SMMART SCIENCE:

Rubber Band Wind-up Boat

This easy to build boat uses resources you should be able to find around the house.  Remember Newton's III Law, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction".  So, as the flipper pushes against the water, the water pushes back and the boat is propelled forward.

You will need:

Small water bottle and cap or recycled plastic bottle

Two pencils

duct tape

rubber band

flipper (plastic gift card works great) 

1) Fill your water bottle with a little bit of water to give it some weight.  Tape the two pencils to both sides of the water bottle. You'll want to leave at least 2/3 of the pencil length hanging down from the bottom side of the bottlle.

2) Place a rubber band between the two pencils.

3) Make a flipper by cutting down an old plastic gift card or solicitation credit card to size.  You want the flipper to slide in the rubber band and not touch the pencils or the bottle.  Twist the flipper over and over in the rubber band.  Hold onto the flipper so it doesn't unwind yet.

4) Place the boat into the water and release the flipper. 

5) As the flipper unwinds and pushes against the water, the boat is propelled.

SMMART MATH: Juggling Patterns

Circus Jugglers

The Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus will be in Salt Lake City, UT from Sept.22-25th!  Along with the circus come the amazing Fusco Brothers and Smaha Troupe of juggling experts.  Focus, dexterity, skill and a lot of practice!

The Fusco Brothers were actually born in the circus and began their entertainment career as part of their mother and father's act.  The twins began juggling as something to pass time, but soon proved their skill and talent to be the some of the greatest jugglers on earth!  "Emiliano and Maximiliano have a unique advantage being twins.  They often spin in unison without planning or signals, simply acting on their own impuses.  Added to that, they put in six to eight-hours a day practicing.  It's no wonder few jugglers in the world are capapble of doing the tricks the Fusco Brothers perform."

For twins Petr and Lenka, and older sister Zuzana, the circus was a tradition in their family for generations.  Their circus-performing parents coached their children to become a world-class juggling act, the Smaha Troupe!

Juggling is more than just throwing balls up in the air.  There are many mathmatical patterns that dictate just which ball is thrown, how high it is thrown into the air, and how many balls are included in the computation.
There are actually numbers assigned to how high a ball is thrown:

Then comes the pattern that could include up to eight, nine or more objects flying through the air! In it's simplest form, the three ball toss that many of us can perform (not me:) is the 4-4-1 "site swap" pattern where one ball is thrown into the air and the other that just landed is shifted to the throwing hand. 

Show your child the chart above and toss a soft foam ball up in the air.  Ask your child what number the ball would be.  Pass the ball between your hands and show him a 1.  Toss it below your chin for a 3 or at eye leve for a 4.  Have your child toss up a ball and try to make it a 4 or a 5. 

You can create your own pattern by throwing one ball at different levels.  Ask your child to show you a 3-3-1, 3-3-1, or even show you a 4-1-4, 4-1-4...

Depending on your child's age and ability, he may be able to juggle a few balls in the air! 

SMMART SCIENCE: Solar Art

Just this summer we introduced the girls to the power of the magnifying glass, burning a small hole into wood and smelling the smoke. (Of course, parental supervision needed.)

This activity takes a bit of patience, but the result is a pretty cool display of harnessing the sun's magnificent power.

You'll need a magnifying glass and a piece of wood...and a sunny day.

Find the right distance of the magnifying glass from the wood where the sun's light is concentrated into a pinpoint of bright light.  Slowly, slowly, slowly start to burn the wood with the concentrated light.  Move the pinpoint of light down and around to draw a picture or write the first letter of your child's name.

It's a pretty cool memento to display-"harnessed sunlight".

SMMART ART: Fun in the Sun!

These fun outdoor activities let your child express herself while at play.

Sandcastle Keepsake

You'll need:
3 c fine sand
1 1/2c water
1 1/2c cornstarch
(glitter-optional)
old pot
plastic trash bag (tape)
large spoon

Combine the water, cornstarch in an old pot over low heat.  Add the sand and stir continually until the mixture becomes thick.  You may need to add a little more sand till the mixture is "sturdy" enough to be molded into shapes.  Take the mixture off the heat and let cool.  Dump the sandy mixture onto a plastic trashbag that is laid out like a tarp.  Let your child mold the mixture.  Use measuring cups and spoons, little funnels or cookie cutters to create unique shapes for your sandcastle.

If you are using a sandcastle mold, use a little cooking spray to coat the mold and the packed sand mixture should slide out more easily.  Let your child decorate her sandcastle with shells, glass jewels or other adornments.  You can try incorporating glitter into your mixture while it cooks or sprinkle some on your finished project and shake off the excess when the castle dries.

Sunny Name

Scour the beach or your yard for unique shaped objects- twigs, leaves, rocks, shells.  Have your child lay the objects out on a piece of construction paper to form her name (or the first letter of her name).  Leave the paper in the sun for the day.  When your child removes the objects she'll discover that the sun has faded the paper around the objects and your child's name is left unfaded by the sun.

SMMART SCIENCE: Solar Still

Sun Power...amazing!  An hour and a half at the pool yesterday and not getting enough sunscreen on my own back...a beautiful, (slightly painful) pink burn.  It's  amazing how strong the sun's rays are and the magnitude of power from so far away in the solar system. 

"The sun is the closest star to Earth, at a mean distance from our planet of 149.60 million km (92.96 million miles). About one million Earths could fit inside the sun. It is held together by gravitational attraction, producing immense pressure and temperature at its core. The sun has six regions -- the core, the radiative zone, and the convective zone in the interior; the visible surface (the photosphere); the chromosphere; and the outermost region -- the corona.

