iSprowt

Author: Rob

  • Kids Need Time to Unplug

    How often do you come home from a day at the beach, a hike in a National Park, or a visit to an arboretum or botanical garden and think “well, that was just the worst day I have ever had!”? Probably never! Barring an unfortunate bee sting or a sprained ankle, a day in nature — or even just an hour — leaves us feeling refreshed. When we are feeling stressed or overwhelmed, adults crave the outdoors.

    Our children need to be in nature just as much as we do, if not more. As our “Safer at Home” restrictions are loosening as parks and trails reopen, we find ourselves with the unique opportunity to witness our kids reemerging and letting loose for the first time in months. 

    Without the constraints of four walls at home, children are free to imagine, create, build, and explore. While the American Academy of Pediatrics no longer restricts screen time to a limited number of hours, they do recommend that families set aside time without technology and engage in activities that do not require digital devices.

    Now that most school is being held in homes across the country, using more technology has become nearly unavoidable even though many educators are making the effort to create assignments that incorporate time away from screens. Kids are also spending more time in screens to stay occupied while their parents attempt to work from home.

    Studies have shown that excessive screen time can lead to sleep problems, social problems, and increased aggression, all of which can have a negative impact on success in school.  One way to address these problems is by going outside. According to one study, unstructured play enables children to develop “milestones ranging from movement development to language, conversation, and problem solving abilities.” Running around, climbing, and jumping also releases energy. When playing games outside, children get endorphins from something they have worked toward, not just provided for them effortlessly by a tech-based game.

    With so much digital distraction available right at our fingertips, parents need to make a conscious effort to ensure their families unplug.

    At iSprowt, we have committed to spending part of this Memorial Day weekend completely unplugged and we encourage you to do the same – adults, too! Join your kids in building a rock sculpture, assembling a boat from leaves and sticks, catching a fish, going on a hike, or climbing a tree – whatever brings them joy. You will not regret the endorphins you will feel, the joy you will hear in their excited voices, or the quality time you will spend together making memories.

    If you are considering educational gifts for kids, iSprowt brings science, technology, engineering and math to life to create a love of lifelong learning.

  • Learning by Doing

    3rd-century BC philosopher and teacher, Xun Kuang is known for the quote: “not hearing is not as good as hearing, hearing is not as good as seeing, seeing is not as good as knowing, knowing is not as good as acting; true learning continues until it is put into action,” which comes from Xunzi, an ancient Chinese collection of philosophical writings. Whittled down, this quote is often attributed to both Confucius and Benjamin Franklin, respectively, as “I see and I forget. I hear and I remember. I do and I understand” and “tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”

     

    Regardless of the origin of the words, what the three quotes emphasize is, for centuries, and even for millennia, philosophers have observed the most effective form of learning is by doing.

     

    A University of Chicago-led study found that “hands-on experiences may benefit students more than previously realized, particularly in the world of virtual laboratories and online learning. This may be especially true for the initial stages of learning and in areas of science education that lend themselves to physical experiences.” Professor Sian Beilock, co-author of the study, stated, “those students who physically experience difficult science concepts learn them better, perform better in class and on quizzes the next day, and the effect seems to play out weeks later, as well.”

     

    During these challenging times, many students are away from their classrooms and parents are doing their best to work with teachers to continue to move forward with learning concepts through the end of the academic year. Thanks to a plethora of virtual learning programs available, our students are continuing to learn by hearing and seeing but are missing opportunities to learn by doing.

     

    iSprowt puts learning by doing into practice. Students are led through hands-on experiments with easy-to-follow instructions and the materials for the experiments are either included in the iSprowt kit or can be found in most homes. Every month, students receive a new kit with new hands-on experiments and materials. A child who receives our awesome educational gifts for kids during their very first month of kindergarten will complete a minimum of 216 hands-on science experiments by the time they begin 6th grade! We specialize in bringing scientific concepts to life. What could be more hands-on than that?

     

    Due to COVID-19 related school closures we now offer the option to give educational gifts for kids through our Donate the Gift of STEM program. If you’d like to donate, visit the page here.

     

  • Kids are not Connecting to Virtual School

    When states across the country began issuing stay at home orders, school districts had no choice but to temporarily close their doors and begin the scramble to find a way to continue to educate their students from a distance through the end of the school year.

    For some students, particularly homeschooled students and college students, learning virtually at least part of the time is completely normal. The educators providing this type of instruction have spent years training and developing their curriculum to be effective in a virtual learning environment. The students enrolled in these classes made a choice to learn virtually. The option of virtual learning is a choice homeschool families often make when they know they have the required resources and equipment as well as the family support they need to succeed.

    This sudden transition to virtual education for millions of students across the country (in many countries, actually) left a huge learning gap for traditional educators and a resource and support gap for families. In many cases, teachers had just days to figure something out to fill the gap while their schools and districts made more concrete plans for the remainder of the spring term. Once longer-term plans were made, teachers, again, had just days to learn how to use the programs that were chosen and adapt or completely change their lesson plans.

    Some districts have not been able to supply their students with the technology they need. Providing Chromebooks and tablets, however, does not necessarily guarantee access to WiFi and navigating the programs, especially for younger students, requires a lot of help from parents in terms of time and organization.

