As teachers head back to school for another year, most have developed goals for the coming school year. Virtually every expert champions the importance of establishing clear, specific goals if you want to be successful. In my experience, goals are necessary but not sufficient to create an inspiring classroom.

Sure, goals are essential. Teachers need to know where they want to go in order to select the best strategies to get there. And goals work just fine when you are operating in isolation. For example, if I decide I need to lose weight, setting a goal of dropping five pounds helps me stay focused, eat well, exercise, and get where I want to be. The same applies if my goal is to secure my credentials to be a building level administrator. I can now search for accredited graduate programs and take steps to achieve what I want.

Goals are significantly more complicated, however, when other people are involved – and teaching certainly involves working with others. Just because a teacher has a nicely articulated set of goals for the coming school year doesn’t mean she can easily turn them into reality. In all likelihood, she has 20-30 students in her classroom and there’s no reason to believe they have the same goals for the time that they will be together. Establishing your goal is a good starting point, but it’s not enough when success ultimately depends upon a group working collaboratively.

What does this mean for the classroom teacher who wants to have a great school year? As soon as the school year begins, establish a shared vision of success with your students. When everyone is motivated to achieve the same thing, success is attainable. When you don’t take the time to establish a shared vision with your students, they might be motivated to achieve a very different set of goals from yours and you’ll be in for one contentious school year.

Let me describe the process so you can use it immediately.

Building a Shared Vision of an Inspiring Classroom: The Process

1.Begin by asking your students if they want to have a successful school year.
2. Define “successful” by explaining you want the classroom to be a productive, enjoyable environment. Ask them if they want that as well.
3. Once the students affirm that they define success as you do – productive and enjoyable – say something like this: “Since we want the same thing, we have a shared vision for this class and should have a stupendous year. We just need to get more specific.”
4.Divide the class into groups of four or five students each. Give each group a piece of chart paper and some markers.
5.Draw a circle on the board at the front of the room. Tell the class, “This circle represents what we want – an inspiring classroom where we can enjoy ourselves and be productive. In this circle, we are going to identify those things that we should do and qualities we should display that will help create the class we want.” Depending upon the age and ability of your students, you might want to provide some examples like “being prepared for class” and “respect.” Give the students about ten minutes to work in their groups. Note: Don’t give too many examples. The success of this activity requires that students be active participants in what you create.
6. Have each group share what they put in their “inspiring classroom” circle. Expect a lot of repetition. Those items that are noted by some groups but not others need to be considered by the whole class. If the class decides to include the item, add it to your composite circle. Leave out those items that are not endorsed by the whole class.
7. If you have too many items or some are redundant (i.e. “be on time” and “be prompt”), combine and cluster items.
8. Return to the board and draw a rectangle at the base of the circle. Say, “We have done a great job identifying the values and the behaviors to create a productive, enjoyable class. Now it’s time to look at some things that can get in our way. Think of things that will make it difficult for us to have the classroom we want. Things like ‘making fun of others’ or ‘cheating.’ In your groups, draw a rectangle and identify things to avoid.” Give the student five to ten minutes to do this.
9. Follow the same procedure you used for the inspiring classroom circle and create a composite list of behaviors to avoid.
10. End by saying, “I will get this typed and copied for us to look at as a group tomorrow.”

Follow-Up

The next day, distribute a printed “inspiring classroom” chart to each student and say, “I have compiled everything we agreed to yesterday. Let’s take a few minutes to review what we created.” Quickly review everything you have in both the circle and rectangle. “If we do the things in the circle and avoid things in the rectangle, will we have the kind of classroom we want: one where we can be productive and enjoy ourselves?” Once the students agree that this is what they want and their inspiring classroom chart offers them a blueprint for success, end the discussion by saying, “OK. We know what we want. We know what we need to do. Let’s do it and have a great year.”
• Note: Your use of language is important. I often use words and phrases like, “enjoy ourselves and be productive,” “the kind of classroom we want,” etc. Even though it’s repetitious, it’s helpful for students to connect “success” with “being productive” and pairing “being productive” with “enjoying ourselves.” By repeatedly talking about “the kind of classroom we want,” you are tapping into the internal motivation of your students. We are all internally motivated by what we want. The artful use of language can help students stay conscious about what it is that they want when they are in your classroom.

Refer to your inspiring classroom chart on a regular basis. Have students keep their copy of the chart in their binder. Enlarge the chart and post it in a prominent place in the classroom so it’s something they see every day when they enter the room. Rather than wait until you have major problems, as soon as you notice students engaging in unwanted behaviors, have them look at their charts to remind themselves of what they really want in your class. This will help them stay appropriately focused and prevent minor problems from becoming major distractions.

Conclusion

Do yourself a favor this school year. Don’t just set goals for yourself. Take the next step. Build a shared vision with your students of an inspiring classroom, one characterized by enjoyment and productivity. It takes very little time and this collaborative process will pay dividends throughout the year. Best wishes for a successful school year!

By Bob Sullo. Bob Sullo has been an English teacher, school psychologist, school adjustment counselor, and school administrator. Now he is a full time consultant. Bob has written several books about internal control and motivation including, The Inspiring Teacher, Activating the Desire to Learn and The Motivated Student. You can read Bob’s full bio here. Learn more about Bob and his work by visiting his website, internalmotivation.net.

