Summer Learning Activity: Sun Printing

A creative project helps children understand the awe-inspiring effects of the August sun.

Printing With Solar Power

How It's Done:

1.  Using loops of tape on the reverse side, secure construction paper to a table in a sunny spot outdoors (or do it inside by a sunny window).

2.  Lay objects on the paper. Use more tape loops to secure lightweight items (such as the plastic forks shown).

3.  Leave the setup untouched for 4 to 5 hours, checking periodically to remove any blown grass or leaves. Try not to move the objects; by examining the paper, you'll be able to see when the print is sharp and finished.

What's Happening:

Creating these prints, you're witnessing the power of ultraviolet (UV) rays -- the same rays of sunlight that can burn unprotected skin. When the light hits the exposed areas of the construction paper, the UV rays cause a chemical reaction in the paper's colored dye. This reaction breaks down the dye and diminishes its brightness.

Fun Stuff to Print:

• doll clothes

• kitchen tools

• letter magnets

• action figures

• nature finds

• school supplies

• shapes cut from craft foam or felt

Take It Further:

Use this technique to make a leaf journal. Collect various leaves in your area, make sun prints, and staple the sheets together. Write identifying captions.

Science Activity: Learn About Clouds and Rain

Kids can create their own stormy weather -- and play with shaving cream -- doing this simple science experiment.

Twist and count

Got an old Twister game in the closet? Give it a smart spin by playing Twisted Math. Write numerals on sticky notes and set them on the dots at random. Call out a number (say, 24), then challenge kids to place their hands and feet on a set of numerals that can be made to equal that number using addition, subtraction, or multiplication (4 + 2 x 4). Players who make a math error or fall over are out. The last mathlete standing wins!

Constellation tracker

By flashlight or daylight, this supercool tool for learning about constellations will turn your kid into a night-sky whiz

Star Power

With their awesomely strange names -- we're talking to you, Cassiopeia! -- and back stories spun from myth and legend, constellations are a stellar way to spark an interest in astronomy. This simple viewer lets your child see "stars" by day (by peering through a cardboard tube) or at night (by using a flashlight to project formations on a wall). Make it to use this winter, then, come spring, head outdoors together and get starry-eyed for real.

Make It:

1. Cut ten 1 1/2-inch-wide circles from colored paper, and 1 black paper circle to cover the bottom of a 10 1/2-inch paper plate. Glue the circles in place as shown.

2. Using our template below as a guide, draw the constellations with white pencil.

3. On a stack of newspapers, pierce a hole at each star with a pushpin.

4. With a marker, write the constellation names. Add paper shapes or stickers as desired.

Use it by Day:

In a bright room, place one end of a cardboard or paper tube over a constellation circle, hold the tube and plate up to the light, and peer through the two to see the formation.

Use it by Night:

In a darkened room, hold a flashlight in front of a constellation circle to project the formation onto the wall.

The Skills it Builds: astronomy, cultural history, and observation

Hook line and sinker

Let kids reel in the fun—and catch on to numbers—with this "math tub" game. To make a fish, sandwich a steel washer between strips of duct tape, then cut the tape into shape. Mark each with a digit from 0 to 9 and release them in a partially filled tub. Tie a string to a dowel, then sandwich magnets over the string's end to serve as a hook. To play, a young child can fish for a certain number; an older child can try to hook the answer to an equation.

(Remember to supervise children around water and when using small magnets.)

Tree tracking

Teaching Kids to Know Their Trees

This fun fall art project helps kids learn their leaves -- and creates a decorative map of your yard, too.

A Key To Your Trees

Here's a clever way to teach basic concepts of natural science and mapping right in your own backyard. Using simple supplies, kids can figure out what trees are around their home, then document their findings, charting the grounds and creating a lovely keepsake. It's a perfect project for introducing dendrology -- the study of trees -- to a budding naturalist.

Be a Scientist:

1. Collect leaves from the trees in your yard. 2. Place the leaves back side up (to expose the veins) and cover them with a large sheet of tracing paper.3. Color over each leaf with crayons and colored pencils to create a rubbing you like. 4. Use a guidebook to identify the leaves (see "Key Tip," below). 5. Label each leaf, then cut out the shapes.

Make the Map:

From a sheet of patterned scrapbook paper, cut out the shape of your house as seen from above (tip: Zoom in on Google Maps), then glue it to a sheet of poster board. Add washi or craft tape for walkways and other landmarks, and written labels. Glue the rubbings on the map to show the trees' locations.

Key Tip:

To help you ID your leaves, pick up a guide to the trees in your area at the library. The book will ask you about the leaf shape (lobed, toothed, and so on), the bark, and whether it has any nuts or seeds. This is called "keying a tree."

The Skills it Builds: botany, observation, and mapping

Egg in a bottle

A boiled egg may seem unassuming, but under the right conditions, it can be a powerful thing. In this classic demonstration of how a vacuum must be filled, the egg withstands a mighty force of nature (at least for a little while), until the experiment's surprising—and kid-pleasing!—conclusion. This learning activity teaches physics, earth science, and observation.

