Activity Idea: Thaumatrope

In this activity, children will build a thaumatrope and learn the basics of modern-day animation.
• Small pieces of paper (about the size of an index card)
• Pencils  
• tape or stapler.
• Drawing materials

The thaumatrope, invented in the 19th century, is known as the precursor to modern-day animation.
Thaumatrope is just a fancy word meaning “turning marvel."
The thaumatrope relies on persistence of vision to create an illusion by blending two images drawn, into one.


PROCEDURE
Instruct children to draw a line down the center of their paper.
On the right-hand side of the card,  draw an object, person, or animal to be
placed into another object (e.g.,goldfish outside of its bowl,  bird outside of its cage).
On the left-hand side of the paper, draw the object that they would like the first object
to go into (e.g.,goldfish bowl,bird cage).
Instruct your students to fold the paper in half,
so that the drawings are facing outward, and then tape or staple the edges together.
The students should slip the folded card over the end of the pencil. 

Make sure they tape along the upper and lower borders to secure the card to the pencil.
Instruct your students to place the pencil between the palms of their hands. 

If they quickly roll their hands back and forth, they should see an interesting illusion.

EXPLANATION
As the thaumatrope spins, the two separate images appear as one!
The brain has trouble keeping up with the speed of the rotating card, so it blends the two images. and sees a goldfish back in its bowl! Ask the children to experiment with the speed they use to rotate the cards.

Tips for a successful activity

image from photocruise.com

1. It is important that the teacher facilitating the activity BE ENTHUSIASTIC. 
2. Know the activity. Familiarize yourself with the instruction and procedure. Simplify  complicated steps. Try it out before hand.
3. Be sure you have all the materials necessary for the success of the activity.
4. Emphasize the importance of experience over finished product. Especially for younger children.
5. Allow for experimentation.  This is how children learn.

Question of the Day: Can we be too flexible?

Question: Okay, so I  prepared for my science activity for the children. 

I practiced it and had it down to a "science." I was quite pleased that it worked-- In fact, I was very excited about it.  However, when I was working with the children, they were not interested in doing it the way I showed them.  Should I insist that they follow the specific instructions or should I be flexible? When is it flexibility and when are we being "push-overs?"

Answer: In our role as teachers in after-school programs our job is different from that of a classroom teacher. It is less structured.  Our job is not to teach the child a particular subject but to supervise the child's out-of-school time.  While children may be expected to keep on task at school, while at after-school time, they need a change of pace.  Children need to have fun.

Regardless of the activity that we have prepared for, the goal should be to enjoy the activity.

If having fun means changing the standard rules for a particular activity to fit the needs of the group, then by all means, change the rules.  Games and activities should serve the needs of the children, not the other way around.

(source: Elements of an After-school Program by Clairece Feagin)

The Chefs say:

What do you think? Please tell us!

The Secret to Teaching Science to Kids

Every child should have a solid science education regardless of whether they want to be the next Albert Einstein or Michael Jordan. Science is all around us, it is everywhere, effecting everything that we do. The “we” in that last statement includes children. Children that understand how science plays a role in our everyday lives have a wonderful foundation for success in life. This is what it means to give them a good educational science foundation for life.
In today’s world the idea that the only people that need to understand science are those that will work as scientists and engineers is seriously outdated. Making sure that all children have a good science education is vital to each child being a success regardless of their background, talent or abilities. Children need to be able to make sense of the world around them, so that they can make the best decisions possible in relation to what they want to do in life, or with life for that matter.

Teaching Children with Toys!

Children can learn science at any age really. The earlier they start the better. The best way for kids to learn is through play and repetition. There are wonderful science toys for preschool science activities. Babies learn cause and effect, they are hungry the cry. They are wet they cry. They are learning that you respond to what they need if they cry. That is science is a very simplistic form. Wooden blocks or architect blocks are wonderful for teaching balance and stacking and lessons in gravity. Baby crawl mats are also wonderful teaching toys that are a lot of fun for babies.

With play being the best way kids learn, it only makes sense then to introduce toys to them that encourage understanding science. Children love to use their imagination to have fun and to help them figure out the world around them. So play is a wonderful time to be introducing science to them. Think of the games that we used to play; Don’t Spill the Beans, Don’t Break the Ice, the Telephone Game, Lincoln logs, patty cake, each of these games has a science behind it. Each of these games are wonderful science games or toys for the pre K school age group.

Another popular toy is the Block N Roll, which is a construction block system with hundreds of possibilities, such as building a space ship that a child can sit in, to constructing the tallest tower that they have ever seen. There are also “board games” that teach science are fun for the family, such as Aggravation or Chinese Checkers.

