Hi there! Today, we’re going to learn about some cool things with Squeaks. Have you ever wondered why a year is a year or how days are decided? Let’s dive into it!
Our planet, Earth, travels around the Sun in big loops. Each time Earth completes one loop around the Sun, we call it a year. During this loop, we experience four seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. This happens because Earth is a bit tilted. When our part of Earth tilts towards the Sun, it’s warmer, and when it tilts away, it’s cooler. That’s why we have different seasons!
Now, let’s talk about days. Earth is always spinning around like a top. When the part of Earth we’re on faces the Sun, it’s daytime because we can see sunlight. When it faces away, it’s nighttime because the sunlight doesn’t reach us. So, a day is just Earth spinning around once!
Lucas, a curious 5-year-old, asked how food gets to our stomach past our heart. When we eat, our food travels down a special tube called the esophagus, which connects our mouth to our stomach. This tube makes sure our food goes straight to our stomach without getting lost!
Sometimes, food or water might go down the wrong tube, which is called the trachea or windpipe. This tube connects our nose and mouth to our lungs. If food goes down this tube, our body coughs to push it back up to the right place.
When we cough, a strong muscle called the diaphragm helps push air out of our lungs to clear the trachea. This muscle also helps us breathe by moving air in and out of our bodies.
Natalie, age 4, asked why her dad’s belly hurts after drinking milk. Some people, especially grown-ups, make less of a substance called lactase, which helps break down milk. Without enough lactase, milk isn’t fully digested, which can upset their stomachs. But don’t worry, there are ways to help them enjoy milk and cheese!
Thanks for all the great questions! Keep asking and learning new things. See you next time!
Seasons and Shadows: Go outside with a small stick or a pencil and place it upright in the ground or in a lump of clay. Observe the shadow it creates. Check the shadow at different times of the day. How does it change? Discuss with a friend or family member why the shadow changes and how this relates to the Earth’s rotation and the concept of day and night.
Earth’s Journey Around the Sun: Use a flashlight to represent the Sun and a small ball to represent Earth. Turn off the lights in the room. Have one child hold the flashlight steady while another child moves the ball around it in a circle. Discuss how this movement represents Earth’s orbit around the Sun and how it creates the seasons. Can you show when it’s summer or winter?
Food’s Journey in Our Body: Create a simple model of the digestive system using a cardboard tube to represent the esophagus. Use a small ball or marble as the food. Roll the ball through the tube to show how food travels from the mouth to the stomach. Discuss what happens if the ball goes down the wrong tube and how our body reacts to fix it.
