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July 2000: All About Families
Check out these interdisciplinary activity ideas, TV programs, and online resources. Return in August for Back-To-School content!
Games and Toys Through Time
How are the toys and games of today different from our parents' or grandparents' time? Start out by visiting a toy or hobby store as a family, to compare favorite childhood toys or games. Then, have parents tell stories from their childhood concerning their favorite games, hobbies, or toys; children can turn those spoken memories into recorded stories. The stories can then be shared with their grandparents—thus making this a multigenerational storytelling event, as the grandparents read their own children's memories, captured by their grandchildren.
You might also visit an antique store to see originals of the games parents or grandparents mention, or visit an Internet site that shows antigue toys and games. Start out by visiting the Antiques Roadshow, Jr. site at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/roadshow/series/jrroadshow/home.html to see real kid's antiques or play a short history game concerning antique toys. Some other possible resources are Alphaville at http://www.alphaville.com/index.html, History of Toys and Games at http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/toys/index.html, Toys Were Us at http://www.discovery.com/stories/history/toys/toys,html, or The Wooden Toy, at http://www.pd.astro.it/forms/mostra/mostra_i.html.
Another PBS site, Noddy, (which stands for "Notions, Oddities, Doodads and Delights of Yesterday") is a site designed to be used by young children together with their parents or grandparents. It centers on social responsibility and intergenerational relationships. At the Noddy site, http://www.pbs.org/kids/noddy families can play some of the games together, read an online story, or find dozens of at-home activity suggestions.
Gathering stories from many family members could result in a production of a game book that showcases favorite family games or toys, or a "Toy Hall of Fame" to share with neighbors and friends.
It All Adds Up
One of the things parents or caregivers have to do is to keep track of the family finances. Who keeps track of expenses in your household? Children could interview him or her to determine what different family expenses cost each month. These may include:
Make a pie chart to show total expenses, and what percentage of the total is from food, rent, etc. Also, calculate what each type of expense amounts to over the course of a year. Share these results with the family bill payher—is anything surprising about the results? What steps could your family take to reduce one or more of these expenses (using coupons, turning off the air conditioning while you're away from home, etc.)?
- rent or mortgage
- car payments
- food
- auto insurance
- utilities
Ask grandparents or older neighbors about these expenses several decades ago. What did it cost to own a home? How much did they pay for an automobile? Try to calculate the percent increase of each type of expense.
Older children can expand on this by learning about inflation and the Consumer Price Index by visiting The U.S. Government Consumer Price Index Homepage (which includes an automatic inflation calculator) and Morgan Friedman's Inflation Calculator.
Younger children can expand this activity by creating a personal budget. What are their sources of income, if any? What are their expenses? Do they wish to give money to a local church or charity? Would they like to save money for anything special? How long will it take to do that? This budget might be displayed in the child's room or in the kitchen.
IdahoPTV and PBS Online Resources:
Sites to SeeAncestors
http://www.pbs.org/ancestors/
Everybody's got 'em...get help in tracking yours down and creating a family history.Antiques Roadshow, Jr.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/roadshow/series/jrroadshow/home.html
Get great information about the family toys and treasures of yesterday, through online games and articles.Arthur
http://www.pbs.org/arthur/
Explore games and activities designed to help students at school and at home.Connections
http://idahoptv.org/kids/pc/conn/calendar/index.html#2
Find books to read and activities to do with your child that relate to their favorite television show!Food for the Ancestors
http://www.pbs.org/foodancestors/
Learn more about Mexico's Days of the Dead, honoring family ancestors.IdahoPTV for Kids
http://idahoptv.org/kids/index.html
Visit your favorite PBS kids show online and find games & activities that educate and entertain!Jewish Cooking in America
http://www.pbs.org/mpt/jewishcooking/
Get more information about this flavorful style of family cooking.Livelyhood
http://www.pbs.org/livelyhood/
Learn how the modern workplace affects families.Moms
http://www.pbs.org/moms/
Talk with other moms and meet the participants of the TV documentary.Parents & Caregivers
http://idahoptv.org/kids/pc/pc.html Workshops for Early Childhood Providers, Tips for Parents, and a host of other resources!Mr. Rogers Neighborhood
http://www.pbs.org/rogers/
Visit this site for dozens of on- and offline activities designed to help families communicate better.The New Americans
http://www.pbs.org/newamericans/
Check out immigrant narratives, a timeline, lists of related films and books, and more.Noddy
http://www.pbs.org/noddy/
This site has a special focus on the grandparent-child connection, offering offline activity suggestions, reading lists, and more.IdahoPTV Reading Rainbow Contest Winners!
http://idahoptv.org/learn/readingrainbow/index.html
Read and listen to some of the great stories created from young authors in Idaho!Six Billion and Beyond
http://www.pbs.org/sixbillion/
Learn more about family planning and population growth around the world.Stealing Time: The New Science of Aging
http://www.pbs.org/stealingtime/
Longer life expectancies--what will they mean for families?The Whole Child
http://www.pbs.org/wholechild/
Get the A-Z on child development, from birth through age 5.IdahoPTV & PBS Programs
Don't miss these programs airing in July! Check your local listings for the most accurate air date and time.
1900 HOUSE: "The End of An Era"
Airs Monday, July 3 at 8:00 p.m. MT/PT
While having hired a maid to assist with chores is a blessing in terms of extra time, the family feels guilty about this help and dismisses her. They then enjoy a night on the town, attending a music hall show in a "legitimate" Victorian-style theatre. Finally, the Bowler family throws a farewell party for their temporary neighbors, as they prepare to leave the house and "time travel" back to the present.THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: "Surf ‘n’ Turf"
Airs Monday, July 24 at 8:00 p.m. MT/PT
Ric Burns’ "Coney Island" presents the story of one of the most famous carnivals in the United States. This New York park is known for being the birthplace of the hot dog and the roller coaster, but the success of this amusement park set the standards for summer entertainment and inspired the enormous theme park business in existence today. A second installment of this show focuses on Miami Beach and car travel in the United States during the 20th century.GREAT OLD AMUSEMENT PARKS
Airs Wednesday, July 5 at 8:00 p.m. MT/PT This documentary celebrates the nostalgic amusement park of yesteryear, before the day of giant theme parks and high-tech thrill rides. Visiting places like "Playland" in Rye, New York, and "Holiday World" in Santa Claus, Indiana, host Rick Sebak seeks out the classic memories of wooden roller coasters and merry-go-rounds, which still exist across America.A HOT DOG PROGRAM
Airs Wednesday, July 5 at 9:00 p.m. MT/PT
Investigating the subtle yet important differences in how Americans eat this summer standard, host Rick Sebak visits a Fourth of July hot dog-eating contest at Coney Island, a Chicago-style dog joint and even a gourmet reindeer-dog vendor in Alaska.NATURE: "The Nature of Sex"
Airs Sunday, July 2 at 8:00/7:00 p.m. MT/PT
This episode, "Sex and the Human Animal," compares the sex life of humans with that of other animals and looks at how humans define the ideas of "masculine" and "feminine."Workplace Essential Skills
Airs Saturday mornings at 6:00/5:00 a.m. MT/PT
This series demonstrates basic skills and illustrates how those skills are to be used in realistic workplace settings including construction, manufacturing,health care, and retail/service industries.Hands On Crafts for Kids
Airs Sundays at 11:30/10:30 a.m. MT/PT
Summer is a great time to create a craft or project with the young or not so young people in your life! Whether you are looking for activity ideas for your children or are planning ahead for all those great art projects for next school year - Hands on Crafts is a good place to start!
