Posts Tagged homeschool

STEM Tuesday– Natural Disasters– Writing Tips & Resources

Preparedness Essentials

When I show my former English teacher wife a new draft of a project, she often responds, “THAT’S A DISASTER!” 

When this occurs, I celebrate that I’ve at least accomplished one of my writing goals of eliciting an emotional response from my reader. 

Goal accomplished? Not really. It’s just a “gentle” reminder from my wife that a draft is a draft and there’s a whole lot of work to be done. 

The disaster comment, however, did trigger a thought. A thought that happened to coincide with my May 2025 STEM Tuesday assignment on Natural Disasters. When I checked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) website for natural disaster preparedness information, I found a list of four tips they provide to help people get ready. 

  1. Be informed
  2. Make a plan
  3. Assemble a kit
  4. Maintain your plan and kit

As I read the list, the first thought that popped into my head was “Man, this is so simple and so powerful. Why haven’t I done all these steps yet to prepare for tornado season in Kansas?”

The second thing that popped into my head was a realization that these four simple tips for natural disaster preparedness seamlessly mesh with writing and creating. My brain exploded. My thoughts ran wild. My STEM Tuesday Natural Disasters post plan fell into my lap. 

Wow! Listening to my wife actually paid off. 

Who knew?

no, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Be Informed

A pretty straightforward one here, right? Do the work to gather the information and mental power needed to start and finish a project. Whether that’s knowing the inside and outside of a nonfiction manuscript you’re writing, or all the necessary details that make works of fiction jump off the page, the creative brain needs to be loaded. The quality of input directly affects the quality of the output. Just as knowing what media and emergency sources to pay attention to can greatly improve chances of a healthy outcome in a natural disaster, having a creator brain loaded with good information greatly improves the chances of successful creation.

Make a Plan

Yes, even the pantster creator needs a plan. Even if their planning is not as stringent or as deep as the classic plotter, planning provides direction toward achieving the goal. With a plan directing the effort toward the final goal, none of the stockpiled creative currency and energy is wasted. Even when the final product barely resembles the first draft, a creator can reap maximum rewards from their creative currency driven by a plan.

Assemble a Kit

A disaster survival kit might include fresh water, food, flashlights, batteries, and medications. Reliable and necessary things that assist in working through a natural disaster. A creator’s kit is similar. It contains physical tools, like notebooks, pens, brushes, media, computers/tablets, and desk space. The creator’s kit also contains the skills required to create what the creators want to create. Language, grammar, drawing/painting, storytelling, and narrative skills are just a few examples of skills that belong in the creator kit.

Maintain Your Plan & Kit

The disaster kit should be inspected several times a year to ensure the food and water are fresh, the batteries are not dead, the flashlights work, and the radio works despite the kids constantly getting into the kit to play with the “ancient” communications technology. The disaster plan needs to be discussed and rehearsed so everyone knows what to do in an emergency.

Regular maintenance of the creator’s kit is just as vital to ensure it’s ready to create when the creator is ready to create. Practice and repetition are probably the most important things for the creator to maintain or upgrade skills. Being open to learning is always a beneficial path for creators to take in maintaining or upgrading their creator kit.

See? Natural Disaster preparation can provide lessons in building a successful creative practice!

Now that you know, you can go and build your creative preparedness plan, although you might wait until after you take care of your natural disaster preparedness plan.

Stay safe, friends! We need you around to create your wonderful work!

 

Dave Harlow, USGS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

 

Mike Hays has worked hard from a young age to be a well-rounded individual. A well-rounded, equal-opportunity sports enthusiast, that is. If they keep a score, he’ll either watch it, play it, or coach it. A molecular microbiologist by day, middle-grade author, sports coach, and general good citizen by night, he blogs about sports/life/training-related topics at www.coachhays.com and writer stuff at www.mikehaysbooks.comTwo of his science essays, The Science of Jurassic Park and Zombie Microbiology 101,  are included in the Putting the Science in Fiction collection from Writer’s Digest Books. He can be found roaming Bluesky under the guise of @mikehays64.bsky.social and @MikeHays64 on Instagram.

 


The O.O.L.F Files

This month on the Out Of Left Field (O.O.L.F.) Files, we take a deep dive into natural disasters through educational materials, current issues, and a blast from the past.  

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 

PBS Learning Media

USDA Forest Service

(NOTE: May 18, 2025, was the 45th anniversary of the Mount St. Helens eruption. It doesn’t seem that long ago. A high school friend whose family moved to Washington state just before the eruption brought a sandwich bag of volcanic ash when he returned for a visit to Kansas in the summer of 1981. I still have that bag in storage. It helps me remember the event across 45 years of time and space.)