At the core, the temperature is about 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (15 million degrees Celsius). The sun's surface -- the photosphere -- is a 500-km thick (300-mile-thick) region, from which most of the sun's radiation escapes outward and is detected as the sunlight we observe here on Earth about eight minutes after it leaves the sun." (http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Sun&Display=OverviewLong)

The heat of the sun evaporates water, which changes water from it's liquid state to a gaseous state.  Help your child see the power of the sun by making a simple Solar Still. (www.pbskids.org/zoom)

You will need to fill a large bowl with a few cups of water.  You can get creative with the water...put some food coloring in the water for a visually effective lesson, or mix in salt to represent ocean water.  You can even try this activity with orange juice or cola.  The evaporated water will be purified by the sun's evaporation/condensation process, so you should have a clearer, and less-salty version than you started with.

Place a glass or bowl inside the pool of water, with the glass being just above the water level and lower than the rim of the large bowl.  (You may wish to see if a metal bowl works better at recovering purified water than a glass bowl).  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place a stone in the center of the plastic wrap, just over the glass.  When the water evaporates and condenses onto the plastic wrap, the weight of the stone will lead the purified water droplets to drop into your glass.

Set your Solar Still out in the sun.  When you have collected your purified water, have your child observe and taste the differences between your original liquid and the purified water.

SMMART TIME-OUT:

10 ways to recycle tin cans

Get a Free Ticket to the Circus in SLC!

Yes! FREE!...and it only requires 10 non-perishable food items and missing out on a little bit of sleep...

The public is invited to come to the EnergySolutions Arena Plaza Door Six Monday, August 8th. The FIRST 200 people to come to front doors at the arena on the Plaza and donate 10 cans of food at 6:00 a.m., the FIRST 200 people to come to front doors at the arena on the Plaza and donate 10 cans of food at 7:00 a.m. and the FIRST 200 people to come to front doors at the arena on the Plaza and donate 10 cans of food at 8:00 a.m. will receive a free pass to the opening night performance of Fully Charged, the all-new surge of circus entertainment from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey where megawatts of thrills explode off of the arena floor with breathtaking dare-devilry, superhuman stunts and never-before-seen performances that energize Children Of All Ages, playing at the EnergySolutions Arena Thursday, September 22nd through Sunday, September 25th.

I'll be there bright and early trying to collect the MOST food in a friendly competition between bloggers.  Come donate, get a free ticket per person, and help the Utah Food Bank! (and help me win:)!

That got me thinking about canned goods-what to do with all those cans?  Of course, you can toss them in your blue recycling bins and bags...or you can get a little creative!

10 ways to re-use a Tin Can:

1) Discard the paper label, rinse out the can and punch a design through the sides of the can.  Place a candle inside and you can arrange a beautifully striking tin can votive display.
2) Cut the top and bottom off of a tuna or chicken/ham meat can.  Rinse and lay it down in the skillet to keep your poached and fried eggs perfectly round.
3) Spray paint a large coffee can with acrylic spray paint and finish off with a clear acrylic spray paint sealer.  Tie a ribbon around the center and stuff with tissue paper= lovely gift box.
4) Cut the top and bottom off of a tuna can, rinse.  Use the can to cut dough for bisquit rounds.
5) Set up a10 cans in a triangular formation and let your child bowl them down.
6) Make a "phone".  Poke a hole through the bottom of two rinsed cans.  In each can, push each end of a piece of string through and tie a knot.  Listen in one end as someone speaks in the other end.
7) Decorate the outside of a tin can with paint or paper.  Make a pencil holder.
8) Set up a row of tin cans on the edge of a table and try to knock them over with a sling shot or rubber bands.
9) Clothespin Game.  Set a can down on the ground, place a clothespin or a penny between your knees and walk over to the can.  Try to drop the clothespin into the can.
10) Poke drainage holes in the bottom, fill with potting soil and use the cans to grow herbs.

Be sure to cover those sharp can edges with duct tape and have fun creating!

SMMART READING:

Icing Letter Journal

What else to do with left over icing from birthday cupcakes?

Yeah, go smear it on your bathtub tile wall.
Let your child journal on the wall with her finger about how to make cupcakes and ice them. 
It can just be key words or whole sentences.
Sure, even draw a few pictures in the icing.  Clean up is as easy as spraying down your walls...and maybe even your child.

Don't forget to use the chalkboard as a journaling tool too!

"We need a variety of approaches to help humanity (and our "school's-out" insanity)" -Dalai Lama

SMMART MATH: ICE CREAM PARTAY

Well, "partay" might be kind of a stretch, but math is fun, right?!?

Actually, I think this could be a really fun way to entertain one night.  No stress of having people over and you have to worry about making a full-on dinner...have friends over for an Ice Cream "Partay" this summer...ColdStone style. 


Display all the fixins in fun glasses and jars out on the patio table.  Then, BRING OUT THE ICE CREAM!
Everyone gets to choose their favorite candies, cookie crumbles, fruit and toppings to add into the ice cream.  Have your guest add their add-ins right into a large ceramic bowl and mix it up with two large spoons, then dish into waffle cones.

Okay, now for the math.  Have your kiddos answer math questions to earn candies and  add-ins.

"4 + 6= the number of chocolate chips you can add into your ice cream"
"50% of 12 is the number of gummy bears you can add to your ice cream"
"Count 7 lemonheads and put them into your ice cream...good counting!"


I suppose you could even touch on a little geometry...cone shape of the icecream cone, sphere shape of the malted milk balls, are there any cube-shaped or pyramid-shaped candies?


Cool summer fun! Thanks to my sister, Leslie for the perfect way to spend a SMMART Math summer night!