Sylvan Dell Publishing is a South Carolina-based company on a serious mission to create science-related picture books that excite children’s imaginations, are artistically spectacular and have educational value. Each of their books offers fun and warm stories featuring science, math and nature themes and must pass inspection by a scientist or educator from NASA, NOAA, SeaWorld, Houston Zoo or other nature centers before they are published.

The company website lists each book’s alignment with national science and math standards in its searchable database, making lesson planning simpler. The ratings are based on the story text and each book’s “For Creative Minds” section. Each state has its own listing. Alignment ratings are based on:

• National Council of Teachers of Mathematic Standards
• National Science Education Standards
• National Geography Standards
• North American Association of Environmental Educators Standards (Pre-K to 4^th grade)

In addition, Sylvan Dell’s books are published in both English and Spanish versions. The company’s website features loads of teaching activities, quizzes and  information geared to teachers and librarians, as well as parents and homeschoolers. It even has a section for children, including animal webcams, word searches, crossword puzzles and scavenger hunts.

Big Universe has partnered with many other publishers contributing excellent science and technology picture books for children, too. Click here to go directly to the Big Universe science book shelf or browse by specific category.

Listed below are a few of the Sylvan Dell Publishing books that I have read on Big Universe so far. I couldn’t give them 5 out of 5 stars fast enough! They are good for reading at home or sharing during science time in a classroom setting via white board display.

• “Pandas’ Earthquake Escape“
• “Animals are Sleeping“
• “Mother Osprey: Nursery Rhymes for Buoys & Gulls“
• “Turtles In My Sandbox“
• “Julie the Rockhound“
• “Kersplatypus“
• “Saturn for My Birthday“
• “ABC Safari“

1. Be a Role Model:  My children always see me writing: my grocery list, reminder notes, thank you notes for gifts, notes in their lunch boxes, and even typing on the computer.
2. Provide a Writing Area:  We have a little children’s table in our breakfast room.  The table has provided hours of opportunity for my children to experiment with writing.  I provide different kinds of materials (computer paper, stationary, envelopes, lined writing paper, white boards, etc.) for my children to write on.  I also provide different writing utensils: pencils, pens, crayons, markers, colored pencils, etc.  At least once or twice a day, my three year old will write something for a family member.  If it’s made available, they will use it!

3.  Scribbles are Great:  From their very first scribbles, children are writing.  Encourage scribbling and ask your child what he/she is writing.  Transcribe it for them.

4.  Play Games that Encourage Writing:  When my son was younger, he enjoyed playing “restaurant.”   He was the waiter and he would take our orders.  He started out scribbling, then matched letters to the beginning sound of the word, then wrote the word with invented spelling.  It was wonderful to see his writing develop over time, and he had a ton of fun playing (I must admit, my husband and I did, too)!  Mental Note to Self: encourage three year old to play this game now!

5.  Write Messages:  Sit at a table and write messages back and forth to each other.  You can do this even if your child is not able to write yet.  Simply ask your child what the note says and then respond in writing to your child.  This is a quick and fun way for your child to see how words make meaning and you are modeling writing at the same time.  In the picture below, I began by writing (on a white board) “How is your day?” and read it to my daughter. She responded with a “G” and said good.  I then repeated what she said and gave her another message, “I love you” – and read it to her.  She responded with “TU” – Thank You – which is so funny, because if you verbally tell her you love her she thanks you then, too!

Often times, we forget that reading and writing go hand in hand.  In order to become a better reader, you must write more and vice versa!  If we read aloud to our children and play with writing every day, we are bound to raise fun loving, engaged readers and writers!

How do you encourage writing in your home?