Simple Science Experiment: Egg in a Bottle

Astound your kids and show them nature's laws in action with this cool learning activity.

Suck an Egg

A boiled egg may seem unassuming, but under the right conditions, it can be a powerful thing. In this classic demonstration of how a vacuum must be filled, the egg withstands a mighty force of nature (at least for a little while), until the experiment's surprising -- and kid-pleasing! -- conclusion.

How It's Done:

1. Gather a peeled hard-boiled egg and a thick glass bottle (we used a quart-size milk bottle).

2. Fold an 8- by 1-inch paper strip in half. Light it on fire (an adult's job) and drop it into the bottle.

3. Set the egg on top of the bottle. The flaming paper will burn itself out. Watch as the egg squeezes, slowly at first, through the opening and finally plops to the bottom.

Why It Works:

The fire heats the air and causes it to expand. When the flame dies down, the air molecules cool and move closer together, creating extra space, or what scientists call a partial vacuum. The air outside the bottle tries to flow in to fill that extra space, but it's blocked by the egg. Eventually, air molecules outside the bottle exert so much pressure that they shove the egg in and rush in after.

Egg-stra Credit:

To remove the egg, hold the bottle upside down and blow in the opening (a brave adult's job). Quickly turn the bottle away from your face and the egg should fly out.

Book bingo

A Simple Summer Reading Game

Help your child check out a slew of books with the help of this surprise-filled incentive board.

Book Bonanza

Here's a surefire way to build excitement around the written word. Inspired by book-bingo handouts used by librarians, we designed a treat-packed home version that rewards frequent and wide-ranging reading. Whether your kids are born bookworms or reluctant readers, they'll get a kick out of earning prizes through their bookish pursuits -- and never suspect that they're also boosting their literacy skills.

Make the Board:

1. With strips of double-sided tape, attach 16 envelopes to a sheet of foam core or sturdy corrugated cardboard in a grid as shown (our board measures 21 by 29 inches).

2. For the labels, print your own prompts or our template below onto paper. Cut out the prompts (we used a 2-inch circle punch).

3. Fill each envelope with a prize (see suggestions below) and seal it with a label affixed with double-sided tape.

Hit the Books:

After finishing a book on a specified topic, the reader opens the corresponding envelope to find a prize. Here are envelope-stuffers that would work well with a few of our topics.

For a book about:

Space: Glow-in-the-dark star stickers

Art: A little paint set

Another Country: A toy airplane

Jokes: A bite-size Snickers bar

Animals: A toy critter

Fairy Tales: A tube of glitter glue

Science Fiction: A toy robot

Build 3d shapes

Sometimes the simplest learning activities can demonstrate the most profound ideas. Using humble materials to build a 3-D shape, kids can begin to understand how the things around them—from soccer balls to supermarkets—are made of forms mathematicians call polyhedra (Greek for "many faces"). They’ll also get a dose of spatial reasoning and manual dexterity. 

The Skills it Builds:

Geometry

Spatial Reasoning

Manual Dexterity

To make geometry come alive for your kids, grab some pipe cleaners and straws and start shaping up.

Sometimes the simplest projects can demonstrate the most profound ideas. Using humble materials to build a 3-D shape, kids can begin to understand how the things around them -- from soccer balls to supermarkets -- are made of forms mathematicians call polyhedra (Greek for "many faces").

Get Ready

With sturdy scissors or nail clippers, cut pipe cleaners into 3-inch and 6-inch lengths. Fashion a connector by bending a shorter piece around the center of a longer one, as shown below.

Start Building

Slip straws over the folded prongs to create a basic two-dimensional shape such as a triangle, square, or pentagon. Using the connectors' other prongs, add faces in the same shape. Here are two polyhedra to try.

1. Cube - Use the connectors to create a structure with six square faces. To up the cool factor, angle the corners to make a rhombohedron.

2. Dodecahedron - Cut straws into 4-inch segments. Use these segments and the connectors to create a structure with 12 pentagonal faces.

 homemade barometer

Teach About Weather With This Science Craft

A homemade barometer lets kids play meteorologist -- and gain science know-how in the process.

Those friendly folks on the weather broadcasts often talk about how high- and low-pressure systems affect the daily forecast. This simple gizmo lets kids observe changes in air (or barometric) pressure and make some weather predictions of their own.

Make It

1.  Cut off the neck of a deflated balloon.

2.  Stretch the rest of the balloon over the mouth of a large jar. Pull it perfectly flat and taut and secure it with two or more rubber bands.

3.  Fold the end of one straw and insert it into another. Secure them with tape. Cut a tab and flatten one end as shown.

4.  At the opposite end, insert a paper arrow, cut so that its straight part fits snugly into the straw.

5.  Secure the straw's tab to the balloon with a dab of white glue. Tape it in place until the glue dries.

Calibrate It

Set the barometer against a wall, out of direct sun, where it won't be disturbed. Place a chalkboard or a sheet of paper behind it. Mark a line where the arrow is level, then mark a few lines above and below it. Add labels as shown.

