I am hammering out a new article about the things I learned from my Supercharged Science cross-country tour and I have a few paragraphs for you to look over. Let me know what you think!<\/p>\n
Unlocking the Secrets to Becoming the Next Einstein Did you have a teacher that really had an impact on you? Remember the excitement? <\/span>Or the thrill you felt when you taught something to someone else and they really got<\/em> it?<\/span><\/p>\n First, let me thank you<\/em> for your commitment to education \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a value that is high enough for you that you are either homeschooling your child or considering it.<\/span><\/p>\n In this article, I am going to share with you the seven keys you need to unlocking your child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fullest potential. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Once you know, you can then focus on solutions. <\/span>Perhaps you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll find that you are already on track, and this may reaffirm that you are headed in the right direction. <\/span>Are you ready? <\/span>Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s begin.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Key #1.<\/span><\/span> <\/span>Make an impact.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n In today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s world, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re so inundated with information that in order to really teach something new, you need to get someone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s attention. <\/span>Think about food commercials. <\/span>Advertisers first focus on getting you hooked, catching your eye \u00e2\u20ac\u201c before they ever deliver their real message. <\/span>And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what you need to do when teaching science.<\/span><\/p>\n You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got stack the deck with things that inspire natural curiosity. <\/span>Hand them a bucket and ask them to tilt it completely sideways without a single drop of water coming out. <\/span>(When you hand them the bucket, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t touch the handle. <\/span>Just hand it over from the bottom. <\/span>Let them make that jump themselves.)<\/span><\/p>\n How do you know when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing this right? <\/span>You know you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve made an impact when your kid\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entire body says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153WOW!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, complete with the eye bulge, slack-jaw, blank stare that accompany this universal state of brain-pretzel. <\/span>So how do you do that<\/em>?<\/span><\/p>\n Easy. <\/span>Just do the opposite of what they currently expect from you. <\/span>If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re as neat as a pin, slosh a bit of water on the floor while slinging a bucketful around your head, asking them what they know about g-force and physics. <\/span>If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re shy about electricity, poke a paperclip and a penny into a juicy lemon and ask them to stick their tongue on both contacts, because you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not sure what will happen. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Get and do things that are different enough to get their brain pumping and to put the fun back into it for you, too. <\/span>If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re planning to demonstrate the reaction of baking soda and vinegar (which produces carbon dioxide gas, the same stuff you exhale), first ask your kid, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Have you ever burped before?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Key #2.<\/span><\/span> Never give away the ending.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n How often in textbooks or classrooms have you seen this one? <\/span>Every detail in the project is outlined step-by-step, leaving no room for questions, speculation, or new ideas. <\/span>No scientist in their right mind will design, set up, and execute a scientific experiment if they already know the ending! <\/span><\/p>\n This mistake often has the undertone of being in a rush. <\/span>Learning takes time, and it needs to go through different stages to make a lasting impression. <\/span>Just as a farmer can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t plant crops too late in the season, then try to rush them to grow, certain aspects of learning takes time. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n For real learning that lasts, your child needs to focus on activities that allow the natural process of discovery, wonder, and exploration. <\/span>During this process, questions formulate, ideas flow, and true learning takes place from the inside out. <\/span>Short-cutting this process (by outlining exactly what to do and how to do it) will kill your child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s passion for science<\/em>, which is defined as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the effort to discover and understand how the physical world works\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/span><\/p>\n When a kid asks, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Do you think this will work?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d remember that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just a test. <\/span>What they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re really asking is, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Can I try it?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/span>To which you can confidently answer, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. <\/span>Try it!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n To continue our example of the baking-soda-and-vinegar reaction: After you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve asked your child about burping, show them the chemical reaction and ask them about the bubbles they see rising out of the cup. <\/span>(Solid, liquid, or gas?) Then casually ask, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What if we do this again, but this time put the lid on?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/span><\/p>\n …okay, so there were more than a few paragraphs. Just let me know if you think it’s any good…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I am hammering out a new article about the things I learned from my Supercharged Science cross-country tour and I have a few paragraphs for you to look over. Let me know what you think! Unlocking the Secrets to Becoming the Next Einstein Practical Pointers for Homeschool Families from a Real Rocket Scientist (by Aurora […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-thoughts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.awesomescienceprojects.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.awesomescienceprojects.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.awesomescienceprojects.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.awesomescienceprojects.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.awesomescienceprojects.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=85"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.awesomescienceprojects.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.awesomescienceprojects.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=85"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.awesomescienceprojects.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=85"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.awesomescienceprojects.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=85"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/strong>Practical Pointers for Homeschool Families from a Real Rocket Scientist (by Aurora Lipper)<\/em><\/p>\n