Daddy Mojo used to teach. Being an ex educator he’s interested in many things about education, such as teaching policies, best practices and bureaucracy.
March Madness is almost over. It’s almost over for the basketball games. For the microbes that exist around us, try to make us sick or are otherwise disgusting it’s just another day. Giant Microbes is having their own Final 4 that puts bad against worse in a fun, educational and health conscious way for any age to learn.
Continue reading March Madness will end, Giant Microbes do not
When I was a kid I loved reading books like this. Now that I’m an adult I still enjoy reading books like They Lost Their Head, What Happened to Washington’s Teeth, Einstein’s Brain and other Famous Body Parts. Author Carlyn Beccia blends a surprising amount of wit and humor into a book that alternately entertains and educates at every turn. It does this all while respecting, as much as one can, the fact that every story in the book revolves around someone’s death.
Continue reading They Lost Their Heads, middle school non-fiction fun with humor
“Those books bring back lots of memories”, said the man in his late 80’s, as he looked over at me. He saw the title, Quantum Physics and proceeded to tell me how he graduated from Georgia Tech and used physics in his daily work before he retired. I politely told him that this was a physics book, but its title is Quantum Physics for Babies. In his defense, he was sitting about eight feet away from me and the “for babies” part of the title is in smaller font.
Continue reading Quantum Physics for Babies, one of four simple STEM board books
Science Comics is a series of books from :01 First Second that have previously covered a wide range of topics including Coral Reefs, Bats and Volcanoes, just to name a few. The amazing thing that all of these books have in common is that they manage to make readers interested in things that we wouldn’t otherwise be interested in. They also manage to do it in a way that educates as much as they entertain. Science Comics, Dogs by Andy Hirsch, is another beautiful example in this series as we learn all about man’s best friend.
Continue reading Science Comics: Dogs, a smart, fun graphic novel for middle school and up
When I was a kid I wanted to be an architect. More precisely, my father wanted me to be an architect. I remember taking drawing classes and being semi-dedicated to it until I realized that math was required. Had I continued down that path Zaha Hadid is a name that I would’ve known and studied. She was an architect who designed some iconic, world famous buildings and blazed a trail while doing it. The World is Not a Rectangle, a Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid by Jenette Winter is about Zaha’s inspiration as a child, how they weaved themselves into her creations and the struggles she faced professionally.
Continue reading The World is Not a Rectangle, builds on a great life by Zaha hadid
With two kids in early elementary school we’re knee deep in teaching them about STEM. As a dad I do it because I know it’s the path to getting more out of their education. It allows them to use their intelligence to its greatest potential and is a set of skills that any kid can practice and improve upon. Veronica and the Volcano is a STEM based book that will appeal to girls who are aged 8-12. It’s the story of a young girl who lives on the side of a volcano, her quest for some rare pearls and the dangers they find along the way.
Her father and best friend also accompany Veronica on this quest which somewhat true to life. The story of the book started when author Geoffrey Cook was making up stories that he was telling his real-life daughter. His daughter loved the stories and he wanted to keep adding to them so he started writing them down. Veronica, the volcano and its cast of characters started to take shape.
National STEM Day is November 8. In reality any day can be STEM day for your kids. After school you can do simple experiments, watch a show that’ll encourage an aspect of it or do math lessons as you shop for groceries. How do you encourage STEM based thinking in your children?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
The Drive to Learn by Dr. Cornelius N. Grove is a book whose subtitle drives its topic. What the East Asian Experience Tells Us about Raising Students Who Excel is a subtitle that might intimidate those outside of academia, but don’t worry. When said together, The Drive to Learn, What the East Asian Experience Tells Us about Raising Students Who Excel, lets readers know that the book is going to paints a full picture as to why the reality of the smart Asian student exists.
I was tempted to type in ‘stereotype’ instead of ‘reality’ in that prior sentence. However, by any measure, students outside of East Asia retain less knowledge and score lower on tests across the board then children anywhere else.
Continue reading The Drive to Learn, what the East Asian Experience can teach students
Name a city where bikes are the nom de transportation. Most of you probably said Amsterdam and it is, but it wasn’t always that way. Pedal Power by Allan Drummond is a book that any kid who is learning to ride their bicycle can identify with, but not in the way that you might think.
Rather, Pedal Power is the story of Maartje Rutten, a young mother living in Amsterdam in the 1970’s. She likes to ride her bike around town with her son in the baby seat, but it’s getting more dangerous. Some older buildings are being demolished to make way for new highways and just like any other metropolitan city traffic is getting worse. She wanted a more bike friendly environment that would accommodate all levels of cyclists, not just athletes.
Continue reading Pedal Power, the untold story of how bikes, cars and cities got along
Copy Protected by Chetan's WP-Copyprotect.
Facebook
Twitter
Flickr
GooglePlus
Youtube