When we were given the “Geography” set from , my daughter and I began studying our Earth. At first, we looked at the geographical map quite enthusiastically, moved around it in our book-ships, repeating the names of the continents and oceans. I must say that Taisiya liked her classes, but the further we moved, the clearer it became to me that simply memorizing the names of the continents and facts about them (even in a playful way) would lead us to the wrong place. Still, the true task of geography is to form an idea of the world around us, and not to memorize a map. And so that the continents did not remain just mysterious spots with meaningless names, it was necessary to change something in our games.
After experimenting with classes, I came to the conclusion that the most interesting and useful way to study our world is to organize mini-trips to different corners of it. Therefore, now we study geography this way: when we go on a trip to another point on the globe, we, first of all, find it on the map and globe, and then we immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of this place. We play active and role-playing games on this topic, draw, conduct experiments, solve riddles, watch pictures and cartoons that help us get to know the environment we are studying better. Whenever possible, I try to make a themed sensory box so that we can also touch what we are talking about.
The first trip that I decided to talk about as part of the new column “Entertaining Geography” is a trip to the North Pole. Perhaps, at the moment, this expedition was our most emotionally intense. For a whole week, the whole family played Eskimos, jumped on ice floes, painted the sea with seals and walruses, looked at the northern lights (on YouTube, of course), sitting in a dark room. And a lot of other interesting things fit into this thematic lesson, which lasted for 2.5 weeks; you can read about everything in detail in this article.
The games proposed in the article are well suited for children from 3 to 7 years old - for younger and older preschoolers. You should not try to play all the game options at once; it is better to stretch them out over 1-3 weeks, while constantly alternating active games with those that require perseverance.
Finding the Arctic on the map
First of all, we need to understand where we are going. Therefore, we take out a geographical map and look where our destination is. The map can be hung on the wall so that it is always visible. But we prefer to spread the map on the floor and move their favorite toys on it on their ship books.
Reaching the North Pole on the map, we simultaneously name the oceans through which we sail and other places that are already familiar to us.
It will be great if you find the Arctic not only on the map, but also on the globe. I discovered that after my daughter had gotten her bearings a little on the map and could show all the continents and the approximate location of our city, she was completely lost on the globe and refused to recognize seemingly familiar continents on it. Therefore, it is useful to study the globe in parallel with the map, in addition, this will form in the child the idea of the Earth as a ball.
When can you see the Northern Lights
Those who want to know for sure when you can see the northern lights should read this paragraph carefully. It can be seen on a clear, frosty night, with a partial moon, preferably far from the city (so that the light of lanterns does not interfere). The aurora appears mainly from October to January and occurs at an altitude of 80 to 1000 kilometers above sea level and lasts from 1 hour to a whole day.
The more aggressive the Sun behaves, the more explosions occur on it, the longer the aurora lasts. The most beautiful flashes can be seen once every 11 years (this is the cyclicity of the Sun). The Northern Lights, which are always spectacular to photograph, are somewhat reminiscent of a sunset (only at night), but can also appear in the form of spirals or arcs. The width of the colored ribbon may well exceed 160 km, length - 1500 km.
The color of the aurora itself depends largely on what gas the solar wind interacts with, but also on the altitude where this happened. If atmospheric gases collide at an altitude of more than 150 km, the color of the aurora will be red, from 120 to 150 km – yellow-green, below 120 km – violet-blue. More often than not, the northern lights appear pale green.
Footage received from space confirmed the version that the aurora on the southern side of the globe almost mirrors this phenomenon on the northern side. It consists of rings with a diameter of 4000 km that surround the poles.
Presentation on the topic “Arctic” for children
To gain basic knowledge about the Arctic, it would probably be best to watch a presentation with your child. It briefly tells the most interesting facts about the Arctic: what nature is like here, what animals live, what peoples live and what their houses look like; the presentation will give the first idea of the polar night and the northern lights. You can DOWNLOAD our presentation HERE .
A didactic game with cards will help you consolidate the knowledge gained from the presentation; you can read more about it and download the materials below.
In addition to the presentation, you can watch various videos about the Arctic on YouTube. For example, Taisiya was very impressed by the video about the northern lights. It seems that we have reviewed all possible videos about this amazing phenomenon (while always turning off the lights in order to create polar night conditions). You need to watch a video about the aurora, if only because photographs do not convey the full picture.
Northern Lights: Legends
Since ancient times, the northern lights have been associated with various mysterious and sometimes even mystical events. Some peoples believed that heavenly fire brought happiness; supposedly the gods had holidays at this time. Others believed that the god of fire was very angry and trouble should be expected. Let's listen to what legends of different nations say about the northern lights.
