Exciting School Playgrounds
Posted June 10, 2016
on:Children already find school really exciting, what with imaginative play, spending time with your friends, practising kissing and of course school playground equipment. After a hard morning doing maths and English, being able to play on school playground equipment is a welcome break. School playground equipment has a duel purpose in the playground and the variety of pieces available reflects this. School playground equipment can be used to support the curriculum and as entertainment during playtimes.
Music
Children can have music lessons outside with a number of outdoor musical instruments that are both robust and produce pretty good sounds. Teachers can feel relieved that they don’t have to control the infernal noise generated by music lessons and can have a natural stance to the lessons. During playtime, children can practice what they have learnt during lessons because the instruments are easily accessible. Schools can purchase outdoor musical instruments as a group or individual pieces. If the instruments are dotted around the playground children will, ‘discover’, them at playtime and create music of their own. If the instruments are installed near to each other, they are perfect for having a summer music lessons. Generally choices are made according to space available and the size of the school budget.
Environmental
Teaching children about the environment can often be an abstract affair which can make it difficult to comprehend. Playground companies have recognised this and developed ranges of planters, compost makers, bird feeders and bug hotels. Children will be able to plant and nurture seeds while watching them grow every time they go out at playtime. They will be able to observe birds and see how garden waste is recycled to make food for new plants. This type of playground equipment is really useful if the school is in an urban area and there isn’t much greenery in the playground. Also the raised beds mean that they are not prone to having too many unwanted visitors.
Story Telling
Children actually like telling stories, they may not be as keen writing them down but the fact that they love the sound of their own voice means that they love to share stories. Many schools have story telling corners which are centred around a storytelling chair. Children can either listen to stories being told to them or they could take it in turns to share stories with the class. The teacher can guide the children so that they are not so long winded. Eventually children will start incorporating their story telling skills in their writing.
Balance And Coordination
Using climbing walls and climbing frames teaches children an awful lot about how their body works. Children see their friends scaling the playground equipment and set themselves goals to be as good as their friends. In the past climbing frames in school playgrounds were quite terrifying but now they are accessible for all children to enjoy. Just negotiating different equipment allows children to explore their limits and train their body’s so that they can achieve their personal goal.
Next time you are waiting for your children at the end of the day – have a sneaky peak at the school playground equipment – you will wish that your school playground was just as exciting.
5 Cool Science Experiments For Kids
Posted May 3, 2016
on:- In: Education | Parenting | Projects | Technology
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Science is exciting, particularly when you can do it at home and make a big mess in the garden. Some science experiments are so cool that even big kids like to have a go – you know on, ‘Wine Friday’, when you are being a rebel. Science experiments don’t have to involve expensive kits with copper sulphate in them to be great fun. Kitchen cupboards and the corner shop provide the best ingredients for impromptu science afternoons.
The following five experiments are categorized into items used and different scientific concepts.
Vinegar And Bicarbonate Of Soda
These two ingredients can kick up a real stink when used in experiments, this is why it is advisable to set up a table in the garden and do it there. These two experiments are really smelly but you will love them.
Bouncy Egg
You Need: Vinegar, uncooked egg in shell, a jar and a peg for your nose.
What to do: (This takes a bit of time so you could start it at the beginning of the afternoon)
- Half fill a glass of jar with vinegar.
- Put a raw egg in the vinegar.
- Leave for two days.
- Place egg in water and remove shell.
- Feel how bouncy it is and shine a light through it.
- Put on plate and cut egg to reveal yoke still intact.
If you haven’t got time to do this experiment – this video shows you what happens.
This happens because the egg is made up of calcium carbonate and the vinegar is acetic acid. The acetic acid takes away all of the calcium leaving the egg soft.
What do you think will happen if you leave the egg on a plate for a day or two?
Inflating A Balloon Without Any Puff
You Need: Bicarbonate Of Soda, Vinegar, Balloon
What to do:
- Pour the vinegar into a bottle.
- Use a funnel to put some bicarbonate of soda into a balloon (That you have stretched a lot).
- Put the balloon on the bottle neck – making sure it is firmly on.
- Watch the balloon inflate.
Again watch this video to see what happens :-
This happens because the acetic acid in the vinegar reacts with the bicarbonate of soda and causes an effervescent chemical reaction.
What do you think will happen if you use more bicarbonate of soda?
Diet Coke, Mentos and Eggs
Experiments using these three ingredients cause excitement or are used as a warning about drinking Diet Coke in moderation.
Mentos And Diet
You Need: Lots of packets of Mentos, Diet Coke (still in its bottle) and goggles.
What To Do:-
- Supervise all children (and silly adults)
- Simply unscrew the lid off the Diet Coke
- Put Mentos into bottle
- Stand well back and wear swimming goggles
If you are too scared to do the experiment this video will give you a clue as to what happens:-
What is the minimum number of Mentos you need to make the fountain come out?
Egg In Diet Coke
You Need: 365 days, a jug you are not going to use for a year, a boiled egg and Diet Coke.
What To Do:-
- Boil an egg
- Fill jug with Diet Coke
- Put Egg In Jug
- Programme alarm in your phone for a years time
- Go and enjoy yourself
- Come back in a year and if it hasn’t been thrown away rince egg and see what has happened.
The egg shell is made from calcium – remember your teeth are made from calcium.
If you can’t be bothered to wait a year here is a time lapsed version of the experiment:-
Does Lemonade cause the same thing to happen?
Hydraulic Systems
A hydraulic system is used to increase or decreasing the force of a push by using different sized hydraulic cylinders. Hydraulic systems are used all around us. A good example is a brake in a car – you only put a small amount of pressure on the brake peddle but a lot more is used to make the car stop.
Children will have probably made a simple hydraulic system at school using syringes, tubing and water. Here is a video showing a girl using a hydraulic system to make a lift.
What other kinds of objects can you move using a hydraulic system?
You can find many more great ideas on the internet for wild experiments. Children please make sure that you are supervised by a responsible adult to avoid getting hurt.
Our world is precious and provides us with everything we need to live a healthy life. Sadly we often reward it with total disrespect which damages ecosystems and the landscape. Unless we start changing our attitude to nature, and set our children a good example, the earth is going to start looking like a dystopian movie set. We all know that children learn through play and that the early years is when they are most open to learning habits that will grow with them.
When children are taught about the environment they don’t need to be bombarded with statistics about how much plastic is choking the earth and how the rain forests are being obliterated to make way for burgers. Initially all they need to know is how to care for the world around them. A child’s world is their garden, the school, playground and where ever they are at the time. We know that they are in love with nature because walks with a toddler requires collecting treasures such as; sticks, stones and feathers. At that age you can spend a fortune to go into a theme park and they will enjoy the puddles more than anything else.
A love of nature can be nurtured by going for walks, looking at plants, birds and keeping quiet in order to spot a bunny rabbit. The way we, as parents and carers, react to; rainbows, icicles, frogspawn, birds and clouds helps children to see the beauty around them. If children see the world as beautiful, they are less likely to disrespect it as they get older. By planting and nurturing seeds children can see the effort nature has to go to in order to grow. If children know the best conditions in which to grow plants they are more likely to support measures to ensure that the health of the environment will allow this to happen.
Schools teach children about how plants grow and are increasingly setting up gardening clubs or investing in school playground planters gives children ownership of plants. School playground planters can also allows schools to teach children about how plants decompose. The Better Health Channel has written an article about the benefits of gardening for children