#parenthood

DIY Solar Oven

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This DIY Solar Oven is an interesting project to study how sun’s energy can be used as a clean source of power. It not involves a interesting steps of crafting but also each step demonstrates important concepts of science involved.

Well, we had made a solar oven for our experiment long back but couldn’t test it since the weather was not hot enough or the day was just not right. We had thought of baking s’mores in this oven. Luckily, we could get all the things right to test this very dear project of ours. After all it involved a tasty treat at the end!

What you need

Cardboard box with attached lid
Aluminum foil
Plastic wrap
Black construction paper
Tape
Glue stick
Skewer or a stick
Xacto knife (or scissors)
S’mores supplies: grahams, chocolate, marshmallows

How to make a solar oven?

1. Using an xacto knife, cut a three-sided flap out of the top of the box, leaving at least a 1-inch border around the three sides.

2. Glue aluminum foil to the inside of the top flap, keeping the foil as smooth as possible. The foil reflects the sun into the oven.

3. Line the inside base of the oven with aluminum foil, again keeping it as smooth as possible.

4. Glue a black construction paper to the bottom of the box. The black color absorbs the heat.

5. Tape the plastic over the opening of the door. This will allow the air inside the box to heat up but keep the heat trapped inside the box.

6. Place a graham cracker, marshmallow, and chocolate inside the oven.

7. Place your oven outside in the sun (so that the top lid faces the sun). Use a skewer or a stick to prop the lid open at an ideal angle.

The chocolate will start transforming into soft squishy state and the marshmallows will look more puffed up from the heat. It took us about 90 minutes to bake our s’mores. The temperature outdoors was around 100 degree Fahrenheit. You can just wait until the chocolate melts and can be called good enough, and your tasty treat is done. Place another graham over the baked graham or just sandwich the two of the baked grahams. Time to feast on your solar oven s’mores!

Functions of the components of the Solar Oven

Aluminum foil: The sunlight is reflected when it strikes its surface.

Black construction paper:  Since black absorbs maximum light, it absorbs the light reflected from the aluminum foil. In the oven, the light energy is transformed into heat energy which demonstrates the law of thermodynamics which states that energy can’t be destroyed but can be only transformed from one state to the other.

Plastic wrap: It traps the heat radiated from the black construction paper causing the temperature inside the oven to rise.

Cardboard box: It serves as a physical oven and acts as an insulator of heat.

Science behind the working of the Solar Oven

A solar oven works by energy from the sun that penetrates into the surrounding environment thus demonstrating the process of radiation.

The shiny surface catches the sunlight and acts as a reflector reflecting it onto the base surface of the oven. The base surface gets heated. This heat is transfered to another object through direct contact thus demonstrating the process of conduction.

Further the air that is trapped inside gets heated by the process of convection which occurs when warm air which is less dense rises up and the colder air which is more dense sinks.

We are using a black sheet of paper for the base surface since black color absorbs maximum light and is transformed into heat energy. Plastic wrap prevents the hot air inside the oven from escaping thus creating a Greenhouse effect.

Notes:

1. Solar ovens slow-cook food on a low heat over a longer period of time than conventional ovens, but they do work.
2. The box should be tightly sealed or insulated to prevent the heat from escaping.

10 Conversation games to play with kids anywhere anytime!

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Playing conversation games is such a classic way to entertain— be it a group at a party or bored kids at home. I am always in hunt of some conversation games that perfectly fit as a conversation ice breaker with my li’l one as also is an all time hit at any gathering of friends and family. Here are some classic conversation games which can be played with family and friends anytime anywhere without almost any items.

Chinese Whispers or Telephone

Here everyone sits in a line or a circle and the first person whispers a message to the next person in line, in his ears. The second one whispers the same message into the next person’s ears and so on. When the message reaches the last person, he announces the message. The fun part happens here, since the message gets significantly distorted during the process. The group is sure to have to a good laugh.

Two Things

In this game, one player gives two statements, one is true and one is false. The other player has to guess which is true and which is false. It can be a good way to also exchange interesting facts specially with children.

20 Questions

One person thinks of something in a room and the others have to guess it in 20 questions or less. The person who has thought of, can only answer in a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’. The questions can be like “Is it made of a metal?” or “Is it as big as a ball?” or “ Is it rectangular in shape?” This is even more interesting if you divide the players in 2 teams.

I Spy

The game traditionally starts with a phrase called “I spy with my little eye something”, and then a description is added like made of plastic, like a cylinder, or white in color. The other players guess the item. The person who gusses it becomes the spy.

Just a Minute

This one is a classic and an all time favorite game. In this game, each person is given a topic one at a time and he has to speak on it for 1 minute. This game is a great help in improving speech skills. Preparation time can also be given to players. Some of the topics that can be taken with kids include:

Animals have rights too.

My favorite foods

What is the best time of day for you?

What do you think you would do when you grow up?

My favorite animal

Should kids be beaten for doing wrong

My favorite movie

The most memorable time of my life

My most favorite subject at school

The funniest incident of my life

The person who inspires me

Something I want to learn

The time I laughed the hardest

Fun activities I do with my family

If I were invisible

If I had the power to change something

Three wishes I would make

My favorite food

Something I like to wear the most

The worst food I’ve ever had

The most difficult thing in this world

Your favorite holiday

Early rise and early sleep or late rise and late sleep

What is the best thing of being… years old

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

The Name Game

This game is good to stimulate kids’ thinking while also improving their vocabulary. It requires simple preparation and is fun to play anytime anywhere.

