Hi Everyone,
I haven't made posting here a priority b/c I don't know if anyone's reading it. Can you let me know whether you want me to continue? If so, I have math up next... then some reading tips. :) Thanks!!
-Heather
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Mentos, Peeps, and Oobleck, OH MY!
Hands-down best way to get kids happy to learn science... EXPERIMENT!!!
The following experiments are fun and (relatively) safe. I have included some YouTube links below. These are some of my personal favorites. :)
Mentos... Get a test tube. (Learning Express carries all kinds of science kits that aren't very expensive and have a test tube with them.) Get mint-flavored Mentos. Now, get a 2-liter bottle or two of soda... and GO OUTSIDE. (Do not pass GO, do not collect $200... if you don't go outside to do this experiment, you will have yucky stuff all over your ceiling, walls, and floors.) Finally, pour all the Mentos very quickly into your bottle of soda and BACK AWAY QUICKLY. :) Have fun and be safe!!
The first video is the basic experiment. The second video here is very spiffy.
You can go to this link to see very tongue-in-cheek experiments with Peeps... those marshmallow things for Easter, remember? The following video shows in detail just what happens when you put them in a microwave. I haven't tried these at home. Yet. :)
Finally, Oobleck!! Have you read Bartholomew and the Oobleck, by Dr. Seuss? Great story. Great introduction to Oobleck.
Oobleck is simply cornstarch, water, and (usually green) food coloring. Different sites have differing concentrations, but I like to use about 1 cup of cornstarch to 1/2 cup of water. If it's still waaayy too thick, I'll add the water a few teaspoonsful at a time. You don't want to be able to stir it easily, but it shouldn't be lumpy either.
Now, poke it.
If you've never played with oobleck before, I highly recommend it. Please tell me what you think!! I love introducing it to adults who've never seen it before. It reminds me of watching a little kid in the bathtub or in the sandbox... they play with it, poke it, pour it, etc. Have fun with it!! And enjoy the two videos below... one is the standard experiment, and the second is... well... creepy? Cool? Wow!!
That's it!! Enjoy these experiments, or do your own!!
Please note: the JOY of science will be taken away should you feel the need to write up notes on your experiments. Do these for the FUN of it. That's the way to get your kids Loving to Learn Science!! :)
The following experiments are fun and (relatively) safe. I have included some YouTube links below. These are some of my personal favorites. :)
Mentos... Get a test tube. (Learning Express carries all kinds of science kits that aren't very expensive and have a test tube with them.) Get mint-flavored Mentos. Now, get a 2-liter bottle or two of soda... and GO OUTSIDE. (Do not pass GO, do not collect $200... if you don't go outside to do this experiment, you will have yucky stuff all over your ceiling, walls, and floors.) Finally, pour all the Mentos very quickly into your bottle of soda and BACK AWAY QUICKLY. :) Have fun and be safe!!
The first video is the basic experiment. The second video here is very spiffy.
You can go to this link to see very tongue-in-cheek experiments with Peeps... those marshmallow things for Easter, remember? The following video shows in detail just what happens when you put them in a microwave. I haven't tried these at home. Yet. :)
Finally, Oobleck!! Have you read Bartholomew and the Oobleck, by Dr. Seuss? Great story. Great introduction to Oobleck.
Oobleck is simply cornstarch, water, and (usually green) food coloring. Different sites have differing concentrations, but I like to use about 1 cup of cornstarch to 1/2 cup of water. If it's still waaayy too thick, I'll add the water a few teaspoonsful at a time. You don't want to be able to stir it easily, but it shouldn't be lumpy either.
Now, poke it.
If you've never played with oobleck before, I highly recommend it. Please tell me what you think!! I love introducing it to adults who've never seen it before. It reminds me of watching a little kid in the bathtub or in the sandbox... they play with it, poke it, pour it, etc. Have fun with it!! And enjoy the two videos below... one is the standard experiment, and the second is... well... creepy? Cool? Wow!!
That's it!! Enjoy these experiments, or do your own!!