Contact Bob directly by completing the below contact form. You can comment on this article by completing the comment box below the contact form. [contact-form]

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Learning to read is a breeze for some kids, but can be challenging for others. The whole process starts with children using descriptive language for story telling and progresses to the ability to comfortably read alone. Working with children throughout these stages supports their development and allows for their own self-learning. Finding fun ways to entice and challenge readers through reading comprehension activities can make the process enjoyable – and encourages kids to enjoy reading for years to come.

Reading Comprehension for Beginning Readers

Young children just getting comfortable sounding out words and starting to read on their own can learn more about story structure by changing the ending of a story read together. Reading with children is the first step to helping their budding reading skills. Kids can explore their new reading abilities by figuring out what happens next in a new story.

• Take a trip to your local library for a couple books the child is not familiar with. This way, when doing the reading comprehension activity, it will be a bit more challenging.
• Discuss with the child that you will be reading the story together but stopping before the end of the story. Explain that it will be her job to come up with an ending for the book. Talking through the process encourages the child’s rational left-brain to get jumpstarted before beginning the reading activity.
• Read the story with the child until there are only a couple pages left asking questions along the way about character and plot development. Making predictions and asking questions while reading encourages interest and active learning.
• Once the end of the story has been reached, close the book and encourage the child to create an appropriate ending on her own. Provide her with paper and crayons to create an illustration along with a pencil to write the text. Younger children may need assistance sounding out and writing words, so offer help as needed.
• Now read the actual ending of the story and compare and contrast it with the ending the child created. How is it similar or different?

Reading Comprehension Activities for Learning Readers

Sequencing a story involves understanding that a book takes the reader down a path with characters, a setting, some sort of activity or a conflict, and a resolution. Once budding readers start understanding parts of a story they learn more about grammar, sentence structure and story construction – encouraging their ability to read.

• Allow the child to select a book she enjoys or a new book from the local library they would like to use for the reading comprehension activity. Read the story with the child or allow her to read it on her own.
• Once she has finished reading, help her to create a chart detailing the four parts of a story, which include the characters, plot or activity, conflict, and resolution.
• She can select parts that had the largest impact on the four parts of story to use for creating a four-cell comic strip. Drawing and writing a comic strip lets her re-create the story in a fun and interesting way.
• Learn more about comic strips and how they are mini-stories by looking at examples. She can check out her local paper or find comic strip examples Online.
• Provide the child with a 9 by 12-inch sheet of drawing paper, pencils, eraser, and ruler to create her four-celled comic strip. She can measure out a long rectangle 12 by 4-inches and then divide the 12-inch length into four 3-inch cells.
• Now she can create her drawings for her cartoon showing the four parts of the story. She can add text using a black felt tipped marker. Once she’s finished drawing and writing, she can use colored pencils to finish her cartoon strip.
• The child can share her finished cartoon with others, seeing if they can figure out what story the cartoon strip is from.

Reading Comprehension Activities for Advanced Readers

Just because a child is able to read chapter books on her own does not mean she is not in need fun and creative ways to actively encourage their brains to continue honing reading comprehension. Although most kids might feign indifference over playing games or creating brainteasers, making a crossword puzzle that might challenge friends and family may entice them to revisit their favorite book.

• Have the child select a book she would like to use as the base for her crossword puzzle. A crossword puzzle uses clues about a topic to help players figure out words to horizontally or vertically fill in a grid.
• Encourage the child to select vocabulary words from the book to use for creating her crossword puzzle. Reading is not just about sounding out words, but includes vocabulary, word recognition, and language concepts. Crossword puzzles are a fun way to encourage active learning and reading comprehension.
• Offer the child a 9 by 12-inch sheet of drawing paper, a pencil, and a ruler. She can begin to create a grid that fits her chosen vocabulary words into an interesting form, linking words together through selected letters.
• Now she can create questions to help others figure out the correct word for the space designated. She can use clues from the book or use descriptive words to encourage players to put the correct word in each position.
• Along with creating an empty puzzle for others to complete, she can create a master puzzle on another sheet of paper with the answers for each of her questions.
• Once her crossword puzzle is complete, she can use a black felt tip marker to outline her pencil grid and then create copies of the finished puzzle for others to fill in.

No matter the age of a child, doing fun reading comprehension activities together is a special way to spend quality time with kids and encourage a future full of the wonders of reading.

By Sarah Lipoff. Sarah is an art educator and parent. You can visit Sarah’s website here.

Science experiments are a wonderful way to educate and entertain kids – and you might find yourself learning a thing or two, too! Conducting interesting investigations are as simple as using items from the kitchen cabinet. Children of all ages will enjoy finding out what happens next, engaging their brains to figure out intelligent conclusions all while conducting experiments.

Fun Science Experiment for Kids Ages 3 to 5

Even the very young can enjoy an interesting science experiment. Learning is an amazing thing at this age, and just about everything gets kids excited about science and using their brains. See what happens when white daisies and food coloring come together with this simple science activity.

-Purchase some white daisies with your child and discuss how flowers grow with the help of sun, water, and soil.

-Ask the child what she think would happen if a cut flower wasn’t placed in water. Help write her ideas on a sheet of paper in a notebook, creating a science journal for the experiment. Also, ask her what might happen if food coloring was added to the water the flowers are placed in.

