Posts Tagged parents

Books to Inspire You to Explore the Outdoors (safely)

By on June 22, 2020   /   Articles, STEM  

Hopefully this blog post finds you all well and safe. I’m imaging it also finds you perhaps a bit anxious to get outside. After all, it is summer, and while I don’t know what the weather is like where you live, here in Florida, it’s glorious! A perfect time to get out and about and explore.

But what if where you live it’s not the right time to get out much yet. What can you do to keep your kids — and yourselves — occupied for the next few weeks while things open up? What can you do?  Why not bring the outdoors inside or at the very least get creative with your own little outdoor spot. I’m talking about getting creative with SCIENCE outside. (come on, if you know me, you knew this was going to be a science post) 😁

Are you ready to get your outdoor science on? GREAT!  —>  Head to your bookshelf!

That’s right, inspiration for how to imagine, invent and discover great outdoor science is right there among the books.

What are you interested in?  Bugs? Moths? Birds? Cool!

Check out a few of these books.

            

 

Or perhaps you have more of a technology bent and want to understand how animals and technology go together.

For that check out my new book BEASTLY BIONICS                             

 

And who says that animals are the only bits of science you can see outside or around your house? What about cars? or buildings?

       

 

Finally, what if you are just inspired to invent something? Try out these fun new books

      

 

For MORE great ideas of how to use STEM/STEAM books to create fun at home,

check out our STEM Tuesday Blog, which has three years worth of activities for kids/parents/teachers —   

and also STEAMTEAM2020 website which highlights new books coming out in 2020!

 

Now that your interest has been piqued, it’s time to DO something with your new knowledge.

Your challenge is to observe, design, draw, build and create something new.

  • Come up with a new type of animal– one that doesn’t exist but you think it should
  • Design a new type of bionic robot that mimics the way an animal moves or reacts that would be helpful to humans
  • Draw a picture of a car or building that would be awesome to drive or live in
  • Write a story about your creation and share it with your friends and family
  • Make a game or puzzle for others to try to guess what you drew
  • Turn your living room into a new type of ecosystem (be sure to ask your parent’s permission) and take everyone on a safari

 

Science really IS all around you. It starts with your imagination. Time to let that imagination and inspiration SOAR!

I’d love to see what you come up with. Leave a comment/picture below and you’ll be entered to win a copy of my new Beastly Bionics book!

Happy inventing!

 

 

 

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STEM Tuesday– SHARKS! — Book List

By on June 9, 2020   /   Sharks, STEM Tuesday  

Sharks fascinate us and scare us at the same time. They can seem scary with their sleek primitive bodies and sharp teeth, but mostly they’re misunderstood. Dive into these books for an up-close look at the science of sharks and why we need to keep them in our oceans.

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Smart About Sharks by Owen Davey

Davey’s detailed illustrations give this book teeth! He gives readers a deep dive in deadly and not-so-deadly shark species. This survey look at sharks provides readers with everything they want to know about sharks and more. Did you know that shark teeth aren’t all the same?

 

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org The Great White Shark Scientist by Sy Montgomery, photographys by Keith Ellengoben

Join Montgomery on another scientific adventure with great white shark scientist, Greg Skomal. He wonders if Cape Cod might be a breeding ground for great whites. This Scientists in the Field title demonstrates how humans sometimes have to embrace their fears to save the world’s valuable creatures.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org The Great Shark Rescue: Saving the Whale Sharks by Sandra Markle

Whale sharks are the largest fish on the planet, but unfortunately face threats from commercial fishing and climate change. Markle follows scientists working to protect these gentle giants of our ocean. Readers will learn how these sharks differ from their perceptions of the dangerous creatures they are taught to fear.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.orgWe Need Sharks (The Animal Files) by Lisa Bullard

Every living thing has a place in the food web, sharks included. Bullard’s book explores the roles sharks play in ocean ecosystems and the various threats sharks face because of human habits. Hurrah for sharks!

