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Looking for a fun science experiment? Here’s a fun freebie offered by Supercharged Science. Your kids build a miniature hovercraft out of an old CD and a water bottle – it’s pretty cool. We’ve tried out a bunch of their freebies, and the kids really enjoy them.
Why we like them:
They usually start with a fun experiment and Aurora Lipper, who does the teaching in the videos, gets the kids immediately involved doing something.
She explains each step so they can follow along even without your help. (Yay! Keep a couple kids busy while you’re helping the others)
The parts required are usually household items you already have or can get easily.
And then she’ll introduce the science part during or after the equipment.
It’s a great way to get the kids excited about science and then slip the teaching in while they’re distracted.
FYI – You do have to type in your email address to get their freebies. (No spam) They give out a lot of quality, free experiment videos as advertising for their paid options.
What is your favorite homeschool science curriculum? Share with other readers who are looking for ideas!
A couple of years ago, we filled a few bird feeders, perched them on the railing of our deck and had a great time watching the birds come and go. I was at a loss to figure out which birds were which until we checked out this great bird guide from the library that is perfect for beginners. I love that it is organized by color, so when the kids saw a yellow bird, they would flip to that section in the book and then search for ‘our’ bird.
Another amazing resource I just discovered is What Bird.com. This site has so much bird information it can be overwhelming. For a start, check out some of these links:
Browse through birds sorted by everything from location and color to bill shape and what they eat.
Build your own custom bird guide – free to include 5 birds of any family per book. What a great final report for your unit study! You can even add a custom cover and bind it. (A $25/yr subscription offers unlimited birds and books. )
Enjoy!
Do you have any fun bird-schooling stories or favorite bird study resources? I’d love more ideas. Thanks!
I posted a recipe for Flubber last year and we decided it would be a fun rainy day activity to do today.
(Especially, since the kids were moaning with boredom because they are grounded from the computer, the TV, AND all their basement toys – I’m tired of cleaning them up)
Here’s the recipe again:
Bowl #1 – Mix thoroughly
1 cup white glue
3/4 c warm water
food coloring (opt.)
Bowl #2 – mix thoroughly
1/2 c. warm water
2 t. Borax (20 Mule Team is one brand)
After mixing each bowl separately, mix them together. It is amazingly cool as a polymer is formed. Read about the science behind the reaction here.
Stir with a spoon, or for the more adventurous, mix with your hands. Don’t quit, the gluey slime will suddenly harden into a great cross between slime and silly putty.
Even the baby can enjoy Flubber, just make sure he doesnt’ eat it.
If you’re looking for a project to get your kids outside, teach some responsibility and science, try a tomato plant!
I normally dread my kids seeing commercials on TV, but when my 6-year-old begged for a ‘Topsy-Turvy Tomato planter, I was intrigued. It’s a hanging sack that holds the tomato roots and potting soil, while the plant itself grows out of the bottom of the sack, in the air and off the ground.
What a great homeschool project!
We quickly figured out you can do the same thing by cutting a hole in the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket. We gathered 4 buckets, each kid chose a plant, and the buckets are now hanging from a couple of 2 x 4′s suspended between the slide structure and our fence. One of the kids chose a zucchini plant. Who knew they could all grow upside down?
Each child is responsible for watering, fertilizing, and . . . picking and eating the produce - the best part. It’s a fun introduction to responsibility, work, and its rewards. Not to mention a good precurser to getting a pet. If they can’t keep their tomato plant alive and watered, they aren’t ready for a pet.
Did you find something that worked well for you this week? Share your tips with the rest of us!
Looking for some online literacy and science curriculums?
Learning A-Z is having a free trial week in honor of Teacher Appreciation Day. If you’re investigating literacy resources, this is a good time to check them out.
Free on May 4th: Reading A-Z: Everything you need to teach reading including phonics, leveled readers, lessons, worksheets, etc. for $85/yr.
Free on May 5th: Science A-Z: A K-6 science curriculum with lessons, experiments, worksheets, etc. for $60/yr.