Dawn Little (aka Links to Literacy) also blogs at www.teachingwithpicturebooks.wordpress.com where she provides educators with picture book lessons based on comprehension strategies and the Six Traits of Writing.  In addition, she blogs at www.literacytoolbox.wordpress.com where she provides educators and parents with tips and tools to enhance the literacy lives of children.  She is the founder and owner of Links to Literacy, a company dedicated to providing interactive literacy experiences for children and families.  Find out more at www.linkstoliteracy.com

Have you received your form yet? You know the one – where you fill out for the Census? The one where you have to include your family member count. Most people disregard the forms, but it is very crucial to get a proper head count for our children and family members.  We just received ours today and it literally took less than five minutes to fill out and this was for a family of four.  Don’t worry, your information is used only for statistical purposes only and the severity of importance it has is high.  Our children’s educational funds depend on this, as well as other important factors.  And, this costs you nothing.  The form that you mail back comes with an envelope in which postage is already prepaid.

WHY IS THE CENSUS SO IMPORTANT?
 
“A complete and accurate count of our nation’s youngest is critical to their health and education, and the future strength of our communities and labor force,” said Robert M. Groves, director of the U.S. Census Bureau.

The federal government uses Census data to determine how to best distribute more than $400 billion in annual funds, including $26 billion earmarked for educational services and other programs to benefit children. Undercounting will mean some communities won’t get the funds that they need.

The full Census occurs only once every 10 years, therefore a child born today will be in the fourth grade during the next national Census. Missing them this year means the child would spend their first decade of life with reduced health, education and community services because the federal government is unaware of the need.

Click HERE to see a message from Dora about the Census!  In a video called “Children Count Too,” Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer stresses the importance of including infants and young children on 2010 Census forms.

Click HERE to visit the 2010 Census website to learn more about the campaign, download web buttons, forms, and more.  Again, census data are used to determine the number of representatives your state receives in the U.S. Congress, as well as your community’s representation in the state legislature.  The data are also used to distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds each year to communites for estasblishing and improving schools, hospitals, roads and senior servies.

Please do your part because EVERY child counts!

Yesterday, March 9, was Barbie Day, Panic Day and Get Over It Day all rolled into one 24-hour period. The juxtaposition of those three observances makes me laugh. Although today’s younger generation may be more enlightened, it parallels the phases that many women of my vintage go through. …“I love Barbie. I want to be Barbie.” (Barbie Day) “Oh, no! I’m NOT Barbie.” (Panic Day) And finally, “Looks are fleeting. There’s so much more to life than Barbie.” (Get Over It Day)

Though we may have missed a few special days, March has plenty more to offer with enough holidays and observances to enliven any classroom. Some days are silly and some designated dates laud the mundane, but every day is unique, offering a doorway to broaden a child’s horizons. I say, “Carpe diem!”

 “Seize the Day!” List for March

March 10 is Middle Name Pride Day.  What’s your middle name? Mine is Elizabeth – pretty straightforward, but one I value. It’s a family name worn by my mother and grandmother, and it’s the middle name given to my second daughter. It is a tiny bit of family heritage passed down from generation to generation. Parents can share how they selected names for each child in their family. Children in the classroom can go by their middle names for a day. (Be prepared for some silliness.)

March 11 is Johnny Appleseed Day. It’s a perfect day to read a story about Johnny Appleseed, the American folk hero, and his tree-planting adventures. Tie in a discussion about fruits, vegetables and nutrition. Get a bag of apples of various colors and practice charting the numbers of each on a graph.

March 12 is Plant a Flower Day. Why not chase away the wintertime blues by offering a horticulture lesson. Read some poetry celebrating spring and the beauty of flowers, and break out the Dixie cups and potting soil. Marigolds are hardy specimens and should come up easily in a well-lit window. It’s also Girl Scout Day.

March 13 is Jewel Day. Read a book about gems and how they are formed. Help little ones string Cheerio necklaces or show older children how to repurpose pages from a magazine by turning them into paper beads that they can string into friendship bracelets or anklets. It’s also International Fanny Pack Day.

March 14 is Learn About Butterflies Day. One middle school in our town incorporated the study of butterflies into their science class. They planted a butterfly garden behind the school to attract the insects, adding beauty to the property and learning about life cycles and the importance of each creature to the ecosystem. Read “Where Butterflies Grow,” a Picture Puffins book by Joanne Ryder and Lynne Cherry, or visit the Foremost Butterflies website. It has lots of information and activities, including an easy word search about butterflies. …Oh. It’s also Potato Chip Day.

