DIY sundial with a paper plate Note: If you want to use true North instead of North on your compass you can…but it doesn’t really matter which you use because sundials aren’t precision tools. And I...
Out of all the egg science experiment you can do dissolving egg shells should be at the top of every child's to do list (a visual and tactile STEM project)
My family and I spent the weekend exploring Antelope Island out in the Great Salt Lake. We had a fabulous, refreshing time (To read our full experience click here). Our trip brought us home $30
Did you know you could turn milk into plastic? I didn't. I had no idea! I did know that you can turn cream into butter, which is just what I was planning on doing with one of my Kindergarten classes back when I taught in the classroom. We love easy science experiments! There I was,
My original plan for this water filtration experiment was to do it for Earth Day, but things got too busy this year and we did something else instead (check out our posts for Homemade Seed Paper and Toilet Paper Roll Bird Feeders!)Today ended up being just the right day for it. I had the right materials on hand, we were headed to the pond for a pond study, and Daddy came home from work early which always makes field trips a little easier. So we put together our filter and headed to the pond wher
Every year in my classroom, I do a Science experiment a week for the school year. I thought that since I had already put the work in to create experiment sheets to go with each experiment, I would share them with you in hopes that you won't have to do the same. For this experiment, I have two versio...
Get your lessons on this summer with these super fun summer science experiments. So much fun to be had with the kids all summer long.
This is not my idea, but I know a good one when I see it, and I had to tuck this away to do this summer with the kids. Some kids at one of our schools did something similar for a science project, and then my friend Michelle, over at Scribbit, detailed the project when she did it with her children up in Alaska. That being said, so that I take no credit whatsoever, this is a really, really cool thing to do with your kids, young and old. Even my sixteen year old daughter was completely engaged for the hours we spent. First, here's what you need for each one: 3 clear 2-liter (empty) soda bottles clear packing tape aquarium gravel water dechlorinator rubber band 4" piece of netting (I used cut up pantyhose) soil fish, snails, or other aquatic life elodea, (which is banned in CA), duck weed (which the store didn't have), anachris, or other aquatic plants crickets, pill bugs, earthworms a few dead leaves and small sticks You can use the link to Scribbit for perfectly detailed directions, but first you get your soda bottles, 3 for each ecosystem, and you begin cutting them up. The bottom one (basement, AKA pond life) gets the top cut off of it. The middle one (AKA coupler) gets both bottom AND top cut off. The top level (AKA earth level) gets bottom cut off, but saved to reattach at the end. Once you have your pieces, you take your basement/pond life level and add an inch or so of gravel. Fill it almost to the top with water and add a few drops of dechlorinator. Then add special friends, like the plants, guppies, and snails. You can use different fish, but guppies are the sturdiest. These snails that the nice fish store man chose for us stay fairly small, and they're beautiful. Each ecosystem got 2 snails, 2 branches of anachris (plant), which they could break into smaller pieces, and 3 or 4 guppies so that hopefully 2 will live. The guppies and snails were happy almost immediately, exploring their new home. Well, except for one of Aiden's that just floated to the bottom. And then swam like a madfish to the top only to float to the bottom again. Aiden named him "Wheeeeeee!" We're not sure how long Wheeeee! will be around for. For the top/earth level, we put the layer of pantyhose over the open mouth of the bottle, secured it with a rubberband and then turned it upside down. Next, we added a layer of gravel, and then some super-soil from our garden. Into this level we planted some grass seed, but rye/alfalfa/mustard would work well too. I just couldn't find my sprouting seeds. Then we added our friends, one cricket (with a small chunk of potato for him to nibble), 3 pill bugs, and an earthworm each. Then a few dead leaves and small sticks went on top. Just for fun, I gave each child a garden tag to use for a nameplate. The bottom of that soda bottle (which is now the top) was taped back on, with the edges tucked just inside the rest of the bottle so water doesn't run out. Then that top level is set inside the coupler level and taped. Both of those two top levels are now set inside the pond life basement level and secured with tape. Now it should be airtight and self-contained, as a proper ecosystem should be. Can you see the little fishies swimming around? Now just set them in front of a sunny window so that photosynthesis can happen, setting in motion the cycle of life. The water will evaporate to the top to rain down on the soil, helping the grass to grow and the dead leaves to decompose, which feed the insects. There will be plenty of oxygen from the plants, and the algae that will grow will feed the fish and snails. Can't wait to watch it all happen! Oh, and by the way, all of the supplies for 3 ecosystems, including the soda bottles came to under $17. Nice.
Want to learn how to make the floating dry erase marker experiment work? This tutorial answers most of your questions and includes a video too!
We chose this experiment because we had been learning about decaying leaves and mold and flu season was approaching, Jaralee Metcalf told Bored Panda. We decided it would be an awesome mold experiment to learn about germs by using moldy bread!
