Are you planning to buy a Chemistry kit? Consider buying a used kit.

Yes, I am a bit obsessed with Chemistry lab equipment.  I want you to get the best value. The basic equipment for Chemistry is shown below.  It’s not a bad deal.  I just think you can do better.  I shopped for used kits which are good values and contain many of the basic pieces of lab equipment.

As you browse you’ll notice the balance scale varies from one kit to another.  Some have kitchen scales and others have digital scales.  We use mini digital scales.  eBay has several used kits which contain many of the basic pieces of lab equipment.

You can piece out the equipment at Amazon and Home Science Tools.  

ACS Middle School Chemistry

One year I taught Chemistry remotely.  The experience made me consider carefully safe practices.  Why?  Many families who home-school do not have much background in chemistry.  I used  the Apologia textbook’s experiments and the ACS Middle School Chemistry lessons, with labs, videos, and teacher’s guides.  The content can be used with high school level Chemistry, especially Chapter 6, Chemical Change.  Look at pH and Color Change.  Each lessons has detailed information for the instructor, demos, videos, and labs.  This unit was developed for middle school classrooms.  Typically, a middle school teacher doesn’t have much chemistry background; not does she have access to a well-stocked lab.  The experiments are safe! The chemicals are easy to find, such as sodium carbonate, universal indicator, and citric acid.  If you want to supplement the labs in your Physical Science or Chemistry classes, start with this ACS series.  It’s excellent.

Engineering

 Engineering doesn’t fit neatly into a class. However, children are natural engineers.  Do you have a kiddo obsesses with LEGOs? Do your children adore the ‘take apart’ room at the library or DiscoveryMuseum?  Many fun activities are perfect for Fun Day Friday! or science camp weeks.  This fall, my mission is to encourage you to do more activities, demos, experiments, and labs.  So, what can we do that is classified as Engineering?

Young Engineers has robots, balloon rockets, bridges, tractors, and boats for younger kiddos to engineer.

Teach Engineering offers curricula:String Telephones,  Design a Catapult, Water Bottle Rockets, Rube Goldberg, and Triangles and Trusses. The lessons range from 45 minutes to several hours, with videos, quizzes, and slide decks.  Design a Catapult has a video, a bit of background, and extremely detailed instructions.  If you’ve never made a popsicles catapult, it helps to watch the video first.  Catapults are excellent engineering projects.  

Frugal Fun is teeming with ideas:  catapults, 5 Engineering Challenges, and STEM Challenges—all of which are basic engineering.  If the kids are tinkering, modifying, changing, or trying to make improvements, they’re engineering.  Browse the STEM Category for more classics, such as designing a marble maze.

Does your library have Janice VanCleave books?  All of her books are sensational and are packed with ideas.  She has one for engineering.  Her directions are easy to understand. I’ve scanned stacks of the science experiment books at the library.  They tend to have lovely graphics, but little content.  Buy or borrow a book and you won’t have to subscribe to another website just to get one, interesting idea.

TRYEngineering is similar to Teach Engineering (above).  Critical Load uses a deck of cards to make a tower.  The lesson has a slide deck and a multi-part lesson about load and strength.  The whole family can make a card tower and test it.  Bridges is another engineering classic.  Scroll down under Activity Instruction to see the Bridges Interactive Student Workbook.  Teens can use the workbook independently and make a bridge.

Project WILD

 Fish and Wildlife sponsors Project WILD.  Like Project Wet or Project Learning Tree, you can get training and an activity book.  Before you invest hours and hours to locate a training, try a few activities: Fashion a Fish, Oh Deer!, or How Many Bears Can Live in This Forest?   Oh Deer! is likely the best know activity.  Here is the student page.  Below is a video clip. See what you think! 

Earth Science Resources

Earth Science is one of those courses few teachers with any background actually teach. Those of us with any science background end up teaching this course—in any setting!  Are you feeling uncomfortable with the material?  You are in good company.  I bet the last time you had any Earth Science was either in 8th or 9th grade.  (Okay, a few people may have taken a geology or astronomy course in college.). Let’s acquire some resources!  Be aware that too many science sites have an agenda.  Sad.  It takes time (and a strong stomach) to wade through the propaganda in order to sift out excellent material.  

The National Park Service (NPS) has Rocks and Minerals with a video, and collections: Rocks, Minerals, and Beach Materials.  These collections have more links, such as Mineralogy for Kids. (A few of the links are broken; however, the quality and clarity of the material makes it useful for background.)  The NPS also has Geology with landforms and parks related to geology.  Again, this is a good overview to geology as a topic.  The park images are stellar.  Start with a Geologic Tour.