March 15 is the Ides of March. The Ides of March is most known for its mention in William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. (“Beware the ides of March.”) While Caesar’s assassination in 44 B.C. may not be a topic for a first-grader, older students can learn about the great city of Rome, the Roman Empire and mythology. Read “Rome”by Christine Dugan, a children’s picture book featured in Big Universe’s online library, or try Saddleback’s illustrated adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” Note: The “ides” were the fifteenth days of March, May, July and October on the Roman calendar, and a festival for Mars, the god of war, was celebrated on March 15 in that culture.

March 16 is Lips Appreciation Day. Whistle a tune. Hold your breath. Discuss facial expressions and emotions. It’s also Freedom of Information Day in the United States.

March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day.This day can be celebrated formally in recognition of the patron saint of Ireland or in a more whimsical way in all its shamrocked green-hued glory.

March 18 is Awkward Moments Day. “A-a-awk-ward!” is one of this generation’s favorite expressions. It means so much more than being clumsy. It signifies things like “I’m embarrassed,” “There’s too much silence,” or “That boy just made eye contact with me.”

March 19 is San Juan Capistrano Day, the day thousands of swallows return to the old stone mission in California’s town of San Juan Capistrano.

March 20 is Corn Dog Day. It’s also the First Day of Spring.  Read “Spring” by Ann Herriges and published by Bellwether.

March 21 is World Poetry Day.  The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared this observance in 1999 to promote the teaching, reading and writing of poetry on a global scale. National Poetry Month is celebrated in April in the United States.

March 22 is National Goof Off Day. It’s your call. Keep this one a secret until the end of the day if there’s work to be done. Or name it, claim it!

March 23 is World Meteorological Day. Read “Weather” by Teacher Created Materials Publishing. It’s also Near Miss Day. Hmmm.

March 24 is National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day. OK, I am officially in!

March 25 is Pecan Day.There will be a lot of pies cooked in the South. If I haven’t overindulged in Raisinettes, I think I’ll dig out my killer Chocolate Pecan Pie recipe.

March 26 is Hawaii’s Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Day. It’s a state holiday in Hawaii. Check out “A is for Aloha,”  a book by Uilani Goldsberry and illustrated by Tammy Yee. This book was the 2006 Hawaii Center for the Book selection representing the state at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. (Sleeping Bear Press)

March 27 is Skyscraper Day. Do you know which is the tallest building in the world? Is it the Empire State Building? Guess again. The tallest skyscraper is the 2717-foot Burj Khalifa building in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with 160 floors. The Willis Tower in Chicago, formerly the Sears Tower, is the tallest building in the United States with 108 floors and ranks No. 8 in the world. The Empire State Building has 102 floors and ranks No. 15 globally.

March 28 is the day Olympian Jesse Owens was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush. The medal is awarded to a civilian who “performs an outstanding deed or act of service to the security, prosperity, and national interest of the United States,” according to Wikipedia. Owens won four gold medals in the 1936 Summer Games in Berlin, Germany. Read “A Picture Book of Jesse Owens” by David A. Adler and Robert Casilla. Grade 5. (Scholastic)

March 29 is the Birthday of Yours Truly. Yup, it’s my birthday! Lots of candles on this one. John Tyler, the 10^th president of the United States, shares the same birthday. For more birthday fun, read “Penelope and the Preposterous Birthday Party.” 

March 30 is Take a Walk in the Park Day. Isn’t it time for a field trip? Read “On One Flower: Butterflies, Ticks and a Few More Icks” and then visit your community park or a nearby state or national park to see what your children can discover. Government-funded parks offer a wealth of information and plenty of room to stretch energetic little legs. March 30 is also the anniversary of the signing of the Alaska Purchase treaty in 1867, and it’s National Pencil Day.

March 31 is Bunsen Burner Day. Embrace science. Read a book. Do a simple experiment. Make it fun.

