Why leaves are green?

Here is the first question of your young biologist. And indeed – why they are green in summer and yellow in autumn?

Materials:
a piece of foil;
Scotch tape;
diluted alcohol;
cup with thin walls.

What should you do?

Take a leaf of any plant or tree and with the help of scotch tape attach a piece of foil which can be cut in the form of a star or a circle). A week later, you can see the result: an “image” on green leaves. In the place where foil was attached, where the light couldn’t penetrate, leaf has become yellow.

The green leaves have a special substance called chlorophyll. It captures solar energy. When autumn comes, when sun-light becomes less, leaves cannot “receive” feeding, they become yellow, and leaves fall, because they can not feed themselves. “And can we see this chlorophyll?”, – your child asks. You can!

What should you do?

For this experiment you need to put a green leaf with thin walls in the glass and fill it with diluted alcohol. Then, boil some water in a bowl and carefully put this cup in it (something like a water bath). After a while, get the help of tweezers. You’ll see an amazing transformation – the leaf has lost its color, but the alcohol became green, because it dissolves chlorophyll – the green pigment of plants.
By the way, if you conduct this experiment with edible plants (for example, salad or spinach), the result will be a natural coloring (dye) – it can be used to color the cream or sauce. The process can be accelerated, if you crush the leaves, and shake the glass from time to time.

How do the plants drink water?

Perhaps the child has cut some flowers and forgot to put them into water, they’ll fade very quickly as they need water. But to confirm this idea will help a beautiful experience.
Materials:
colored ink (red, blue, green);
several glasses (according to the number of colors);
a few white carnations or celery stalks.

What should you do?

In each cup you need to pour ink of one color, about two centimeters from the bottom. Add water. Flowers or celery stalks should be cut to a length that they are able to stand steadily in the glass. Now, leave them for four hours. What has happened? As always, a miracle: the flowers have become colored. If you look carefully, you can see a thin streak: water color painted them, so they become visible.
If you use celery stalk with flowers, you can make a cut on the stalk with a razor or a sharp knife. There will be visible points of color – they indicate the capillaries – the finest tubes in which water rises from the bottom up.

What is a volcano?

This question was raised my friend’s son after he saw the painting of “The Last Day of Pompeii”. Of course, you can tell that the volcano is formed in the earth’s crust above the magma. When the hot gas pressures on it, magma pushes upward, rocks molten on the road and the explosion erupts at the surface. But all these explanations are not very clear to the child. What if you show it?

Materials:
Plasticine;
one tablespoon of drinking soda (sodium hydro carbonate);
vinegar 3-9% – 40-50 ml;
a few drops of red food coloring (can be replaced with beetroot juice);
one tablespoon liquid for washing dishes.

What should you do?

First divide the available plasticine in halves: roll one half like a round pancake, and another – in a rectangle, which then collapse the cone with a small hole on top and connect it at the bottom of the “pancakes”. To verify the tightness, you should pour the water through the upper hole. The size of the cone should not be very large – 100-150 ml is enough.
Prepare “lava”: mix the liquid for washing dishes, dry soda and dye, pour all of this into the “throat of the volcano”. Now add vinegar. As a result, kickback with allocation of carbon dioxide will begin and what a miracle: boiling foam will come out from the throat.
At the same time, you can tell your child that this model is applied in very peaceful purposes – for example, in the kitchen when his/her mother mixes dough. It makes the dough luxuriant, forming bubbles and tracks. These make old friends – soda and vinegar.
As you can see – nothing is complicated! But how much joy, creativity and discovery…

Whatever you choose, of course, you do not forget the entertainment on the road – a couple of detectives, cards, crosswords. However, there is a small snag – you travel with your child. I suspect that detectives can hardly help you in this case. You can’t take bulky table games. First, it is not very convenient, because you are to pay for every extra kilogram. Second, you’ll have some empty centimeter in your suitcase.
The main rule – do not entertain children from the very beginning. After all, first they’ll want to plunge into new experience, study the compartment or the cabin of aircraft, listen to new sounds … But the time will come when your child will be annoyed from these. And if you feel that your child is already tired, it is time to act!

Travel notes

Try to keep a road diary with your child. For this purpose you can use a thick notebook or album for drawing. It’s not terrible, if your child can’t write yet – he/she can draw unusual thing, a bird or a river, car which you met on the way. Then you can paste photographs taken on the road in the diary, or tickets, which will remind of the trip. It is interesting to monitor the movements on the map (it will also become an important part of the diary).
Comments on images and photos can be done in the style of a guide: “Look, what a magnificent panorama of petrol in front of you”. Do not forget to mark the date.