1. Take slips of paper and write all 26 letters and keep them in one bowl.

2. Think about different categories (as narrow or as broad as you’d like them to be) like girls name, countries, vegetables, animals etc. and write them on slips and keep them in another bowl.

3. Take 5 slips and write numbers from 5 to 10.

Now at every turn, each player is required to pick slips from each bowl. If a player picks slips with letter ‘B’, category ‘Vegetable Names’ and time ‘7’ then the person will take 7 vegetable names with the letter B.

Simon Says

In this game, one person becomes the Simon and designates activities to the rest of the players. Rest of the players have to obey the commands. The catch is that they have to obey only those commands that begin with the phrase “Simon Says”. If any player follows the command that doesn’t have the phrase “Simon Says”, will be out of the game. The person who stays till the end becomes the next Simon.

Some interesting command ideas for Simon Says:

Simon says scratch like a monkey

Simon says rub your tummy and pat your head

Simon says to be a king

Simon says crawl like a baby

Simon says pretend to clean the house

Simon says bite your lip

Simon says cry like a baby

Simon says act like a spiderman

Simon says start singing

Simon says walk on your knees

Simon says cuddle your favorite person in the room

Simon says slap yourself

Simon says yawn like a hippopotamus

Simon says do a ball dance

Simon says do a yoga pose

Simon says wink with your left eye

Make Me Laugh

Well, this is the game we all have played at some point (at least heard of if not played). One person gets a turn to make the other players laugh. Whoever laughs first is the looser. So try your tricks, crack jokes, make silly faces or ask funny questions.

Chubby Bunny Challenge

All you need in this game is a partner and a whole bowl of marshmellows. Both the partners start with taking one marshmellow in mouth and say “Chubby Bunny”. If you can say it clearly then you move to another round wherein you add another marshmellow and say “Chubby Bunny” again. The challenge continues until the players say the words clearly or without losing the marshmellow out of their mouth. The one who is not able to continue this loses to the other person.

The Alphabet Game

The object of this game is to have some authentic conversation going on. Here a person starts the conversation with the letter ‘A’ for instance Airballon rides are fun, the second person in the row will say a sentence with the letter ‘B’ for instance But they are scary too!

Have a happy time playing!

Those who are having it tough this Mother’s Day, we see you!

/ momsdiary26 / 4 Comments

Mother’s day is round the corner. The day which mamas all around the world look forward to– to be loved, surprised and spoilt.

And why not! It’s such a feeling of pride, fulfillment and joy for mothers to be appreciated for what they do.

However, it might be a tougher road for some amongst us. The day might come rubbing some of the hidden bruises. Truly, they are the special ones, and this is just to appreciate their enormous strength and worth which is beyond words.

The mother who is far apart from her children.

Step by step, she has been there to see her child grow. When he started to sit, she waited for him to stand. When he could stand, she waited for him to walk. When he learnt to walk, she taught her how to fly. Now when he has learnt to fly, he is somewhere making her feel proud- working, raising, achieving.

The pangs of separation are bitter. Sometimes she has meltdowns, tearing her world apart. But again she stands strong, defiant and unbewildered; instilling in herself the spirit she infused in her child. And she finds joy in his achievements, pain in his sorrows, mirth in his laughter and life in his life.

The mother who is hopeful– that she will hold her own child someday.

There she has been through the journey of innumerable prayers, moments of disgust, lost hope and revived faith. She in her mind, has made a million pictures of their unborn; lived a thousand unlived moments of holding, playing, cuddling, and rejoicing. She just can’t hold over the fact that how beautiful their life would be when it happens. Days, months and years have passed, she has learnt to live in acceptance and anticipation.

But this journey has given her something which is beyond the superficial. An unfazed faith that there is nothing above God’s will– faith that everlasting happiness is worth the wait. Forbearance– to stay strong through the most vulnerable moments. Hope– that the best time is yet to come. And above all, the blessing of togetherness with her other half, standing by her through thick and thin.

The mother who is bereaving the loss of her child.

This can be the most devastating thing that can ever be in one’s life.  The child, who brought a new ray of hope, is gone now. The pain is excruciating.  She has questioned the almighty, willed her own end over her beloved’s, stood hopeless at the altar– all of it, times and over. But the truth is she has him no more– lost to the disease, lost to the mishap, lost to the crime. God willed this to her and the reason is beyond her understanding. 

Amidst all the mayhem, she understands that this the time of test. From somewhere in the universe, she gets forbearance and strength to bear something unimaginable like this. She finds connection with God and learns to withstand the deadliest of challenges that life has thrown at her. She learns to part away from something so precious. It was given by him and taken away by him. This is something that teaches her to face any circumstance whatsoever in life.

Someone who has lost her mother.

There can be nothing more terrible than this. Even a thought like this is enough to run shivers down anyone’s spine. A mother is the first symbol of strength, love and dedication. When she is gone, she leaves a void that is irreplaceable and a burden which is heaviest to bear. The pain might grow less with time but the memory is un-erasable.

However, God always compensates for what he takes away. He sends angels to take care of those in distress. He gives them a stronger mind to withstand; and an ability to connect to a deeper level. And there she finds a whole new strength; and discovers life through a whole new perspective.

Unfathomable gift of strength and more power to all such women. I love you, Happy Mothers Day!