 

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Sharks Are Awesome by Patricia Hutchison

Loaded with cool shark facts and colorful photos, this book is sure to please a young shark enthusiast.

 

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org World’s Weirdest Sharks by Paul Mason 

When you think SHARK, the great white or maybe even the hammerhead pop into your mind, but there are more than 500 species of sharks in our ocean. Mason highlights the weirdest and most bizarre. Cool photos throughout this title.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Amazing Sharks (Animals Are Wild!) by Steve Parker 

Why are sharks such efficient predators? Parker examines their teeth, fins, body shape, hunting practices, and other adaptations that make sharks so successful in their ocean habitat.

 

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.orgPocket Genius: Sharks: Facts at Your Fingertips by DK Publishing

A compact book for on-the-go young readers. Facts about more than 150 sharks and rays.

 

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org The Truth About Great White Sharks by Mary M. Cerullo and Jeffrey L. Rotman

Great white sharks are probably the most well-known, and most feared,  species of shark. Their photos grace the cover of nearly every shark book on the market, but what’s fact and what’s fiction about these ancient predators? Find out in this colorful book with a huge gatefold image that will wow young readers.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org The Ultimate Book of Sharks by Brian Skerry 

For true shark lovers! This book by National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry features every species of shark on Earth. Young readers will line up for the real-life encounters, cutting edge science, and insider shark behavior information.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org Mission Shark Rescue by Ruth Musgrave 

We like this title because of the hands-on activities and the ideas young readers can implement to save endangered sharks. It doesn’t matter where you live – everyone can make a difference in helping our ocean creatures.

 

 

HISTORICAL FICTION

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.orgI Escaped The World’s Deadliest Shark Attack: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis, WWII by Scott Peters and Ellie Crowe 

A riveting piece of historical fiction that explores the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. The ship sank in 12 minutes an the survivors spent four days fighting off the deadliest shark attack in history. The authors use a 16-year-old protagonist to tell the story of these brave men.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org I Survived: The Shark Attacks of 1916 by Lauren Tarshis

 

In the summer of 1916, the Jersey shore was terrorized by a great white shark. Tarshis’ historical fiction title, uses the events of 1916 to frame her story.

 

STEM Tuesday book lists prepared by

Nancy Castaldo has written books about our planet for over 20 years including, THE STORY OF SEEDS, which earned the Green Earth Book Award, Junior Library Guild Selection, and other honors. Nancy’s research has taken her all over the world from the Galapagos to Russia.  She strives to inform, inspire, and empower her readers. Nancy also serves as the Regional Advisor of the Eastern NY SCBWI region. Her 2018 multi-starred title is BACK FROM THE BRINK: Saving Animals from Extinction. Visit her at www.nancycastaldo.com. 

Patricia Newman writes middle-grade nonfiction that empowers young readers to act on behalf of the environment and their communities. The Sibert Honor author of Sea Otter Heroes, Newman has also received an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book Award for Eavesdropping on Elephants, a Green Earth Book Award for Plastic, Ahoy!, and a Eureka! Gold Medal from the California Reading Association for Zoo Scientists to the Rescue. Her books have received starred reviews, been honored as Junior Library Guild Selections, and included on Bank Street College’s Best Books lists. During author visits, she demonstrates how young readers can use writing to be the voice of change. Visit her at www.patriciamnewman.com. Stay tuned for her upcoming Planet Ocean – fall 2020.

 

 

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STEM Tuesday– Symbiotic Relationships– Writing Tips & Resources

By on May 19, 2020   /   STEM Tuesday, Symbiotic Relationships  

Field of California poppies

Photo by Nils Larson

The Writer’s Walk: Nurturing Creativity in Difficult Times

Every day, as part of my writing process, I take a walk outside among Joshua Trees and, in spring, golden California poppies. Often a writing problem weighs on my mind: an opening that’s not quite right, a subplot that’s stumbling, a structure that’s just not working. As my feet pound the ground, my brain is only partially occupied by the scurrying rabbits and calling quail. My mind wanders just as I do. And in those moments I often have a breakthrough, an “aha moment” that leaves me eager to return to my manuscript.

