Think!: I am very busy

Guest Post

Engineer Your Kids to Take an Interest In Engineering

Engineering degrees today don’t hold as much fascination as they did a few decades ago, mainly because of the number of colleges that are offering them in every discipline possible. We have hundreds of thousands of engineers graduating every year, and perhaps the saturation has dimmed the initial appeal.

But no matter the fading general interest, engineering is always an interesting subject, especially when we look at it the practical way. Instead of waiting till college to learn this fascinating science and explore its complicated principles and tenets, you can start early by encouraging your kids to take an interest in engineering right from childhood. If you’re wondering how to achieve this, read on:

Don’t force them to conform to rules: There are a few people I know who are extremely creative – they can take any form of waste and make it into a wonderful work of art. They’re also interested in taking things apart and seeing how they work. They also try to put them back together again, and this is how they learn to make stuff on their own. But when parents are dead against them breaking their toys and experimenting with stuff, their enthusiasm begins to wane, and they lose interest in exploring the possibilities. If you’re worried about the kids hurting themselves, sit with them, or if they’re old enough to understand, teach them how to stay safe.
Broaden their horizons: Take them to places where their interest in the subject is allowed to grow and flourish. Museums and science exhibitions help to incite their curiosity and get them to ask questions. Be prepared with the answers or direct them to sources where they can satisfy their curiosities. The key to helping them to sustain their interest is to be patient with their incessant questions and allow them room to grow intellectually.
Expose them to creativity: There are various home projects and design competitions that test the mettle of interested and aspiring students and allow them to give vent to their creativity and instinct. The more they see and explore, the more they are able to do things on their own.

Kids who show an interest in the practical aspects of engineering at a young age are bound to be good with their minds and hands, a combination that is a surefire recipe for success.

By-line:

This article is written by Kat Sanders, who regularly blogs on the topic of online engineering degree at her blog The Engineering A Better World Blog. She welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: katsanders25@gmail.com.

Blog Description

Weekly challenges will be posted on Saturday or Sunday. Participants in the weekly challenges should send photos to me by Saturday at noon to the following email: kidthinkers@gmail.com . Each week, I'll post the photos from all participants (sometimes on Saturday, sometimes as they roll in).

Join us. Have Fun. Think!

And, if you want your blog linked here, just send your blog address with your submission to the above email and I'll add it to the list.

I'll try to have one giveaway each month to a randomly selected participant.

Hints for Parents/Teachers

I would encourage you to let the children solve the problems offered here on their own. In the process of experimenting and failing, they will learn. If they are getting extremely frustrated, I would suggest that you ask questions to help direct their solution. Questions about how different materials can be used (what can you do with a toothpick? a nail? a straw?) are sometimes helpful. It is also helpful to make kids think about why something isn't working (why don't the wheels roll?, how is a car made?, how does a bike work?, what is making the bridge collapse?).

Sometimes, it is better to walk away from a project and come back later. Tell them that this is what engineers and scientists do.

Most of all, encourage your students to think outside of the box. If the project says use tape and they want to use duct tape, good for them. If the project says use toothpicks and they want to break the toothpicks, good for them. If they chew the gum and then use it, great!

When they do something that stands out as different and creative, praise them! They will begin to think more and more creatively as time goes on!

And, don't ever let them see other people's solutions before they start as it completely stifles individual creativity.

If you want more ideas, please don't hesitate to drop me an email at kidthinkers@gmail.com. I'll do my best to help.

Ongoing Challenges

The following challenges are ongoing. You may participate at any time. Just send us your pics and results and we'll post them! These challenges will take more time than those on the left but they are a lot of fun!
Ongoing Challenge One: Build a cardboard boat out of duct tape and cardboard. Take it out in a pool or lake and test it! Or, better yet, enter a cardboard boat contest.
Ongoing Challenge Two: Build a car from pvc pipe and duct tape. Each vehicle must have 2-4 wheels. It must support a driver who will be pushed around a race track. Race it!
Ongoing Challenge Three: Make an article of clothing out of plastic bags (you may use other materials as well, but plastic bags must be the primary material). Then, send us a picture of someone wearing it.
Ongoing Challenge Four: Make a hayman out of sticks and hay (plus anything else you might need to hold it together). We borrowed this idea from Wayzley Academy .
Ongoing Challenge Five: Get a pumpkin eight inches in diameter or larger (not a Cinderella pumpkin or a gourd). Without altering the inside of the pumpkin (no freezing, adding chemicals, etc.), develop a package for the pumpkin that will protect it when dropped from 20 feet to the ground. The pumpkin must free fall to the ground. No styrofoam peanuts or non-biodegradable packaging and no bungee cords. Bubble wrap is acceptable. No electrical sources are allowed. Test your protective structure and send us the pictures. Or, host a contest!
Ongoing Challenge Six: Save all of your packaging materials during the Holidays and make a robot with packaging materials and glue (any kind). Send in your pics!
Ongoing Challenge Seven: Build a marble rollercoaster that has at least one hill and one loop. Primary construction material should be wood, (popsicle sticks, balsa wood), string, twine, wire, plastic straws, toothpicks, wood shavings, dowels, cardboard, construction
paper, glue gun, PVC piping, orr rubber tubing. Don't forget to send pictures. To learn more about roller coasters, check out this site.
Ongoing Challenge Eight: Build a solar oven using a pizza box, black paper and aluminum foil. Try to bake cookies in the sun. Let us know your results.
Ongoing Challenge Nine: Create some unexpected art. Read about unlikely pairs here. And, there create your own unlikely pair.

