SMMART Science:

Nighttime Nature Walk Bracelet

What brings more wonder and imagination than a nighttime stroll, hand in hand, with your child?  Now that the weather is warming up and spring is upon us, make a bonding memory with your child as you imagine your world during twilight.  If it's cool, bundle up.  Bring along a flashlight.  During warm summer nights, you can even pack an evening snack to share.  Spread out a blanket on the grass and enjoy a fun treat, lit by the beams of your flashlights.

Imagine yourselves as two fairies who are gathering accessories to adorn your fairy homes.  Perhaps you are night owls on the hunt for prey, finding bugs and vermin that come out at night.  Maybe you're just out on a nature walk together.  Observe the budding tulips...poke around your garden...gaze at the moon.  Gather your treasures on a Nature Walk Bracelet.

Tape a piece of duct tape, inside out, around your child's wrist.  As you find nature's little treasures, adhere them to the bracelet.  When you are finished with your evening adventure, cut the bracelet off your child's arm and set it aside until morning, when you can more closely observe the magical pieces you collected.

This will certainly be an adventure your child will remember with nostalgia as he grows.

SMMART GUEST BLOGGER:

Macaroni Kids Layton

Hey Utah mommas! If you are always looking for something to keep your kids happy and busy, check out Macaroni Kid Layton-Farmington!
We are 2 Utah moms and together we publish a free weekly eNewsletter where we promise to bring you a HUGE list of family friendly events happening in and around Davis County. Each week you will find fun crafts, activities, giveaways, product reviews, movies, book reviews and more for kids of all ages. We strive to find great toddler activities, elementary aged events, and tween\teen hangouts.

Now, go to Macaroni Kid and subscribe--Its Free!!!
We are a national website so subscribe where ever you live!!!
Here is an example of an educational article we send in our newsletter:

How to Try Until You Succeed

By Sherrie A. Madia, Ph.D.

Have you ever tried to do something only to find it was harder than you thought it would be? Learning something new—like riding a bike or working on a homework assignment—can sometimes seem impossible. It’s times like these when you might feel like just giving up. But if you put your mind to it, you can succeed at even the hardest task.

Here are four surefire ways to help you try until you succeed:

1. Ask for help. If you really get stuck trying something you haven’t done before, ask someone to help you. A parent, teacher, or older brother or sister is a great place to start. Even if you still don’t succeed right away, having someone there with you to think of ways to solve the problem can make trying easier. Remember: Everybody needs help sometimes, so never be afraid to ask.

2. Walk away … but then come back. If you are trying something new—like learning to skateboard or teaching your puppy to roll over—but find you are getting nowhere, take a break from what you are doing. Walk outside to get some fresh air, read a favorite book, or take a quick nap. Then, come back and try some more with a new outlook.

3. Think creatively. Write down the problem or task you are having a hard time succeeding at. Then, write down three things that could help you solve the problem. If these don’t work, go back and write three more. Repeat this until you succeed.

Example:

Problem: Learning the notes for piano

Things to Try:

1. Practice

2. Make up a song about each letter note

3. Ask Mom to quiz me

4. Don’t give up. It may seem as though the easiest thing to do is just give up. But giving up is no fun. The real fun comes from trying—and trying again until you succeed.

Don’t worry if it takes you longer than everybody else to succeed at something, and don’t worry if what you do isn’t perfect. The real success comes from not giving up. When you learn to throw a fastball or perform a pirouette, you will feel proud and happy, and with this great success, you’ll be ready to try again when the next hard task comes along because you will know you can do it!

Happy trying!

Sherrie A. Madia, Ph.D. is an educator, author, and communications coach. She is author of the children’s book Bumblelina (2010), the first in a series of books for preschoolers based on life lessons including friendship, sharing, respecting the environment, the importance of trying, and more. For more information, visit www.Bumblelina.com or www.SherrieMadia.com.