Children are by nature curious as they feel out the world, trying to makes sense of what is around them. Science feeds that curiosity hunger that they have. It is a hunger that needs to be encouraged and satisfied the best that it can be. Finding these toys is not as hard as one would think. To make sure that you get good quality toys, visit science toy shops online. These are the best places to find unique science toys such as 3-D space projectors, or Hydro Greenhouses.

Help your children appreciate the world around them with understanding the world around them. This way, they understand how we are all linked together. Children will not only question the world, but be able to come up with answers to those questions on their own. Science is life. 
By: Barry Chickini

 Article from: eslteachersboard.com

From Fast food to Family Style

Image from culinarymenus.com
"The human mind treats a new idea the same way the body treats a strange protein; it rejects it."

-PB Medawar

Throughout my years of running an after-school program for 70 children, there were many things that we did just because "that was the way it had always been done."
As I began the self study process of working towards NAA accreditation, I realized that what may have seemed to be the easiest way of doing something was not necessarily in the best interest of the children.

Case in point was snack time.

When I took over as director, the snack routine was already in place. All children would check in, wash their hands and line up to walk beside a long table that had snacks sitting in coffee filters followed by juice already poured into cups.  They would then have to walk back to their assigned tables which were by grade. (Yes, we had lots of spills! What were we thinking?)

As I began to understand the NAA standards, I realized that we were not giving the children any choices (first of when to eat and then what to eat). It was a time for change.

As anyone in the position of management has experienced, change can be difficult. In this case, it was most difficult for the staff. My desire to upgrade our standards was met with much opposition.

I wanted to serve snack family style. 

The tables were covered with tablecloths and adorned with center pieces. 

Children passed snack to one another, served themselves using tongs or plastic gloves and yes, poured their own drinks. It would be a time to enjoy each others company, socialize, eat and reinforce table manners.

My staff said:

"But if we do it that way, there will be a mess to clean up."
"There will be a lot of waste."
"It will take longer."

My reply was that the children will learn responsibility and would be empowered to decide when they were hungry.  The children would also learn to clean up their messes and spills (with assistance from staff).  I also realized that during school time,  the younger children were eating lunch 11:00 a.m. and the older children were eating at 2:00 p.m..  Needless to say, the younger ones were famished by the time they arrived at 3:30, while the older ones did not want a snack until 4:30.  In serving snack the old way, we were not meeting their needs by forcing everyone to eat right when they arrived all at the same time.

Eventually we succeeded in making the transition and it is one of the changes that I am most proud of.  I found that snack time became a time for building relationships (not only between children but between children and staff).  Sitting with the children while they snacked soon became my favorite time of day!

Just the other day I spoke at a professional development session and one of the SAC practitioners shared a great idea.  

Their program (Child Development Center, Inc. in Franklin,PA) uses a syrup dispenser for the young children to pour their juice. It is much smaller and the children are able to control it better than a regular pitcher. 

What a great idea! All I can say is we learn something new everyday.

by Suzanne Ashman

Question of the Day: How much is too much?

Question:

I like your idea of serving children family style but how do we regulate the amount of food children help themselves to so that the children do not over-eat and the snack budget remains intact?

The Chefs say:

What worked for our program as we made the switch to family style was to:

mount labels on menu holders placed in front of each serving dish.

each label had the amount or portion each child is alloted to take.

For the non-reading children, we drew the serving size amount.

(for example: 3 slices of pears, 2 cookies, 8 spoons of yoghurt etc)

For added information on family style dining with school-age care, click here.

Tips: Healthy Snack Ideas for School-Aged Children

image from provoprimaryblog.com

Salad with bread and butter

English muffin pizzas

Salsa and chips

Flatbread sandwiches

PB & J sandwiches

Cereal, milk and bananas

Fruit, graham crackers and yogurt dip

Homemade vegetable soup (cooking project from previous day)

Trail mix (popcorn, pretzels, chocolate chips or M&Ms, goldfish, cereal (chex or cheerios))

Pita bread with hummus

Cheese and crackers

Fresh vegetables and dip

Granola bars and yogurt

Activity Idea: Mummy Pizzas

(image and recipe from familyfun.com)
Disguises aren't just for Halloween. Children enjoy making these dressed-up, spooky-looking snacks any time of year just as much as they enjoy eating it. 

Children spoon the pizza sauce on the English muffin and make the mummy face with the cheese and vegetables.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
English muffins
Pizza sauce
Black olives
Scallions
Red or green pepper
Cheese sticks or slices

1. Heat the oven to 350° F. For each mummy, spread a tablespoon of pizza sauce onto half of an English muffin
(toast it first, if you like).

2. Set olive slices in place for eyes and add round slices of green onion or bits of red or green pepper for pupils.

3. Lay strips of cheese (we used a pulled-apart cheese stick) across the muffin for the mummy's wrappings.

4. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the muffin is toasty.