March 11 is

Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan and Rip Van Winkle were three of my favorite folklore characters. Their stories were larger than life, and that appealed to a child of 8.

Mr. Van Winkle’s story was a variation on the time travel theme – an easy remedy for life’s problems. Simply go to sleep and they vanish! Mr. Bunyan lived with gusto. He made flapjacks on such a big griddle that skaters had to strap hunks of bacon to their feet to grease the pan! And, Mr. Appleseed was a tree-hugger prototype, someone who appealed to an outdoorsy girl like me, who had grown up camping and playing for hours outside every day.

“Rip Van Winkle” was a short story written by Washington Irving and published in 1819. The legendary antics of super-human lumberjack Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox are still told today, and many towns in the United States lay claim to him. The origin of these tales is hotly disputed.

John Chapman, the son of a Massachusetts farmer, was born in 1774. His favorite spot on his father’s farm is said to have been the apple orchard. He enjoyed talking to people who passed their farm as they headed west on wagon trains. The more he learned, the more he dreamed of joining them. He eventually set out, heading west with a pot on his head, a walking stick, a book and a bag of apple seeds. As he traveled, he planted seeds and told stories. The resulting trees became the source of delicious apples and legend, and John Chapman became known as “Johnny Appleseed.”

Why not read this enduring story to your children? Tie in additional lessons if you wish. His tale is a great launching pad for discussions about fruits, vegetables and nutrition. A bag of apples of various colors can be used to practice counting and graphing numbers on a chart. Talk about the difference between facts and legend. Discuss his character. Examine his attitude toward nature.

Here are some books to get you started:

• “Johnny Appleseed: The Story of a Legend” – This book was written and illustrated by Will Moses, the great-grandson of folk painter Grandma Moses. It’s intended for ages 5-9. “The virtues his picture biography teaches include sharing, simplicity and kindness to animals,” said Massachusetts elementary school teacher Simon Rodberg in a New York Times review. “This ‘Johnny Appleseed’ is biography as parable, embracing history and tall tales equally, its bright pages packed with country cheer.” (Philomel Books)
• “Johnny Appleseed” by illustrator Steven Kellogg. (Morrow Junior Books) Ages 8-12.
• “Johnny Appleseed” written by award-winning author Carol Ottolenghi and illustrated by C.D. Hullinger. (School Specialty Publishing) Ages 6-10.
•  “The Story of Johnny Appleseed” written and illustrated by Aliki. Ages 5-7.
• “Johnny Appleseed” written in poem form by Reeve Lindbergh and illustrated by Kathy Jakobsen Hallquist. A Redbook Children’s Picture Book Award Winner.
• “Johnny Appleseed” written by Patricia Brennan DeMuth and illustrated by Michael Montgomery. (Grossett & Dunlap) Level 1 Beginners.
• “What’s so Great About…Johnny Appleseed” written Daryl Davis Zarzycki, a second grade teacher in Delaware. (Mitchell Lane Publishers)

As parents, we all know how important a good education is to our children.  To me, however, I feel that reading and writing skills are priority.  Don’t get me wrong, I hope that both of my sons excel in all subject areas, but I will place emphasis on their reading and writing skills. 

Reading is the foundation for the development of many other areas in children’s, as well as adult, lives.  Reading skills opens up the imagination of a child.  A child that is a great reader has better comprehension and analytical skills than those who don’t read quite as well or as often.  And, avid readers process information faster as noted in research presented by the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.

Here are some other advantages for your child while reading:

• Reading develops creativity in a child that a TV show or a movie could not.  It makes their imagination stretch to the unknown as they read each paragraph of a story.  It makes them visualize what the author is describing from each word that is written. 
• Reading develops critical thinking skills.
• Reading increases vocabulary.
• Reading gives your child access to any topic.  For instance, if a child can read well and they are exposed to their library, internet, books, etc., then whenever they need to find an answer to a question, they have the whole world at their fingertips. 
• Reading can teach about other culture’s that your child may not be familiar with. 
• Reading can be a time of bonding for parent and child or grandparent and a grandchild.