U.S. Forest Service- Pacific Northwest Region, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Ready

Launched in February 2003, Ready is a National public service campaign designed to educate and empower the American people to prepare for, respond to and mitigate emergencies and disasters. The goal of the campaign is to promote preparedness through public involvement.

 

 


Summer Camp Capers: 10 Middle Grade Books About Camps

Cover of "Be Prepared" by Vera Brosgol features anxious looking child camper in the woods.

Who could forget their summer camp experience?

For many children, sleep-away camps or day-camps can be both exciting and anxiety-producing. I remember going to a sleep-away camp when I was in middle school. It lasted a week. It felt like two months. Also, someone very close to me once received a disconcerting drawing from an eleven-year-old at a week-long camp:

Child's self portrait and text "Oh! How I want to go home!"

It should be noted, the child ultimately decided it was “good to get out of my comfort zone.”

How can you help your child or student anticipate or reflect on camp experiences?

1. Journaling

2. Writing stories about camp (whether it be real or imagined)

3. Talking about their feelings

4. Reading books about camps! Whether or not a child plans to attend a summer camp, middle grade books about young protagonists triumphing in challenging, scary or even hilariously over-the-top camp situations can be both inspiring and entertaining.

Listed below are ten wonderful middle grade books that feature summer camps:

Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol

In Be Prepared, all Vera wants to do is fit in—but that’s not easy for a Russian girl in the suburbs. Her friends live in fancy houses and their parents can afford to send them to the best summer camps. Vera’s single mother can’t afford that sort of luxury, but there’s one summer camp in her price range—Russian summer camp.

Vera is sure she’s found the one place she can fit in, but camp is far from what she imagined. And nothing could prepare her for all the “cool girl” drama, endless Russian history lessons, and outhouses straight out of nightmares!

 

 

 

 

Here in the Real World by Sara Pennypacker

Ware can’t wait to spend summer “off in his own world”—dreaming of knights in the Middle Ages and generally being left alone. But then his parents sign him up for dreaded Rec camp, where he must endure Meaningful Social Interaction and whatever activities so-called “normal” kids do.

On his first day Ware meets Jolene, a tough, secretive girl planting a garden in the rubble of an abandoned church next to the camp. Soon he starts skipping Rec, creating a castle-like space of his own in the church lot.

Jolene scoffs, calling him a dreamer—he doesn’t live in the “real world” like she does. As different as Ware and Jolene are, though, they have one thing in common: for them, the lot is a refuge.

But when their sanctuary is threatened, Ware looks to the knights’ Code of Chivalry: Thou shalt do battle against unfairness wherever faced with it. Thou shalt be always the champion of the Right and Good—and vows to save the lot.

But what does a hero look like in real life? And what can two misfit kids do?

 

Holler of the Fireflies by David Barclay Moore

Javari knew that West Virginia would be different from his home in Bushwick, Brooklyn. But his first day at STEM Camp in a little Appalachian town is still a shock. Though run-ins with the police are just the same here. Not good.

Javari will learn a lot about science, tech, engineering, and math at camp. And also about rich people, racism, and hidden agendas. But it’s Cricket, a local boy, budding activist, and occasional thief, who will show him a different side of the holler—and blow his mind wide open.

Javari is about to have that summer. Where everything gets messy and complicated and confusing . . . and you wouldn’t want it any other way.

J + C + summer = ∞

 

Lions and Liars by Kate Beasley

Frederick Frederickson has a food-chain theory about life. There are lions, like the school bully. Gazelles, like the bullied kids. There are meerkats, and the fleas that live on the butts of meerkats. Frederick’s a flea.

Fifth grade is off to a terrible start when Frederick is sent to a disciplinary camp for troublesome boys. His fellow troop mates—Nosebleed, Specs, The Professor, and little-yet-lethal Ant Bite—are terrifying. But in between trust-building exercises and midnight escape attempts, a tenuous friendship grows between them. Which is lucky, because a Category 5 hurricane is coming and everyone will have to work together—lions and fleas alike—to survive!

 

 

Mirror to Mirror by Rajani LaRocca

Maya is the pragmatic twin, but her secret anxiety threatens to overwhelm her.

Chaya is the outgoing twin. When she sees her beloved sister suffering, she wants to tell their parents—which makes Maya feel completely betrayed. With Maya shutting her out, Chaya makes a dramatic change to give her twin the space she seems to need. But that’s the last thing Maya wants, and the girls just drift further apart.

The once-close sisters can’t seem to find their rhythm, so they make a bet: they’ll switch places at their summer camp, and whoever can keep the ruse going longer will get to decide where they both attend high school—the source of frequent arguments. But stepping into each other’s shoes comes with its own difficulties, and the girls don’t know how they’re going to make it.

