Tiny Hands+ Bubbly Science= Amazement and Awe
Two-year-old Bella no longer sleeps the morning away as we do school. Instead, she’s up-and-at-’em and wants to be involved in the learning. This has been fun and challenging. I’m always looking for new and exciting activities for little hands. Monday morning, we tried out two new projects I found on Pinterest. One didn’t interest her at all; the other was a huge hit.
First, I filled a gallon-sized ziplock bag with colorful paint, closed it, and taped it to the table. That way she could mix the paints and “finger paint” without making a mess. Bella gave it a try, then ran off. I got out paintbrushes for her and she still wasn’t interested. Oh bother. Time for activity two!
The second activity was one I’ve done with Derek before. First, fill the bottom of a baking dish with baking soda. Next, mix together a solution of vinegar and food coloring. I made three different solutions so that she had a variety of colors to choose from. Using a medicine dropper, squeeze up some vinegar solution and drop it into the baking soda. It explodes into colorful, fuzzy bubbles! Bella’s eyes lit up the first time. She did it over and over, quickly figuring out how to use the dropper all by herself.
Derek joined her too. I just kept adding more baking soda (it turns into a colorful soup) and let them play to their heart’s content. The two of them were occupied for an hour! That’s a world record in our house. Not only was the project lots of fun, but it required basic household items. Basically it’s free entertainment!
I love watching Bella turn into a curious, articulate, and imaginative little girl. What happened to my infant?
What Happened to Our Caterpillars? We’ve Got Chrysalises!
Our butterfly adventure has hit a new high! After 1 week and 3 days, our first caterpillar turned into a chrysalis. By 2 weeks, all four caterpillars turned to chrysalises, hanging upside-down from the top of the container. It was really neat to watch them transform. First, they would hang motionless from the top of the container, twisted rather like candy canes. Next thing we knew, they were rock-hard cases. While the caterpillars were hairy, the chrysalises were smooth and gray.
The caterpillars attached themselves to a paper sheet when they turned into chrysalises, and I attached this sheet to the top of our mesh habitat. One of our chrysalises fell to the bottom of the container as soon as he transformed and I put him on a napkin at the bottom of the habitat.
Now we wait. It will take some time for the caterpillars to turn into butterflies within the chrysalis. Our booklet estimates 7-10 days. We’ll watch them and wait patiently. The kids have really enjoyed this experiment and have learned a lot about how living things grow and change. We’re excited to watch as our beautiful butterflies emerge sometime later this month!
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Apple Science! Learning Doesn’t Get Much Tastier Than This.
- Alex Anxiously Awaits Science Time
Continuing with this week’s apple theme, today’s science lesson included 5 different types of apples, applesauce, incredibly sour apple cider from the commissary (ick!), and a bunch of excited little scientists. Learning about science doesn’t get much tastier than this!
We started our lesson with a discussion about the senses. What are they and how do they affect our lives? The kids had all sorts of ideas and input. Well, the bigger kids anyway. Derek kept sneaking apple slices from the platters and cramming them into his mouth. It’s the idea that counts, right?
I sliced up ginger gold, red delicious, granny smith, fuji, and gala apples (the wide variety offered at our base commissary ) and set them out on labeled plates. I also poured everyone some apple cider and got baby spoons out for the applesauce. We made a chart labeling our apples. There were boxes for color, smell, texture, and taste.
We started with Ginger Gold apples. The kids couldn’t figure out why they were called “gold” when the skin was actually green but did like the slightly sweet, slightly tart taste. Alex decided this is her new favorite. We continued with our experiment one apple variety at a time. The Granny Smith apples got a big reaction of scrunched up faces and “Eeeeeew!” from Alex and Derek. Of course, Ethan thought they were delicious. He and the other kids are really polar opposites in all ways. The apple cider was a bit of a shocker. I thought it would be great and Alex noted that it smelled like apple pie. However, it was incredibly sour! Eeeew! Ethan liked it. I guess he’ll be drinking apple cider for a while.
This experiment was fun because it engaged the kids and gave us context to discuss different descriptive words. The kids wanted to describe everything as “good” or “bad.” We took it to a new level for them, learning to describe things as “sweet,” “sour,” “smooth,” “tart,” etc. Perhaps the most interesting description came when Alex tasted the Gala apples and described them as “Earthy grass.” I don’t think that would be a very good advertising campaign. 
We were also able to practice comparing and contrasting. We compared the colors and tastes of the apples, discussing which ones we liked most and why. The kids said that Fuji apples are sweet, but less sweet than Red Delicious. They also decided that the cider was more sour and “more grosser” than the Granny Smith apples.
Another bonus was that they got their fruit servings for the day! 
How do you make science interesting and engaging for your kids or students?
Bella loved joining in our science fun
This is our apple chart for recording our observations
Ethan participated today too
Derek was an apple swiper
Skulls, Fur, and Creative Kid Scientists
Alex and Her Partner Hard at Work
No childhood is complete without dissecting owl pellets at least once. Do you remember doing this in elementary school? I sure do. I don’t particularly recall if it was in school or in girl scouts, but I remember being simultaneously grossed out and enthralled. When I told the kids that we would be performing this infamous experiment this week at Science Club, they were ecstatic. Alex was bouncing off the walls this morning with excitement, “I get to dissect fossilized pooooooooop!” I know it’s not technically fossilized waste products, but it does sound a bit more sanitary (and interesting?) that way. Plus, it’s the learning experience that counts, right?
