Julie Ellis

We use glass in many ways. Can you name five things in your home that are made out of glass? Some glass things are made by machines in factories, and some are made by hand. How is glass made?

Beautiful coral reefs are found in warm, shallow seas. They stop beaches and shorelines from being washed away by waves and storms. They are home to thousands of different types of sea animals. The reefs are made of the skeletons of millions of little sea creatures called polyps. They take thousands of years to build up into coral reefs.

Inventions are new things that nobody has made before. People think of new things to help us with our work and play. What are some new inventions that you use?

A volcano is a mountain that erupts — it explodes! Hot, melted rock called lava blows out of the top. It runs down the side of the mountain. The volcano shoots out steam and smoke and ash. It is dangerous for people and animals. Hot lava can cover farms and towns and houses.

Are you good at sorting things into sets? Some children went for a walk in the park and on the beach. They found lots of different things. They sorted them into some interesting sets.

Teeth are very important to help us eat our food. Babies with no teeth can only have milk or soft food. Animals need special teeth to help them catch their food. There are lots of different kinds of teeth to help them.

Have you used a map to find out about places? A map is a drawing of a place. It helps us find out how far it is from one place to another. A map can show rivers, mountains, and roads. Sometimes it shows a whole country or the whole world. You could make a map of your school or your town to show where everything is.

Things that we don't want any longer can be called rubbish, trash, junk or garbage. What do we do with it? What happens to it at your house? Do you recycle it? Recycling means reusing something that would otherwise be thrown away. What things could we recycle from our rubbish?

People have always liked doing puzzles. There are word puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, maze puzzles and lots of other puzzles. What puzzles do you know about? A Tangram is a very old puzzle game from China. Try it!

Young Pythagoras can't seem to stay out of trouble. Every time he tries to help, people get angry. What's a curious kid to do? On a trip to Egypt, Pythagoras' curiosity helps him discover the secret of the right triangle. A clever introduction to the Pythagorean Theorem.