-that-arent-data-scientists/#75054c455771