Thank you WordFire Press for sponsoring this post. Be sure to check out and pre-order Danielle, Chronicles of a Superheroine here!
Everywhere you looked as far as the eye could see, there were delights to take in. Ferris wheels, deep-fried strawberry cheesecake, vendors, food trucks, colorful lights, and more. It was decadent, to put it mildly. I so love watching my kids take in their world, and this is one of those special, once a year things we do that is not like any other day of the year. That said, even with my kids’ stomachs filled with fair foods, their arms filled with giant stuffed huskies we won at “The Birthday Game,” and their heads filled with visions of rides, it was the kids’ science tent that really grabbed my daughter’s attention.
My daughter’s eyes lit up. Both kids did a mad science camp week at the end of summer and Scarlet often says she wants to be a scientist when she grows up. Des is also science-minded, but I think it’s important to help our young girls and daughters use scientific thinking at a young age. For Scarlet, she was enrolled in a STEM class in preschool. Des was too! Now that they’re six and nine, I feel like it’s more important than ever to foster a natural love for science, math, and the like.
I started reading WordFire Press’ Danielle, Chronicles of a Superheroine and I got Scarlet hooked as well! It took us about five seconds to get drawn into the book – which introduces Danielle’s sister Claire as an equally intriguing narrator – after losing her mom and the entire life she knew in an earthquake in Haiti. Spoilers, though! We can talk about the book’s messages. Be Smart, Be Kind. Inspire your children to dream big, pursue their passions, and be kind to others along the way.
Learn by Doing. Inspire your children to care about world issues and create change. Pursue Your Passion. Encourage your kids that you can do anything you set your mind to. Talk to your kids about ideas. Their ideas. Your ideas! Turn your ideas into action! Empower your children to use their gifts to make a difference. And one way to do that is with girls and science.
How to Help Our Young Girls Use Scientific Thinking:
1 – Use a microscope. I had one as a kid and it was a life-changing gift. You can go out to a local pond and safely collect samples to look at under a microscope. Microscopes can be inexpensive, but can spark scientific thinking!
2 – Enroll in science camps or after school programs. Around here, they run year-round and have SUCH a variety. There’s something for all ages and personalities and it also links kids up with other science-minded kids. It’s a total win-win.
3 – Visit a local science center or natural history museum. I know as a kid we used to go on field trips to them every year. This year, Scarlet is going on a field trip to a natural history museum in Amherst and she’s so excited!
4 – Watch science or even science fiction movies that raise questions about real science. Bonus points for movies based on women scientists and astronauts. I took Scarlet to see a wonderful award-winning movie based just on that!
5 – Take a nature hike together. We do photo walks where we find all sorts of natural treasures.
6 – Buy a science kit or subscribe to a science-based subscription box. We get monthly science experiments and I like to film Cassidy doing the experiments with the kids. They are always excited and inspired to participate.
7 – Learn WITH your kids. You can do this with games, with kitchen experiments, with books, and with anything. When my kids ask me a question I can’t answer, we look it up together and then it really sticks because we’re all learning.
Change is waiting. Remind your children that even if we can’t start big, we can still start small. Raise your voice. Teach your children that their voice matters and to fight for what they believe in. We’ve been super inspired by Danielle, Chronicles of a Superheroine. I must have read the preface aloud to Scarlet seven times. It’s so amazing how these powerful inventions and messages start out as a spark in a child or adult’s mind. I know I’m going to keep inspiring my science-minded kid.
I see my daughters eyes light up, concerning science, and I think about all that potential there. Our kids have the ability to change the world. We can ALL be Danielles, and we can help our children to become Danielles too. We’ll keep reading!
Ready to know more? You can pre-order Danielle, Chronicles of a Superheroine right now with this link. It’s a perfect gift and comes with two companion books AND the author’s donation to world charities on behalf of your purchase.
So, how do you empower the young girls in your life to be science-minded?
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
