Today, I am super excited to introduce you to Steph from Boy Mama Teacher Mama. She writes a fabulous blog choc-a-block full of great activities that promote learning and enjoyment. If you're yet to discover her blog, then you must go over and take a look. I shall leave you in her capable hands. Debs :)
I am so happy to be guest posting on Learn with Play at home! My name is Stephanie and I am the creator of Boy Mama Teacher Mama. I am also a former primary school teacher and a mom to two amazing boys ages 3 and 5. I am also a mom to two adorable Pugs who were my children before my boys were born. I was born and raised in the US (Chicago area then onto the Seattle area), and am currently living in Sydney, Australia.
Here I share with you some fantastic fun that you can have with a simple material... corn!
"Mom, do you think popcorn and corn are the same
thing?"
This is what my
five year old asked me today on the walk to the grocery store. Man, the things
we take for granted that we think they know, but they don't! So, it was time to
institute, "Popcorn School" in our household. What fun!
But, before we
start, head over to itunes and search for the song, "Popcorn!" by the
Barenaked Ladies and play it! It is a
fun song that will get your child "popping" around the room and ready
to think about popcorn!
Popcorn Basics
• Popcorn comes from corn
(no assumptions right?)
• There are six different
kinds of corn, but, “zea mays everta” aka popcorn is the only one that pops.
• In the United States,
over 17.3 billion quarts of popcorn is consumed each year!
• Corn is grown in 6
different states in the US. This area is known as the "cornbelt."
Why Popcorn Pops
Each kernel of
popcorn contains a small drop of water stored inside a circle of soft starch.
The soft starch is surrounded by the kernel’s hard surface. As the kernel heats up, the water begins to
expand and eventually turns into steam. This steam changes the soft starch to
an extremely hot gelatinous goop. As the kernel continues to heat up, the
pressure inside grows and grows until it finally bursts open. So, what you are
seeing in a piece of popcorn is actually the inside of the kernel on the
outside!
Be a Kernel and POP!: Have your child get down
on the floor and pretend that she is an un-popped kernel of popcorn. Then walk
her through the stages of becoming a piece of popcorn. Begin with something like-- “You are one tiny
kernel in the pan along with hundreds of other kernels. You are closed up
tight. Slowly the pan gets hotter and hotter…”
Check out this
video of popcorn popping in slow motion: Popcorn in Slow Motion
Did You Know?
• The un-popped
popcorn at the bottom of the bowl are called, “old maids?”
•
Native Americans used to believe that a little demon lived
inside each kernel. The demon would get so angry when his house heated up that
he exploded and that is why popcorn pops.
Popcorn Activities
Cook up a batch
of popcorn for the following activities. Be sure to set aside some un-popped
kernels as well. Don’t forget to make a little extra to munch on…
Popcorn Addition: Using 3 cups or plates and a die, you can
practice addition. Roll the die once and
put that many piece of popcorn on the first plate, roll again and put that many
on the second plate. Then pour the contents of the first two plates onto the
third and count how
many pieces you have all together. Want to take it a step further? Use a pencil
and paper to show the addition problem or try subtraction instead.
Popcorn Popcorn Patterns: Use popcorn and kernels to make
patterns.
Popcorn Art: Use popcorn and kernels to make a picture or design
Popcorn Bags: Using a plain paper bag (lunch bag), create your own popcorn
bag like you might see at the circus, the fair or the movies.
Math Bags: Want to add some math to
your newly created Popcorn Bag? Throw a few number cards inside the bag and
have your child draw two cards then add, subtract or multiply the two numbers.
Or remove 3 or more cards and practice adding number strings.
Popcorn Taste Test: Prepare popcorn in a few
different ways (see recipes below), gather up the family and have a taste test.
Create a popcorn graph to show the results.
Song, Story or Rhyme: Write a song, story or rhyme about popcorn. Here is a simple one we made up:
Popcorn popping,
Pop!
Pop! Pop!
Popcorn popping,
When will it stop?
Popcorn popping,
Ready to munch.
Popcorn stopping,
Ready to crunch!
Popcorn Tic-Tac-Toe: Instead of x and o use
kernels and popped popcorn.
Popcorn Stand: Have a popcorn stand instead of a lemonade
stand (or both!).
Sprout a Kernel: Put some soil in a container, add a few kernels of popcorn and water. Place the cup in a sunny spot and watch your kernel grow. Kernel should sprout in about a week or so.
Sprout a Kernel: Put some soil in a container, add a few kernels of popcorn and water. Place the cup in a sunny spot and watch your kernel grow. Kernel should sprout in about a week or so.
Have an Older Child?
Try this two
step activity:
How Much Room? Fill a
very small container with popcorn kernels and fill the same size container with
popped popcorn and set both aside (out of view). Now, with your child, count out 2 kernels and
show him what that looks like. Then show him what 5 kernels look like. And then
10. Repeat these same steps with popped
corn. Ask some of the following
questions: Which kind of corn (popped or
un-popped) takes up more space? If you
had to fill a big container with either popped or un-popped popcorn, which would
make sense to use? What about a smaller container? Which makes more sense?
Kernel Estimation: Now that your child has an understanding of
how much space popped and un-popped popcorn takes up, take out the two
small containers you filled up. Place them in front of your child. As these question: Which container is holding
more items? How do you know? How many
kernels do you think is in this container? How many pieces of popcorn are in
this container? Show your child again
what 10 kernels looks like and what 10 pieces of popcorn look like. Using this
visual information, together try to estimate how many kernels are in the
container and how many pieces of popcorn there are. Then count and see if you are right!
Note: Estimation is not an easy concept. Often we expect young children to just
instinctually know what it means and how it works. This is not true! Guiding
your child as described above, helps your child to begin to understand
estimation.
Popcorn Recipes
• Party Popcorn from She Wears Many Hats
• Easy Caramel Corn
• Seasoned Popcorn: Simply add any of your favorite ingredients to the melted butter and enjoy! Try cinnamon sugar or parmesan cheese.
• Seasoned Popcorn: Simply add any of your favorite ingredients to the melted butter and enjoy! Try cinnamon sugar or parmesan cheese.
Popcorn Books
•
Popcorn! (Elaine Landau )Popcorn! is a picture book for older
children complete with historical facts, legends, trivia and recipes all
featuring popcorn.
•
The Popcorn Book (Tomie DePaola) Friends get together to make
some popcorn and have an adventure that is sure to please young readers.
•
Popcorn (Frank Asch) Bear is left home on Halloween and decides to
invite his friends over for a party.
Each friend decides to bring some popcorn to the party. Bear and his
friends decide to pop all the corn and soon the house is filled with popcorn….
More great
information about popcorn can be found at Popcorn.org
