In my attempt to bring us back to learning together as a family more, I’ve been creatively trying to balance K & J’s need to learn middle school and high school geology with introducing the topic to Little E and Z. 

Now obviously mixing first and third grade with sixth and ninth grades, means some very different levels of detail presented.  Because I need the high school level for K, I’m using Connect the Thoughts Geology as our base geology curriculum,  and then incorporating the younger kids into the hands-on activities, and adding in some notebooking and lapbooking techniques to help with illustrations and retention all around.

While we got to play with Clay this month to help understand plate tectonics, the best experiments came from smashing rocks

Z - smashing rocks for science

Of course there was a point to smashing rocks: to understand what clues and marks geologists would use to identify rocks that may have at one time been one.

K & Jazzy comparing rock halves for a geology experiment

But it was a fun experiment, and we discoved  an ant colony living inside Z’s rock, so that was a bonus biology lesson

Z & Little E got so into smashing rocks they decided to be geologists for the day and set out to invesigate all they could about the rocks and the rock fragments we had that day. And they asked me to take a few pictures to share with you:

Z & Little's Collection of Rock Fragments (that's Z's hand showing you a fragment)

And of course  Little E had to get into one for you too (but she forgot to smile for some reason

Little E shows off the bigger rocks in their rock collection

If you are studying biology this year like we are, here’s a great way to reinforce those biology facts – with biology songs. 

Songs for Teaching has a whole page of biology songs to help reinforce those biology facts.

If you click on a song link, it’ll take you to a page that gives you the option to listen to the biology song and gives you the song lyrics written out.

There is also an option to buy the download or CD, so if you are having younger kids access the site, you may want to instruct them as to which button to click to listen to the songs.

The science songs page also include numerous biology-related songs, including life sciences, botany, and human physiology (anatomy).

As my daughter is on a mission to do a full year’s worth of high school biology in 2 months, we’re always on the look out for activities that reinforce her learning outside of the biology text book. You can bet, this site is going to be on her to-d0 list for next week!

Many thanks to Karri Fieglin for sharing this resource!

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

by Kayla Fay

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.

 Kayla Fay is the mother of four sons, and the author of 24  Hour Science Projects and Who Put the Ketchup in the Medicine Cabinet, a website
about ADHD Inattentive.

Q: Where do you get  ideas for science projects?

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”. 

Or, if you like things all spelled out for you, you might like my friend Kayla’s ebooks. She’s done over 25 science fair projects with her four boys, and knows her stuff.  Just download this FREE ebook “The Non-Scientist Parent’s Guide to Science Projects” and Kayla will get you started.

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.

Looking for a fun way to teach your children about UV light? Especially during the spring and summer months when they need to be wearing sunglasses and sunscreen, or in my kids cases, swim shirts as well.

In her comment earlier this week, Laurel reminded me of solar beads (aka UV Beads or Energy Beads). These are a great tool for teaching your kids about UV light and have some fun as well.

At first appearances, solar beads look like just little white plastic beads, like you would use for a kid’s beading project. But these are special in that when they are exposed to UV light they turn colors and then turn white again once out of the UV light.

We were first introduced to these last year and the kids loved them. The olders each made their own bracelets and had great fun showing them off to others. It was a novelty to see how much the beads would change color (if at all) under different types of light.

Personally I love Laurel’s idea of using the beads as a reminder to the kids to put on sunscreen. But in addition to that, the beads can be used in various experiments on how effective sunglasses and/or different levels of SPF sunscreen are in blocking out UV light, as well as how we are exposed to UV light under different light and weather conditions.

You can buy solar beads from a variety of sources online, just search for “solar beads”, “UV beads”, or “Energy Beads”. Amazon.com has several sets of a variety of quantities. And, Laurel recommended Steve Spangler Science, and I have to say a few minutes on that website and I am hooked.

Not only do they sell different quantities of solar beads, but also have written instructions for experiments with solar beads and and an explanation on how the solar beads work (look at the bottom of the solar bead experiment page). The site also contains lots of free science experiment videos, including this one on solar beads. Lots of fun to watch and get ideas from.

Enjoy!