Please note: the JOY of science will be taken away should you feel the need to write up notes on your experiments. Do these for the FUN of it. That's the way to get your kids Loving to Learn Science!! :)
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Do YOU love Science?
This week’s subject is… SCIENCE!
Some people are scared of science. A colleague of mine was recently asked to present in an elementary ed college course about how to use our books to teach science, BECAUSE (the professor said) his students didn't like it!
What about you?
Your child(ren) — or the children under your care — will adopt YOUR attitudes. If you don’t like something, unless they experience otherwise for themselves, they won’t like it either. Are you scared of science? Do you like it? Is it gross? Too many symbols and equations? What do you think?
As for me… I am a closet science maniac. I love our school’s science fair. (See the results from our most recent science fair on the right... a salt precipitate.) Chemistry is FUN! (Yes, I’m a geek.) And I can’t imagine people NOT liking science. What’s not to like? Whether you’re appreciating nature, baking a cake, pulling a wagon, or making things go boom, science is everywhere. Scientists are tracking the sunrise & sunset times each day, designing cool new cars that run on different fuels, finding cures for diseases, and making the internet safer to use. Science asks, and tries to answer, the “why” questions about our physical world!!
So today, here’s a tip you can use with YOUR kids:
SLOW DOWN. Especially if you’re outside! Notice things around you. Are they soft or hard? Wet or dry? Why?
Take a walk or a peek outside. Look at the leaves changing colors. Why do they do that? (Do you know? Take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abscission for some answers if you don’t!) Look at the bugs and the plants around you. Is that bug a beetle or an ant? How do you know? What do the puffy seed pods feel like?
Look at the cake or cookies baking in an oven. Why do they puff up? (Because you put baking soda in it… I know… but why does it work? Did you know that it reacts with other things in your cookies or bread mix to make carbon dioxide? The bubbles in your baked items are air bubbles from this reaction!)
Talk about these things with your kids! The more you slow down and wonder why with your kids, the more science you’re encouraging them to investigate!
Some people are scared of science. A colleague of mine was recently asked to present in an elementary ed college course about how to use our books to teach science, BECAUSE (the professor said) his students didn't like it!
What about you?
Your child(ren) — or the children under your care — will adopt YOUR attitudes. If you don’t like something, unless they experience otherwise for themselves, they won’t like it either. Are you scared of science? Do you like it? Is it gross? Too many symbols and equations? What do you think?
As for me… I am a closet science maniac. I love our school’s science fair. (See the results from our most recent science fair on the right... a salt precipitate.) Chemistry is FUN! (Yes, I’m a geek.) And I can’t imagine people NOT liking science. What’s not to like? Whether you’re appreciating nature, baking a cake, pulling a wagon, or making things go boom, science is everywhere. Scientists are tracking the sunrise & sunset times each day, designing cool new cars that run on different fuels, finding cures for diseases, and making the internet safer to use. Science asks, and tries to answer, the “why” questions about our physical world!!So today, here’s a tip you can use with YOUR kids:
SLOW DOWN. Especially if you’re outside! Notice things around you. Are they soft or hard? Wet or dry? Why?
Take a walk or a peek outside. Look at the leaves changing colors. Why do they do that? (Do you know? Take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abscission for some answers if you don’t!) Look at the bugs and the plants around you. Is that bug a beetle or an ant? How do you know? What do the puffy seed pods feel like?
Look at the cake or cookies baking in an oven. Why do they puff up? (Because you put baking soda in it… I know… but why does it work? Did you know that it reacts with other things in your cookies or bread mix to make carbon dioxide? The bubbles in your baked items are air bubbles from this reaction!)
Talk about these things with your kids! The more you slow down and wonder why with your kids, the more science you’re encouraging them to investigate!
Hello Friends!
Please note I am not a reading specialist or trained in the education field. I just think learning ought to be fun for everyone, including us parents!
Each week I'll be posting tips and tricks that will help you help YOUR kids... LOVE to learn!
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