This list could go on and on and on.  So, how can I improve my child’s reading skills?  Here are a few things that I feel works:

• Make time to read to your child or with your child every day.
• Surround your child with plenty of books and other reading materials.
• Show genuine interest in your child and their progression with their reading skills. 
• Take regular trips to the library.
• Possibly have your child join a book club or reading club at your local library.
• Encourage writing, whether it be writing or a story or writing in a journal, encourage writing.

I have always been an avid reader and reading has always came easy for me, so I try not to take that gift for granted.  My oldest son is having a bit of a harder time than what I had but, hopefully, with these tips, he will improve and enjoy it more and more as he becomes older.

Week 6 High Frequency Word List

1. me
2. up
3. go

~ Amy E. Snyder

• Pipe Cleaner Letters – Work with your child to shape letters out of pipe cleaners.  Help your child make the letters of his name.  Work on additional words your child may know as well.  This activity is great for fine motor skills.
• Magnet Letter Match – Provide a cookie sheet and a box of magnetic letters.  Cut various pictures out of magazines and glue them to individual index cards.  Put magnets on the back of the cards.  Ask your child what the picture is.  Have your child match the letter to the initial sound of the picture.  For example if you have a picture of a cat, your child should match the letter “C” to the picture.

• Sticker Stories – Provide your child with stickers.  Have your child make a scene with the stickers.  Then ask them to tell you a story about the scene.  Write the story for them.

• Letter-Balloo – Put large pieces of cardstock with one letter on each one on the floor, have your child, swim, run, skip , crawl, jump, slither, or spin to the letters you call out.

• Rhyme-Balloo – Put pictures on pieces of cardstock.  Place them on the floor.  Call out a word that rhymes with the picture and have your child swim, run, skip, crawl, jump, slither, or spin to the picture that rhymes with the word.

Dawn Little (aka Links to Literacy) also blogs at www.teachingwithpicturebooks.wordpress.com where she provides educators with picture book lessons based on comprehension strategies and the Six Traits of Writing.  In addition, she blogs at www.literacytoolbox.wordpress.com where she provides educators and parents with tips and tools to enhance the literacy lives of children.  She is the founder and owner of Links to Literacy, a company dedicated to providing interactive literacy experiences for children and families.  Find out more at www.linkstoliteracy.com

Riddle Search

First, write several riddles on a piece of paper. Be sure that you write the words large enough for your child to read them clearly. Use the kind of riddles that ask a question and have an answer. Those work best for this activity. Riddles for kids can easily be found by doing a google search, but for fun I’ve collected a few here as an example:

Why did the cake like to play baseball?   Because it was a good batter!

What do sea monsters eat?    Fish & Ships.

Why did the banana go to the doctors?   Because he was not peeling well.

What do moths study in school?  Mothematics!

Separate Riddle Questions & Answers

Next, separate the riddle questions from the answers using scissors.

Hide and seek riddles

Go around your house and place (or hide) each riddle question with the corresponding answer positioned somewhere close by it. The point is for the child to find each answer shortly after finding the related question.

Make A Riddle Guide

After you’ve got all of the riddles in place you’ll need to fill out a paper to give your child as a guide to finding all the riddles. List three or four riddles for your child to find. Your riddle guide will read something like this:

Hop 5 times to the couch. (Question is found there)

Now spin 2 times to other side of the couch. (Answer is found there)

Next take 25 baby steps to reach the kitchen table. (Question is found there)

Take 2 giant leaps to the kitchen chair. (Answer is found there)

Have Fun Finding All The Riddles

Each time your child finds a riddle question or answer be sure to have him/her read it out loud so you can enjoy it too.

If your child doesn’t read yet then you can either read out the directions to your child or just make them up off the top of your head.  This game would be really fun for toddlers.