Check out http://Layton.MacaroniKid.com

SMMART SCIENCE:

Baby Chicks Hatching

Welcome SPRING!!!!!

Check out this intriguing video...your kids will adore watching these baby chicks come into the world.

http://www.msichicago.org/online-science/videos/video-detail/activities/the-hatchery/

SMMART TIME-OUT for Tidbits

Already plotting and planning your St. Patrick's Day morning?  This Shamrock egg-over-easy will be a hit!

Crack an egg inside a sliced green bell pepper ring. Cover on low heat until the yolk pinks over.

BTW, for another morning's breakfast, cook your egg-over-easy inside a fresh onion ring slice...very yummy!

SMMART MATH: SNOW GOO

What is white and used to build a snowman?

Snow...well, yes...but SNOW GOO is the correct answer!

Combine a little white glue and a lot of shaving cream-don't worry about exact measurements.  Let your child use a spoon as a paintbrush or his hands to smear it onto construction paper and create a snowman.  Talk about the shapes you are creating.  You can make a triangle snowman, square snowman or even just a traditional circle snowman (or snowgirl in our family).  You can use construction paper shapes for a hat, boots and scarf.

If your child is a bit older, let your child smear the snow goo onto a piece of construction paper and then use their finger to practice writing their numbers.

Let your snow goo snowgirl dry.  Observe the texture dry as compared to wet.

Winter fun without gettting cold.

(This activity was found on ProTeacher)

  SMMART SCIENCE:

ICE and SALT ACTIVITIES

Has your child noticed that sometimes there is salt sprinkled on the ground to melt the ice in the wintertime? Well, salt plays a magical role in these great learning activities.
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First, to establish a little background with your child, you might wish to set out two plates of crushed ice. Let your child sprinkle salt on one plate of ice and observe together which plate of ice melts first. Now your child will see that salt helps ice to melt.

This is because the sodium and chloride ions from the salt intermingle and dilute the water molecules. This makes it harder for the water molecules to join together to form ice crystals. Actually, it's still possible for the water molecules to form ice crystals, but now instead of freezing at 0°C, it's freezing point drops to below 0°C.

SMMART SCIENCE: MAGIC ICE

Now, for the activity, Fill a small glass with water and ice cubes. Give your child a piece of cotton string or yarn about a foot long. Let your child hold both sides of the string and rest the remaining middle part of the string on top of the icecubes. Take care to leave the ends of the string hanging over the edge of the glass.

Have your child count to 15. Now instruct her to take both ends of the string and pick it up, while lifting up a piece of ice with the string. The string is not attached to the ice and will not lift the ice.

Now, have your child lay the string back onto the ice with the ends of the string laying over the sides of the glass. Have your child sprinkle salt all along the string laying on the ice. Now count to 15 slowly.

Ask your child to pick up the ends of the string and try to pick up the pieces of ice now. Voila! 

SMMART SCIENCE: Color Ice Sculptures

Fill a disposable paper cup, cardboard milk carton, or other container with water and freeze over night. Let your child help you remove the ice from the container and place it on a cookie sheet to catch the melting ice water. Let your child sprinkle rock salt onto the ice and observe the ice melt more rapidly.

Check out the reason that the salt melts the ice more quickly at http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/solutions/faq/why-salt-melts-ice.shtml.  This site has a fun, interactive demonstration when you click “Add Solute” that further demonstrates this principle.
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Now help your child drip drops of food coloring onto the top of the ice. The food coloring seeps through the cracks of the ice. You’ve created a beautifully colored, melting ice sculpture. Quick! Snap a picture before it melts away! (http://www.placeofourown.net/activity.php?id=137)

 

SMMART Giveaway:

DISNEY ON ICE: Let's Celebrate!

(CLOSED)

Week 1 Winner: Janell R. Cropper said..

