Posts Tagged ‘nutrition’

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Thanksgiving-Themed Science

November 4th, 2008

Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away, so I thought it might be fun to have a Thanksgiving theme this week. A bounty of websites will be featured all week on ClickSchooling. Enjoy!

Recommended Websites:
See Below

Age Range: Varies (Due to the nature of some of the content, parents AS ALWAYS should preview these sites to determine suitability.)

TURKEY SCIENCE

Exploratorium’s Fowl Science: Talking Turkey Watch a webcast that explains: Why a turkey continues to cook after it’s out of the oven. How you can be sure to thoroughly cook the dark meat without drying out the white meat. How you make the skin golden. Discover why temperature is critical, and investigate different cooking methods: roasting, deep frying, barbecuing, and smoking.

How Stuff Works: How Pop-Up Turkey Timers Work Great article and illustrations on what makes those pop-up thermometers work.

YAM SCIENCE

Sweet Potato or Yam? Find out what the difference is between sweet potatoes and yams – fascinating!

THANKSGIVING CHEMISTRY

The Tryptophan Effect – Does Turkey Make You Sleepy? Interesting article and illustrations that expose the truth about whether or not turkeys contain a natural sedative.

Exploding Pumpkin! Science Wiz Steve Spangler demonstrates this method (a favorite among chemistry teachers) to illustrate the energy released when you break a triple bond in a molecule of acetylene. Huh? Watch the video. (Note: Parental previewing and guidance a must!)

THANKSGIVING HEALTH & SCIENCE

Baylor College of Medicine: Nutrition In Thanksgiving Dinner This article gives a brief explanation of the nutritious elements of the Thanksgiving feast that parents can share with their children. Then, to reinforce the information play this game…

Free Online Nutrition Game – Thanksgiving Feast This is a fun arcade-style food game that helps kids learn about nutrition in the Thanksgiving meal. Bounce a ball off the top of a flying cornucopia and collect only the healthy food that comes out.

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Are You The Parent of a Preschooler? You’ll Love Universal Preschool’s Learning Calendar! It’s chock-full of fun, easy activities & time-saving resources for learning with little ones all year long! Get your copy today…

DID YOU MISPLACE A ClickSchooling Review? Do you need to find an educational website – fast! Visit the ClickSchooling archives.

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Kids Exercise and Fitness

October 19th, 2008

Recommended Website:
KIDS EXERCISE

All ages; non-readers will need assistance.

Normally, I don’t feature Physical Education on ClickSchooling, but this note from Louise Clare of the “Kids Exercise” website intrigued me:

“We have created a public interest website that focuses on keeping your kids fit, active and healthy, which I thought may be of interest to your readers. We don’t make any profit from the site but we’d like to spread the word and get the information out to as many people as possible.”

Essentially this site archives interesting articles with tips and advice for keeping your kids active and fit by providing exercise and nutrition ideas!

When you get to the site, you’ll see instructions at the top of the screen for how to navigate the site. Below that are some featured articles of interest. Use the menu on the left to access many articles by experts and journalists on these topics:

  • Fit Families – Learn how to make time for family fitness including using pets as exercise partners.
  • Fit Kids – Find out how much activity kids need, get fitness suggestions for 5-12 year olds, learn about fitness equipment, personal trainers, and yoga for kids.
  • Fit Teens – Discover fitness games for teens, how to have a healthy body image, and how to manage stress through exercise.
  • Fit Under 5′s – Get fun activities to channel your preschooler’s boundless energy and form good nutrition and exercise habits early.
  • Fitness On the Go – Incorporate movement into holidays and vacations. Get the scoop on Sports and Weigh Loss Camps.
  • Home Fitness – Enjoy suggestions for active indoor play. Learn about exercise videos for kids and how to get fit playing computer games!
  • Nutrition & Health – Learn about foods that fuel active, growing bodies and improve health and fitness.
  • Sports – Read advice on all kinds of sports activities from cold weather sports to extreme sports to martial arts for kids and more!

