Science Tool Kit - A Homemade Gift

We gave this gift a while ago to a good friend of ours, but I loved how it turned out so much I couldn't resist sharing it with you too!

Over the summer our friend became really interested in science experiments, which lead to the creation of this homemade science tool kit for his birthday. We based several of the gift ideas on the activities we had done during our Science Week.

Science Week (A Simple Summer Theme)

This summer we were excited to kick off our Simple Summer Themes with Science Week! Each week of summer vacation we explore a different "theme." We use materials on hand, simple/easy projects that don't take long to complete, hands on activities, recipes, and field trips.

This summer, even more than previous summers, we're truly keeping our themes simple. We're doing something fun with them when we want to, but also making sure we have lots of time for free play and spontaneous summer fun too.

Our first week proved to be a great kick off to the summer as it was exactly what the boys needed - something a little fun that fit into our other summer activities. They loved Science Week so much, they are requesting a lot more Science over the summer!

Magnetic Sensory Bin

As we went through out Simple Summer Theme Science Week, we enjoyed a variety of hands on science activities. This one was very easy to put together and proved to be lots of fun for the boys!

I wanted to put together a sensory bin that explored a scientific concept, but wasn't quite sure what would work. Then the idea of using our growing magnet set seemed like an easy fit!

The 101 Coolest Simple Science Experiments (Book Review)

Earlier this year we were pretty excited to receive a copy of the newest book from the founders of the amazing online resource Kids Activities Blog.  It was a wonderful surprise to discover the 101 coolest science experiments waiting for us in our mailbox one day!

The 101 Coolest Simple Science Experiments

(A Book Review)

In the past we've had the chance to review another book from the same authors, 101 kids activities that are the bestest, funest ever and we loved the fun and new ideas we pulled from that book. These authors yet again proved they can put together a fantastic resource for parents, teachers, and caregivers!

Wildflower Color Science

This week we kicked off our Simple Summer Themes with Science Week. We've had a blast with a variety of science experiments and explorations, all using materials we have on hand.  For this experiment we were inspired to use something from nature: wildflowers.

I love that this time of year both in the yard and along the roads, flowers are blooming. The boys and I went for a walk the other day and collected several different varieties of white wildflowers with the classic flower dyeing experiment in mind. We were curious to see how it worked with wildflowers. 

Nature Objects: Sink or Float Exploration

The last few weeks have been so hot weather wise that it's been a little hard to get into the mood for autumn and we've been finding ourselves thinking back to summer fun. One activity we've enjoyed on hot days in the past is doing a Sink or Float exploration. 

For this exploration we took it outside and collected items from nature to experiment with. 

Frog Pond Playdough

Truly one of my favorite sounds in the world is the sound of the spring frogs in the woods around our home, especially that first night I hear them as it means spring is here. I was pretty excited to notice it for the first time last week. So now that the frogs are here, it means it's time for the boys and I to start exploring the world of frogs.

We started that exploration by reading a few books and playing with some frog pond playdough this week.

Sun Mobile inspired by Gail Gibbons

We're really excited to be participating in the Booking Across the USA Project. Bloggers from across the USA all chose a different state and one author from that state to read and be inspired by. Today we're all sharing our posts

We chose our home state, Vermont. Despite living here almost all my life, and teaching here for almost ten years, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Gail Gibbons is a Vermont author! I'm a huge fan of Gail Gibbons and own several of her books both at home and in my classroom. I love how she makes nonfiction books and information approachable for kids of many age levels. Since first becoming an author Gail Gibbons has written over 100 books for kids, almost all nonfiction. You can learn more about Gail Gibbons by visiting her website.

In the past we've done some fun activities based on the books From Seed to Plant and Tornadoes! A few of our favorite books at this time of year include From Seed to Plant, Recycle!: A Handbook for Kids, and The Reasons for Seasons.

For this post we decided to read Sun Up, Sun Down and create a sun mobile. This book made learning about the sun very approachable to Big Brother, who is at a preschool age level, but older kids could also get a lot of information from reading this book too and have even more detailed information to add to their mobile. 

Magnetic Marble Painting

This is a fun combination of science and art which I used to enjoy doing with my primary grade students. It was definitely time to try it with the boys.

The fun involves using magnetic tools, the power of magnets, and the messiness of painting to create art. 

Four Seasons Wheel

Last week we shared our post for 10 Books to Read to Learn about the Year & the Four Seasons. To extend from our reading we created this fun project one day when Little Cousin was here visiting too.

Four Seasons Wheel

We created a similar wheel this summer at our Preschool Summer Camp with a weather based theme, so this was also an extension from our summer project.

Five Senses Walk (with free printable)

This month's Virtual Book Club for Kids author is Aliki, who has such an amazing collection of books to chose from. We decided to use the book My Five Senses. This book and activity is one I've loved combining over the years. Recently we read the book and did the activity at the preschool nature camp I ran, so we were excited to do it again.

Five Senses Walk

In a clear, easy to understand way Aliki introduces kids to each of the five senses and gives examples of how we use them. Kids connect to the illustrations and how the examples fit their everyday lives. 

Cucumber Boat Investigation

I hadn't actually planned on creating this as a post, but set this out one day during our Pirate Week as an extra activity. The kids had so much fun with it, and it sparked such great inventive thinking, that I couldn't resist putting it together as a post.

It's cucumber and zucchini season here in New England, and as often can happen, the crops are producing quite a lot of veggies! For the last two weeks we've been able to take as many of both veggies as we want from our CSA, and we've been using quite a lot of them in the kitchen. But we did have some extra around and it seemed like it would be great for building cucumber pirate ships.

