Kim says:

Let’s face it. We all know that the internet is teaming with information, but if you’re like me, it’s not finding information that’s the problem; it’s narrowing down the search into useable and useful components. At times it seems rather overwhelming. For example, let’s say your first grader is learning about human senses. And, through fortuitous happenstance he comes down with a cold. (Okay, I’m not suggesting you intentionally expose your child to the latest virus, but with children, you won’t need to wait long until they find one themselves!) With a stuffy nose and running eyes he looks up at you from his dinner plate and says, “I can’t taste the chicken soup. Why?” You’ve got 2 choices. First, you can give your child the easy answer, “Because you have a cold, honey, and your nose is all stuffed up”, which only reconfirms his obvious observation, or you can say, “You have a cold. I’m not sure why we can’t taste or smell when we’re sick. Let’s look it up.”

Now, here’s where the real trick comes in; how do you sort through everything that is available on the internet to be able to not only find an answer, but to find one that is appropriate for using with your first grader? Like most things in life, the best way to handle most situations, is to be prepared. Quite a while ago I started collecting high quality children’s science websites. I began by googling “best science sites for kids”. WOW! Incredible! I started saving a list of “favorites” simply titled “Science” and whenever I found a site that I thought was good and worth revisiting, I saved it. After a while this list was growing and becoming wild and unmanageable. So, one rainy afternoon, I reorganized. I made subcategories under “Science” like Human Anatomy, Space, Botany, Chemistry, etc. I also have a folder titled “general” for websites that touch on multiple science disciplines. When we have a question, I can pull up my favorite websites, and head to a tried and true site. Many times we won’t be able to find exactly what we are looking for but a quick google search, typing in the specifics of what you’re looking for like “kids + why can’t we taste when we have a cold”, will turn up many sites to chose from. (By typing in the word “kids” or “children” with the search, child geared sites are listed first.) I headed to http://pbskids.org/dragonflytv/show/tastetest.html. There I found a 5 minute video with a group of kids performing a taste test. We hit a couple of other sites on the list, and in 15 minutes we learned that many tastes are perceived on your tongue, but the finer “tastes” are actually smells, that comingle at the back of your throat. When your nose is plugged with mucous, we lose the elements of taste that originate in your nose, which is about 75% of perceived taste. Fascinating! (I probably knew that at one time, but we all need refresher courses, right?)

So, point to note: My grandson now has a better understanding of smell, and perhaps equally important, so do I! As he moves up through the grades, learning more difficult concepts, his parents and I will be available for expanding and enhancing the learning that begins in LabLearner. Staying aware of the subjects being discussed in school is a great way to help our children continue learning at home. But don’t feel compelled to “stick to the schedule”. If your child expresses an interest in another wonder of the science world, help them explore! There is a wealth of information on the internet; information that can spur discussion and hands-on exploration; information that supports the scientist in all of us!