Lately, I’ve been contemplating having my kids participate in our local homeschool science fair. While we do a lot of science at our house and science is one of our favorite things to do together, we’ve never done a science fair project before.
So, I asked my friend Kayla Fay for some advice. Kayla has done over 25 science fair projects over the years with her four boys, and has graciously agreed to share her insight with us.
If a science fair or outside class science project is on your schedule this year, I hope her advice helps you as it is helping me. …Shannon
7 Steps to Successful Science Projects for the Science Fair
Science projects – like homeschooling – are supposed to be a joyous time of a family learning, discovering, and working together toward the common goal of knowledge. You know – mom and dad gather the family around the kitchen table, and watch Wally and Beaver’s faces light up as they learn something new.
Unfortunately, science projects don’t always turn out that way. In fact, in our family, our first twenty or so projects were horrible experiences that left me exasperated, the kids frustrated, our kitchen in shambles and our budget depleted.
We have four sons, and when the first one was in 5th grade, I gave our principal a protest project entitled, Do Science Projects Cause Maternal Insanity?
Kayla's son shows off the blue ribbon he won for his science fair project
Our problem was that while we had great instructions on how to do a project, we didn’t have any guidance on how or where to find the type of project that would meet the requirements of our science fair, would interest our kids, that we could afford, and that would work. It took a long time, but we finally got the hang of it.
To our delight, we discovered that science projects really could be fun – and educational. In fact, we learned some really cool stuff that made our kids’ faces light up – and only once was it because of an explosion.
So – how can your family avoid our torturous route to finding out just how much fun a science project can be?
Here are seven steps to science fair success!
1. Know your science fair requirements. Is your science fair for
experiments only, or do they allow the other types of projects -
demonstrations, collections, models, or reports? Find out the details of
everything that is required.
2. Know your budget for time and for money. Add some padding for late orders and failed experiments.
3. Know your kids’ interests and choose your project. Notice that this is #3. If your child’s interest is in a project that won’t satisfy steps one
and two – pick another project. Search on the internet or in the library, or
come up with your own idea.
NOW you are ready for the next steps.
4. Gather your materials. Read all the way through the instructions to
see if you need anything that isn’t listed. You may also want to think ahead
and get the supplies for your project display.
5. Perform the project itself. Make sure that as you work, you keep any
required logs, record, or photographs. If your first attempt doesn’t work,
try again.
6. Prepare for your presentation. For this, most science fairs require
a science board, logs, and a physical representation of the project. Come up
with a catchy title for the project. Be creative. Be neat.
7. Submit your entry. And remember, if Wally and Beaver learned
anything, you don’t need a blue ribbon, because you already have a winning
science project!
Click on the image to get your free copy
Download your FREE copy of The Non-Scientific Parent’s Guide to a Science Project to learn how to choose the perfect science project, wade through the odd vocabulary, deal with the scientific method, and design an award winning science board.
You’ll also find out that a science project really can be done by your child, with you as a teacher and a guide.
A: Most of our science project ideas come from the kids. They want to try something, or they are showing an interest in something.
For example, two years ago, my oldest son (then 8yo) was asking a lot of questions about electricity, and really wanted to play with the electrity experiment kit I picked up at a used curriculum sale a few years back, that became his science project.
Last Spring when a colony of bees moved into the eaves of our house, my 5 year old came running in asking if she could study bees for science. So we learned about bees.
But sometimes I do make suggestions, particularly if I’m trying to fill a gap in their education.
During our Summer of Science two years ago, my oldest daughter checked out every science project book she could from the library and sent through it with her brother, marking all the experiments that they wanted to try.
There was no way we could do them all, but it was an exercise in them figuring out what looked interesting (and they learned something in the process) and expanded their idea of what a science project could look like.
If you are trying to fill a gap, or meet the requirements for a science project needed for a science fair or outside class project, here’s my advice:
5 yo showing off that habitat she built for her latest insect study
Ask your child what they are interested in, or listen and watch what they are talking about and exploring.
Then do a search online for “science project” and the area of study – or go to the library and look up that area of study plus “science experiment” “science project”, or “science fair”.
At the library, the idea books are stored in the dewey decimal system by the area of study, i.e., chemistry, botony, geology, etc. And there are some great resources available – both online and at the library.
So for example, if your child keeps bringing you rocks and talking to you about rocks, then look up “geology science experiments” and “geology science project” at the library or in Google.
If your child is interested in mixing things and seeing what will happen (aka chemistry), look up “chemistry science experiments” and “chemistry science projects.”
If they are into bugs and insects, well… you get the idea.
AND, because I’m prefer to have kids interested in what they are doing, I would let your kids choose from an selection of experiments. Let them make the final choice, based on the criteria you are trying to meet.
One last thing, I do try to make sure that my kids have plenty of materials around. When I see a deal on a kit or tools and I have some money to spend, then I’ll buy it. That way, when the need arises we have things available to do. Basically, I like to strew things in their path, and if they are curious, let them explore it further.
Click on the picture to download your FREE Guide to Science Projects
If you are in a crunch and are looking for a science project for a science fair, expand out your google search for “science fair ideas”.
Either way, just enjoy the exploration. Science is a lot of fun and the key thing to remember is that science isn’t just about learning facts and information, but also exploration, and testing out thoughts and ideas and seeing if they prove to be true or not. Have fun with it!