-Place one cut daisy in a glass with no water and one in a glass with just water. She can help fill a couple other glasses with water and then add two to three couple drops of food coloring creating additional glasses with colored water for daisies to be placed in.

-Help the child create a chart on her paper to document the science experiment and the changes in the flowers every couple hours.

-After 24 hours, discuss what has happened to each flower helping her mark the changes in her science experiment journal. She can also take photographs of the flowers to put in her journal alongside the finished chart, to visually show the results.

-Discuss her original ideas and what really happened. Cut flowers pull liquid through their stems and up through the flower’s petals. Without water, the flower will eventually dry out. The water with food coloring changes the colors of the petals, showing how water moves through the flower.

Fun Science Experiment for Kids Ages 6 to 9

Everyone likes a refreshing soda – but how is it made? Create a fun and tasty science experiment with kids by making a homemade lemon-carbonated beverage, learning more about how acids respond to a base!

-Discuss with the child how they think a carbonated beverage might be made and create a list of all her creative ideas. She can even draw a picture of how she thinks the process might take place, motivating her left and right brain to work together in solving the problem.

-Gather the ingredients needed including a couple lemons, water, baking soda, sugar, and measuring spoons and cups.

-Ask the child what she thinks might happen if all the ingredients were mixed together – would it turn into a tasty treat? Help her write out a scientific hypothesis, or idea for combining the ingredients.

-Start by squeezing one of the lemons to create enough liquid to fill 1 Tablespoon. If necessary, use another lemon. She can measure out the juice and add it to a tall glass.

-Now she can measure 1-cup of water and add it to the juice. Ask her to taste the liquid and document any changes on her paper.

-See what happens when the child measures 1-teaspoon baking soda and adds it to the mixture. Encourage her to write her observations and taste the result. She can add sugar to the liquid to adjust the flavor as she wishes.

-Discuss the experiment and the reason why the baking soda changed the liquid. Baking soda is a base and lemon juice is an acid. In this case, when the baking soda and lemon juice interact, a reaction takes place, creating carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is what causes all the bubbles in soda! She just created her own fizzy beverage!

-The child can experiment making other carbonated beverages with ingredients such as orange, pineapple, or limes. She can write down the recipes so the beverages can be created again and again.

Science Experiment for Kids Ages 10+

Learning about basic chemistry can be turned into an art activity dealing with surface tension. Water is a molecule that can be manipulated in many unique ways, often causing it to be taken for granted. Use water, cooking oil, and tempera paint to create an interesting science activity, with colorful results.

-Have the child fill a 9 by 12-inch baking pan with 1-cup of water.

-Discuss with the child how different ingredients might affect the surface tension of the water. Oil and water are considered immiscible. She can define the word to use in her documentation of the science experiment. Have her use the scientific method to help write out her ideas, including a hypothesis, procedure, and conclusion on a sheet of paper.

-Now she can add 1 Tablespoon of cooking oil to the tray and use a whisk to mix the water and oil, documenting the results.

-After she has observed the changes, she can add a couple drops of tempera paint to the tray and once again whisk. Observe what happens and note the results.

-Now she can place a sheet of white drawing paper on top the tray, gently floating the paper on the water for a second and then laying it out flat on a couple sheets of newspaper.

-Because oil and water do not mix, the paper picks up trace amounts of oil floating on the surface along with some of the colored water, creating marbled paper.

-She can experiment by mixing oil with the tempera paint and then adding it to the water or using colored construction paper instead of white paper for different artistic results. She can document the different experiments along with their results.

Fun science experiments offer exciting ways to engage kids in learning, and encourage their brains to think in new ways.

By Sarah Lipoff. Sarah is an art educator and parent. You can visit Sarah’s website here.

The idea of kids cooking in the kitchen may terrify adults with concern about those sharp knives, potential food poisoning, and the resulting messy kitchen. But, there are simple and easy recipes for kids which they can accomplish without causing a big fuss. According to WebMD, cooking with kids has many benefits, from encouraging picky eaters to helping children learn about healthy food choices.

Eating a balanced meal is an important part of helping children develop strong bodies and healthy minds. Having family dinners is one way to encourage kids to make good food decisions and for adults to model positive eating habits. By cooking a meal with kids from start to finish they use basic math skills, hone their fine-motor skills, and learn about how to create a complete and nourishing feast.

Getting Started: Salad

Combine spinach and strawberries to create a simple salad that may entice picky eaters to try something new. Not only does this salad include healthy spinach, which contains folic acid, but the sweet taste of strawberries along with a tart dressing.

• Start by having the child rinse two bunches of fresh spinach in a colander to remove any residual dirt. She can also remove any long stems remaining on leaves.
• Along with giving the spinach a good clean, she can rinse 2-cups whole strawberries. Both the spinach and strawberries can be gently dried using a paper towel.
• The child can then tear the spinach leaves into bite-size pieces and put into a medium sized salad bowl.
• She can then use a butter knife to remove the tops of strawberries and slice. The sliced strawberries can join the spinach.
• Using measuring spoons and cups, along with a glass jar with a lid, the child can create the sweet and tangy dressing. First, measure 1/2-cup vegetable oil and 1/4-cup white wine vinegar and add to the jar.
• Now she can add 1/2-cup sugar, 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds, and a pinch of salt. Once the lid has been put back on the jar, she can shake the dressing vigorously and then pour over the spinach and strawberries.