Free on May 6th: Writing A-Z: Writing resources including research packets, mini-books, story cards, writing prompts, lessons, etc. for $30/yr.
Free on May 7th: Vocabulary A-Z: After building your word list, a lesson generator will give you a week’s worth of lessons, activities, games, and a graphic organizer. $30/yr.
Free on May 8th: Reading-Tutors: If you need tutor lesson plans, this site offers 450 complete tutoring packets with lesson plans, games, activities, etc. for $60/yr.
Would you like to see a picture of crystalline iron found only in meteorites? Check out these real word examples of elements on Chem4Kids website – a site dedicated to helping teach chemistry concepts to kids.
Isn’t this a great picture of an ‘E-fant’? (my 3-year-old’s favorite animal) Learning about animals is a favorite part of early education and teaches children science, reading, comprehension, and lots more.
Check out Exploring Nature, a great natural science website with:
Check out Weird Science, a website that offers a nice list of science experiments you can try at home, along with videos you can watch before you try the experiment yourself. The videos are great, too, if you just want to avoid another messy science kitchen day. Now if I could just find a science experiment that magically cleaned the kitchen table, counter, and sink full of dirty dishes
Have you found a fun science site for homeschooling? You’re welcome to post a link in the comment section to share with us!
Are you looking for a fun unit study for the little ones with lots of science, biology, new vocabulary, and hands-on crafts? Butterflies are always a favorite.
Check out this course on buttierflies that is designed to take 1 – 2 weeks for younger kids around kindergarten age. Take about complete! It comes with lesson plans, cut-out butterfly patterns, vocabulary lists, butterfly math, worksheets, full color life cycle printables, poetry, and even assesment guidelines. They’ve thought of just about everything.
This course is presented by the Alma Project funded by the Denver Public Schools. It is “a program that provides multicultural curriculum for early childhood education (ECE) though twelfth grade.”
If you like the butterfly course, or are just looking for an excellent unit study, check out the other 85 excellent unit studies available as .PDF documents.
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I’ve been a bit absent from the blog the last couple of weeks while our whole family went on a vacation an educational school field trip. People always say how hard it must be to home school. I keep insisting that it really isn’t. We just have to open our eyes to all the educational moments around us. Here’s how our vacation was actually a school trip. I thought you might enjoy a sample of our studies:
The Great Salt Lake – a science smorgasbord!
Tracks in the sand – Can you guess what animals made them? Answers at the end of the post. (The first one is much smaller than the second ones)
We learned about the brine shrimp in The Great Salt Lake and how the cool sand is made of oolites which are ”particle(s) with a shell of concentric layers of calcium carbonate deposited around a central core–usually a tiny piece of brine shrimp “poop” or a mineral fragment.”
States of Matter – liquid turning to solid salt crystals - A splash of water from The Great Salt Lake happened to land in a perfect teardrop and dry into this cool salt crystal shape.
Biology and Animal Husbandry Class - We watched the Great Bison (“Buffalo”) Roundup on Antelope Island where they roam free the rest of the year. We watched the tagging, immunizations, and pregnancy tests that are part of the yearly health maintenance routine for these amazing animals.
And a final lesson in nature: The wondrous autumn molting cattail! Moms everywhere dread them and boys love them. Here are two of my boys shreading them into a huge pile of fluffy ‘cotton’ to make a bike trail booby trap. They loved watching me ride right through their trap, cotton flying everywhere. Just remember to get the vacuum hose out before letting any ‘cotton’ covered clothes in the house.
(Answers: The first track is an everyday dog print. The second are bison tracks, something you’ll have a hard time finding nowadays)
See. Science is everywhere and a lot more fun to experience than to learn about sitting in the house reading a book. This lighthearted series about our great vacation school trip will include followup posts of how we learn art, gym, language arts, and the infamous socialization while having a fun vacation. Enjoy!
How do you turn your everyday life into homeschool moments? Please share with us in the comment section. I appreciate all your input!
Would you like to see a picture of crystalline iron found only in meteorites? Check out these 