I Got An Award

Gerky at Homefront Lines gave me an award!

I am honored!Many thanks!
There are rules...

*List 6 things that make you happy.
*Pass the award on to 5 other bloggers
*Link back to the person who gave you the award.
*Link to the people you are passing it on to and leave them a comment to let them know.

Here it goes...6 things that make me happy:

Water -- fresh, ocean, pool. I love the sound of water -- raindrops, waterfalls, waves lapping at the sandy beach, splashes in the pool. I love the feel of water. I love the peacefulness of water.
Traveling with my family -- anywhere, anytime. My travel wish list is 200 places long.
Reading -- I have read 4 books in the past week and have enjoyed every one of them.
Creating -- anything. I love to paint and write. I love to teach and plan.
Gluten free brownies. I recently discovered that I cannot have any gluten and I crave it. Brownies from Cherrybrook Kitchen are the only gluten free dessert that tastes like the real thing.
Doing nice things for people I don't really know -- like teaching swimming lessons to a very shy college student who is very afraid of the water.

Of course I read all of the blogs linked here (and love them:))but if I have to tag only five, I'll choose the ones that are most relevant to our home education. The five blogs I tag:

1. Toad Haven -- I have appreciated the gluten free diet links but have also enjoyed the rest of the site.
2. Lapaz Home Learning -- I like the thoughtfulness of this blog and the many many ideas.
3. Socks and Books -- I like the pictures and information about places that are faraway from our home but very very interesting.
4. Julie K in Taiwan -- Again it is fun to learn from pictures from a faraway place.
5. 52 books in 52 weeks -- We love to read and this has been a great resource for us!

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Giggles, Grins, and Grades, so here it goes:

First, the rules..... Link to the person who tagged you. Post the rules on your blog. Write six random things about yourself. Tag six people at the end of your post. Let each person know he or she has been tagged. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

About Me:

My favorite food is pumpkin pie. I eat 3 pieces for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving.

I used to sky dive but haven't gone since I got married. It is the most peaceful thing I have ever done.

I am a thyroid cancer survivor.

I would like to start my own school some day.

I love to swim but I hate to snorkel (I'm actually afraid of it!).

I have two dream vacations: 1) I want to see humpback whales breach, 2) I want to see the polar bears in their natural habitat before they disappear.

I'm not tagging anyone but would love it if you kept the meme going on your blog!

Another Award!

Many thanks to Rosina at Rosy-Posy who nominated me for the Lemonade Award.

Thanks so much for nominating me!

Here are the rules:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 5 - 10 blogs that show great Gratitude and/or Attitude.
3. Be sure to list and link your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they have received this award by leaving a comment on their blog.
5. Link to the post where you were nominated

This time I picked other weekly challenges for which we are grateful. Check them out:

1. 2 things
2. 100 Word Stories
3. Watercolor Wednesdays
4. My Artistic Life
5. Sketch Tuesday

I am Honored

Dana at School for Us just awarded me an IEMommy Blogger Award. Many THANKS!

"This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his/her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary and personal values every day.”

So now the rules state that I should share the award with fifteen other WONDERFUL BLOGGERS out there! So, here's my list of 15 of SOME of my favorite blogs that don't think I've recognized before - some I've been reading for years and others I've only found recently. Hopefully, you will visit some of these blogs and you might find some new favorites, too!

1. Homeshooling Fun

2. It's a Boys Life

3. Life at the Leingangs'

4. Poohsticks

5. Journey Into Unschooling

6. Living and Learning Now

7. Canterbury Academy

8. Walking by the Way

9. Digital Structures

10.Cool Cat Teacher

11. Speaking of History

12. Ed Tech

13. Yes Tech

14. Bravewriter

15. Unplug your kids

School Districts That Promote Our Site

We are pleased that a Rochester New York School District (Spencerport Central School District - Taylor Elementary School) and a Florida School District (Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources System) are promoting some creative thinking by including links to our site. Clickschooling isn't really a district per se but it is relied upon heavily by homeschoolers. They have recently featured this site as well. And, if you are teacher looking for lesson plans, we are happy to report that we are also featured onthe lesson plan page of Craft Gossip.Com.

Think!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

I am very busy

1 comments:

A Great 10 minute video on Civil Engineering

Guest Post

Advertise Think! by Posting this Pic on Your Blog

Follow Me on Twitter

Subscribe via email

Blog Description

Fun Ways to Teach

Engineering Games

Engineering Resources

Books You Might Like (some children, some adult)

Contests.

Hints for Parents/Teachers

Ongoing Challenges

Featured On

I Got An Award

Tagged!

Another Award!

I am Honored

Other Weekly Challenges for Kids/Parents

Participants

More Participants

Great Solutions

School Districts That Promote Our Site

Topics

Blog Archive

Think!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

I am very busy

1 comments:

A Great 10 minute video on Civil Engineering

Guest Post

Advertise Think! by Posting this Pic on Your Blog

Follow Me on Twitter

Subscribe To

Subscribe via email

Blog Description

Fun Ways to Teach

Engineering Games

Engineering Resources

Books You Might Like (some children, some adult)

Contests.

Hints for Parents/Teachers

Ongoing Challenges

Featured On

I Got An Award

Tagged!

Another Award!

I am Honored

Other Weekly Challenges for Kids/Parents

Participants

More Participants

Great Solutions

School Districts That Promote Our Site

Topics

Blog Archive