Homemade Dinosaur Bones

We've definitely been feeling a little frazzled here between the hot and humid weather, a sick toddler, and several days cooped up in the house. Luckily, kicking off our dinosaur week is proving to be a great distraction.

Dinosaur books are something I've been collecting for a while now, so we officially kicked off the week by reading several different dinosaur books. Later this week we'll be creating a dinosaur bone excavation, and while I had planned on creating the bones, I realized it would be much more fun to get Big Brother involved.

Homemade Dinosaur Bones

These homemade dinosaur bones were easy to make and are proving to have more than one way to use them.

ABCs of Nature: M is for Meadow

We're excited to be participating in the ABC's of Nature which is hosted by School Time Snippets. 26 bloggers are sharing a nature themed post for each different letter of the alphabet. Already so many amazing nature activities and resources have been shared.

We were lucky to have the letter M, as there were so many different nature themed ideas (mountain, moon, morning, mist . . .) But in the end we settled on "M is for Meadow."

I've mentioned before that we're pretty blessed to live in an area where opportunities to engage with nature are just a step outside our door. For this exploration, we walked a little farther down the road to a large meadow. We talked a little about what a meadow is and what we might find there before we left the house.

Quick Pick & Project of the Week: "Tornadoes" Weather Jar

Last week we made our monthly trip to our local library and Big Brother picked out a copy of Gail Gibbon's book Tornadoes. We're big fans of Gail Gibbons as she presents nonfiction writing in a way that is approachable to all different age levels. We had never read this one before and as we read it I even learned some new things too!

I realized it would be a great fit for our next Quick Pick of the Week book. 

Egg Carton Caterpillars

Egg carton caterpillars have been a favorite activity of mine to do with young kids for years and I've used it as both a teacher and camp counselor. It's quick to prepare, uses everyday materials, and gives children the chance to create their own creature.

Sink or Float Fun

With the hot and humid temps this week we've been looking for some ways to stay cool and have fun. This quick and easy water play project was perfect the other morning.

First I sent Big Brother around the house to gather a collection of everyday items. While he did that I created this recording sheet on the computer.

Float Sink Doc by kitchenfloorcrafts

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Then we headed out onto the deck to do some "experiments." First we filled a large tub with water and set up some towels (for sitting) on the damp deck.

We had our basket of everyday items that Big Brother had collected. Using the recording sheet I wrote down what the object was (in the far left hand column) and whether he guessed if it would sink or float in the "Guess?" column. It was hard for him to restrain himself and make the guess first, but I felt it was important for him to start practicing this skill and this way we could do it in a fun environment. This type of guessing activity not only builds science skills but also preplanning and thinking skills that can be used in multiple ways. 

After he made the guess he would toss it in the bucket and I would record what it did on the sheet by checking he correct column. We'd talk about whether his guess had been correct or not. 

We went through the whole basket and then collected some new items. 

He continued to play "sink or float" for a while by himself afterwards. He stopped guessing and would just toss the item in and shout out what it was doing. (By that point we had practiced the pre-guessing quite a bit.) He completely soaked himself in the end, but of course that was part of the point. Get wet, cool down, have fun, and fit in a little learning too. 

** Safety note: As always, all young children should be supervised when playing with water. You know your own child best and know how hands on you need to be in the supervision, but always be mindful when creating these kinds of opportunities for kids.**

Creating and Using an Observation Journal

So several weeks ago we posted the exciting news of discovering a robin's nest with an egg just below our deck. (See Rockin' Robin Footprints). Over the following few days two more eggs appeared in the nest. We've been eagerly keeping an eye on the nest and we're excited to discover the eggs had hatched late last week. A quick google search helped me figure out it should be about two weeks before these little hatchlings grow enough to leave the nest.

Developing observation skills in children helps them learn to pay attention to detail in a variety of realms and encourages them to use different senses. Observation is a fundamental building stone to other scientific skills. It involves collecting and organizing information and leads to creating questions. Children learn to use a variety of strategies to answer these questions, such as inferencing and more observations. The baby robins under our deck are a perfect opportunity to purposefully practice observing how something grows and changes. (I say purposeful because most parents innately are building these skills every day with their child. Just think about how long a walk can take with a preschooler, how many things they notice as you walk, and how many questions you answer.)

In order to capture his observations I decided to create Big Brother a journal to use for the next few weeks. I used our word processing program and some free clip art I downloaded off of the internet. I know he won't want to draw in his journal every day for two weeks, so I made pages for 8 days of observations.

I printed the pages onto card stock, hole punched them, and then bound the pages together with binder rings. I added a set of colored pencils and put both into a ziploc bag to create a science kit. 

On the first page Big Brother drew what the nest looked like before the eggs had hatched. Younger children, like Big Brother, may need help observing by an adult prompting them with questions. I prompted him to think about the shape of the nest. He found brown and blue pencils. I had thought I might need to prompt him but he was already thinking about the colors on his own.

He then went back to the nest to check on the baby birds. I prompted him with the question "What do you notice?" He told me there were three, they were light brown, and they had "pricklies" on their heads. I also asked him to tell me what body parts they had. He informed me they had beaks and no wings. (Just in case you're wondering, they do have wings, they just don't look like wings to him yet.)

He drew three circles and some lines coming off as his "pricklies." (The pricklies are the beginnings of feathers.) I dated the page and wrote his observation at the top of the page.

Although he is looking at the birds multiple times a day we are not drawing them every day. He's attempting to capture the changes with his drawings and making some great observations orally. Although we're unique in being able to have a nest of baby robin's to observe, a journal like this could be used in a variety of contexts. Spring is all about growth and change, from planting gardens to changing trees to weather changes on a daily basis. So spring can also be all about observation.