| While being on summer vacation can be a fun time for | | | | for about a week. Once the leaves have dried, they |
| kids when they get out of school, it is also important to | | | | can glue them into a fun scrapbook with their common |
| encourage the learning process even outside of the | | | | and scientific names. |
| classroom. Planning cool science experiments is a | | | | Another great outdoors activity that many kids (and |
| great way for parents and children to spend time | | | | adults) would like would be creating their own fossils. |
| together, while making it interesting and productive. | | | | Most kids are really interested in dinosaurs, so showing |
| Taking field trips to local science museums can turn | | | | them how fossils are formed is not only interesting, but |
| learning into an exciting field trip, and also a way to get | | | | also informative. Make a fossil by shaping a sheet of |
| out of the house! Girls and boys can be exposed to | | | | aluminum foil into a bowl, and then fill it with plaster of |
| many different learning subjects, but often, girls lose | | | | Paris. Take rocks, shells or other hard objects and |
| interest in science while boys find it much more | | | | press them into the plaster, wait about 30 minutes to |
| interesting. The key to involving girls is to make it fun | | | | remove the item from the plaster and kids then have |
| for them, using the things they like or subjects they | | | | their very own fossil! |
| may be interested in. | | | | Taking a field trip to the local science center can also |
| Science can affect or explain many things that are | | | | be a fun trip that incorporates learning with each |
| used day-to-day, so showing how it works can be | | | | exhibit. Many of these exhibits are hands-on, which can |
| relevant and exciting for any child in school, especially | | | | help a child put an idea into perspective. Activities |
| those in the younger elementary levels. Encouraging | | | | about weather, astronomy, botany, and chemistry are |
| your child's interest in science, even if you, the parent, | | | | all covered, with not only informational pictures and |
| aren't "good" in the subject, is important. | | | | writing, but also their application in real life. |
| Planning trips to the park to do explorations or | | | | It is really important to keep children learning, even |
| scavenger hunts can help girls and boys identify items | | | | when they are out of school. It is up to the parents to |
| in nature, or even serve as a potential source for | | | | keep children busy with educational activities, especially |
| many fun summer projects or science experiments. A | | | | those ideas that may have not been covered in the |
| great activity that can be done outside is creating a | | | | classroom. Involving both girls and boys can make any |
| unique leaf collection. Even parents who are not | | | | subject fun, especially science. Encourage children to |
| "experts" can help with this one. | | | | try their own experiments, which can teach valuable |
| Together, parents and children can learn to identify | | | | information as well as increase creativity in younger |
| each of them, using reference sources. Girls and boys | | | | kids. Parents don't have to be experts in science but |
| can go exploring, finding leaves that interest them and | | | | like children, they should always be open and willing to |
| then laying them between wax paper. They can then | | | | learn. |
| add heavy books on top of the paper, pressing them | | | | |