Newsletter July 2010
July 22, 2010
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We strive to bring you the most helpful and up to date information every month, and this month's newsletter is no exception.
You can scroll down through the articles below, or you can click on a headline you like to go directly to that article.

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This Month's Headlines:

A Science-filled Summer
Healthy Body Image: Encouraging Self-Love in Children
Searching Smart: Looking for Truth on the Internet
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A Science-filled Summer

Science, like writing or math, is often one of those polarizing subjects that students either love or hate. But, if we pay a little more attention, we can see that science plays a large part of our lives everyday, and reaches beyond boring formulas. Summer is the perfect time to take advantage of the science in action all around us, in a more creative way that shows students that science doesn’t have to be boring memorization of the periodic table of elements.

There are many ways to bring some science lessons into your child’s summer. Here are just a few:

Field Trip!
A really fun way to expose children to different aspects and concepts of science is for them to literally see them in action. A trip to a local zoo can be a good start to brush up on biology skills. Let your child learn about the different groups of animals, from mammals to fish and reptiles. Zoos are full of informative plaques and signs that teach trivia and bits of knowledge on different animals. This can be a particularly easy way to get kids more interested in science, as many children are naturally drawn to animals. Who can resist a cute, furry monkey or a scaly snake? On the way home, talk with your child about what he or she saw, what was interesting to them, and more.

Another great place to take a field trip to is a science center or museum near your home. These kinds of hands-on environments allow children a more physical connection with science, as many places have interactive exhibits and engaging demonstrations and simulations of science topics. Many science museums also feature fun additions like IMAX movies—an easy treat that still educates your child—and planetariums for marveling over the vastness of our universe.

Lab Tests
Everyone knows the best part of science is getting to play around with hands-on experiments. You can do this at home safely with your child by purchasing science kits. Chemistry sets are popular, as they allow children to conduct different experiments and report on their results. As long as they are done with adult supervision, these can make for cool, fun summer memories of playing mad scientist!

Likewise, a microscope can open a child’s world to what lies beyond the surface and the power of the naked eye. There are many things you can do with a microscope—look at water samples from a local pond, plant clippings, bugs, or even human hair. Ask your child to draw pictures of what he or she sees on the slides for added stimulation. Maybe they want to start a journal where they sketch and compare their specimens.

Back to Nature
Nature is a like one huge science classroom, so get out there this summer! Take your child for walks and hikes in natural areas. You can simply observe the surroundings, take pictures, or use a notebook to make sketches or write down questions you and your child may come across. Another fun activity is to use a guide book. It could be a field guide for plants and insects, a bird watching book, or anything else that gets them using a combination of visual, aural, tactile and analytical skills.

These simple but fun summer activities can open your child’s eyes to a new world of science. This is a far cry from the science text books your child may struggle to read through and helps to show him or her that science, like any other subject, can be interesting and fun with just a little bit of effort and attention.

Source: “How to Improve Children’s Science Skills Over the Summer.” ehow.com.

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Healthy Body Image: Encouraging Self-Love in Children

Body image is an issue that can affect everyone, whether children or adults. While it is arguably a more visible issue for girls and young women, boys and young men also face increasing pressure to fit into certain physical molds. The summer can be a particularly important time to examine body image, as the warm weather forces us to shed layers and be seen in public in swimsuits and other clothing that shows more skin that what might be worn in school.

Children are bombarded with images from the media all the time, dictating how they should dress, act and even how their bodies should look. Talking to your child early about body image is one way to help your child learn to love his or her own body, regardless of how it compares to media standards.

As many of us adults know, developing a healthy body image is not always easy. But there are some simple steps to encourage self-respect and self-love in your child.

Talk it Out
One of most crucial elements in developing healthy body image is to communicate with your children about weight and health. Let them know that their weight or body type, while part of what makes them who they are, does not define them or imply anything about their worth as an individual.

Talking about body image portrayed in the media goes far to help dispel myths about a one-size-fits-all standpoint. Ask your child what they think about a model in a cover image or advertisement. Ask concrete questions like, “Do you think this looks real? Does the average person look like that? Do you think they changed the picture to make the person look thinner, have smoother skin, a smaller waist, etc.?” By pointing out that the images we are fed aren’t always real, you allow your child to see that magazines and advertisements are selling a ‘look’—one that may not even be completely natural.