Learning Aspect – Tearing the spinach and cutting the strawberries helps hone a child’s fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, promoting the use of the small muscles of the hand that help with her writing skills. While the child is cutting the strawberries, she can put her fine motor skills to the test by seeing how many slices she can cut from each strawberry.

Main Dish Cooking

A main dish that is fun makes the whole family happy, and encourages everyone to eat everything on their plates. Turn spaghetti and meatballs into a true treat by adding a special surprise to meatballs. When cooking with raw meat, share with children proper ways to keep their bodies and the kitchen safe from food poisoning.

• Before cooking with ground turkey, have everyone wash hands.
• The child can help add seasonings to 1 pound of ground turkey placed in a mixing bowl by measuring 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried garlic, 1 teaspoon dried onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and a pinch of sugar.
• Next, she can add 1-cup of plain breadcrumbs and use a mixing spoon to combine well.
• Before making the meatballs, have the child decide what she wants to be the secret surprise inside. Options include her favorite cheese, half a mushroom, or half a black olive.
• She can use a butter knife to cut her secret ingredient and then begin rolling meatballs by gathering a spoon full of meat, pressing her secret ingredient into the center and then rolling into a ball.
• Have her place the rolled meatballs on a cookie tray covered with a sheet of parchment paper and preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Once she’s finished working with the meat, wash hands thoroughly.
• While the oven preheats, she can begin making her sauce and pasta. She can heat up her favorite store bought pasta sauce in a medium pan along with boiling a large pot of salted water for her favorite kind of pasta.
• Once the oven has heated, it is time for parents to step in and place the meatballs in the hot oven for 7 to10 minutes. The child can be in charge of setting a timer to keep track of cooking time.
• An adult can check the meatballs, turning them after 7 to10 minutes, browning meatballs on both sides. Place the pasta noodles in the hot water to boil so everything is finished at the same time.
• Remove the meatballs from the oven. The child can help transfer them from the tray using tongs carefully placing them into the hot pasta sauce to let cook for an additional 5 minutes. Also, an adult can drain the pasta when it is cooked through.
• Now the pasta can be placed on plates, the meatballs and sauce can be ladled, and the surprise meatballs can be enjoyed with garlic bread and a sprinkle of fresh basil.

Learning Aspect –While using measuring spoons and cups, a child is learning math concepts such as fractions. Put her math skills to the test by figuring out how many different combinations of measurements she can find that create 1-cup or 1 teaspoon. She can write out her computations on a sheet of paper.

Dessert Creation

Dinner isn’t complete without dessert and using yogurt is a healthy option and also beneficial for good digestion. These treats need to be made a day in advance to freeze properly, but can also be enjoyed freshly made (although a bit messy)!

• Gather ingredients for the child to use including graham crackers, 1-cup plain vanilla custard-style yogurt, and a jelly flavor of her choice.
• She can tear several squares of plastic wrap for wrapping her treats.
• Start by placing a half a graham cracker on the plastic wrap and have the child use a butter knife to spread a layer of jelly on the cracker.
• She can then place a scoop of vanilla yogurt on top of the jelly.
• Now she can spread another half a graham cracker with jelly and gently place on top of the yogurt.
• Carefully wrap the graham cracker in the plastic wrap and she can continue making sandwiches so each family member has one. Place the finished treats in the freezer for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.

Learning Aspect – When creating a frozen treat, a child is learning science concepts dealing with how materials change in different temperatures. She can create a chart to help her track how the cold temperature of the freezer affects the yogurt treats. After each hour, she can document how the ingredients in the treat have changed along with using a cooking thermometer to track its internal temperature.

No matter if you are an experienced cook or barely know your way around the kitchen, cooking easy recipes with kids encourages their self-esteem and cooking skills – and it is a great way to spend quality time together.

By Sarah Lipoff. Sarah is an art educator and parent. You can visit her website here.

Left-brain art activities don’t have to be boring – they can be filled with exciting ways for enticing kids to tap into the benefits of combining the sides of their brains into one fun creative machine.  Often, kids let their dominant left-brain take charge forgetting their creative right-brain completely, leading to comments such as, “I can’t draw.” Encouraging creative left-brain art activities promotes self-confidence and the child’s brain to work together.

Children Aged 2 to 4

Young kids greatly benefit from activities that engage the left-brain in creative art projects. Introduce kids to shapes along with the math concept of pattern through a fun water resist art activity.

• Look at patterns with the child and discuss how they are created. The left-brain is encouraged when the big picture is looked at instead of the small parts of a project.
• Offer him a sheet of white drawing paper and a set of crayons. Younger children can enjoy the process of engaging their logical left-brain through creating simple shapes, while older toddlers can attempt to create patterns using both colors and shapes.
• Remove the crayons once he’s finished making patterns. The child can now paint all over their paper using watercolors, practicing dipping his paintbrush into the paints on his own, developing his fine-motor skills. Invite him to paint without concern for staying within lines or following any set directions, allowing his creative right-brain to coordinate with his left.
• Discuss the finished artwork together further engaging the child’s visual cortex and his creative development. Talk about what he liked about the art making process and encourage him to explain his finished patterns.