*This activity can be altered for any kind of questions and answers that you think would interest your child. Try this out the next time your child has to study for a test!*

The proud mother of four children with voracious appetites for reading, Mindi Flowers is a work-at-home mom with a passion for promoting literacy. Mindi is the author of several children’s books, including the imaginative and interactive Super Hero Joe series. She is also the creator of an innovative system designed to teach reading skills to toddlers and adolescents using sound, successful practices with repetitive and fun activities. Mindi Flowers is also the force behind Bailey A. Bookworm, a.k.a. B.A. Bookworm, a website and blog that offers innovative tips and interactive activities geared towards nurturing the reader in your child. Visit her site http://babookworm.wordpress.com to view more of her work.

There, I said it…on his birthday, no less. I imagine this is a form of blasphemy, a veritable act of treason, but I just had to get it off my chest!

 While I mean no disrespect to Theodor Seuss Geisel himself – who was born on March 2^nd 106 years ago in Springfield, Mass. – I have to be honest. His books creeped me out as a child. (They sit on the same memory shelf as “The Wizard of Oz” and all those flying monkey things.)

The stories involved naughty characters and scenarios of impending doom. It was a little much for a sensitive kid with a highly developed imagination, a quick trigger finger over the “Guilt” button, and a hyperactive sympathy response. (If my brother got in trouble, I would be the one crying when it was all over.)

 In my world, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “Horton Hears a Who” were horrible stories. A thief was going to steal Christmas, my very favorite day of the year, and a little miniature civilization was going to be crushed despite the efforts of a well-meaning elephant. Don’t even get me started on “The Cat in the Hat” stories or “Green Eggs and Ham!”

 Those siblings in the Cat story were going to be in BIG trouble when their mom got home and found the house a disaster. The Cat and Thing One and Thing Two were uninvited guests and did not jibe with my inner “voice of reason” or my healthy fear of strangers.

And, for goodness sake, green eggs and ham? That entrée sounded particularly disgusting to a girl from a “clean-your-plate-or-you-do-not-leave-the-table” household.

 The illustrations were particularly creepy to me, too. I did not find them funny or cute. I loved animals, but these characters didn’t look like the soft furry ones I knew and adored. A one-humped Wump? A virtually hairless Zed? Zaxes, zooks and sneetches? No siree, bob. Not for me.

 Yup, childhood memories are powerful things. Although I grew up to be a reasonably well-adjusted adult, I simply could not overcome my feelings about Dr. Seuss’ books. So, I refused to read them to my children. (Did I just hear a gasp on a global scale?)

 Lest you think my children were deprived, think again. The books would end up in our take-home baskets at the library, although I never personally placed them in there. Unlike me, my husband reveled in reading “The Cat in the Hat” and “Green Eggs and Ham” to our girls – over and over and over again. He can still quote passages by heart as can my girls!

 I kept my prejudice to myself. An anti-Seuss sentiment just seemed so, well, un-American. I confided in my husband, but no one else knew. But, years have gone by and I have felt the urge to unload this heavy burden. My daughters are big girls now, young women of 16 and 19 years. I think it’s safe to purge. I think we are past the risk of leaving permanent psychological scars on them or impeding their education.

 My name is Suzan, and I am a Dr. Seuss book hater.

I guess that means  The Cat is out of the bag.

EDITOR’S NOTE: “Dr. Seuss” wrote and illustrated 44 children’s books during his lifetime. His works were turned into numerous TV specials, a Broadway musical and feature-length motion pictures. His honors have included a Pulitzer Prize, a Peabody award, two Academy Awards, two Emmys, and a whimsical sculpture garden was built as a memorial to him in his hometown. Despite my lack of appreciation for his well-loved rhyming schemes and quirky illustrations, his biography is fascinating and his contribution to children’s literature is unquestioned.

• To read more about this children’s literature giant, go to www.catinthehat.org.
• For a Level One Seuss word search puzzle, click here.
• Visit Seussville, a fun, interactive educational site for children.
• For additional  reading fun, visit Big Universe, a source of children’s books online.

If I were politically correct, I’d be moaning and groaning with the rest of the parents, some of the teachers and certainly the custodial staff.

“I hate these projects,” said one parent to no one in particular.