…Shannon
P.S. Q&A posts are inspired by questions by moms just like you, if you have advice to add, please leave a comment below. I’d love to read your insights. Have a question you’d like answered? Just send me an email.
About two years ago, during a tough economic spell, God put it on my heart that I needed a backup plan. How would I homeschool, what resources, what curriculum would I use, if I didn’t have the funds to buy any more curriculum?
What would you do?
We’ve encountered our share of economic challenges – some of our own doing (debt) and some just part of life (moves, lay-offs, medical emergencies, etc.). So, it seemed very plausible that there might come a time when I couldn’t afford to purchase anything for our homeschool.
Now, I know that it is possible to completely homeschool with just a internet connection, access to a printer, and a library card, but I’ve never had to do it. So I set off to figure out what resources might be found – and was amazed at what I found.
Not only are there some wonderful resources out there, but also there’s a certain feeling of security I have knowing without a shadow of a doubt that economic reasons were not going to keep us from homeschooling.
So, over the next few Monday’s I’ll share some of the information I found, so that you too can know that there are some great resources out there for you and your family, if you choose to prepare your homeschool for an economic emergency.
Next, I’ll share the top strategies you can use to ensure you have the homeschool curriculumn and resources you need, even during a financial crisis.
Until then, enjoy the journey.
…Shannon
P.S. If you’d like this series delivered directly to your inbox, please enter your email address below. Thanks!
Last year after my daughter completed her first high school level class (an outside Latin class) and did well with it, I gave her the choice of either continuing on a traditional junior high (middle school) then high school approach, or to start directly into high school level work, in the areas where she was ready for it. She chose to start the high school homeschooling journey.
So about a month ago, my husband and I sat down and mapped out what our homeschool’s requirements are for high school graduation.
Each school – public, private, or homeschool – has it’s own agenda, its own goals, and we are no different. We value creativity and independent thinking. We’re raising and educating our students to be well-rounded and to be creative problem-solvers, to serve others, and to be ready not only for the work place, but also for the most important relationships they will have – with their spouses and children.
And so, we adapted our graduation requirements to reflect our goals, our objectives.
I’m sure yours will look different than ours, but here’s a few of the areas where we made changes:
Be prepared for Dual Credit and/or College Prep. While our daughter (and her siblings) currently have no interest in going to college, we want to make sure she has the requirements needed, in case she changes her mind. We also want to leave the door open for the possiblity to earn dual credit in a few years.
More technology. Now we are biased, both my husband and I work in the IT world, and our kids have been using computers since they were toddlers. But we also feel that the need for an understanding of how technology works and for technology skills will only grow. We want to equip our homeschoolers with a good foundation. So, we are requiring 4 credits of technology, including a credit each of programming, office productivity software, and web technology.
More Interpersonal Skills Training. Basic high school requirements state a half credit in Speech, and we just didn’t feel that was enough. Being able to be comfortable speaking to not only groups, but also with a variety of individuals and in a variety of situations is a key factor in both personal and professional success. We are requring two full credits, and one of which needs to be in practical experience.
More Language and Culture. We live in a diverse world, and we feel our children must be able to be able to live in that world without unfounded ignorance or bias about other cultures. So we’re requiring a half credit of world langauge and culture study AND four years of foriegn language study. Each child must be verbally fluent in at least one other langauge (other then English) and be familiar with at least one other langauge (other than English). American Sign Language does count towards our langauge and culture requirement.
More Practical Skills. We’ve added requirements for Fine arts, Community Service, Recreation (not including PE), Psychology (including Human Motivation), Personal Finance (not just Economics), and child development and parenting skills. Why? Because we’re not just preparing our students for work, we’re preparing them to be ready for life – for balancing the reality of money, relationships, and personal fullfillment.
It ended up being 9 more credits than our local traditional public school, but we’re okay with that. We have opportunity to earn credit outside of traditional public school hours, and our goal is not to compete with or duplicate the traditional schools, but to provide our children with an education that allows them to be prepared for the life they will be leading as adults.
Please feel free to share your thoughts on creating your own homeschool high school graduation requirements in the comments below. I welcome your thoughts.
…Shannon
P.S. If you are looking for more info on homeschooling high school, please be sure to check out my homeschooling high school page where’s I’ve listed resources I’ve found useful.
When we homeschool, our children often have the opportunity to start working on high school level material much younger than traditionally schooled children. And that can be a bit of mental adjustment for those of us used to thinking of high school in terms of 9th grade or age 14 or 15.
I know that last year when my daughter (now 12) earned her first high school credit ( a half credit for Latin), I wasn’t prepared for it. I had heard about homeschoolers starting high school work at 11 or 12, but didn’t really expect to find myself there. (Don’t get me wrong my daughter is bright, but I just wasn’t focused on having her start high school that early.)
I did a bunch of research and discovered that high school transcripts really aren’t that difficult to pull together. The bottomline is that as soon as high school credit is earned it should be recorded on a transcript. That way you always have a running transcript ready in case you need it for outside activities and other opportunities.
We’ve encountered our share of economic challenges – some of our own doing (debt) and some just part of life (moves, lay-offs, medical emergencies, etc.). So, it seemed very plausible that there might come a time when I couldn’t afford to purchase anything for our homeschool.
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