Children Aged 5 to 7

As children age and become more critical of their artwork, encouraging left-brain art reminds them that their artwork doesn’t have to solely rely on creativity but can be accomplished through using their left-brain skills, too. Create a geometric design with kids encouraging their basic math knowledge as well as their artistic skills.

• Discuss geometric shapes with the child, having him draw pictures of as many as he can and then write the names of the shapes, further engaging his left-brain.
• Invite the child to select three shapes to use for his geometric design.
• Give the child a sheet of white drawing paper and have him draw the first shape he selected with a marker so that it almost touches the sides of the paper. Offer him the use of a ruler to help create his lines. Then he can draw the second shape within the first, and the third within the second shape, making his three shapes all within each other.
• The child can now use markers to color each shape in, using a different color for each shape.

Children Aged 8 to 13

Older children begin to lose interest in art as they age and due to art not being included in many middle schools and high schools as a required subject. Preteens are at risk of missing out on honing their creative skills and finding ways to remind their brains that merging their right and left-brain talents help form a complete human being. Challenge kids by creating a 3D sculpture from a piece of construction paper.

• Provide the child with an 8 by 10-inch piece of construction paper and invite him to figure out a way to create a freestanding 3-dimensional form using solely the paper and a pair of scissors.
• Look at modern sculptures by the American artist David Smith, and discuss how he came up with the motivation to make the interesting forms. Discussing artwork stimulates the visual cortex and promotes use of the right brain.
• Brainstorm ideas for how the child can create the sculpture. Working through the problem to find a solution gets the left-brain kick started and ready for the challenge.
• Encourage the child to fold, cut, and shape the flat paper into a form that is able to stand on its own without support.

Young Adults

Once kids hit young adulthood, they become aware of their inabilities in the area of the arts. Most lean toward the feeling they aren’t creative, where in reality their creativity is hiding out in their right-brain.  By creating a mathematical grid drawing a child is able to easily and comfortably recreate an image without fear of mistake or disappointment along with reminding them of their tucked away creativity.

Chuck Close is an American artist that uses mathematical grids to recreate photographs into larger than life portraits using pointillism. Look at examples of his work with the teenager and discuss his techniques.

• Invite him to find an image from a magazine or an actual photograph to recreate in the style of Chuck Close.
• Using a ruler and some basic math, he can figure out how to enlarge the small image onto a larger piece of paper. For instance, if the photograph he selects is 4 by 6-inches, he can create a grid with marker lines every 2-inches around the image. The small 4 by 6-inch image can be enlarged onto a 12 by 18-inch piece of paper with a grid drawn lightly in pencil every 6-inches around the paper.
• He can use markers to recreate the image using large and small dots of color, encouraging the left-brain to work methodically from one square to the next in the grid formation.
• Due to the left-brain not feeling challenged to create a realistic image, the right brain is able to offer a helping hand, which allows the teenager’s artistic abilities to shine through without him even realizing it.

By encouraging kids to use their left-brain and their inner creativity, they will feel confident about their artwork and also feel ready to share their creativity with others.

By Sarah Lipoff. Sarah is an art educator and parent. Her website is http://sarahlipoff.com.

Challenging your child’s brain is an important part to their cognitive development. Studies have also found it is easier to learn during childhood.

“Neuroscientists have discovered that between toddlerhood and puberty, brain metabolism, as measured by blood sugar consumption, remains very high. The synaptic net of axons and dendrites is thick and ready to absorb new experiences,” Oregon University’s Health and Science department said.

There are several brain games that will challenge your child’s brain and help them stay ahead of the learning curve in the future.

Brain games

When most people hear the term ‘brain games,’ they think of crossword puzzles and Sudoku puzzles. While those are two very effective games for challenging your brain, a child may not have the skill level or the interest to work through such things at certain stages of development.

There is a Daily Sudoku for Kids that is good for younger audiences, however.

Sports and various themed brain games can prove that learning can be fun.

Sports brain games

There are many games to engage a young sports fan. Kaboose’s Baseball Word Scramble allows your child to unscramble sets of baseball themed words to find the names of ten popular players. The Web site’s bowling game helps with coordination skills and spatial skills as well.

Science brain games

Learning about the solar system and how the brain functions are two intriguing topics for children.  Use Neuroscience for Kids’ Brain Hieroglyphics game to learn more about the nervous system and the brain.  You can also try out some illusion puzzles to get your eyes really thinking about what they are seeing.

Number games

To challenge mathematical skills and also test memory function, number teasers are just the ticket.

Number games that begin at a young age are essential to understanding concepts in future grade levels.

“When children start early with their understanding of math facts they will have a more comprehensible ability to complete the additional concepts the teachers in each grade level present. It is like a stair step of information they must understand,” Teach Kids How said. “This basic math concept amazingly starts at recognizing numbers and flows directly into High school algebra, if you miss a concept in any grade level you will struggle to keep up.”

Word puzzles

Word puzzles are popular in elementary school classrooms. They are an excellent way to learn word association and spelling skills. These are also called Rebus games. “A REBUS is a picture representation of a name, work, or phrase. Each “rebus” puzzle box below portrays a common word or phrase,” the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences Kids’ Pages said.

Creating a safe learning environment

It is also important to be wary of over stimulating your child with brain games.

“Too many new experiences or too much stimulation can cause stress and hinder a child’s development. Children need freedom to explore on their own terms,” North Dakota State University’s Extension Office Family Science Specialist Sean Brotherson said.

