4 Good Online Resources for Art

Keeping kids interested in science is important, but the exposure to art is also very important. Parents need to use science worksheets to help kids keep pace in school, but they also need to encourage the kids to enjoy art. It's a modern construct to divide subjects. Leonardo da Vinci was a man of both science and art. When many scientists speak, they speak of beauty, balance, harmony and other such things which are are also found in nature and art.

24.FriendshipMural.TidalBasin.SW.WDC.14April2013 by Elvert Barnes

Kids need to have an exposure to art. They must enjoy random doodling, coloring, drawing with sticks, drawing in air, seeing shapes in clouds etc. Nature is full of science and art. The beauty of flowers lies in its petals which might follow the Fibonacci sequence. The tall tree will have the most ingenious way of pumping water from the ground to the topmost leaf in the tree. Even on a hill, trees can stand upright with the help of their roots holding together. It's for us to understand the science behind the beauty of tall trees reaching up to the sky or holding roots together for stability.

The science behind a lot of these things have been understood by people who have had well rounded childhoods with art, science and math playing their parts out. Learning to marvel at the simple things builds an innate sense of wonder in kids. Art plays a crucial role in freeing up the mind and allowing it to see beyond the obvious.

Here are 4 good online resources for art:

1. Red Ted Art

2. The Artful Parent

3. Babble Dabble Do

4. What We Do All Day

Three of these blogs have activities for both science and art. These blogs are for parents of younger kids and has loads of resources for parents who might be short of time. Take your time to go through and pick appropriate activities for your kids.

Art with younger kids is also about enjoying the process. The end result might not be much to others, but the exposure and process helps kids. Art can also be calming. It could also be a way for kids to express their inner self. It may be many things, but at it's simplest it's also good bonding time between kids and parents. Have fun!

Three Important Traits Kids Develop With Play

Play is an important part in the nurturing of kids. It helps all round development in kids. Even if families are different the parenting values they believe in are more or less the same. Most of us want to bring up responsible kids. We were brought up to be responsible, and we want successive generations to be responsible. In a society, people have to be cohesive for a forward movement collectively.

Baby plays in the garden by simpleinsomnia

As family sizes shrink and family types morph, we are marching towards a society where digital devices are replacing many of the functions which involved family members. In earlier times, babies were always in the care of a family member be it a close relative or a far one. Nowadays with rapidly changing families and mores, babies could be looked after within nuclear families, in day care systems, in single parent plus grand parent homes and even single grand-parent homes. Kids did not grow up playing video games and bonding with friends over virtual pet games. They played on porches, in kitchens, back yards, quiet streets, inside parks and even the woods. But play they did. In all kinds of weather. That taught kids and shaped their character.

Here are three important traits kids develop with play:

1. Patience
Play gets kids to be patient. They learn this while building things or playing board games or putting together something. Delayed gratification is good for kids. It teaches them to stay the course even if it takes time. Research has proved they become more successful at a later age. This trait always helps them in their relationships too.

2. Waiting for your turn
This is a super important trait in large groups. If this does not happen, groups are hard to handle. If kids learn to wait for their turn, they also learn not to try and get things out of turn. Board games are a great example of simple play which teaches kids to wait for their turn. However much they itch to roll the dice again, they know they have to wait.

3. Cooperation
What's any group be it a family, friends circle, team, colleagues without cooperation? A group which co-operates survives well and flourishes. Ants are the best examples in nature. They can carry away a bigger creature with team work. The entire process of kids gathering to play, builds cooperation. They play together, build together, dismantle together and even clear up together. When groups are cooperative, in fighting is less and things move efficiently. In fact even eating together is a good way to build cooperation!

Whatever the unit that a child grows up and participates in, these three traits will always help the child stay the course. It reduces the angst children face as they grow up, because these traits help them cope with all kinds of situations through their lives. We must never forget that it all started with play.

3 great sites for science experiments

Teaching science can be extremely rewarding. When science worksheets get uninteresting, teaching science can happen via experiments. Kids love doing things on their own (with a little supervision and help of course). Learning science this way is the most rewarding for it makes the science real, enjoyable and stays in the mind of the child.

Mad science Invitation 4 by Martin Cron

3 great websites for science experiments -

1. Science Buddies
This site has experiments for kids of all ages. Some of the science fair projects are really good teaching kids to take accurate measurements and going  through data understanding and coming to conclusions. To get some ideas for science fair projects, a short questionnaire checks the child's interests. From popping corn to more complex experiments, this site covers science experiments involving food, biology, chemistry and other fields.

2. School of Dragons
This site teaches science via games and experiments, with characters from the How to Train Your Dragon series. There are some experiments in the lab and many others are quests which use science to solve problems in the Viking world. Most of the curriculum taught is in sync with NGSS standards. There's fiery lava, frozen Arctic islands, flying dragons, prosthetics for man and dragon, growing food, weather and a whole bunch of problems from everyday life. The botanist teaches about plants and biology, Heather helps with lab experiments, while Fishlegs and Hiccup list dragons and their behavior. Watch some of the Youtube videos to know more. Best of all the site lets you hatch a dragon egg and fly it!