The Norwegians mention a shimmering bridge that sometimes appears in the sky to bring the gods down to earth. Some called the radiance the fires in the hands of the Valkyries, whose armor is polished to a shine and an amazing radiance arises from them. Others said that the lights are the dance of the souls of dead girls.
In the stories of the ancient Finns, the aurora means the Ruža River, burning with fire, which separates the world of the dead and the world of the living. North American Eskimos believe that you can make the sky sparkle with colorful lights by whistling, and by clapping your hands you can immediately extinguish them.
Alaskan Eskimos say the northern lights bring bad luck. Before going outside, in the old days they took weapons for protection. Many believed that if you watch the lights for a long time, you can go crazy.
There is every reason to believe that it was thanks to the radiance that myths about dragons arose. Many scientists believe that the battle of St. George, who is the patron of all Englishmen, is connected not with a terrible serpent, but with the aurora!
Sensory box “North Pole”
It’s one thing to look at pictures and listen to what you tell about the North Pole, and quite another thing to touch it with your hands. For this purpose, a sensory box is ideally suited, which, in addition to everything, also provides huge scope for role-playing games.
A little about what to make a sensory box from . With the snow in our Arctic, I didn’t get too fancy and used one of the simplest options - rice. I put some cotton balls on top, it turned out something like snowdrifts. Pieces of refined sugar can also become ice blocks.
What else can you make snow from? Semolina, coarse salt, cotton wool, real snow from the street, crumbled polystyrene foam and even shaving foam work well.
To make the Arctic Ocean, I added a little blue gouache and gelatin to the water, it turned out to be blue jelly with fish. After the jelly has hardened, you can put cotton pads on top of it - these are ice floes. Of course, to preserve the jelly after the game, such an ocean must be put in the refrigerator, but this has a big plus - during the game the ocean is always cold, which fully corresponds to its Arctic nature
The ocean can also be made from hydrogel or ordinary water. But the option with water is perhaps the most inconvenient; the water will splash all the time, moistening the snow and the entire surrounding area.
Various themed kits like this one are perfect to create an atmosphere.
In our games, the polar bear hunted for fish, attacked a seal, set up a den for himself,
Polar scientists who arrived on an icebreaker tried to get acquainted with the local Eskimos and photograph the animals,
the Chukchi rode a reindeer and tried to make friends with the Eskimos, etc.
NOD for children of senior preschool age “There is a miracle in the world - the Northern Lights!”
Kashaeva Gulnara
NOD for children of senior preschool age “There is a miracle in the world - the Northern Lights!”
Municipal autonomous preschool educational institution kindergarten "Teremok"
municipal formation city of Gubkinsky
Direct educational activities
for pre-school children
«There is such a miracle in the light - the Northern Lights!»
Kashaeva Gulnara Magomedovna,
2018, Gubkinsky
Project product: northern lights as a result of experimental activities of students.
Algorithm of action in the process of project activities:
1. An integrative beginning that meets the needs of children , according to the educational program.
2. Determining the goal of the project, the product of research activity, the formation of motivation by the teacher in modern activities with the child (teacher-child, child-child)
.
3. Determination of the product of project activity.
4. Planning activities and implementation of the planned plan (in joint activities: teacher-child, child-child)
.
5. Joint activity to obtain results: child-child, teacher-child.
6. Joint analysis of the implementation of the project and the resulting product; experiencing the result.
1. The goal of the project: to embody children’s ideas about the northern lights as a phenomenon of the north pole.
2. Project objectives (pedagogical)
:
1.Develop intellectual competence:
- the ability to navigate a new, non-standard situation for a child;
- the ability to plan the stages of your own and joint activities with children;
-ability to understand and accept the task and suggestions of an adult (ability to work according to instructions)
;
- ability to perform an action algorithm;
— ability to establish cause-and-effect relationships;
— ability to evaluate one’s activities;
- ability to navigate certain sources of information (books, stories from a peer, an adult, television)
;
— the ability to draw conclusions from the information received;
— the ability to understand the need for this or that information for one’s activities;
2. The ability to ask questions on a topic of interest.
children ’s ideas about multicolor in nature; evoke a desire to express positive emotions, joy from what you see and hear, from the variety of colors in living nature.
-presentation about the Northern Lights ;
— models of knowledge sources for preschoolers ;
— color video harmonization (N. A. Kuznetsova)
;
— projector with screen;
— audio recording of musical works (waltz)
.
4.Project product: northern lights as a result of experimental activities of students; drawing using monotype technique.