We are living during a difficult time when so many of us are encouraged to stay indoors to keep ourselves, our friends, and neighbors safe. Yet one thing we are still allowed to do is to go outside for exercise. And we need to. Humans have a symbiotic relationship with nature. We need nature, and it needs us.

Forest Talk by Melissa Koch

Even before I read Melissa Koch’s FOREST TALK, one of the books on this month’s booklist, I knew humans had a symbiotic relationship with trees. We breathe in oxygen released by trees. Trees use the carbon dioxide we exhale for photosynthesis. But here’s what Koch wrote that astonished me: “Trees don’t just make people physically healthier. They also improve our spiritual well-being.” 

Koch goes on to cite several studies that show being among trees or even simply seeing trees out a window helps us heal faster and reduce stress, blood pressure, anxiety, and negative thoughts. The Japanese government even coined the term “forest bathing,” which involves walking in the woods and using all your senses to take in your surroundings as a way to improve mental health. 

I’d argue this symbiotic relationship holds the key not just to our sanity but to our creativity too.

Starting a Writer’s Walk Practice

There’s no time like the present for starting a writer’s walk practice. Before you do, a few ground rules. 

  • First, leave your headphones at home, so your senses are fully engaged with the world around you. 
  • Leave your notebook at home too. The idea is to keep your body and your mind moving. 
  • When you begin, focus your attention on a few deep breaths in and out. Notice the feeling of the ground beneath your feet. 

Eventually, your mind may wander. This is good. When it does, magical things might happen. Things like:

  • Story sparks – As you walk, observe animals, even little insects. What kind of bird did you hear? Why is the sky suddenly filled with butterflies? What makes those wispy, thin clouds?  Back home, that wondering might turn into research and even writing about a new topic. But there’s no pressure if it doesn’t.
  • Storing up sensory details – Use your walk to closely observe your surroundings. Note not only the sights, but also the smells, sounds, and textures. What do things look like and sound like? Can you think of analogies? Now file those details away for future use. One day when you need to capture how the leaves rustled or the birds called, you’ll remember, and these details will reappear in your writing.
  • Poem practice – I love poems for their ability to capture a single moment in exquisite detail. When you observe something interesting on your walk, maybe an autumn leaf floating in a rain puddle, challenge yourself to craft a little poem in your mind. No need to write it down. It’s just an exercise in paying attention and noticing small details, a way to remind yourself to focus on individual moments and concrete details in your writing.
  • Solving problems – I can’t tell you the number of aha moments I’ve had during my daily walks. The key for me is to think about my problem right before I begin. Then I clear my mind and focus on my breath, the feel of my feet, letting my mind wander. If and when my brain is ready, it might wander back to my story and play with the problem.

So, if you are allowed, get outside and take a writer’s walk. Your mind, your body, and your writing will thank you!

O.O.L. F (Out of Left Field)

Can’t get outside right now? Relax by watching a nature webcam here.

Experience California’s golden poppies live on their own webcam:

The app Headspace is offering free meditations during the pandemic, including a 10-minute walking meditation, perfect for a writer’s walk.

ReadWriteThink shares a wonderful Poetry Walk lesson from Patrick Striegel.

Read more about how walking boosts writing with this article from Publication Coach.

The New Yorker reports on how walking helps us think.

Kirsten W. Larson used to work with rocket scientists at NASA. Now she writes books for curious kids. She’s the author of WOOD, WIRE, WINGS: EMMA LILIAN TODD INVENTS AN AIRPLANE, illustrated by Tracy Subisak (Calkins Creek, 2020), THE FIRE OF STARS, illustrated by Katherine Roy (Chronicle, Fall 2021), along with 25 other nonfiction books for kids. Find her at kirsten-w-larson.com or on Twitter/Instagram @KirstenWLarson.

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