3. Science Bob
This guy is fun and this website is a mine of science experiments. Kids and adults love watching these science experiments on TV. Science Bob is a teacher, maker and a TV presenter. Some of his experiments require adult supervision. Many of his experiments have videos we could watch and enjoy. Even visitors to the site can contribute experiments.

Many experiments can be started fairly early in the life of a child. It need not be called an experiment, it could just be a fun activity and it's really good to use ordinary stuff lying around. Science activities must take a child beyond just 'doing' the experiment. It should enthuse a child to try other experiments, get involved with problem-solving, hypothesize, test and try new experiments in spite of failures. Starting from the simple but elegant experiment of floating eggs, to other more complex experiments. Science experiments can be very rewarding. Have fun!

School's around the corner - did you do anything not on your 'to do' list?

Time flies and the best example for that is the pace at which the summer goes by. We look forward to it and plan a whole bunch of things to do. Stick it on the refrigerator. Think about it. Talk about it. Actually do things on the list. But, most holidays, something gets left out for the last few weeks or days.

So the countdown has begun. Have the kids played enough? Outside, inside, with friends, on their own and with their grandparents? Oh, there's never enough time to play. Did you do something that was not on the list?

Escape the Room by karlnorling

Well, we did something interesting which was not on our list. In fact, my mother organized it for all of us. We went and played an escape room game. We were a multi-generational group - grandparents, parents and grandkids. What a ball we had!

Each one of us participated. Solved sudoku, searched for keys, scrambled through lots of misleading things in the room, and searched for clues. Yeah, all of us. On our knees, over cupboards and under the tablecloth!

We raced against the clock, shouted out stuff, scrambled around, found false leads and tried solving things under pressure. We could not get out within the prescribed time, but we did enjoy the madness!

What unexpected thing did you do this summer?

Your Child and Social Networking – How to Get off on the Right Foot

Everyone’s talking about and on social media – posting selfies on Instagram, tweeting opinions in 140 characters, liking and sharing statuses and videos on Facebook and building professional networks on LinkedIn – we seem to do everything with one eye cocked on social networks. Why should kids be any different? They come with their share of sociability after all, and a need to talk about everything they see and experience, so it’s natural that your child should be curious about whatever social network happens to be currently popular among his or her friends and school mates. As our family lives are affected by social media, we need to know more about it.

“The kid never stops txtn” by Alex Gaylon licensed under CC BY SA 2.0

Networking for Kids – The Need for Vigilance

More than 70% of tweens and teens below 17 are active social networkers and more than 5 million Facebook users are not yet 10. These statistics strike terror into the heart of the bravest parents and rightly so. Toddlers with Twitter handles may be cute but most children are poorly equipped to deal with the predators, stalkers, pedophiles and cyber bullies that populate the underbelly of the virtual world. Burying your head in the sand and refusing to recognize the dangers of social networking simply don’t work. Here are 3 important tips you can use to make it a safe, age-appropriate and pleasant experience for your child.

1.      Allow them to explore kid-friendly websites

Just because they’re under 13 doesn’t mean you should bar your kids from exploring the virtual world. There are plenty of kid-centric websites that offer fun educational games and Role Playing Games where players can chat and interact with like-minded peers. These websites are designed to keep kids safe by blocking the exchange of personal information, inappropriate language and real life contexts – all potential sources of danger your child will definitely encounter on social networking sites meant for adults. Just make sure you do your research before allowing him to sign up. Steering your child in the right direction is as important as steering him away from the wrong one.

2.      Set up limited accessibility

Allowing your child to join social networking sites is fine. What is NOT fine is letting him have unlimited, unsupervised access to social media. Too much screen time can be detrimental to schoolwork, hobbies, real life friendships and family ties. How much is too much? 30-45 minutes a day is more than enough for teens, tweens and younger children. Set and manage the websites your child can visit; monitor his requests and set appropriate restrictions on games and apps. If he uses mobile devices, install parental control aps. Some social media sites have child-friendly privacy settings but you can’t afford to let your guard down.

3.      Make them aware of online dangers

Social networking is a great way for kids to connect with family, friends and class mates. But cyber bullying, identity theft and stranger danger are very real threats that come with the territory. And sometimes, online “friends” can be wolves in sheep’s clothing. Teach your child to take these precautions when he’s online:

·                         Not post his full name, address, school or date of birth
·                       Accept friend requests ONLY from people he knows in the real world
·                       Upload ONLY appropriate pictures, videos and posts
·                       Report bullies immediately

4.      Play Multi Player Games with them

A good way to ease them into the online world is to play along with them on Multi Player Games or Cooperative Games. There are special “Parent” Accounts which can be used. A good thing to do is check the age suitability of the content on a game. Games which involve cooperation in playing, mirror real life and builds a sense of sharing. Inbuilt controls in games, allows parents to make sure that they are around while it’s played. Sites like Common Sense Media have game reviews which are very useful.  

The most important precaution you can take to keep your child safe on social media is to talk to him about it; the earlier the better!