About the Author
Terri Long is a retired college professor. She taught Oceanography, Geology, Meteorology, and Earth Science at a southern California Community College for 25 years. Teaching is her passion and writing children's science books allows her to continue doing what she loves to do.
Terri loves the outdoors and enjoys swimming and snorkeling in the ocean, hiking, biking, camping, and spending time with her family and friends. She lives in Chino Hills, California with her husband Gary and her two cats, Dazi and Dafni.
My Story
I retired from the California Community College system in 2019. Although Gary and I were enjoying retirement together, I needed something to keep me busy. Our youngest grandson, Mason, provided me with an idea for a new project. Mason is a very curious child and loves asking questions and learning new things. My idea was to write children’s books from my perspective as a grandmother and former teacher, answering Mason’s questions about science topics.
The books are designed to strengthen the bond between a grandmother and her grandchildren while teaching relevant science concepts. They provide ideas for simple hands-on activities and offer advice on how to stay safe during natural events. I decided to call my books the ‘Hey Grandma’ series. My first book, ‘Hey Grandma, What is an Earthquake?’ was published in 2023.
Hey Grandma Books
Future books in the series
What is a hurricane?
What is a tornado?
What is a landslide?
What is a rainbow?
Available now
Click here
Why isn't the moon always round?
Why don't we see starts where we live?
How are mountains formed?
What is a glacier?
Activities
Click on the book to see a list of activities
Earthquake Activities
1. Simulating an earthquake using your hands
Put your hands together, keep them close, and then slide them past each other in opposite directions. Your hands represent the rocks beneath the Earth's surface during an earthquake.
3. Creating a fault using a pencil
Get a pencil and carefully break it in two pieces. Put the pencil back together. The break in the pencil represents a fault beneath the Earth's surface.
2. Identifying where earthquakes occur
Get a puzzle and outline with your finger where you think earthquakes would occur.
3. What to do during an earthquake
Pretend that you feel an earthquake, what would you do?
Volcano Activities
1. Draw a volcano
Get out a piece of paper and some colors and draw a picture of a volcano.
2. Search the internet for volcanoes in the Ring of Fire Do a search on the Internet to learn about other volcanoes in the Ring of Fire.
3. Create your own volcanic eruption - with your grandma or one of your parents, get a lemon, a cookie sheet, food coloring and some baking soda. Have grandma cut the top and bottom off of the lemon. Use a spoon to scoop out some of the inside of the lemon to make a depression. Add about 4 drops of food coloring to the hole in the lemon. Use a spoon to add baking soda to the top of the lemon and watch the volcano erupt.
4. Make a volcano - get a piece of cardboard, a straw cut to be 2 inches long, and a tube of frosting for decorating a cake. Put a hole in the cardboard so that the straw fits into it. Leave most of the straw below the cardboard to represent the vent and tape the straw to the cardboard from below. Take the frosting and squeeze it into the straw from below so that it flows out onto the cardboard. The mound of frosting represents a volcano.
Videos
I am working on You Tube videos for each of the books. They will be available next year. Thank you for your patience.
Contact Details
If you have any questions about my books, any suggestions for new titles, or recommendations that would better help me meet your needs, please let me know. I look forward to hearing from you!
Happy bonding with your grandchildren!
Terri Long
