My daughter Louisa wanted to study astronomy for science in homeschool. She is 12 years old and has her definite preferences, so I began a search for some resources to help. I discovered Apologia Science books for grades K-6 grade. The chapters are fun to read aloud together, and they have experiments at the end that we had a good time doing. The experiments didn’t use any odd ingredients, so I could really pull them together quickly—I love that!
Funny Putty
Here’s a fun science recipe to make:
- 2 cups white glue (regular, not school glue)
- 2 teaspoons Borax
- Water
Mix the borax with 1/3 cup water, dissolving well. In another bowl, mix the glue and 3/4 cup water. You can also add a few drops of food coloring. Stir well and add in the borax/water mixture. Amazingly, the putty will clot. Knead together, leaving any excess water that forms in the bowl.
Plasma Gloop! Science Fun
There are 3 states of matter, right? Solid, liquid and gas.
Well, there is theoretically another state of matter, a 4th state known as “plasma”. Our plasma concoction is solid enough to break, but it flows like a liquid. Treat your kids to this fun science experiment! It is so simple, but it will have them oohing and aahing! Assemble it outside on the picnic table and save yourself some cleanup. [Read more…]
Keeping A Nature Journal
Every day I walk in the river bottoms, across the road and down the country lane from my house. It is so breathtakingly beautiful and peaceful there. I am all alone, and very rarely see another person in the 45 minutes that I am wandering through cornfields and along the banks of the river. What I do see, however, is wildlife! As I come home and describe what I have seen to my children, they take great interest in each day’s discovery. I have even taken them along, one by one, in hopes that they might happen upon the red fox and her 2 babies frolicking in the morning sunshine, as I once did.