I paint – I paint you

If there isn’t anything interesting on your way, you can simply draw. A small notebook and a set of drawing pencils or felt-tip pen are enough for a young artist! The child may be full of new impressions, and he/she certainly would like to give them shape and color. You can also invent a game related to art.
For example, you can play the game “Nonsense”. Certainly, it is familiar to you from your childhood. You draw a head at the top of the page (humans’, animals’, birds’), indicate where to start the neck and torso, incurve sheet so that your image is not visible, and send it to the child. He/she draws the torso, starting with your marks, and leaves mark where to draw the feet.
We can offer another game-“The enigma of the illustration”. You paint a picture with “nonsense” – for example, while the sun shines in the sky there is also the moon, or a person wears a shoe on one leg, but on the other – boots. The younger the child, the brighter must the “nonsense” be. The task of your baby is to find your mistake. The game develops attention and logical thinking.

Honey, guess yourself…

The best road games are puzzles. There is a wide variety of puzzles. Here are some examples.
Guess my number
One participant keeps in mind any number. Another must guess the number by offering different versions. “20?” “More!” “45?” “Less”.
20 questions
Now think of any object. The participant has the right to ask only twenty questions – “Is it alive or dead?”, “Is it man made or natural?”, etc., then he/she must guess what you have kept.

What was changed?

You should play this game like this: spread a number of any items, toys, pencils, etc. One participant closes his/her eyes for a moment, at this time the other changes their order or removes one or two pieces. The task of the first player is to find out what was changed. You can also play in this way.
But the road gives new opportunities to modify the game, as out of the window of a car or a train, everything changes very quickly. Just turn for a second, and the panorama of the window will be slightly different. Who can find more differences?

Thimbles

This game is extremely exciting. You can play it even with a child of any age. You’ll need 2-3 plastic cups and a small object like hairpins, rubber, figures from Kinder-surprise, etc. For playing this game you can use folding table in an airplane and a train, or back seat of the car.
You must have seen how deftly professionals change the order of the cups. But their task is not very plausible, as they simply fraudulent. We will develop attention and coordination of in an honest way. So we cover the pin with a cup, and change their order. Try to guess where the hidden surprise is.
The important point: give your child the opportunity to hide a thing himself/herself. If your partner is under three, it is better to use colored glasses: color helps to concentrate.

Traveling stories

You can invent the most improbable stories. Just think of the principle on which to build your stories. For example, this:

Unfortunately or fortunately?

Fortunately, we took a clockwork parrot.
Unfortunately, it broke down.
Fortunately, now will be quiet, and we can sleep.
Unfortunately, if you sleep at daytime you’ll have insomnia.
Fortunately, at night you can walk in the fresh air and look at the stars … etc.

My beloved’s name starts with A

This game was described in the famous fairy-tale “Alice in Wonderland”. Choose any letter and create:
My beloved’s name starts with A – Andrew. I love him because he is accurate, I am afraid of him, because he is aggressive. I gave him apricot juice. And he lives in Austria…

Magic bag

Magic bag can replace a simple sock (preferably large one). Place small objects inside the sock-bag (a coin, small toys, rubber, etc.) and let the child feel what he/she holds. This game gives extra tactile stimulation that is not only important for the development of speech, but simply to relax on the road.
And you can make a magic bag in another way. Beforehand, at home choose a suitable bag or beautician and put in it every trifle: buttons, toys from Kinder-surprise, wooden sticks (toothpicks, a countable set), shreds, etc. The young traveler can play with them for a long time, especially if you take part in the parsing of treasures. From the threads and shreds you can make pictures, buttons can be turned into plates for small toys).

After all, you do not need to hurry and with a clear conscience, you can plunge into the wonderful world of children’s imaginations and creativity. Enjoy your trip!

Suggest your child to «welcome to the sun» in the morning. Turn on a light and pleasant music. Lie down on the floor together with the baby. Then close your eyes. Ask your child to imagine the sky with white clouds and bright warm sun. Then try to imagine other beautiful and kind things, for example animals, or kids playing with the animals. This is such kind of a game that makes you closer with your kid.

Children learn to play primarily from their parents or other adults. Play often provides a training ground from which a child learns to develop skills that will be useful later in life. Although modern sports tend to have fixed rules, children generally prefer games that require less-specialized equipment, preparation, and playing area. Hopscotch, leapfrog, and marbles are particularly popular games, as are the various improvised games that involve running, chasing, and catching. Many games—primarily guessing games, quizzes, and games that test physical coordination—are played by children and adults together.