The articles I read were well-written with a nice balance of facts, practical advice, and easy tips for incorporating health and fitness into your family’s daily lives.

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Virtual Tour of Gatorade Sports Science Labs

September 12th, 2008

Recommended Website:
GSSI: Tour The Labs

Age Range: 10 and up (Some aspects may appeal to the younger crowd, non-readers will need assistance.)

Do your kids enjoy Gatorade? If so, then take a virtual tour of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute laboratories located in Barrington, Illinois. Founded in 1985, GSSI is a “state-of-the-art research facility dedicated to addressing the performance and safety needs of athletes through scientific exploration in the fields of hydration and nutrition science.” Who knew?

When you get to the site, you’ll see an introduction followed by a menu that gives you access to each of the different labs. Click on any lab and a new page opens. Read the intro and click on the words “explore the lab.” Another page opens with a photograph of the lab. Place your cursor over the ORANGE DOTS and a pop-up window appears with text that explains what you are viewing. Click on the ORANGE AND GREEN ARROWS to see more views of the labs. The Labs include:

  • Exercise Physiology Lab — Here GSSI researchers examine and record the metabolic responses of an athlete’s body to hydration and nutrition.
  • Biochemistry Lab — Find out how scientists collect and analyze specimens to determine electrolyte balance, energy metabolism, and hormonal response.
  • Performance Lab — Find out how scientists test Gatorade products on athletes to determine if it improves or impairs performance.
  • Exercise Sensory Lab — Here, researchers measure athletes’ sensory responses to food and beverages. Taste, color, aroma, and “mouthfeel” change depending on the level of activity — a determinant in how much an athlete will ingest.

While you’re at the site don’t miss the Deep Body Tour. This cool interactive shows how Gatorade rehydrates the mouth, throat, stomach, intestines, kidneys, heart, lungs, muscles, brain, and skin.

WARNING: This tour may result in thirst for Gatorade — better stock up beforehand. :)

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DID YOU MISPLACE A ClickSchooling Review? Do you need to find an educational website – fast! Visit the ClickSchooling archives.

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Free Lessons & Activities About Wheat and Agriculture

February 21st, 2008

Recommended Website:
Wheatmania: Educational Materials

Age Range: 4-17 (Lessons for Grades PreK-12, archived at the featured site and the secondary site mentioned below.)

ClickSchooler Melanie from Nebraska recommended this website, sponsored by the Kansas Wheat Commission, that provides all kinds of free downloadable lessons and activities for learning about wheat and other agricultural products! While the featured website about wheat has lessons for grades PreK-5, the site features a link to the Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom that provides lessons for grades K-12.

So, let’s start with the featured site. When you arrive on the landing page you’ll see a menu of Educational Materials that include:

  • Fields of Gold: Preschool Education Packet – A pdf file that opens to a 36-page teaching guide that includes lessons on proper hand-washing, how to grow wheat, all kinds of tasty recipes that use wheat, fun things that can be made with wheat products such as play dough and more.
  • Exploring Kansas Crops: Educator’s Guide for 3rd-5th Grades – When you click on this item, it takes you to the Kansas Foundation for Educators website where you can download materials for:
    1. Exploring Kansas Farm Animals for 1st-2nd Grades
    2. Exploring Kansas Crops for 3rd-4th Grades (with applications for grades K-8)

But that’s not all! From the “Teacher’s Resources” button on the menu bar at the top of the page you can click on “Teacher Approved Lessons” to get to this JACKPOT site:

Kansas Foundation For Agriculture in the Classroom: Lesson Plans

Here, you will find an amazing assortment of lesson plans with activities for Grades K-12 on the following topics:

  • Crops
  • Conservation
  • General Agriculture
  • Horticulture
  • Livestock
  • Nutrition
  • Water and Soil
  • and more!

In addition to the lesson plans and activities available at these sites, take some time to explore the menus. You’ll find interactive games to reinforce learning, fun fact sheets, contests, and other free teacher resources as well.

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Eat Smart, Play Hard!