“The brain develops through hands-on experience during a lifetime, but stress can inhibit this development. Watch your children’s signals to see when they are feeling overly stressed or stimulated. They will avoid, turn away, cover their face with their hands, hiccup, cry, become upset or become frustrated. Then take steps to reduce the stimulation and calm your child,” he said.

All in all, creating a safe and supportive learning environment will inspire your child to continue seeking knowledge.

By Kelly McLendon. Kelly is studying Environmental Policy and Journalism. She can be reached at mclendon.kelly@gmail.com.

Children go through developmental stages in art helping them hone their budding skills and explore their creativity. Once a child figures out they can make somewhat representational squiggles, they have embarked into the Preschematic stage of art. These potato shaped figures with stick arms and legs might not seem like much, but are a child’s first representations of people. Encouraging his drawings aides in his future cognitive and creative development.

The Preschematic Stage of Art

Viktor Lowenfeld, author of Creative and Mental Growth, describes the Preschematic stage as a time when the schema (the visual idea) is developed. A child, between the ages of four and seven, creates drawings during this stage that depict what he finds most important about the objects he views, such as someone’s hair or unique clothing. A child exploring the Preschematic stage doesn’t have full understanding of the dimension and size of objects, so he may draw a person as tall as his house. Color use is also more emotional than logical, expressing a child’s desire for creativity and enjoyment in his art.

Preschematic stage artwork resembles blobs or amoeba shapes with large smiling faces and short arms and legs. Don’t be alarmed with exaggerated features, such as an extremely large nose or mouth – or if the child omits features completely.  In other instances, a child may draw a head representing a whole human being, because he finds the head to be the most important part of their body, which he uses to eat, talk, see and hear. When a child draws a self-portrait during the Preschematic stage he often draw himself as the largest shape, as he feels he is the most important, which displays healthy development.

During the Preschematic stage the schema (the internal representation of the world) along with cognitive development are causes the young child’s brain to develop in grand ways. Jean Piaget, a Swiss philosopher and psychologist, finds children go through fixed stages of cognitive development. During the Preschematic stage, Piaget places a child at the Preoperational stage where he is unable to yet form abstract conceptions, and must have hands-on experiences and visual representations in order to form basic conclusions.

Right-Brain/Left-Brain Development

With the right-brain in charge of creativity, but the left more dominant with control over math, rational thought, and linear thinking, the young child entering the Preschematic stage needs help to stimulate his visual cortex and promote use of his creative right-brain, developing a whole human. By introducing and discussing art with the child, he is stimulated to learn more about, and question, the world around him. Involving the child in making decisions about an art activity keeps him interested in creating art and promotes his self-esteem.

Hands-On Activities

Encourage a child to explore the Preschematic stage, along with his Preoperational stage of development, through engaging in lots and lots of hands-on activities to boost cognitive development and self-confidence. Sean Brotherson, a Family Science Specialist, finds that children need simple hands-on experiences for their brains to develop. Activities such as building with blocks, organizing objects based on color or shape, or taking a nature walk along with picking leaves off the ground are wonderful ways to jump-start brain development and get both sides of the brain working together.

Art Activities for the Preschematic Stage of Art

Family Portrait

• Encourage the child to create a family portrait based on a photograph, giving him a visual representation to work with. Look at a family picture together discussing the people in the picture and interesting characteristics of each person, encouraging his observational skills.
• Offer the child markers to use for drawing the family portrait so he can create strong, bold lines. Allow the child to fully explore his preschematic expression of color by using them as he wishes, even if not representational. Encourage the child’s color recognition skills by asking him about the colors he uses as he draws, further helping his cognitive development.
• Once the portrait is finished, help the child write a short paragraph about what he drew engaging the left-brain to work with his creative right-brain.

Nature Collage

• No matter the time of year, getting outside and combining science and art benefits the development of the budding young brain. Provide the child with a small basket for him to pick up items while walking discussing different plants and animals observed, benefiting his preoperative brain.
• Let the child select a large sheet of colored construction paper and invite him to glue the items he collected in any arrangement of his choosing, which gives him hands-on experience for his cognitive development.
• Once the items have been glued to the paper, offer the child a black marker to carefully outline the items in the collage, helping hone his fine-motor skills.

The Preschematic stage is full of discovery and expression. Benefit a child’s development by encouraging him to explore his creativity and learn through engaging hands-on activities, along with spending quality time together, this benefits everyone involved.

By Sarah Lipoff. Sarah is an art educator and parent.

Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. It’s a … roller coaster? Well, they may not be quite as fast as a speeding bullet, but unlike Super Man, roller coasters don’t need any super powers in order to fly, spin, and race through the air at top speeds. What do they need? Physics.

Teaching Physics through Roller Coasters 

If you want a fun, interesting way to teach children about physics, particularly about potential and kinetic energy, then taking them on a field trip to a theme park is a great idea. Learning how roller coasters work is a fun way to reinforce what children are learning about Physics in school.

Before taking children to a theme park, teach a simple physics lesson to get their imaginations engaged.

Start with an illustration to peak their interest.  For younger children, use a colorful, plastic marble slide.

For older children try making one of these cool mine shaft marble slides from LooLeDo. Try to find or make slides with multiple hills and dips. This is important to the concept of potential energy and kinetic energy. Alternatively, you can show a video or movie about a theme park with roller coaster rides.