One a related note, look at the images on the magazines and other forms or media you keep in the house. Are they contradicting your positive messages? Try to keep media around that is in keeping with what you tell and teach your kids.

Practice What you Preach
This one may be hard for some of us. If you are trying to teach your child to love him or herself unconditionally, you have to demonstrate the same appreciation toward yourself. That means no putting yourself down, especially in front of your children, which can give them the message that it’s okay to dislike yourself or feel unworthy based on your appearance.

And, make sure you aren’t supporting the media’s limited idea of beauty with the things you say about others. While well intentioned, sayings like, “She’s not a very attractive girl, but I’m sure she’s pretty on the inside” undermine the lessons you are trying to teach.

Likewise, if you want your child to approach a healthy body image through nutrition and exercise, you have to teach them, and lead by example. Educate your kids on these topics, and focus on dispelling myths; many children do not realize that looking skinny does not always mean a person is healthy. Teach them that real health comes from within and is about more than just weight or size.

Be Realistic
People can be very cruel about weight and body issues, so it’s important to give your child a realistic approach to dealing with these subjects. Let them know that it can be hard to love yourself as you are, and that people may say hurtful things, but it is important to not let those comments affect your own opinions of yourself and your own efforts to be healthy and happy. America is very weight-centric society, which can often lead to prejudice or discrimination toward those who don’t match an accepted beauty ideal. Teaching your child that this is not fair can go a long way in keeping them from making fun of others, and even encouraging them to stick up for those who are faced with unfair criticism.

Source: Kelly Maureen. Ten Tips for Raising Kids With a Healthy Body Image.” advocatesforyouth.com.
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Searching Smart: Looking for Truth on the Internet

It’s true that the Internet has brought a literal world of information right to our very fingertips. Topics that used to require long trips to the library to dig out rare books can now be researched with just a click of the mouse. But, with our tendencies to “google” everything, we’re now awash in a sea of information on just about everything and anything, some of the information great, some of it not so great—or even truthful for that matter. A simple search of a topic in Google can result in a variety of sources, from reputable media outlets like the New York Times, to a completely biased personal blog, or even a well executed but nonetheless sarcastic fake news site, such as the Onion or “The Daily Show.”

So how you do seek the truth in a world of links and websites? Alan C. Miller, former LA Times reporter, decided to investigate this twenty-first century phenomenon. According to him, while students have an immense number of resources at their disposal, many of them don’t have the tools to understand which sources are accurate and reliable. Miller founded the New Literacy Project to help train middle and high school students to search smart on the Internet. The key, Miller says, is to think like a reporter. Here are some questions, courtesy of his project, students can ask to help find their way on the internet.

Question Everything
Identify what the purpose is of the site you’re on. Is it a personal blog, a gossip column, a news site? Is the site for advertising or propaganda? Is it affiliated with any other site or organization? These connections can speak volumes about the information presented.

Critical Thinking
Learn to take note of who created the articles or reports on the site. Why were they created? To inform? To offer evidence for a particular ideology or belief? Is the information legit? Has it been published or verified elsewhere?

Bias vs. Objective
Learn to watch language for loaded terms or phrases. Does the site and author appear to have an agenda? What might they benefit from the information posted? Does the story appear to be one-sided, or an impartial report of events? Did the subject of the story respond in interview or other forms of media?

Don’t Believe Everything You Read
Just like they say don’t believe everything you see on television, don’t believe everything you read on the internet, even on sites like Wikipedia that have become mainstays for information—and often turn up as number one or two on the results lists. Wikipedia entries can be changed by anyone at any moment, so the information is not always 100% reliable. However, the articles cited in the Wikipedia entries are often primary sources that are great reference.

Like many aspects of learning, successfully using the Internet requires students to hone their analytical sense. It is important in our digital information age for students to always ask questions, and never assume that a source is a good one just because it’s online. This is a lesson that reaches well beyond the Internet—being able to synthesize information, analyze it and make well informed judgments—and is the basis for much of higher learning.

Source: Costello-Dougherty, Malaika. “News Literacy: How to Teach Students to Search Smart,” edutopia.org.

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