Education | Page 15 of 39

Celebrate #NationalSTEMDay with a free STEM book by Geoffrey Cook

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.

To receive a free copy of Veronica and the Volcano just follow this link. The first 7 people to go to the link will receive it free from Amazon.

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?

The Drive to Learn, what the East Asian Experience can teach students

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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.

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Pedal Power, the untold story of how bikes, cars and cities got along

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.

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Catch the Summer of Mars with NASA through September 4

Mars is more than a red planet that inspired bad movies in the early 2000’s. Mars is the red planet that NASA will visit within this generation and the astronauts that will be part of that mission are already born. To our 7 and 5 year old that doesn’t mean too much, but to adults who can fathom how large a feat this really is it’s mind boggling. This is the Summer of Mars and NASA is rolling out the red carpet for its Mars Rover Concept Vehicle.

The Mars Rover Concept Vehicle is touring the east coast and is appearing at Suntrust Park in Atlanta July 14-16, National Air & Space Museum in Washington D.C. July 21-22, Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ July 29-30, Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York August 3-6 and at North Point Mall in Alpharetta, GA on August 12.

It’s important to point out that the Mars Rover Concept Vehicle is a concept. This is not the actually vehicle that’ll be rolling on big red looking for Marvin or manhunters. However, the vehicle is the real deal in that it’s big, life size and has some of the working conditions that astronauts will encounter up there. It also looks a lot like the Batmobile and somewhere Christopher Nolan’s Mars parents are smiling at their most famous progeny.

It’s also beautiful. The tires look like something a child would play with. They’re airless, metal creations that can fold inward, but are also strong enough to climb over rocks with enough traction to power through Mars sand fields.

The interior is part tank, hybrid car and DeLorean. Its seats are surprisingly comfortable and are compromised of a series of rolls. The interior dash is sleek and makes great use of space. There really is a gear shift too and it steers like a normal vehicle. However, its top speed is six miles an hour, so don’t any mental images of doing doughnuts. This vehicle is all science, packaged in just enough pop culture to make children dream about going to Mars.

I was slightly more excited about seeing it than our children. But once they actually saw it, they got it and you could see their eyes spin with wonder and curiosity. Do you have a great name for the Mars Rover Concept Vehicle? They’re having a contest on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to #NameTheRover. The contest runs through August 6 so use the hashtag, keep it family friendly and get creative.

After the vehicle’s tour it’ll go back to Kennedy Space Center where visitors can experience all sorts of outer space adventures. In speaking with the representative from there our kids seemed most curious about the Rocket Garden. It’s two words that normally wouldn’t create a compound word in definition, but in this case they do and that’s part of the wonder of space travel.

Mad Scientist Academy- smart, fun reading kids 9 and under will want to do

One of the great aspects of having multiple children is seeing the next projects that their favorite authors produce. When our 7 year old was 3, Even Aliens Need Snacks was one of his favorite books. That book was the sequel to the very popular Even Aliens Need Haircuts by Matthew McElligott. His new series of books is called the Mad Scientist Academy and is just as great as ‘snacks’, but completely different and aimed at slightly older children. The most recent book, The Weather Disaster is as educational as it is fun to read, which is something that a children’s books can rarely accomplish.

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Dash is a front row seat to watching your kids learn STEM-and love it

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free. STEM is where it’s at. Parents with kids in elementary through middle school have been hammered with the memo that any aspect of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) will be a huge part of their life and success. To that end, Dash is here to help children aged 6 and up become excited about technology and coding to a level that makes it one of the best children’s computer products we’ve ever seen.

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National Geographic Kids sets their 10th Guinness World Record

This is a sponsored post-all thoughts are our own. Do you remember all of those toilet paper rolls that were sent to the offices of National Geographic Kids in the spring? The rolls have been tallied, glued and taped to create the World’s Largest Toilet Paper Roll Sculpture. It’s in the shape of a rocket and was put together in Washington D.C. at the offices of National Geographic Kids.

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Wordplay, a toon book is new reader creativity and fun

From the moment you look at Wordplay you know that it’s different. Its landscape format makes the book stand out because it doesn’t look like many books you see. Then you open up Wordplay by Ivan Brunetti and its graphics inside stand out also. It’s trippy and fun, think of a brand new reader’s book for compound words, but presented with a twist of Alice in Wonderland and you get a feel for Wordplay.

Kindergarten through first graders might not be studying what a compound word is in a grammatical sense. However, they do know several compound words, two separate words that combine to form something new and fantastic. From a tool or DIY perspective, they’re the hammer drill of the English language.

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