For younger children who might not yet understand the concept of gravity, you can teach them about Sir Isaac Newton and the apple. Perhaps purchase some fabric apples so that children can drop them on each other’s heads to illustrate how the apple fell out of the tree and onto Newton’s head. (Toy fabric fruit can be purchased from some toy stores, or on handmade Web sites like Etsy and Folksy.) Remind children not to try this with real apples.

Explain Physics Terms

• Physics is the science of how matter (objects, people, animals, etc.) relates to motion and energy. Energy is what allows matter to move.
• Gravity is the force that draws two objects (or two pieces of matter) together, or the force that pulls objects downward, toward the earth.
• Potential energy is based on the mass, or size and weight, of an object, and where it rests.
• Kinetic energy is based on motion, or the speed at which an object travels.
• Velocity is the speed at which something happens, or the rapidity of motion.

Demonstrate these Physics Concepts

Show them the slide again, and explain how the marble (or small car, or whatever you choose to roll down the slide) has potential energy based on its position at the top of the slide.

The higher the hill, the more potential energy, and the higher velocity the marble has because gravity can pull it down further and faster. As the marble begins to speed down the hill, it gains velocity, and the potential energy converts to kinetic energy which propels the marble over the next hill, around the first curve or loop, and on for the rest of the journey.

While the marble loses potential energy as it loses height, it gains kinetic energy which then propels it up the next hill. The pattern of potential to kinetic energy continues, and this cycle is what keeps the marble rolling all the way to the end of the slide.

Build Your Own Roller Coaster

Let children play with the marble slides from your illustration, or build a model roller coaster together. 

Create your own rollercoaster simulation on Funderstanding. 

Take a Field Trip to a Theme Park

Now that they’ve had a chance to learn some basic Physics concepts, plan a field trip to a theme park where they can see potential energy and kinetic energy at work in the real world.

As children ride the rides, remind them of some of the lesson points. Perhaps offer them a small prize every time they correctly identify one of the points you made in the lesson. Or you could allow them to go on a roller coaster only after they explain to you how it works.

You can also give a pop quiz on the ride home, or provide them with an activity handout.

Follow-Up on Physics Concepts 

Following your theme park visit, give a short review lesson to remind them what they learned about Physics and roller coasters.

Talk about the experience at the theme park. Ask your children what they enjoyed most about the experience, and what they remembered from the lessons. Maybe make a model roller coaster or play a roller coaster game to refresh their memories.

Roller Coaster Resources

Encyclopaedia Britannica talks about the the history and inventors of roller coasters here.  On the Discovery Kids Web site you can build your own roller coaster, the idea being—the scarier the better:

Answer their questions. If you don’t know the answer, help them find out what they want to know by showing them how to search for articles with Google or another search engine.

Teaching children about Physics can be daunting. By providing fun, engaging illustrations, and taking them on a field trip to a theme park, you can make the whole experience fun and interesting for everyone.

 By Megan Elaine Cullen

We all want our children to be charitable and give back in some way, but telling them they have to tithe (the religious precept of giving 10 percent of their income) or hold back one-third of their allowance as a donation probably won’t make the concept stick when they get out on their own.As it turns out, much more subtle and even fun ways exist that make children think they came up with the idea of giving all on their own.

Play board games or online games

Kids not only identify with games and find them fun to play, but games get kids thinking about the choices they make and the consequences of those decisions.

Some games that have a charitable giving component include:

• Bank It! www.Simplyfun.com for ages 6 and up
• Thrive Time www.thrivetimegame.com for ages 13 and up
• Cash Flow 101 www.cashflowboardgame.com for ages 14 and up
• Stage Coach Island http://blog.wellsfargo.com/stagecoachisland/ for ages 14 and up

Parents can play the board games with their children and ask questions about the giving components. “Why do you think the game wants you to give back to the community?” “How do you feel about that?” And whatever other questions might be appropriate or come up during game play.

Introduce books about giving

Reading a book that conveys the benefits of giving is another subtle way to introduce philanthropy to your child. Books can be fiction or non-fiction, but screening them first is a good idea and you don’t want to promote a book that tells a child they “must” do something. That’s the surest way to get them to rebel.

Here are some suggested titles:

• One Hen by Katie Smith Milway for ages 7 to 11
• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein for ages 4 to 8
• Meet Genna & Russ, the Generous Kids (www.gennarusskids.com) for ages 2 to 6
• Kathleen’s Story by Lurlene McDaniel for young adults

You can read aloud to younger children, ask them to predict what is going to happen in the story, which will open up opportunities for discussing the why’s and how’s of being charitable. Ask older children what they thought about the story and what was the message they perceived.

Teaching by example

Kids watch what you do even when you’re not always aware of it. They tend to follow your example, at least early in their lives. However, if you’ve forced them to do something like tithe, in later years, they are likely to revolt.

How to be a role model:

• Talk about what charity means and how organizations help others
• Donate items to your local food bank or to places that pick up used household items
• Tell your children why you put money in the collection plate at religious organization or write out a check to a disaster relief organization
• Help an elderly neighbor with yard work, cook dinner for a family in need or do some other random act of kindness
• Participate in your school, town or your religious institution’s community service projects such as serving food in a soup kitchen, cleaning up a park for Earth Day, making meals for the needy
• Save change in a jar and donate it to a specific charity

Be sure to mention to your children that charity can come in many different forms and isn’t always about giving money. Sometimes giving of your time can help someone more.