This was our first Science Club meeting with Jacksonville Homeschool Kids and it was great. The turnout was huge and Alex quickly bonded with several other girls her age. I prepped Ethan lots this morning so that he knew what to expect and how to act. As you may know, he has a social disorder that makes interacting with others (especially in groups) extremely difficult for him. He didn’t actually talk to or interact with any other children today, but he didn’t throw any tantrums or spend the class crying either. Progress!
Alex paired up with another first-grade girl and Ethan paired up with Derek. I wasn’t actually expecting Ethan to take part, so I was very happy about this. They each got to put on plastic gloves and got a jar, a foil-wrapped owl pellet, and a toothpick to tear it apart. Alex and her partner got a worksheet to fill out with their observations. They began by writing about what they thought the purpose of the experiment was and what they expected to learn. One question asked, “What do you already know about owl pellets?” Alex’s answer? “It is owl poop” (PS: It’s not poop. It’s technically owl barf that’s been sanitized for science experiments).
We parents filled the jars with water, then our scientists plopped the unwrapped pellets in and swished them around carefully. We helped the children strain them and put the pellet on paper towels for dissection. Alex’s paper asked something like, “What was your reaction after the pellet was strained?” Her answer: “Eeeeew!” It did look pretty gross!
The kids carefully pulled apart the pellet with the toothpick to discover what the owl ate and recorded their findings. Alex found 3 mouse skulls, lots of bones, fur, and grass. Ethan and Derek’s pellet had bones, grass, and lots of mud. This led to some interesting conversations on digestion and how humans and owls eat much different things. I mean, can you imagine eating a mouse fur, bones, and all? Bleah.
The kids all had a blast and learned a lot, especially about sitting still, following instructions, and working cooperatively. I look forward to the day Bella is old enough to participate! Her current stage makes participating in things like this a bit difficult. We’re lucky to have such an awesome homeschool group here in Jacksonville and are thankful to the home educators who put this program together. Alex is already anxiously awaiting the next Science Club meeting. Who knows what we’ll learn next?
Ethan unwraps the pellet
Alex and her new friend
Derek swishes his jar to help soften the pellet before dissection
Alexandria the scientist
There was a great turnout for Science Club today!
Explosions, Manatees, and Pteranadons Too
Where’s one place where you can watch artificially created lightning bolts, dig for fossils under a sky full of Pteranodons, learn about all the functions of the human body, walk next to a blue whale, and spend an hour playing in a climb-able tree-house? MOSH, the Museum of Science and History in downtown Jacksonville, Fl, at 1025 Museum Circle, is one of our favorite places to hang out in Jacksonville. Whether you live here or are just passing through, MOSH is one of the best things this city has to offer.
We try to go on an educational field trip each Friday, which also happens to be “$5 Fridays” at MOSH. This is a great break for the wallet, considering that admissions usually run $10 per adult and $8 per child. That gets expensive quickly! $5, however, is more than worth the price. After a morning of piano practice, French, and phonics, we were ready to get out and have some fun with hands-on science!
We met our homeschool group at the front of the museum and learned that we were just in time for the Extreme Science Show in the JEA Science Theater. We thought we’d give it a chance and I’m sure glad we did! A scientist performed hands-on, interactive experiments in the center of the auditorium. Alex was one of the many children to volunteer and had a blast. They did experiments with static electricity, “Old Sparky” an electricity machine, balloons, sound, and much more. My kids were enthralled and paid attention the entire time (except for the baby… that’s a whole different story… shudder). The show lasted 30 minutes and left them pumped up with excitement. It ended with a big boom…. Literally (a sonic boom). Cover your ears!
The human-body exhibit—The Body Within– is always a winner. There are interactive exhibits for different bodily functions, such as noisy nerves that light up when you touch them, a digesting stomach that made Derek run in fear, and interesting pictures too. Alex loves this exhibit because you have to walk through a giant mouth to get into it. Ethan enjoyed the boxes where you stick your hand inside and guess what you’re feeling. Derek just peaked inside first, then felt it and proudly proclaimed his “guess.” We went through this area several times because there were so many things to see and buttons to push. My kids really like to push my buttons.
The Savage Ancient Seas: Dinosaurs of the Deep was just plain awesome. Although a little on the small side, it’s a dinosaur-lovers dream. Six-and-a-half-year-old Alexandria is my budding paleontologist and is crazy about fossils, so her eyes lit up when we walked in. There were Pteranodon hanging from the ceiling, a gigantic sea turtle fossil, and lots of creepy, sharp-toothed flesh-eating fish. Derek thought the monster shark jaw was scary but the marine reptiles were pretty cool. The hands-down winner was the dig pit in the center of the room, where the children used brushes to dig away the sand and discover fossils. It was busy with about a dozen “paleontologists” vying for space and brushes, but totally worth it. My children were “thrilled” to be pulled away after 30 minutes or so and walk through Currents of Time, a journey through Jacksonville history. They practically ran back into the dinosaur area as soon as we re-emerged.
The play area was busy today but we stopped by to climb the tree-house and play in the water exhibit before heading outside to Friendship Park. This park has been totally redone and is now absolutely awe-inspiring. There are three sets of fountains within a giant circular pond and they are synchronized to music. We walked around it twice, then found a nice bench and watched the show again. Wow! The view of downtown Jacksonville is amazing from Friendship Park and the water show is really great. Ethan says that was his favorite part of the entire trip.
Now the kids are nice and tired and sleeping soundly. Alex is busily coloring in her free MOSH coloring book and talking non-stop about the things she learned. The boys are excited to get up from naps and color theirs as well. What a great way to cap off a week of fun and learning adventures. I just wished I’d remembered to grab my camera! For $5 a person I think we’ll head back again sometime soon… with the camera.