If I had a lucky $8, I would buy a fun activity book to do some fun things with my 3-year old.
Week 2 Winner: Mandy A. said..I would take my daughter to Mc Donalds
Week 3 Winner: Cassie said...We are trying to save up for a trip this fall, so if I happened to win $8? It would go directly in our disneyland piggy bank! (along with all the spare change my husband leaves on the dresser - every little bit helps right?) And what better way to start off the disney madness than tickets to disney on ice?
Week 4 Winner: kdschirado said...follower
.Feb.3, 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit according to Chinese New Year
tradition.That is one party that goes on for 15 DAYS!!!  Boy do they know how to CELEBRATE!  People will pour out their money to buy presents, decoration, material, food, and clothing. It is also the tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red colour paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of "happiness", "wealth", and "longevity". On the Eve of Chinese New Year, supper is a feast with families. Food will include such items as pigs, ducks, chicken and sweet delicacies. The family will end the night with firecrackers. Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes ($8 is a lucky amount). The Chinese New Year tradition is a great way to reconcile; forgetting all grudges, and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone. wikipedia

Mickey and Minnie get in on that action during one of the many celebrations in Disney on Ice: Let's Celebrate! 

I've never attended a Chinese New Year Celebration, but what would you do with $8 gifted you on this special occasion?...Go wild at "Everything's a $", Buy an eyeliner, Tics to a dollar movie for the fam?... We'll get back to that...

Audiences are invited to make an ordinary day extraordinary and enjoy some of the world's most popular festivities with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, including a Very Merry Unbirthday Party with Alice and the Mad Hatter; a Mardi Gras parade with Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen; a Hawaiian luau with Lilo and Stitch; a winter wonderland with everyone's favorite toys - Woody, Jessie & Buzz Lightyear; a Halloween haunt with the Disney Villains; a Valentine's Day Royal Ball with the Disney Princesses...and more in the celebration of the century! Disney On Ice presents Let's Celebrate! features more than 50 characters from 16 Disney stories live on ice, including Tiana, the newest Disney Princess from Walt Disney Pictures' The Princess and the Frog.

Location & Showtimes
EnergySolutions Arena - 301 West South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Wednesday, March 9 7:00 pm
Thursday, March 10 7:00 pm
Friday, March 11 4:00 pm; 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 12 11:00 am; 2:30 pm; 6:30 pm
Sunday, March 13 11:00 am; 2:30 pm; 6:30 pm


Ticket prices for Disney On Ice presents Let's Celebrate! range from $13, $17, $23, $40 (VIP) and $52 (Front Row) - prices do not include service charges, handling or facility fees. Tickets are available from the EnergySolutions Box Office and all SmithTix locations, via phone by calling (801) 355-SEAT or (800) 888-TIXX and online at www.energysolutionsarena.com or www.smithstix.com. To learn more about Disney On Ice, go to www.disneyonice.com, or visit Facebook and YouTube.

ENTER TO WIN A FAMILY 4 PACK!!!!

1) Comment (leave your first initial, last name and email) and tell me what you might do with a very lucky $8 gifted to you on the prosperous Chinese New Year?
2) FOLLOW SMMARTideas and comment (first initial, last name and email) telling me you follow (look in the left column at the photo thumbnails, click on "Follow").

SMMARTideas is giving away a FAMILY 4 PACK for four weeks!  Last one will be chosen on Tuesday, Feb. 22nd!  I'll email you if you won and you will need to respond within 24 hours, or I'll choose another winner. 

gōng xǐ fā cái -"Congratulations and Be Prosperous!"

SMMART SCIENCE:

 Solar System Online

Wow!  What a super-great learning site I stumbled upon...

http://www.kidsknowit.com/

There are learning games, learning diagrams, learning songs to download!

This post I want to spotlight a cool Solar System Diagram.  You click on a planet and learn so much!

Check out: http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm 

It's part of the "KIDS KNOW IT NETWORK".  When your child clicks on a planet, you can learn together about the many interesting facts that make each planet unique!

Enjoy this learning adventure!