Tell them you don’t perform charitable works because you expect something in return.

Educating children about giving back to others should never include a lecture and absolutes like “you have to.” Make them want to do it. Playing a game, reading a book or watching their parents’ actions will make charity fun, not a chore.

By Heather Larson.  Heather Larson, a writer in Tacoma, Washington, frequently writes about
finances and parenting for Creditcards.com, bankrate.com and ParentMap.

Scribble, scribble, scribble, what does it mean? The moment a child figures out how to pick up a crayon, she begins an adventure through art from scribbling to realistic creations. Just like with learning how to read or write, children go through levels of development in art – and it is a fun and educational journey.

The Scribble Stage

Viktor Lowenfeld, an art education professor at Pennsylvania State University, published Creative and Mental Growth in 1947, detailing the development of art in children. His writing teaches the Stages of Artistic Development, which tie together the intellectual, emotional, and aesthetic growth of art in children. According to Lowenfeld, the first stage of a child’s art development is the Scribble stage. Youngsters, from birth to the age of four, explore their abilities to make marks using various materials, including that pen you left out on your home’s walls.

Lowenfeld breaks the Scribble stage into four sub-stages titled the Disordered, Longitudinal, Circular, and Naming. During the Disordered sub-stage, a child creates light or dark scribbles with little or no control over her motor skills. Longitudinal scribbles show the beginnings of controlled repeated motions and understanding of movement. During the Circular sub-stage, a child further explores her control over mark-making implements. In the Naming stage, she begins to tell stories about her scribbles along with naming them, even though they are non-representational.

Innate Learning Instincts

Marvin Bartel, a retired professor of art at Goshen College, finds the Scribble stage to be about how things sound and feel, along with the pure joy created for children when drawing. Bartel calls scribbling a child’s “job” which, “grows out of their innate learning instincts.” This means those unsuspecting walls are at risk of being covered with scribbles, as a child does not understand, that the family’s walls are not for her mark making. Bartel suggests placing pads of paper on easels, or directly on walls, for a child to comfortably, and wall harming-free, create scribbles when she so feels inclined.

The early desire to scribble enforces Lowenfeld’s thoughts that a child’s brain is developing and learning from their first artistic creations. Dr. Susan Sheridan finds scribbling to be “ an artifact of the evolutionary connections between speech and literacy.” These simple marks are a way for the brain to synchronize activity in the multiple layers of the brain tissue for language processing and problem solving. When a child is concentrating on her mark making, she is training her brain to be attentive, encouraging her brain to visualize shapes and forms, and organizing patterns of thought.

Scribbling Activities

The Scribble stage may seem to continue for years. But, this stage eventually turns into the Preschematic stage. Those looping round circles will become somewhat representational potato-head bodies with small protruding lines for arms and legs. While a child is so fanatic about scribbling, do engaging art activities that show interest in her artistic expression, along with creating some wall-worthy art, even if it is a bunch of scribbles.

Tape and Crayons

• During the scribbling stage, a child is experimenting with grasping, holding, and pressing objects, which develops the small muscles of her hands. Use masking tape to create an artwork that boosts fine-motor skills and expressive line making.
• Offer the child small strips of masking tape and encourage her to press them onto a white piece of paper. This encourages her hand to grasp and press the tape.
• Once she’s positioned the tape and is ready to move on, give her a selection of crayons and have her cover the entire paper. While she is coloring, test her color recognition skills by holding a crayon and asking her what color it is.
• When the child’s finished, have her remove the lengths of tape and discover what lies underneath.

Watercolor Markers

• Allow a child to scribble using washable markers on a piece of white paper, inviting her to use the markers on the paper and not in her mouth.
• Although it looks like a lot of scribbles, ask the child about her creation. Susan Lemons, Child Development specialist, reminds parents that the Scribble stage “isn’t about the product, but the process.” Encourage her to make big looping scribbles and small round scribbles, motivating her to explore the way she can create marks.
• Give prompts, when necessary, about holding a mark making implement or how to use it properly, such as reminding her that markers belong on the paper. This benefits her understanding of different art materials.
• When she is ready, remove the markers and provide her with a wet paintbrush, showing her how to paint over her scribbles. Re-wet the paintbrush as needed as she continues to cover her marks.

Edible Finger Paint

• Separate a prepared batch of vanilla pudding into small cups, adding drops of food coloring to create a selection of colors.
• Touch is one of the five senses and doing art activities that allow a child to explore how things feel benefits her early sensory development. The five senses are how a young child learns about the world around her.
• Place spoonfuls of the pudding finger paint onto a white paper and invite the child to use her fingers as line making tools, and enjoy tasting them while she works.
• Along with exploring her sense of touch, assist the child’s understanding of her sense of taste. Do a taste test with the pudding finger paint, asking the child if the different colors of finger paint taste similar or different. Ask her about words she feels describe the taste of the pudding.

No matter the activity, allowing children to explore their budding creativity during the Scribble stage encourages brain development and builds self-esteem. Spend time creating with children – you might find yourself enjoying some scribbling, too.

By Sarah Lipoff. Sarah Lipoff is an art educator and parent.