Plus, viewing the comet, top brain food for kids, where did all the dinos go?
|  | Sunday, July 12, 2020 | | | | |
 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY WILL GOERTZEL | | New Kid (pictured above) is a graphic novel starring a kid of color dealing with two worlds: his Washington Heights neighborhood and his upscale new private school.
By Rachel Buchholz, KIDS AND FAMILY Editor in Chief
I’ve seen my share of protests. It’s just a part of life when you live in the middle of Washington, D.C. College students living in tents, women wearing pink hats, environmentalists blocking busy intersections. And even though it’s been more than a month since the George Floyd protests started, my city continues to witness demonstrations against systemic racism and police brutality.
A lot of things are different about these protests, but one in particular stands out: the number of children demonstrating alongside adults. These aren’t teenagers—they’re clusters of mask-wearing 8-, 9-, and 10-year-olds marching around their neighborhood parks, holding Black Lives Matter signs and chanting “No Justice, No Peace.” They’re African-American kids and white kids, always under the watchful eyes of their parents.
Since the demonstrations started, much talk been made over what kids can handle. Should I take my children to a protest? Would it be dangerous in a small town? How much do I do I tell them about George Floyd’s death and the history of racism in our country? How do I even begin to talk to them about race at all?
Whether demonstrations have cooled or are still flaming where you live, these questions remain relevant—and in fact have become part of our everyday lives. Experts urge parents to continue the conversation with children. “Regardless of how the conversation begins, parents should be sending the signal that it’s OK and important to talk about it,” says Maggie Beneke, assistant professor of education at the University of Washington, who studies equity in education.
Taking a look at the books your child is reading is one way to keep discussion lines open. “Literature is a huge part of how young people get introduced to stories and narratives and representation of other people and themselves,” Nicole Johnson, executive director of We Need Diverse Books, tells Nat Geo’s Heather Greenwood Davis in an article about diversifying your home library.
Experts like Johnson suggest encouraging kids to read books that feature people of many different racial backgrounds. And the conversations don’t have to be overtly about race. “Part of it is normalizing the idea that lots of different people and groups are out there interacting with one another,” says psychologist Erin Pahlke, an assistant professor at Whitman College. (Tell us about your child’s favorite book.)
The key, she says, is that children see diversity as something normal and positive. And for kids, that’s definitely something worth demonstrating about.
If you want to get this newsletter every week, sign up here. If you want your kids to get Nat Geo Kids magazine, subscribe here. For Nat Geo Little Kids, subscribe here. | | | |
 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY IMGORTHAND, GETTY IMAGES | | Car talk: Canceled travel plans could mean more family road trips this summer. Instead of allowing kids to immerse themselves in their 114th viewing of whatever, consider, say, talking instead. Having your children imagine what life would be like if they were the parents, or allowing them to ask you anything about your own childhood (well, almost anything) can help jump-start conversations and foster family bonding. (Check out more ideas here.) Sorry, we can’t do much about those fights over who’s touching whom.
What’s that in the sky? Over the next week or so, near the northeastern horizon, at least 45 minutes before sunrise, you’ll see a comet that surprisingly escaped melting and disintegration as it rounded the sun. The comet, named NEOWISE, is one of the brightest in the skies in decades, Dan Falk reports for Nat Geo. For the next few days, it’s best seen at least 45 minutes before sunrise near the northeastern horizon. If you can’t get the kids up early, you’ll be able to see it later this week in the northwestern sky after sunset, arcing slowly upward beneath the stars of the Big Dipper. Its closest approach to Earth will be on July 22.
Family discussion: This could be a high-risk question if someone is in a bad mood. But here goes: What is the best thing about our family? Have a few conversation-starters ready. Do they like a specific routine? Or our spontaneity to capture a moment? Is a favorite dish? A top shared activity? A beloved relative? A time of the week, say Saturday mornings? Let us know if your family comes up with an insightful (or funny) answer that took you by surprise!
We asked, you answered: So many summer plans have been put on hold, but parents are still finding ways to make the season special. Your ideas for us include spending some time (safely) in the country, going on walks to new places, and setting up your own DIY summer camp headquarters.
| | | |
 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY RUTH A. MUSGRAVE | | | |
 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY PHOTOALTO, MICHEL CONSTANTINI, GETTY IMAGES | |
‘Brain food’ is for real: Sure, you’re doing everything you can to feed your kids’ brain while they’re stuck at home. But don’t forget to literally feed their brains. “From a neuroscientist’s perspective, food is really fundamentally important for brain health, because our brains literally run on nutrients,” Lisa Mosconi, director of the Weill Cornell Women’s Brain Initiative, tells Nat Geo’s Jason Bittel in an article about brain food and kids. Experts weigh in on the best foods for your child’s growing noodle—think berries, oats, fish, sweet potatoes—plus provide creative ways to serve them up. (Because, well, another one of them is sardines.)
‘One berry, two berries, pick me a Blueberry’: On a related note, one of us has been doing vine-to-table work plucking good-for-the-brain berries. A wild raspberry patch is a great place to learn about color, ripeness, sweetness, and picking only what you need. The same lessons can be taught at seasonally slower-to-ripen—blueberry bushes. (Some parents may recognize the headline of this item as the first line from one of our favorite kids’ books, Bruce Degan’s Jamberry.)
Everything you know is wrong: If you’ve made a mistake while multitasking these days, chances are it wasn’t the whopper that Steven Spielberg managed in Jurassic Park. In the 1993 film, a human-size dino was seen hissing, extending its neck frill, and spitting poisonous venom on a terrified man. New research shows that the Dilophosaurus was much bigger, showed no neck frill, and probably didn’t rely on venom to subdue its prey, Nat Geo reports. So next time you forget to comb your hair before a video call, give yourself a break.
| | | |
| TRY THIS: BOREDOM BUSTERS FOR KIDS | |
| Don’t freak out, but Thursday is World Snake Day! Snakes keep rodents and other animal populations under control, so they’re an important part of our ecosystem. If that’s not enough to convince kids that the slitherers are cool, try this silly music video instead. Or show them amazing facts about boa constrictors, anacondas, cobras, and more. (For instance, a rattlesnake’s rattle grows when it sheds its skin.) Still a little wary? Here’s another video, this one of a clueless tortoise stepping on a confused rattler.
How cool are endangered animals? This Nat Geo Kids reader took our advice to save animals by telling people how cool they are (her animal of choice was a pangolin) and got herself a spot on a local Minneapolis news station.
Where did all the dinos go? If your brain is fried and your grade-schooler asks that question, here is a six-minute Nat Geo video explainer that might do the trick, in a way that shouldn’t cause nightmares about errant asteroids.
This newsletter was edited and curated by David Beard and Rachel Buchholz. Have a healthy and a sane (as possible) week ahead! | | | |
| SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS | | Your feedback is valuable to us.
Take our survey and share your thoughts about our emails. | | | |
Clicking on the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and National Geographic Channel links will take you away from our National Geographic Partners site where different terms of use and privacy policy apply.
This email was sent to: agaogroups@gmail.com. Please do not reply to this email as this address is not monitored.
This email contains an advertisement from:
National Geographic | 1145 17th Street, N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20036
You are receiving this email because you elected to receive marketing communications from National Geographic under the terms of our Privacy Policy.
Manage all types of email preferences with National Geographic Partners.
Unsubscribe from this type of email.
If you reside in the EU/European Economic Area and wish to exercise all other data subject rights, click here.
© 2020 National Geographic Partners, LLC, All rights reserved. | | |
{Litmus Here}
0 comments:
Post a Comment