March 10th, 2007

Recommended Website:
USDA’s Eat Smart, Play Hard!
 Kids’ Page

Age Range: 6-11

The United States Department of Agriculture features this website for
children to learn about healthy nutrition and the importance of exercise.

When you get to the site, you will see a colorful drawing of a town center.
Click on the buildings to find activities, worksheets, games, and other
helpful information. Your host, Power Panther (the mascot of good nutrition
and exercise) will guide you throughout the site. Here are some of the
highlights you will find:

  • Town Library: Power Panther tells stories of his own experiences, in order
    to encourage children to get off the couch and into the playground. For
    online viewing, you may like to select the individual cartoon panels.
    Questions follow each story, to ensure comprehension and retention. Here you
    will also find clip art, activity sheets, and even food experiments. Note:
    the “MyPyramid for Kids” link goes to the TeamNutrition website, where you
    can download some lessons and also order a CD with a game on it; all of this
    is also available for free on the MyPyramid website referenced further down.

  • Theater: Power Up Moves – Dance along with Power Panther :)
  • Fitness Center: Printable activity sheets (also available in Spanish)
  • Power Tunes: Get up and move to these rock songs. Lyrics and sheet music
    are also provided.

  • Post Office: Printable Power Panther themed greeting cards and posters.

  • Eat Smart Grill: Recipes you can try at home!
  • Fun Times Arcade: This is where you will find the MyPyramid Blast Off Game
    (and if you go to this game you will also find links to the lessons
    referenced earlier, along with some visually pleasing presentations about
    food choices, serving sizes, recommended daily allowance, and so forth.)
    Under “Games” you will find an interactive gardening game, where you try to
    keep the garden well watered and free of pests and weeds. (This one is
    challenging!) This section also features online mazes and scrambled word
    puzzles. “Links to other fun stuff” leads to a website especially designed
    to help girls keep their bones strong.

  • Travel: Among other things, this section has a printable Grocery Store
    Treasure Hunt you can take with you next time you go shopping!

  • Farmer’s Market: Under “Other Fun Stuff” you can play the “Agventure Game”
    or make your own fruit and vegetable diary.

  • House: Don’t miss the house in the foreground, where you will find tips for
    families, help for growing your own vegetable garden, printable worksheets,
    and more!

  • Playground: Last but not least, if you click on the kids playing in the
    foreground, you will get suggestions for activities and games you can do to
    stay healthy (these require getting up from the computer).

Enjoy!

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BAM! (Body And Mind)

January 27th, 2007

Recommended Website:

BAM! (Body and Mind)

In order to stay healthy, we really need to make sure to get enough
exercise. Most kids these days aren’t active enough. Here’s an innovative
website from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, part of the US
Department of Health and Human Services.

Here’s what you will find:

  • Activity Calendar: Select activities you’d like to do, and schedule them
    into your week. This handy calendar is printable, so you can check off each
    activity as it is completed.
  • Activity Cards: here you can learn the rules for many different sports.
    Which one would you like to learn next?
  • “I Heard” Hurdle Race: Answer all of the questions correctly, and your
    athlete will clear all the hurdles. If you miss any, you can go back and try
    for a better result. This game is short, so it won’t make you lose sight of
    the goal, which is to actually go out and get moving. :)
  • Meeting the Challenge: Read about successful athletes who have overcome
    major challenges (disabilities)
  • Go For Activities You Like to Do: Take a short profile quiz to get some
    recommendations for sports you might like to try :)

Bonus:

  • Get some advice from the Xperts on how to stay physically active
  • Braggin’ Rights: Read success stories from other kids like yourself. You
    can also post your own, and see if it is selected to appear on the site.

When you have finished determining what sport or other activity would suit
you best, learning how to do it, and scheduling it into your week, don’t be
afraid to turn the computer off and start moving! Your body will thank you.
:)

When you get back, you might like to check out the other health-related
sections of this site: Diseases, Food and Nutrition, Your Safety, Your Life,
and Your Body.

Enjoy! :)

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