Category: Science Experiments

Any Excuse to Toast a Marshmallow

1/21/2020

My older girls have always loved science. When we began homeschooling, I knew science needed to be an important part of our curriculum, but it took us some time to find just the right resource. We have settled on the science curriculum from The Good and the Beautiful and are currently using their unit Energy, Heat, Light and Sound. This curriculum has been a great fit for us because it is designed for families with children of various ages. Our Kindergartener learns the basics, while our 4th and 5th grader can be given more challenging information. Most importantly, there are lots and lots of hands-on experiments and my girls love experiments.

Today, we talked about heat transfer. The experiments included setting an empty tea bag on fire and toasting marshmallows over a candle. The flaming tea bag flying through the air was quite an exciting hit. The girls literally screamed with excitement and insisted we do it again. After our second flaming tea bag, I brought out the marshmallows, which are pretty much their favorite treat in the world. They learned that toasting a marshmallow beside a flame--without actually touching the flame--is an example heat radiating. The moment we touch the marshmallow to the flame, heat is transferred through conduction. We were also reminded about how yummy a toasted marshmallow tastes.

Anne has prepared another video for you. This one is a "get ready with me" video--6-year-old style.

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Mama's Summer Science Camp

6/28/2018

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When asked what they were doing this summer, Meg and Clare keep telling people we are doing a family science camp. This sounds as if we have signed up for something quite exciting. The truth is, they simply requested that we do lots of science experiments at home this summer. Unfortunately, they even had poor Anne confused. When Clare told her we were going to do science camp one morning, Anne began preparing to go somewhere. I had to break it to her that family science camp was at home.

To prepare for a family science camp, I purchased Smithsonian Maker Lab and Smithsonian Maker Lab Outdoors.

I like these two books because the supply lists are typically made up of things we already have at home anyway. Moreover, there is not a lot of prep work needed. If the girls are in the mood for an experiment, I can just open the book and choose something. A short blurb explains the science behind the project, which ensures the girls get the most out of the project.

Yesterday, Clare and Anne wanted to do a science project. Clare and I had decided on making a rain gauge from the Maker Lab Outdoors book, but Anne wanted to do an experiment I had done with her during the school year which demonstrates how yeast works. You simply put warm water in a 2-liter bottle and then add a package of yeast to the water and swish it around. Next, you add a tablespoon of sugar (to feed the yeast). Finally, you put a balloon over the top of the bottle. It takes a little time (20 to 30 minutes), but eventually the balloon will begin to expand. We found the directions for this experiment on Science Bob.

Our next experiment came from Art & Science: A Curriculum for K-12 Teachers from the J. Paul Getty Museum. This project is definitely part art project and part science experiment. Each child receives low-fire clay. She can create anything she wants with it. These masterpieces are placed in a safe place. The child then checks her artwork each day to see how long it takes for the water to evaporate from the clay, thus allowing the clay to harden.

Meg, Clare and Anne all worked very hard to create beautiful pieces of art. Anne kept making something and then squashing it to start over again. When she finally decided she was finished, her clay looked like the big ball of clay that I handed to her at the beginning. Oh well. She still had fun with the art part and she can still watch her clay dry. As you can see from the pictures below, this is a bit of a messy project.

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Any Excuse to Toast a Marshmallow

Mama's Summer Science Camp

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