Share time together with your child; recognize what is most important; see the big picture. All of those other things you do, you do to spend time with your children; maybe you forgot that. Play helps a young mind grow. Every minute of play is a minute of rapt attention at learning something; if it’s not a new task or new information, it is learning that closeness and laughter are possible in this world.

Children crave time with parents.  It makes them feel special.  Parents are encouraged to find time to spend playing with their kids on a regular basis.  This should include one to one with each child and group time with all of the adults and kids in the home.  If you are a single parent or have an only child, occasionally invite family or friends over to play.

In pretend play, let the child develop the theme.  Get into their world.  Let them go with it.  Ask questions.  Play along.  Be silly along with them and have fun.  Avoid over-stimulation.  Know when it is time to stop.

Possible games:

• Play outdoors.  Throw balls.  Push kids on swings.  Make mud pies.  Go on a hike around the neighborhood.  Take a nature walk in your backyard.
• Play games – card games – board games – silly and wacky kids games.  Help them learn to take turns, how to win and how to lose.  Praise them.  Encourage them.  Laugh with them.
• Get involved in a craft project together.  Build a jigsaw puzzle as a family.  Bake cookies.  Paint a picture.
• Listen to music together.  Sing along.  Play rhythm instruments along with music.   Get out the guitar or keyboard and make music.
• Read a book together.  Ask questions.  Ask them to change the story or make up a new one.
• Watch a movie together.  Find out what they liked – how they felt.  Discover the child’s interests.  Comment on and discuss any bothersome content either words or actions.
• Play kid games like:  Follow the Leader – Guess What I Am? – Hide and Seek

Sociability (Communication Building)
Many children experience difficulties in communication caused by excessive shyness or child’s fears. Child development games are used in order to overcome the obscurity. It is effective to do this in the unfamiliar group of children. They help children learn more about each other, identify common interests, learn how to build communication and to interact successfully.

“I’m looking for …” (for children from 4.5 years). The leader says a phrase, for example: “I’m looking for the one who has blonde hair”, while all the blond children hide. The kid who has not fulfilled the task, becomes the leader and asks questions.

“Find a friend” (for children from 5 years). The children (or children and adults) are split into pairs, one of the partners is blindfolded and is given an opportunity to freely walk around the hall and then is asked to “find a friend”. Even if your child chooses the wrong person, the game continues and the players are changing roles.

“Rainbow” (for children from 4 years). Children are in a circle, while leader is in the center. The leader calls the color, and every child should have to find that color for example on clothing of the child next to him. The kid who has not fulfilled the task, becomes the leader.

Emotionality

Often, that due to circumstances (external effects) the child is closed, hampering their own emotions, and therefore also difficult to interpret emotion expressed by others. Games that improve emotionality will help your child learn to fearlessly express your own emotions, feelings and sentiments to guess around.

“Photo” (for children from 4 years). These games are possible to play in a group of children, as well as between the child and the adult(s). The child(ren) is shown a photo image of a character with some pronounced emotion. A kid(s) is asked to describe how that person feels.

“Emotions” (for children from 4 years). Kids are in a circle, leader requests to show any emotion (joy, sadness, longing, sadness and so on). In addition to the basic mental health effects the exercise also promotes the mobility of the child’s facial expressions.

Coordination and development of the vestibular apparatus

In the period of active growth some kind of children’s clumsiness and crumpled movements are natural. Dancing and body orientating technology can help the baby to develop a coordination.

“Create a dance” (for children from 5 years). Turn rhythmic music, ask the kids form a circle and alternately strike any dance movement. Every child should show his movement, and the remaining members should repeat.

“Magic Ball” (for children from 5 years). The leader invites kids to imagine that they are in a fantastic ball, for example, on the ocean floor. Each of the kids chooses a sea inhabitant, whom he/she would portray (copy the motion). The leader, in this case Neptune, selects the party he most liked – that in turn becomes the new leader and offers, for example, go to “air ball”, where each participant will represent one of the flying creatures. And so on.

“Freeze!” (for children from 4 years). Leader plays rhythmic music and children randomly dance, jump, clap, and shout to the music… When the leading ends music and says “Freeze!” children should be fixed on the spot. You can encourage the best playing child with an executive prize.

Developing games will help your child to be open and become more sociable, attentive to others and lift their own mental stress, overcome fears and complexes. Favorable therapeutic effect is achieved by means of games quite easily and delivers a true joy to your child!