Lesson duration: 30 minutes.
Participants of the lesson: children of the preparatory group for school.
Number of participants: 12 people.
Methods and techniques: communication exercises, experimentation, problem and associative situations, collective dialogue, conversation, group work, demonstration of color video harmonization (according to I. A. Kuznetsova, modeling of cooperative relationships as a process of interaction in a subgroup ( Ladder Model)
according to V.I. Loginova, self-esteem.
Technologies: creative design, experiment, cooperation technology, wave technology of education, kinesiology, graphic technology “monotype”
.
Vocabulary work: northern lights (natural phenomenon, polar night, inclusions, multi-colored flashes.
Outdoor games
Outdoor games, as expected, are the most interesting and favorite part of children's activities. If viewing presentations and reading books about the Arctic are not alternated with active games, then it will simply become boring, and not a single child will want to do it. Game options:
- We jump on ice floes . We lay out sheets of white paper on the floor, jump on them, trying not to step into the cold ocean
- We ride reindeer. One of the participants becomes a deer, and the other becomes a Chukchi. We harness the deer, for example, using a belt, and ride it around the room. Similarly, you can play an Eskimo riding dogs.
- Game "Polar Owl". As you know, the polar owl is a fast and ferocious predator. One of the players is assigned as an owl, his task is to run, flapping his wings, and catch his prey. The rest must run or hide from the owl. In essence, these are ordinary catch-up games, so you can play even together.
- Game "Ice". It is better to play this game with at least three people. One of the players is designated Frost, he catches up, and the rest run away. If Frost touches someone, he freezes and freezes. However, other players who have not yet been frozen can unfreeze the “icies” by touching them. The game ends when Frost freezes all players.
- Exercise "Seals". We lie on our stomach, arms along the body. Bend your back back without lifting your legs off the floor. We repeat several times.
- Game "Eskimos". We turn the children's tent into an igloo (I just threw a white tablecloth over the tent), put on our own hats, and if desired, something else warm, and play out the life of the Eskimos at the North Pole: how they hunt, fish, ride reindeer, and freeze and warm up, etc.
- Finger gymnastics
Who lives in the North? Who eats there and who drinks there? (alternately clap our hands and hit each other with our fists)
The animals are unusual, accustomed to the cold. (we hug ourselves by the shoulders, show how frozen we are)
Here is an arctic fox looking out of a mink (we make a ring from the thumb and index finger, look into the resulting “mink”)
The polar bear walks importantly (“walking” with the index and middle fingers)
Well, the walrus is like a captain,
Conquers the ocean (we fold our palms into a “boat” and “swim” forward in waves)
Proud reindeer (arms crossed above head)
He carries cargo all day long. (one hand “walks” with the thumb and forefinger, the other lies on it, clenched into a fist)
How does the aurora appear?
The Northern Lights are formed by the emission of photons in the upper regions of the earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 80 km and above. Under the influence of ions, protons, electrons, molecules and atoms of gases (mainly nitrogen and oxygen) transform into an altered state. When an atom or molecule returns to the ground state, a quantum of light is emitted. Different atoms give off different light when they go into an excited or normal state. Thus, oxygen glows green or purple, nitrogen glows blue or red.
Under the influence of a number of factors, the width of the glow can be 160 km. The length of the glow can exceed one and a half thousand kilometers.
The importance of oxygen for the formation of the aurora
Oxygen can go from excited to ground state in just 0.75 seconds. This gas emits a green color for two minutes, after which the hue changes to red. When colliding with other atoms, energy is absorbed, causing the glow to stop.
In the upper layers of the atmosphere the amount of oxygen is less than at the surface. Therefore, the described collisions are rare. This explains the appearance of beautiful red radiation.
As altitude decreases, air density increases. The increase in collisions between atoms contributes to the cessation of the red glow of the atmosphere. Closer to the surface, green rays stop forming.
The role of the solar wind and magnetic field
The Earth constantly interacts with the solar wind - a flow of electrons and positively charged ions. These particles are emitted by the Sun in all directions. Their speed is approximately 400 kilometers per second, the magnetic field voltage is from 2 to 5 nanotesla, and the ion density is approximately 5 per cubic centimeter.
During magnetic disturbances, the flows of charged particles increase significantly. Because of this, the intensity of the interplanetary field increases many times over.
Under the influence of charged particles and the Earth's magnetic field, the Earth's magnetosphere is formed. It deflects these flows by about 70 thousand km. The width of the magnetosphere is about 190 thousand km. On the night side, the plume extends over a greater distance, exceeding 200 Earth radii (more than 1.2 million km).