    Several recent reports indicate that students in low income neighborhoods and rural communities are the least likely to be participating in online education. In some cases, according to the New York Times, “fewer than half of their students are regularly participating.” Many families have not been in communication with their children’s schools at all. Teachers and administrators are worried about these students most of all — they are often the third point in a communication triangle between families and social services for students living in less-than-ideal or dangerous situations.

    No household has escaped the stress brought on by COVID-19. Many work situations have changed – some are out of work while others are working more, finances and childcare are inconsistent or nonexistent, and some families are facing severe illness and death. For many families, logging-on has dropped to the bottom of the priority list if it’s even on the list at all.

    From the beginning of school closures, counselors were quick to share information regarding spotting the signs of stress and depression in kids. Combine the effects of stress and depression with the one thing pediatricians always warn parents about – too much technology – and some families have had to make the tough choice to temporarily abstain from logging-on in an effort to protect their children’s mental health.

    The time to figure things out for both schools and parents for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year has come to an end. Some schools have been closed for eight weeks. Schools in some states end their spring terms as early as next week. Across the country, administrators are engaged in developing plans for the fall which is likely to look different from anything our children have experienced so far. If virtual learning is a part of that plan, access and equity will certainly be addressed and, hopefully, it will all be figured out with enough time for teachers and families to gather resources and make plans.

    At iSprowt, education is our number one priority. Learn more about how iSprowt is working to increase equity in education with low-tech and no-tech activities and support families in these challenging times. If you are considering donating educational gifts for kids, so that children don’t fall behind, go to our Donate the Gift of STEM page.

  • Happy Mother’s Day from iSprowt!

    Mothers Day

    Happy Mother’s Day! Everyone at iSprowt would like to take a moment to pay tribute to all the mothers, the grandmothers, the aunts – everyone out there who is “mom” to someone – especially now. You are amazing!

    The moms at iSprowt are the calendar keepers, boo boo fixers, school volunteers, lunch makers, bike riders, homework helpers, chess match losers, sports signer-uppers, birthday planners, cookie bakers, bedtime story readers, and huggers. Now, with COVID-19, we have become teachers, virtual play date schedulers, therapists, hide and seekers, anytime story readers, snack distributors, and worriers. We knew that being moms would be challenging and, just when we thought we had it all figured out, our children’s worlds flipped upside down.

    We can do this, moms! iSprowt is here to help. We are here to add a little bit of easy education and fun to your children’s lives. While your kids are busy working through the activities in the books that come in our kits or conducting one of our experiments with our easy-to-follow instructions and included supplies, be sure to take a few minutes for yourself and daydream about your kids possibly growing up to have successful and fulfilling careers in STEM. Maybe your young scientist will discover the cure for all viruses?! If you do want educational gifts for kids the good news is that it’s fun for you, too!

    Trust us, moms — if you are reading a blog on a page dedicated to inspiring young minds and increasing children’s confidence in STEM, you are already doing a GREAT job! Take a moment to celebrate everything that comes with being a mom. We hope you have a Happy Mother’s Day! You earned it!

  • How Parents are Doing During School Closures

    Ask any parent how they are doing during school closures and the answer they provide will likely change depending on the day, the hour, or even the minute, and it absolutely depends on their at-home situation.

    Most families are doing what they can to make it work – trying to find balance between work, school, and family. They might be enjoying family time more now that there is less after school and weekend activity. Without baseball tournaments, robotics club meetings, and scout campouts, there is a lot more time for family bike rides, home movie nights, virtual meetups with friends and family, and assembling puzzles… so many puzzles!

    But, after the kids go to bed, the second shift begins. This is when parents must catch up on their day after spending the day focusing most of their attention on their kids. If they have the privilege of working from home, have a co-parent or another adult in the home, and/or a child who can work independently for any period of time, they might have been able to squeeze in a few work calls during the day or respond to the most important emails, but late night is probably the only time they have to focus on a more intense project.

    Many parents are losing sleep, but the causes are numerous: too much work, not enough work, too much school, not enough school, our mental health, our kid’s mental health, frustration, fear, and worry.

    For some families, this is a nightmare. There is so much to worry about. Parents who are essential workers are struggling to find childcare and may be worried about exposing their loved ones to COVID-19 after stressful workdays or nights. Parents are worried about young children who are struggling with social distance and virtual school and are battling some big emotions. Parents are worried about maintaining social distance while protecting their children’s mental health. Parents are worried about paying the bills when their businesses are closed, they have been furloughed, or the work they typically do just does not exist at this time.

    Surprisingly, some families have found that educating from home has proven to work well for their families. Their children are thriving with a less structured schedule, time to explore interests in-depth, and more quality time with parents and family. These parents have reached out to their current schools to ask about the process of transitioning to traditional homeschool for the 2020-2021 school year and have started researching homeschool curriculums. In some cases, staying at home is improving their family dynamic and they are excited about the possibilities. iSprowt is working toward partnering with homeschool curriculum vendors so families can use school funds to purchase iSprowt kits. If you would like to use school funds to purchase iSprowt kits, contact us so we can partner with your vendor.

    If you are looking for tiny ways to improve your stress, keep your kids busy, or supplement their education, iSprowt is here for you.

    • We are here to help by providing low-cost, high-quality, low-mess, educational gifts for your kids.
    • If you are in a position to help other families during school closures, you can donate iSprowt kits to children in need and help decrease their risk of falling behind during COVID-19 school closures by purchasing a kit here and selecting “donate” at checkout. We are partnering with schools to provide donated iSprowt kits directly to the students who need them most