 

 

Stella Díaz Never Gives Up by Angela Dominguez


Stella gets a big surprise when her mom plans a trip to visit their family in Mexico! Stella loves marine animals, and she can’t wait to see the ocean for the first time . . . until she arrives and learns that the sea and its life forms are in danger due to pollution.

Stella wants to save the ocean, but she knows she can’t do it alone. It’s going to take a lot of work and help from old and new friends to make a difference, but Stella Díaz never gives up!

 

 

Summer at Squee by Andrea Wang

Phoenny Fang plans to have the best summer ever. She’s returning to Summertime Chinese Culture, Wellness, and Enrichment Experience (SCCWEE for short and “Squee” to campers in the know), and this year she’s a senior camper. That means she; her best friend, Lyrica Chu; and her whole Squad will have the most influence. It almost doesn’t matter that her brother is a CIT (counselor-in-training) and that her mom and auntie are the camp directors. Time spent at Squee is sacred, glorious, and free.

On the day Phoenny arrives, though, she learns that the Squad has been split up, and there’s an influx of new campers this year. Phoenny is determined to be welcoming and to share all the things she loves about camp—who doesn’t love spending hours talking about and engaging in cultural activities? But she quickly learns how out of touch she is with others’ experiences, particularly of the campers who are adoptees. The same things that make her feel connected to her culture and community make some of the other campers feel excluded.

Summer at Squee turns out to be even more transformative than Phoenny could’ve imagined, with new friendships, her first crush, an epic show, and a bigger love for and understanding of her community.

 

Summer Vamp by Violet Chan Karim

After a lackluster school year, Maya anticipates an even more disappointing summer. The only thing she’s looking forward to is cooking and mixing ingredients in the kitchen, which these days brings her more joy than mingling with her peers . . . that is until her dad’s girlfriend registers her for culinary summer camp! Maya’s summer is saved! . . . or not.

What was meant to be a summer filled with baking pastries and cooking pasta is suddenly looking a lot . . . paler?! Why do all of the kids have pointy fangs? And hate garlic? Turns out that Maya isn’t at culinary camp—she’s at a camp for VAMPIRES! Maya has a lot to learn if she’s going to survive this summer . . . and if she’s lucky, she might even make some friends along the way.

 

Teen Canteen: Rocky Road by Amalie Jahn

On the final night of summer camp, Tasha, Raelynn, Claire, and Billie get busted stuffing themselves with ice cream in the mess hall’s walk-in freezer. But when they slip away without being punished, they’re convinced the pink feather boa Billie put on to stay warm is magic.

Back at home, each member of Team Canteen tests the boa’s powers as they face their own challenges. When her little cousin moves in with her destructive dog, Tasha struggles to find her place inside her adoptive family. Claire’s scared the kids at school will find out how hard life’s gotten since her dad lost his job. Raelynn longs to be someone other than her sister’s twin. And with a hockey-obsessed family charting his every move, Billie’s worried he’ll never be able share his dream of becoming a figure skater.

It’s going to be a rocky road from the start of the school year back to Camp Happy Hollow. Will the boa continue to protect Team Canteen, or will their friendship end up being the most magical find of all?

Alternating among the friends, Rocky Road is a smart, soaring celebration of the highs and lows of middle school, and the unbreakable friendships that see you through, no matter what comes next.

 

Twelfth by Janet Key

Twelve-year-old Maren is sure theater camp isn’t for her. Theater camp is for loud, confident, artsy people: people like her older sister, Hadley–the last person Maren wants to think about–and her cinema-obsessed, nonbinary bunkmate, Theo. But when a prank goes wrong, Maren gets drawn into the hunt for a diamond ring that, legend has it, is linked to the camp’s namesake, Charlotte “Charlie” Goodman, a promising director in Blacklist Era Hollywood.

When Maren connects the clues to Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, she and her new friends are off searching through lighting booths, orchestra pits and costume storages, discovering the trail and dodging camp counselors. But they’re not the only ones searching for the ring, and with the growing threat of camp closing forever, they’re almost out of time.

 

Let me know below other great middle grade reads that feature summer camp!

 

STEM Tuesday– Natural Disasters– In the Classroom

 

While this month’s theme is natural disasters, I focused on just one: wildfires. The books I read all had a lot of overlap. They were:

Cover shows deer and other animals running and flying against a background of red and yellow with silhouettes of trees.Fire Escape: How Animals and Plants Survive Wildfires
by Jessica Stremer, illustrated by Michael Garland

Of the books I read this month, Fire Escape covers the most material and has the highest word count. Topics include how plants and animals survive wildfires, how animals are treated after being injured in a fire, how goats act as a fire prevention tool, and much more. I suspect everyone will find at least one topic that interests them in this book. The numerous Fire Fact! factoids provide lots of interesting tidbits for trivia-minded readers.

