Kids’ Science – Measure Stuff
November 26, 2011 | 
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Measuring stuff around the house is a fun and easy science activity for kids. It’s perfect for Saturday afternoons or whenever you want to spend some quality, stress free time with your child. These simple measurement games are flexible enough to grow with your child’s developing skills.
Here’s All You’ll Need to Get Started:
-Tape measure
-Ruler
-Paper and pencil
Activity 1
The Alphabet Game
Here’s how to play this measuring game…
Hunt for three things around the house that start with the letter A. Measure each item and log the measurement on a piece of paper. (Hint:round to the nearest inch.)
Now hunt for three things around the house that start with the letter B. Measure each item and log the measurement on a piece of paper.
Next hunt for three things around the house that start with the letter C. Measure each item and log the measurement on a piece of paper.
Now put a check mark next to the biggest item. Put a circle next to the smallest item.
(Advanced: how many of the smallest items would it take to equal the length of the longest item?)
Activity 2
1/2 a Sandwich and a Cup of Soup Please
Here’s how to play this measurement game…
Measure the length of your couch. Log the result on a piece of paper. Now find something around the house that is approximately 1/2 the length of the couch–for example: the width of your dining table. Measure it, then log the result on a piece of paper. Now find something that is approximately 1/2 the width of your dining table–for example: a picture on the wall. Measure it, then log the result on a piece of paper. Now find something 1/2 the width of the picture on the wall–for example: your toaster. Measure it, then log the result. Now find something 1/2 the width of your toaster–for example: 1/2 a sandwich. Measure it, then log the result. Keep playing until you find something that is approximately one inch long–a peanut for example. Log the result on a piece of paper.
(Advanced: keep track of how long it took to complete the activity. Compare the result each new time you complete this activity. What’s the trend?)
Activity 3
Double Double!
Here’s how to play this game…
In this game, start by measuring your child’s nose. If you measure the width, it should come out to approximately one inch. Log the results. (Your child will love seeing something like ‘Claire’s nose: 1 inch’ on your chart). Now find something approximately double the length–for example: a strawberry. Measure it and log the results. Now find something approximately double the length of the strawberry. Measure it and log the results. Keep going until you run out of things to measure.
(Advanced: measure the entire length of your house. Using that figure as a guide, estimate the distance to your mailbox, nearest park or grocery store).
Measuring things goes hand in hand with the fundamentals of science. These activities offer basic exposure to measuring procedures, and can be played again and again. As your child becomes more skillful at measuring stuff, work toward more precise measurements by rounding to the nearest 1/2 inch, and eventually to the nearest 1/4 or 1/8 inch. A good way to engage in even more precise measurements is to measure coins or book ends to the nearest 1/16 of an inch! Be sure to record the results. Have fun!
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Sandboarding Information
Sandboarding was developed out of necessity. In some parts of the world, snow is not an option and those who wanted to be able to snowboard came up with the idea of sandboarding on large sand dunes that are located in the desert. To this day, sandboarding is still a sport even though you don’t hear of it much and there isn’t much likelihood that it will become any more popular. The participants have to walk back up the hills or take four wheel drives because building lifts in that type of environment really isn’t feasible.
There are great athletes associated with sandboarding, just as there are with many other sports. Erik Johnson holds the world’s record for the fastest speed on a sandboard and he is also a popular snowboarder and has a skateboarding background. You can see now how all of these sports are somewhat related and if you are good at one, more than likely you can master the skills that are required for the other.
Sandboards are basically like snowboards in that they have similar bindings that strap your feet to the sandboard. Actually a sandboard’s bindings are just Velcro straps secured with Allen Key bolts that help to secure your feet to the board. They are constructed basically on the same designs of a snowboard, but they have to be waxed before each run because once you have finished, the bottom of your board looks like someone has taken fine grained sandpaper to it. Technology has improved, which has helped the construction of the sandboards, but with the sport still taking a backseat to other board sports, there are not very many developments in the technology like there are with the development of finely tuned snowboards.
Sandboards are constructed of plywood with base materials that can withstand the raw elements in which they are used. With glossy finishes, bright colors and funky graphics, a sandboard can be a piece of art, just like a snowboard.
If you live in an area that is basically desert and you don’t have the snow that is required for snowboarding, then sandboarding is a very likely option for you. Natural sand dunes provide the level of fun that you are looking for. There are no parks or rails or half pipes at the current time for sandboarders to develop and play with their tricks and stunts; however, you can still pull off the flat ground tricks, just like the snowboarders do.
There are sandboard manufacturers that offer the latest designs in the industry and you can locate them across the internet. Most of your companies will be from other parts of the world and not necessarily from North America as we do not have the type of sand dunes that Peru and other countries have that make this sport extremely popular in those parts of the world. You can contact them via the internet to find out more information about the sport and the necessary equipment.
Graphology – A Science
Graphology is a branch of a diverse group of sciences of character reading. Since ancient times, man has been intrigued by human variability and uniqueness of the individual. Graphology in particular focuses on interpreting individual’s character and personality traits by analyzing their handwriting.
Using graphology to analyze personality and character is one thing; changing ones behavior by changing handwriting is another – this is referred to as graphotherapy. Graphology is a now becoming a more widely accepted science. As most of you will agree that the human subconscious manifests itself one way or another, art, music etc. Graphology interprets this manifestation, using the most commonly used human subconscious-world interface, handwriting!
Here is my first example, where this can be used. Long final strokes say a lot about individuals. We can use graphology to understand what one is conveying through long strokes? The long final strokes show how cautious one is. Using graphology we know that the writer is inclined to be cautious and careful. This reduces the tendency to be impulsive and minimizes risk in decision making.
Another example where we can use graphology to tap into one’s subconscious. I am sure you have seen this somewhere, a consistent left ward slant. do you know this person? Is this you? Using graphology, we know that writing with a leftward slant is a sign of an introvert. The writer rarely expresses feeling and makes logical unemotionally decisions. Would you have known that if it were not for graphology?
Trusting or not-trusting? Graphology differentiates one from another. Long narrow loops in y’s and g’s. The size of the loop (not the down stroke) reveals the amount of trust and imagination as it relates to people. Graphology tells us that the narrow loop reveals some trust, but these people are selective in who they let in their inner circle.
Who does graphology tell us to be careful of? Using graphology I can tell you that the person with a hot temper is one where the t-bar crossed predominantly on the right of the stem. The more this is to the right the easier it will be to annoy this person. If this is combined with a rightward slant, they will lose temper even quicker.
Graphology and energy level – Finally graphology tells us that the energy level and sexual drive is in the Y’s. Are your Y’s huge? Do your lower loops come back up and touch the baseline? Graphology tells us that the depth of your y and g down stroke is an indicator of your sex drive and your energy level. According to graphology the bigger the “y” the more physically natured you are and the smaller the y, the less energetic you are.
So in summary graphology can be used to determine a complete personality and character profile of any individual. Besides the examples given above graphology can be also be used to determine aggressiveness, analytical thinking, attention to detail, curious, dual personality, emotionally responsive, extravagant, jealous, loyalty, perfectionist, controlling, stubborn nature among others. If the art of graphology is learned efficiently one can use it to their advantage and help them understand their friends, partners and family in-depth.