The plasma flow in the magnetosphere increases with increasing density and turbulence of the solar wind. Magnetospheric plasma flows collide with the magnetic field of our planet perpendicularly. Individual plasma flows move along magnetic field lines and gradually lose energy. This contributes to the glow of the atmosphere.
How are auroras formed?
Impact of solar activity
The connection between the northern lights and solar activity was noticed back in the 80s. 19th century. Further research showed that charged particles of the solar wind are intercepted by the earth's magnetosphere and collide with gas molecules.
The temperature of the solar corona reaches several million degrees. In this case, various collisions between ions occur. Free charged particles escape from the Sun's atmosphere at high speed and escape. In space near the Earth, these particles are deflected by a magnetic field.
The Earth's magnetic field is weakest at the poles and in the circumpolar zone. Because of this, charged particles penetrate the atmosphere and collide at high latitudes. Collisions contribute to the formation of light quanta, which we see as the aurora.
Experiments and other games on the theme “North Pole”
- Snow melting
If you start exploring the North Pole in winter, be sure to take some snow from the street with you during your walk. At home, put the snow in a light or transparent container and observe what the snow turns into in the warmth. To speed up the process, you can place a bowl of snow near the radiator. When the snow has finally melted, draw your child’s attention to the fact that the resulting water is very dirty (for comparison, we also poured clean tap water into another dish), and this explains why you can’t eat snow!
- frozen ground
During our trip to the North Pole, I explained to my daughter that due to the long and cold winter, the ground here freezes very much, and therefore almost nothing grows in the Arctic. To better understand what “the ground freezes” means, we did the following experiment.
I prepared 2 cups of soil in advance and put one of them in the freezer. After the soil froze, together with Taisiya we tried to pierce the ground in the cups with a stick, but it turned out that it was impossible to stick a stick into the frozen ground. Then we began to pour water into cups, and the newly frozen ground turned out to be impregnable - the water remained on the surface of the earth. Thus, we saw with our own eyes that it is difficult for plants to survive in frozen ground.
- We save frozen animals
Although this game does not meet the requirements of reality, it is still quite interesting. And so, the legend is that animals from Africa somehow got to the North Pole, where they froze in one of the glaciers. And we urgently need to save them, defrost the ice in any way available to us (water with warm water, sprinkle with salt), and then send the animals back to Africa. I already wrote about this game earlier in an article about the New Year’s Advent Calendar.
- Putting the puzzle together
You can DOWNLOAD our Arctic puzzle HERE .
- Didactic game on the theme “Arctic”
This didactic game helps to consolidate the knowledge gained while watching the presentation. To play you will need cards with animals and other characteristic Arctic phenomena (Our cards can be DOWNLOADED HERE ).
First, all the cards are placed face down in a deck. During the game, the presenter takes out one card from the deck and shows it to the players. The players' task is to name what is depicted on it. The one who guesses first takes the card for himself. Naturally, the player with the most cards wins.
Best time and place to watch the aurora
Auroras are visible in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, in the form of an irregular oval. Its center is located above the magnetic pole. Interestingly, the polar lights at the South Pole are a mirror image of the same phenomenon at the North Pole. Zones that favor maximum visibility of auroras are called auroral ovals. They are located between 67 – 70 degrees latitude. During the period of maximum solar activity, the oval in the north and south expands significantly, and the atmospheric glow is visible at lower latitudes - down to 45 degrees and even lower.
The aurora in Antarctica is visible in the same way as in the Arctic.
Polar lights in Antarctica
The most convenient place for observing the northern lights is the areas of the globe located north or south of the corresponding polar circles. Also, the northern lights are visible to observers in southern Greenland. The Southern Lights are visible around Antarctica.
This natural phenomenon is cyclical. Its intensity coincides with the solar activity cycle. The highest probability of seeing atmospheric glow is in winter. This is facilitated by short daylight hours and long nights. The best visibility of the auroras is around midnight.
The aurora occurs in any season. Its appearance depends on the intensity of solar storms.
Riddles about the Arctic for children
During breaks between games, you can solve several riddles about Arctic animals.
Sitting on a block of ice,
I catch fish for breakfast.
I am known as snow-white
And I live in the North.
And the taiga brown brother
I'm happy with honey and raspberries. (polar bear)
***
The lazy one has a bungler
Paws turned into flippers.
Sleeps on an ice floe all day
Fat little... (seal)
***
A strong animal, lives in a cold region,
Fights enemies with huge fangs,
He is not afraid of frost, he is smooth, thick-skinned,
The clumsy one loves to sleep on the ice floe... (walrus)
***
What kind of predator is this?