LD was itching to do some of his old science experiments this morning. We had all of the directions collected on a 3X5 ring (from when we did them a year+ ago). LD leafed through and chose several experiments. Here is the first one he and the girls did. It's been over a year since we last did this experiment, but it still had a real "wow" factor for all of us. The kids each took turns doing it (LD did it four times!) 1) fill a glass jar with water 2) put 2 Tablespoons of oil in a pitcher and add 3 drops of food coloring each of red, yellow and blue (not too much or the color will drop out of the oils when you pour it into the water) 3) stir the oil and food dye well to break up the dye into small droplets 4) pour slowly into the water and after a few moments you'll see the fireworks begin as the food dye slowly drops out of the oil suspension. You can see we had a bit too much yellow dye, but all the other photos turned out blurry. Here is an example from when we did this another time: We did a similar experiment with shaving cream that was just as spectacular! See this post: Shaving Cream Fireworks You may also be interested in these preschool science posts: Free Science Experiment Pack (at our new location, homeschoolden.com) Chemistry Experiments and Activities for Young Learners: You'll find a half-dozen chemistry experiments my youngest did during our chemistry unit (she's 7). Some of these make good science activities for preschoolers too even if they don't understand the complex science behind it! Animals Around the World Montessori Cards Preschool at Home: This link takes you to 20 or 30 of our preschool posts... everything from science experiments, math activities and games to letter activities, phonics games, activities for small more skills and more! You might be interested in these related posts as well: Science Activities for Ages 4 to 6 or so Beat the Cold with these Science Experiments about Ice, Blubber and More! Science Experiments: Water Molecule Attraction Summer Science Experiments – Tasty Lemon Soda Preschool Science at Home See you again soon! Remember our blog has moved to homeschoolden.com and we update our Homeschool Den Facebook Page a couple times a day during the weekday! ~Liesl
Here's an experiment that will really WOW your child! I've seen this activity around, but we had never tried it, so I figured it was time! Here's what you need: Ivory soap bar (needs to
Jaida, my six year old, has been in a kitchen science experiment mood lately. Every day she asks me if she can make a "mixture" aka strange concoction of anything she can get her hands on. The other day as she begged me for baking soda and vinegar, I had a fun idea for her.
Kiddos have a natural sense of wonder and desire to explore, experiment, and discover. I chose…
Anya, the founder of Montessori From The Heart, is an educational coach, a blogger, an author, a digital creator, and an influencer.
This pdf document includes the student sheet and teacher resources (& answer key) for a Matter Unit Lab named Experiment #1 - Bunsen Burners. During this lab the students will become familiar with how the Bunsen burner works and ultimately complete two small experiments to verify where they hypo...
(This post contains affiliate links, which means I may make a small commission at no extra charge to you if you click on a link and make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying p…
Over the Easter Holidays, we had fun making those cool eggs experiments! My children are 6 and 11 years old but most of those experiments can be done with younger children. Please, supervise your children while doing those activities! Let me know if you have done any other cool science experiments with eggs. These experiments complement very well […]
Ever since we made Oobleck as part of our Kid Wonder Box, my son has been asking to make it again because he had so much fun with it. Both my kids played with it for hours, pretending to be swamp monsters! With Halloween just over a month away, this is a great time to […]
One year of teaching, I had a student who LOVED science experiments… but I found that a lot of the resources out there had TOO many steps and TOO many words for my type of classroom. I created these visual experiments JUST like my visual cooking recipes– simple, concise, and students centered! Here’s a look […]
I decided to take on my own challenge of incorporating a STEM activity every day for a week. It turned out to be a huge success where both my students and I had a blast. Here were the various …
Explore experimental design steps, templates, and methods. Ideal for student projects and teaching design processes in scientific experiments.
A blog about STEM and science topics, easy ways to use STEM in the elementary classroom, help with organizing materials, and tons of helpful hints.
Ever feel like you’re faking it? Like everyone else around you has some secret knowledge that you lack? I didn’t know much about anything, and I felt like everyone else around me had some secret…
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Gordon Korman comes a hilarious and heartfelt novel in which one middle-school troublemaker accidentally moves into the gifted and talented program?and changes everything. For fans of Louis Sachar and Jack Gantos, this funny and touching underdog story is a lovable and goofy adventure with robot fights, middle-school dances, live experiments, and statue-toppling pranks! When Donovan Curtis pulls a major prank at his middle school, he thinks he?s finally gone too far. But thanks to a mix-up by one of the administrators, instead of getting in trouble, Donovan is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a special program for gifted and talented students. Although it wasn?t exactly what Donovan had intended, the ASD couldn?t be a more perfectly unexpected hideout for someone like him. But as the students and teachers of ASD grow to realize that Donovan may not be good at math or science (or just about anything), he shows that his gifts may be exactly what the ASD students never knew they needed. | Author: Gordon Korman | Publisher: Balzer + Bray | Publication Date: February 18, 2014 | Number of Pages: 288 pages | Language: English | Binding: Paperback | ISBN-10: 0061742678 | ISBN-13: 9780061742675
This fun and colorful Magic Rainbow Toothpick Star kids' science experiment is quick, simple, and will have little jaws dropping at the finish!
Teaching your children science doesn't have to be complicated. Here is a simple experiment that toddlers and preschoolers will love.
This water whistle experiment is good to do if you have 5-10 minutes spare. EC and I had a go making between finishing homework and a music lesson.
My kids love science projects that involve something that looks just a bit like magic. We've had a lot of fun making glow-in-the-dark projects, flying projects, and anything that has a "wow" factor. This winter, we resolved to try and make instant ice. We knew the project could be a bit tricky, but we didn't
One year of teaching, I had a student who LOVED science experiments… but I found that a lot of the resources out there had TOO many steps and TOO many words for my type of classroom. I created these visual experiments JUST like my visual cooking recipes– simple, concise, and students centered! Here’s a look […]
Can eggs move by themselves? Maybe not, but with the help of air pressure, they can be pushed into a glass bottle without being touched! In this experiment, your young scientists will learn about density and air pressure. And when you watch our demonstration video, you’ll see that although things didn’t go exactly as we […]