 

Book cover shows three firefighters on a green hill with a red and yellow sky above. The lead firefighter holds a yellow hose, out of which bluish-gray water is streaming.They Hold the Line: Wildfires, Wildlands, and the Firefighters Who Brave Them
by Dan Paley, illustrated by Molly Mendoza

They Hold the Line packs a lot of information in a relatively low word count. It’s a great book for visual learners. I really loved reading the illustrator’s notes about how they chose the colors to use for the illustrations.

 

I also read two other books about wildfires that were not on the monthly theme list.

Book cover shows several pine trees silhouetted against the yellow and red of a wildfire burning behind them. Grayish smoke rises above the flames.Wildfires
by Georgia Beth

Of the books I read this month, Wildfires has the most in-depth coverage of the chemistry of fire. It packs a lot of information into a relatively short format.

 

 

Book title overlays a raging wildfire - trees silhouetted against bright orange and red flames with sparks flying overhead. Inset pictures show a campfire, a firefighter preparing to repel out of a helicopter, and a plane dumping a red substance onto a forest near a fire.

All About Wildfires
by Alessandra Potenza

All About Wildfires does a great job of combining text with visuals to get points across. There are quite a few graphic representations that are great for illustrating how to communicate information or data in different ways. There is a nice experiment at the end to explore the relationship between trees/vegetation and landslides.

 

 

Over the past year, wildfires have been rather prominent in my life. New Jersey – where I live – had a near record drought last year. This brought on almost daily wildfires, all over the state. Recently, a fire burned along the Jersey Shore, making its way onto the state’s most destructive fires list. This “Jones Road” fire was spotted April 22 and reached 100% containment just before I started writing this post on May 12. This fire was one of many around the U.S. that have garnered lots of attention in the news due to their severity.

So, on to activities that can connect readers with these books.

Explore Fire Science

In addition to activities given in some of the books, there are some great science experiments that explore fire. Here are a few.

See first-hand the role oxygen plays in fire using tealight candles and different sized jars. Here’s one version of this activity on Education.com: https://www.education.com/activity/article/candle-snuffing-contest

Fire Extinguisher Experiment from Science Explorers:  https://scienceexplorers.com/diy-fire-extinguisher-experiment-for-kids

There is a lesson plan, including links to videos and other resources, along with a matchstick forest fire demonstration on the Headwaters Science Institute web site: https://headwatersscienceinstitute.org/wildfire-science

Explore Fire Data

Fire data is provided in the books in different ways. Look into data that’s available and consider creating your own.

Check out the National Risk Index from FEMA: https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/wildfire – explore the map to determine what the fire risk is in your area.

If you want to do a deep dive, the USDA has a website called Wildfire Risk to Communities (https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/fire/wildfirerisk). You can put in your state or other community name and explore different wildfire risks, like the risk to homes. This website describes how it calculated risk, as well as ways to reduce that risk.

If you want to create some graphs, here’s one source of data. You can graph the number of fires and/or the number of acres burned in the U.S. over time using data from the National Interagency Fire Center: https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/statistics/wildfires. You could also do some calculations, like figuring out the average number of acres each fire burned each year.

Explore Stewardship

Many of the books discuss stewardship of the land. This year, I enrolled in the Rutgers Environmental Steward program (https://envirostewards.rutgers.edu), so this is something I’ve thought a lot about lately.

What does land stewardship mean? You could explore this topic individually, in small groups, or as a larger group. It might work best to do a combination of all three. A good place to start might be to read a definition of stewardship. Then think about what this means in relation to land. How does land stewardship impact natural disasters like wildfires? What is each individual’s role in the stewardship of our shared lands?

Explore More

There are other places where you can explore wildfire topics in more depth. One is a website from the National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fire/fire-in-depth.htm, which is part of an even broader topic: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fire/wildland-fire-subject.htm. This is an incredible rabbit hole you could dive into, learning about wildland fire careers, fire ecology, fire behavior, and much more.

If you want to learn more about the different causes of wildfires, check out this page from the National Interagency Fire Center: https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/fire-prevention-education-mitigation/wildfire-investigation. If you want a real challenge, see if you can find out the causes of the past year’s wildfires in your state. Then think about how you can present that information using graphs and charts.

Explore headlines and other news sources to see what wildfires are making the news today.

There are lots of other resources out there. Pick a topic and see where the exploration takes you.

 

There are endless activities that could be tied into this topic. Hopefully the few listed here inspire you to explore more.


Janet Slingerland has written over 2 dozen books for young readers. To find out more about Janet and her books, check out her website: http://janetsbooks.com