With blue and white fur?
The tail is fluffy, the fur is thick,
Goes to burrows to stay.
Birds, eggs, rodents -
They are always delicious for him.
Looks a little like a fox
Also a dog breed. (Arctic fox)
***
Like a royal crown
He wears his horns.
Eats lichen and green moss.
Loves snowy meadows. (deer)
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Photo: Vladimir Alekseev
President of the Association of Guides of the Murmansk Region “Arctic Guides” Vladimir Onatsky takes tourists all season following the aurora. Tells: the most popular destinations are Teriberka, Sami, Lovozero, Khibiny, Husky and Murmansk. But the northern lights are very dependent on the weather. Thanks to the warm Gulf Stream, the Kola Peninsula is much warmer than, for example, Chukotka. But it also increases cloudiness. This means that you can’t always see the aurora and not everywhere. Sometimes you have to drive all night in search of color tints. “Tourists feed on rumors,” complains Vladimir. – Someone told someone that Teriberka has the brightest and longest lasting light. Everyone is going there. We arrived, got up, the sky was overcast. There is only one road from there, and all that remains is to stand and wait for the sky to clear. It is much better if you start your hunt for aurora from Murmansk. There are four roads leading from it. This means we look at the weather and already go to the most favorable area.”
A three-day “Behind the Radiance” tour to the Murmansk region costs from 30 thousand rubles. In addition to the Chinese, Thais, Filipinos, Indians, and Spaniards come. They are much more intelligent than the Chinese, they know English and do not skimp on travel.
Crafts on the theme “Arctic” for children
When I was preparing the sensory box, I deliberately did not put Eskimos in it, because I thought that it would be interesting for my daughter to make the inhabitants of the Far North and their homes herself. The crafts really turned out to be quite unusual.
Eskimo . I thought that making an Eskimo from plasticine from scratch would be quite a labor-intensive task for a 3-year-old child, so we made our Eskimos by dressing Lego Duplo men in plasticine clothes. Both the fur coat and the hat are plasticine rectangles rolled out and stretched with our fingers, in which we wrapped our little men. On the left in the photo is an Eskimo dressed up as his daughter, on the right is mine.
An igloo made from a paper cup. Here you need to make a doorway in a paper cup in advance and cut small “bricks” from cotton pads. And only then, together with the child, cover the glass with cotton “bricks”.
Igloo made from refined sugar . I already wrote about this option for building an igloo earlier in the article “New Year’s Advent Calendar.” True, for kids, building an igloo from refined sugar, tapering at the top, can be a difficult task, so you can build a lightweight version, as in the photo.
Of course, an igloo made from refined sugar is not as durable as one made from a glass, but it is still sweet. Taisiya, naturally, could not resist eating sugar during construction
Drawing the Northern Lights . We painted the northern lights with regular gouache. I think it will also look great if you paint with watercolor water or, for example, soap bubbles. You can glue sparkles (glitter) on top of the drawing.
Drawing the ocean with ice . When the question arises of how to draw the Arctic Ocean, drawing with ice comes naturally. After all, in this case you can also feel the freezing cold
Water for ice can be tinted with gouache or liquid watercolor.
You can glue cotton wool, cotton pads or pieces of napkins around the ocean as snow, and make ice floes from foil. You can also glue pre-painted and cut out Arctic inhabitants.
Well, a couple more options for “Arctic” crafts:
Polar bear made from cotton pads and napkins
Three circle walrus . The circles can be painted paper plates.
Various cotton wool applications look original and are quite simple to make. For example, you can paste cotton wool over images of a polar bear or an igloo (downloaded from the Internet).
If a child likes to color, then you can offer him coloring books with silhouettes of Arctic animals; they can also be easily downloaded on the Internet. You can also color with plasticine, smearing it over the picture.
How is the glow formed?
According to the modern interpretation, the reflections of the celestial light show are generated due to the collision of charged particles of the celestial body with the magnetic ions of the Earth. A powerful release of energy occurs, forming colored luminescence. The phenomenon is observed in areas closest to the Earth's poles.
Without delving into scientific theory, the northern lights, like the southern lights, occur after a celestial body releases charged particles into the atmosphere. These particles can be directed in different directions, including towards the earth's surface. The speed of the particle flow can reach 960 km/s. That is why scientists called this stream the “solar wind.” Rushing towards the Earth at great speed, the particles hit the atmosphere, creating a magnetic field disturbance upon collision, resulting in the aurora being displayed in the sky.
Depending on a number of factors, the light effect can spread over a width of about 160 kilometers, and its length can reach 1.5 thousand kilometers.
