Taking Collections One Step Further

Does your family have special collections? Maybe they collect tools, spare change, stamps, ornaments, seashells, or photos.  Young children also are drawn to collecting things. These collections can help them prepare for reading, math, and science.

Sharing Treasures

  Gather the collection together. Spread them out.  Perhaps it’s a group of stuffed animals they line up by color, count, and name.  It may be toy cars, dolls, toy figures, books, or interesting stones. Collections need a special box, bag, or place to be together, so they are easily accessible for little hands to manage and handle.  

  A collection can help children find what objects have in common and how they are different. Children need this skill to look at words and numbers very carefully. Talk about which ones are big, small, a certain color, rough or smooth. Which ones are favorites? Why? Which ones go together? Why? Collections lend themselves to patterning.  Can you make two red cars and then a blue one pattern from a pile of cars? This is fun with money, blocks, and beads too. 

Grands’ Treasures

   With help, children may enjoy interviewing older people to find out about their collections. Help them to ask questions.” What is the collection? Why do you collect? May we see your collection?” 

   Help children by printing out simple sentences (one per page) for them to “read” based on the interviews. They may use pictures and memory or really read the words. Children can draw a picture for each sentence and make a little collections book.  For example: “Grandpa has a collection of tools. This is a hammer. This is a saw. Mom has a collection of flower photos. This is a yellow sunflower. This is a red rose.” Children can dictate a sentence for you to print about their own collection. Make a cover with a title, children’s names, and staple together.

Characteristics

    Learning how to group things together, patterning and counting is important early math, and science skills. Talking together with adults about the properties of items and explaining why they like certain things builds language development and self confidence. Children will be expanding their speech and social skills by finding out about the collections of others.   Helping children read simple sentences made for them and drawing corresponding pictures will help build early reading, writing, and math skills.  If children go to preschool or early elementary grades, they can share the pictures or the collections book. They may be able to bring part of a collection for “Show and Tell” on Face time or Zoom. 

More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest
Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos

Rocks are Cheap yet Priceless

Here Are 10 Things Families Can Do With ROCKS!

 What are ten things a family can do with rocks after children no longer put things in their mouth? Top of the list children love to throw and skip stones in the water. Help them look for thin flat rocks and show them how to flick their wrists to have rocks hit the water on the flat side. Kids and adults can pick a target to hit like another big rock or a spot a reasonable distance away so everyone can participate.

 Children like to make messages shapes like hearts, circles, squares and triangles with rocks.  They also like to draw with rocks and soon find rocks that are soft like sandstone and hard like granite.  Point out that it is important not to deface public places.

Making Cairns

  Making rock piles that balance called cairns teach engineering. Scouts and many cultures use certain rock piles for warnings and trail markings. The Inuit and others make them to symbolize protection, memorials, holy messages, and directions. How high can the cairn get? How can the rocks be piled large to small, small to large, or mixed up? Can they make a little bridge or window? Cairns can decorate gardens and shorelines. They can say “I was here.”  Will they be here when I return? Children can paint cairns and adults can varnish them to stay shiny in gardens.

 What lives under rocks?  Land or water, there are surprises underneath, lessons  about nature and reasons we should not be afraid, only curious.

Decorate, Collect, Skip & Throw, Research...a few things.

Comfort Rocks

  Children can decorate pet rocks with wiggly eyes. They can make rock families and animals by painting and gluing rocks together. Sometimes rocks are just for looking at, touching, putting under your pillow, keeping in your pocket or surprising Mom when she does the wash. Children have treasures and they like to talk about them. They also like to make rock collections of beauties to keep. They can keep cheap souvenirs of places the family visits.

 Rocks are fun to photograph whether the kids have climbed a rock for a better view or used them to step across a stream on hot day with a little helping hand. If they catch the sun just right in clear water rocks look beautiful and shiny.  Coat with Modge Podge or spray with clear acrylic to retain the shine.

  There are many library books and sites about rock basics to learn about the three types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.

 Museums have rock collections and books to identify local rocks. Young children may be most interested in color, shine, and the texture of rocks. Collections could be organized by those categories and reorganized as they grow older. For more see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/ Learning Through the Seasons live and podcasts.

Finding Symmetry in Nature

Symmetry Is All Around Us

Symmetry is all around us in summertime. Children are fascinated with insects, flowers and other natural objects that are symmetrical.  This is an opportunity to talk about some math concepts and make beautiful symmetrical objects in nature.

  There are two main types of symmetry: rotational and reflection. When children point the top or bottom of pine cones at their nose they can see that both sides of the swirl or rotation are the same.  If children look at a butterfly and cover one half going north and south, they will see both sides are the same (reflection). If they place a little mirror down the center (going north and south) they will see the reflection is exactly like the other half.

Collect Nature

  When families go on car trips or hikes they can collect symmetrical clam shells, leaves, flowers, rocks, insects, or take close up pictures of them.

Two Main Types of Symmetry

Point out to children that their bodies and shadows are symmetrical, too. Is their house symmetrical? Look at family pets. When they are observed at certain angles are they symmetrical? 

 This easy art project is another way to play with symmetry. Gather some drinking straws to use as eye droppers for colors of poster paint, markers, sheets of paper, small stones, or art jewels.

  Help children fold a paper in half either the long way or short way. Open the paper and drop several colors of paint from the straw “eye droppers” onto one half of the paper next to the fold line. Children can now fold the paper over the paint. Rub gently over the paper to blend the colors. Open the paper and talk about the “blobby” shape that has appeared. Point out that what is on one side of the fold is also on the other side of the fold. Look for the symmetry.

Symmetry Search

  While the paint is drying, search for symmetry in leaves, flowers, pine cones, insects, and other objects in your own back yard. Children often enjoy taking 

 Close-Ups of Insects on Flowers

close up pictures of colorful insects on bright flowers that are also symmetrical. Use a magnifying glass and study some insects or spiders you find. Talk about what makes them spiders and insects the same and different.

  Once the paint is dry children can use markers to add antennae, wings, eyes and legs. To make the new insect even more beautiful children may want glue on craft jewels. They can name the new insect and put it on display.

  Some books about symmetry include: “What is Symmetry in Nature?” by Bobbie Kalman and “Is it Symmetrical?” by Nancy Allen. 

Photos: Fran Darling - fdarling fotos

  For more science and math STEM adventures go to -  grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons live Tuesdays at 4:30pm and Saturdays at 8:30 am and pod casts archived on the site.