How It Works

The air pressure inside the jar stays constant, while the outer barometric pressure changes.

When barometric pressure falls, the higher pressure inside the jar makes the balloon bulge and the arrow drop. Unsettled weather is approaching.

When barometric pressure rises, the lower pressure inside the jar causes the balloon to sink and the arrow to rise. Fair weather is on its way!

Bulb Growth Chart

Learning Activity: Bulb Growth Chart

This project gives kids some practice in working with numbers -- and a close-up view of spring's arrival.

By Debra Immergut

Set It Up

Buy spring bulbs, either potted or loose, with just a bit of the growing tips exposed. Daffodils and hyacinths are fine candidates. Plant loose bulbs in potting soil or put their root ends in water. Place in a sunny spot and water as needed. For each measuring stick, cut an 18-inch wood strip (we cut ours from 1-inch-thick strips, less than $2 each at Home Depot). Set the stick next to the bulb's container and use a marker to note the starting date and to indicate the level of the bulb's top.

Start Measuring

When the first growing tip is about a half inch high, have your child mark its tallest point with a line of colored pencil, then color in the block as shown. Have him measure the new growth with a ruler, then use a marker to note the measurement and the date. Repeat every two to three days until the bulb blossoms.

Take It Further

Look for Patterns: Is growth consistent? Younger kids can simply observe the shapes of the color blocks, and older ones can compare the measurements to see if factors like weather and watering affect the growth rate.

Make It A Race: Which bulb grows fastest? Compare growth rates of different types of bulbs (you could even make predictions at the outset), or buy several of the same variety and assign one to each child. Kids can try moving plants to different windows or other strategies to affect the race's outcome.

Try Fraction Feats: How much did the bulbs grow over time? Challenge older kids to add up all the measurements taken over a week or two.

Alphabet Museum

Here's a hands-on way to boost early literacy skills and get your child ready for a lifetime of reading adventures

Inspired by the alphabet boxes often used in Montessori classrooms, this easy-to-assemble play station will familiarize your child with letters and letter sounds. Simply raid your pantry for boxes, line them with colorful printouts on card stock, and start playing!

3 Ways To Play

ABC Hunt: Have kids look for small toys or household objects that begin with a certain letter. This is the first game to play, as it outfits the museum. You can play it every so often to refresh the display.

Fetch Me a D: Remove an assortment of objects from the museum and hide them around the room. Call out "Fetch me ..." and name a letter. Players have to find and retrieve the item that starts with that letter. Repeat for the other letters' missing objects.

Museum-a-grams: If your child is ready to try simple spelling, line up a series of objects—a car, an apple, and a tree, for example. Have your child write each initial letter, then see if he can sound out the resulting word (in this case, cat).

Set It Up

Cut a front or side panel from each of 24 to 26 small boxes. Starting at the bottom, arrange them in rows as desired, fastening them together with mini binder clips. Print letters on card stock, then trim each to fit in a box. Secure them with a glue stick.

The Skills It Builds: letter recognition, reading readiness

Label Mapping

Learning Activity: Label Mapping

Here's a simple way to bring home world-class lessons in the
global economy.

When my son, Joe, was in second grade, his very clever teacher introduced the concept of international trade by having students stand in a line, then check the tags in each other's collars and call out where each shirt came from. Our project takes this idea a step further by placing the labels -- as well as those for produce and other items your family buys -- on a map, but both exercises result in spirited discussions about how and why we're all connected to the wider world.

Set It Up:

Seek out a wall map that clearly shows the borders of countries. Keep a roll of removable poster tape on hand for securing labels. Stickers (such as those from fruit) can be attached without tape.

Tips for Success:

• Build your collection: Take a moment before dinner for family      members to present any labels found that day. Have your kids locate each      nation on the map, then attach the label.

• Flag the small nations: If a label is too large for its designated      spot, stick the label in a nearby ocean and use an adhesive arrow flag as      a pointer.

• Look for lessons: Encourage your kids to talk about patterns they      notice. Ask them to consider why a certain place produces a particular      type of goods.

• Make it a quest: See how many different nations you can      "label" -- and don't be surprised if you find yourself at an      international food store in search of products from Zambia!

Spool Speller

An easy-to-make spool speller helps kids expand their vocabulary.

1. Print (or handwrite) four columns of letters on paper, making sure to choose a mix of consonants and vowels. At a loss for letters? 

2. Cut columns into vertical strips with scissors and wrap each one around an empty ribbon spool. Make sure to use spools that have small center openings. (Larger ones won't spin as smoothly.) Secure paper strips to rolls with double-sided tape.

3. Thread the rolls onto a pencil and add eraser toppers to both ends. To play, kids turn each spool, lining up letters to form a word.