“You poor thing,” said a passerby to a judge sitting in front of a display of bedraggled bean sprouts.

“What a weekend,” moaned another mom who sported noticeable undereye circles. The child in tow did not look happy either.

It’s the seventh year in a row that I have volunteered as a science fair judge and the ritual is the same. The negative attitude toward science and this educational rite of passage was the norm, rather than the exception. Unfortunately, it’s not a localized attitude. Science teachers and organizations have been fighting this pervasive cancer on a nation-wide basis for years.

I, however, love science! I always have. Although I became a writer by profession, my first love was nature, science and the great outdoors.

As a child, I reveled in rocks and bugs and birds in the trees. I was awed by the birth of kittens and checked on the ever-changing tadpoles in our farm pond. I filled a shelf in my bedroom with my finds: an empty turtle shell, a blue jay feather, a rock with a tiny fossil embedded in it.

This interest in the natural world is not that unusual in young children. Just watch a curious toddler at a park. One is carrying a dandelion in a chubby fist, while another is collecting acorns and pebbles or observing the ants. It’s the scientific method in its infancy. It’s precious to watch.

So what happens to that natural curiosity and joy? Why the negative attitude? Is the disconnect inevitable?

I say it doesn’t have to end this way! I speak as a parent of four back-to-back years of science fair competition and as an experienced science fair judge. Here are a few suggestions that I think will help.

Science Projects: 9 Tips for a Positive Experience 

1. A student’s personal interest in the project topic is vital. The higher the interest level, the better the attitude, involvement and outcome.
2. Take a step-by-step approach. Methodical. Calm. Fun-focused. Note: A project cannot be completed successfully in a weekend.
3. Expose your children to good material from a young age. There are great science-themed books, videos, TV shows and community programs available. Visit the library, a book store, the local university, a national park, a zoo or the community science or agriculture center. Online resources are extensive. Big Universe has a particularly good collection of science-themed children’s picture books online and the Bill Nye the Science Guy website has a good sampling of easy experiments for parents or teachers to do with their children.
4. A positive parental attitude toward homework, science and education is key. Very often a parent’s bad attitude toward science projects is linked to an over-taxed schedule, a skewed understanding of the assignment’s goals, a poor view of education’s importance, or a negative personal science fair experience. “Every thought is a seed.  If you plant crab apples, don’t count on harvesting Golden Delicious!” – Bill Meyer
5. Teacher attitude. (Yes, teachers too!) Whether you are part of a school system or are a homeschooler, personal views are powerful. A child can detect overt and subtle biases against science. Do you see the science unit as a necessary evil or do you see science and learning as a blessing and great opportunity?
6. Exposure to good role models. Expose kids to science professionals – an engineer with cool gadgets, a zoo keeper or veterinarian, or a science “performer” with a sense of humor and lots of loud, visually interesting experiments designed to intrigue kids.
7. Parental support. Good parent-teacher communication can go a long way in avoiding misunderstandings and encourage parental support. (The child can’t drive, pay for materials, or scour the Internet safely without parental involvement. Getting everyone on the same team is imperative.)
8. Time management! Colliding with deadlines is stressful to the child, the parents and even siblings. Anticipating checkpoints and due dates allows you to sidestep the stress. Look at the teacher’s guidelines and schedule each step in the experiment process on your family calendar: researching, planning, collecting supplies, testing, journaling, analysis and creation of the display board. Allow a time cushion! Family emergencies happen, plants die and glue sticks dry up.
9. Recruit science mentors. Many science professionals or hobbyists are happy to share their knowledge and love of the sciences. “Bring Your Child to Work Day” is another great opportunity to expose children to different careers and working scientists.

UPDATE: (3/12/2010) Big Universe recently partnered with Sylvan Dell Publishing, a company on a serious mission to create picture books that excite children’s imaginations, are artistically spectacular, and have educational value — particularly in the areas of math, science and nature. Each book is carefully vetted by experts in the field including scientists and educators from NASA, NOAA, SeaWorld, Houston Zoo and various nature centers and aviaries.