Groovy Idea for Your Homeschoolers #Christmas lists #Stem #homeschool

Homeschooling is groovier with a lab in a box, perfect gift idea for your homeschooling kids or grand-kids. Because children are natural engineers, Groovy Lab in a Box blends Scientific Inquiry and the Engineering Design Process, which allows children to create ingenious inventions, enhance critical problem solving skills and have FUN! 

Everything is including in the box, I love that idea so I don't have to round up a bunch of extra stuff. 

How does this work you ask? 
Select your preferred subscription plan.  Choose from “Join Now” or “Gift It” plan options.  The “Join Now” plans automatically renew based on the subscription package while “Gift It” plans are non-recurring.  All subscription plans enjoy free shipping within the United States.  Your subscription includes a monthly delivery of Groovy Lab in a Box science inquiries, engineering design challenges, and access to “Beyond…in a Box”; the member’s only web-based learning section on the website.

What is in each box.......everything you need, all sorts of fun stuff, and lots lots more!!
as a homeschooling mom I am just in love with our box each month!! Order yours today HERE

Field Trip~~ whoo hoo!

Who does not love the word field trip!! I know a homeschool mommy does, that sometimes means a break or another chance for teaching (which is what I love). My kids think field trip means "no work"" "fun and frolic" "play" , well ....... we do those things, but never miss an opportunity to learn something new or possibly relearn things that might have been forgotten, even by mom and dad.

Our trip this time to the Catawba Science Center, right here in our own county, was a day filled with lots of fun things to do. We also visited the Hickory Art Museum, in the same building, one of our favorite spots to visit because it is always a changing canvas of modern art, history, sculpture and imagination. I know that momma could stay in that gallery all day long and bask in the quietness and soak up the history of all that artwork. As usual ,momma is out numbered by her peeps and has to keep moving along back to the Science Center.

Enjoy some of the photos we took that day:  A little physics, some geometry, chemistry, zoology, botany, history and more all while having fun!

 The Many face of our crazy Mommy~ A Lego/K'nex lesson

 Leave me alone momma, but note the grin...lol, never to big to get some sugar from your momma, what happened to my little boy?

 My girlies and some flash black-light photography, another lesson.

My payback, Mr B got me, in the ear......yuck--- slimed, lesson learned by momma.

Have a blessed day!! 

Calling all mad scientists!

Magic Potions and Fizzing Formulas- Getting Kids’ Attention With Chemistry!

 Here’s a formula for fun!  I have yet to see a child not get excited by this activity!  While it has many developmental objectives in and of itself, it is also a great attention-getter for a variety of other activities.  Let’s talk about the how-to first, and the when-to later.

First gather your supplies.  You’ll need liquid or powdered coloring, baking soda, vinegar, a baster, a cookie sheet or tray, and a few glass jars (I used 1 quart jars here, but other sizes work well too.  Just do a quick run-through with the ones you choose so that you can anticipate whether or not you’re going to have any overflow.  If you have access to test tubes and beakers that would be a great way to introduce chemistry tools and add more intrigue as well!)

 

Before your activity, place a drop of color into each jar.  I’ve used both the powder and liquid forms and they both work great!
Next, cover each color with about a half to one full teaspoon of baking soda.  Just make sure you’ve covered all of the coloring so that each jar looks the same.
Place all of your jars onto a cookie sheet or tray to catch any overflow.  Add the baster and a jar of vinegar, which I’ve sometimes referred to as my “highly potent acid” to make things more enticing.
Now it’s time for the magic!  Have the children gather vinegar with the baster and squirt it into the jars, and ………fizz, bubble, they reveal their hidden colors!

Ewwww Green Slime!

Now, as I mentioned, this activity fills a lot of objectives on its own.  Fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination are strengthened as the children use the baster to add the vinegar.  Additionally, it’s a great science activity as the children explore the reaction of the combined acid and base.  Color recognition is reinforced as the children identify which color each jar holds.  You could add a literacy aspect as well by including color name cards or labels to add to the corresponding jars.

This fun activity could also be included for a variety of other purposes as well! 

I’ve been asked to help out with teaching songs to the children at my church from time to time, and have used this activity for that as well.  I would use words or picture cues to teach the words to the song, each color coded, and then we would do this activity to reveal which clue would be removed as we continued to practice and memorize the song. 
Use it to choose activities like chores, exercises, or even which food to eat off the dinner plate by listing the tasks and color-coding them.  It’s amazing how much more excited the children are to finish their tasks when they know that once they’re finished they get to choose another with this method!
You could also use this as a dramatic play prop as children pretend to be scientists or magicians – just be sure you take necessary precautions to keep messes within acceptable bounds. 
You could also always place them in the sensory table!  Just be sure to prepare a lot of jars and pace yourself in bringing them out so that they aren’t all used up in the first two minutes.  You could arrange your table with the color jars, basters, vinegar, and a bowl of baking soda with spoons to allow for the children to do more experimenting in between new jars.  The children may even start combining the jars, introducing a little color mixing to the activity as well!

Let me know how you us this activity with the children you love and teach!

Originally posted July 23, 2010.)

Credit to Amanda at NotJustCute.com blog 

 

~~ Barn owl watching~~

Our new obsession is watching this pair of barn Owls named "Molly and Mcgee" in their "owl box". The kids and I have been learning all about barn owls and incorporating this into our lessons each day. I am working on some lapbooking and notebooking projects they can use also. Hope to share these here soon. Stay tuned~~

Leslie aka "mommy owl-o-holic