Today was Father’s Day. First thing in the morning, the kids presented Abel with his Father’s Day shirt- a cool blue checked, non-creaseable shirt- and a card that had their handprints speckled all over it. Abel, pleased as punch, was overwhelmed with joy and croaked, in his not-yet-awake voice, “Thank you kids.” I, being the [...]
Archive > June 2007
Exploring pond life
You could bring your binoculars and magnifying glass when you go to the pond. It’s a good place to look for birds like herons or ducks, and insects such as water-skiers and dragonflies. You could also ask your kids to be silent ( if that’s at all possible!) and ask them what kinds of of sounds they can hear. Better still bring a recorder to record the sounds. Can you guess what made each of the sounds? You could also look for animal footprints and try to identify them. Where is each one leading [...]
Of rocks and gardens
I lived in a large semi-detached house with a sprawling garden when I was growing up. My mother grew palms, a Christmas tree, dahlias and orchids in our front garden. In our back garden, she grew fruit trees- a mango tree , a papaya tree and a longan tree whose branches twisted and turned like some ornate bejewelled crown. From the piano bench where I would play for hours tunes from [...]
New beginnings…and saplings
When we moved into our new house, one of the first things we did was to grow plants. This may seem like an odd thing to prioritize since there were the umpteen boxes to be unpacked, calls to neighbours to be made and rooms to be cleaned and recleaned. Yet, what better event to mark [...]
Using a field guide
A field guide is a book which contains pictures and information about the behavioral patterns of animals. It’s useful after a walk where you could look up the various animals or plants or even clouds, that you saw. If you are doing a series of walks, it makes sense to make a nature notebook to record your observations then compare them with the guide afterwards. To help you look up the animals/plants in your guide, you could ask yourself these questions: - Where did you see this animal? Was it in the water, in a hole in the ground or up a tree? -How did the animal move? Was it moving? -Was it alone or was it with a group of other animals ? -When did you see the animal? Was it in the early hours of the morming or at night? -Did it see you? How did it behave ? Did it stay still or run away? -Was there anything about the animal’s body that fascinated you?
Look, listen and be merry!
I can’t overestimate the importance of observation in learning science. Observing is more than just looking. You can help your child to become a good observer by using your senses when exploring the world around you: Look, feel, touch, listen, smell and taste ( if possible) . When Joy and I go for walks, we [...]