USGS has a vast number of resources; the Education page can direct you to Geology, Water Resources, Natural Hazards, and the Solar System.  I love USGS for its unique lessons: Water World (Five Lessons), Color by Number Mars’ Jezero Crater, and Wildland Fire School.  I have used Land and People: Finding  a Balance and the poster for high school classes.  These lessons have three case studies.  It would be interesting to compare the Los Angeles teacher and student with the same issues in 2026.  Start with California Landslides.

Start with What is NASA? NASA has Read—NASA Science, NASA Knows Stories, and  STEM Content.  The NASA site is a mixed bag.  I usually have better luck with NASA JPL: How Far Away is Space?, Solar System Scroll, and Moon Phases Calendar.  The templates will give your Ecotank a workout.

National Geographic has the History of Space Travel.  (I once include A Brief History of Soviet and Russian Space Travel in an Earth Science class.)  National Geographic Education has Engineering Adventures in Space,  Make a map of Earth, explore Cardinal Directions, learn about GIS or Meteorology.  Loads of stuff.  Just be judicious.  I think anything map or weather related belongs in Earth Science.

NOAA seems to think Climate Science should dominate instruction.  Here is an educator’s page with NOAA and The National Weather Service’s links. The National Weather Service has an online school for weather, called JetStream.  One unit is Clouds, which has a Cloud Chart and background. 

The American Meteorological Society has a page of links: WeatherNet, The Weather Channel, and Earth Science All Around, where you can get more ideas to teach Earth Science: Geoheritage, Google Earth Projects, or ESRI Story Maps.  I have had several seminars on ESRI, GIS, remote sensing, and maps in general.  Teaching about Earth Changes is a student introduction.  Try GIS with Kids.  If you go down this road, there are a terrifying g number of ESRI resources.  Whenever I introduce some GIS to a class, there is one kiddo who loves it.  Let him or her just run with it.  

The Smithsonian Natural History Museum has Earth Science Resources: Volcanoes and Plate Tectonics, Asteroids and Meteorites, Geology of Gems, and a GeoGallery—plus Science Teaching Resources.  

Project Wet

 There is an environmental programs with leader called Project Wet.  Yes, you could do training, become a facilitator, and get the guide.  Since you home-school,I have my doubts whether that interests you.  However many of their activities from the guides are available and easy enough to implement.  Below are three sample activities to try before you track down Project Wet training in your area.  To be honest, the three lessons below are among Project Wet’s most popular activities.

This water lesson, A Drop in a Bucket or here helps kiddos visualize the amount of fresh water on earth.  Here is a more detailed lesson with a script for A Drop in a Bucket.  Here is the student hand-out.  

Do you have a group? Try The Incredible Journey is the water cycle.  We use pony beads on pipe cleaner bracelets. Each stop, clouds, glaciers, etc has a different color bead.   You follow the journey of a drop of water.  Kids roll dice to move to another station and pick up another bead.  Here and here  are instructions with b/w templates and graphics.  Here is a student copy with a cube template and color graphics.  Here are more graphics and a hand-out kiddos can use to track their journey; the different colored beads also track the water drop’s journey.  This was a success at Camp.

Project Wet has a good introduction to watersheds with Seeing Watersheds; here is a virtual training for the activity. Here is a very similar watershed lesson with lessons, scripts, maps, and answers, adapted from Seeing Watersheds. Here is the lesson and script for the classic, Crumpled Paper Watershed.

Instant Lesson: Light and Color

 My approach to science with kiddos is open-ended, which can be triggering to my Type-A friends.  I like to open with an activity, ask a few questions, and generate more exploration.  I had a student who couldn’t stand this approach.  She summarized lessons, typed outlines, made copies, and distributed them to the class.  Alison was twelve at the time.  Below is a mix of fun activities and lessons, such as What is Color? and Oak Ridge Lab’s Light and Color and activities. 

1. Montessori uses a Color Box; the page has all the colors. Here is a primary presentation; Montessori calls their lessons ‘presentations’.  Alternatively, use Color Box 1, Color Box 2, and Color Box 3.  I respect Montessori education; it’s just not my style.

2. Light goes with Art!  Explore Art and Artists from Start with a Book.  One of the activities is Sidewalk Chalk.  Make Chalk Paint primary colors and blend them.   Dick Blick has lessons: Color Paste Color Wheel,  It’s Complementary, Color Collecting Kit, and Stained Glass.  Let your budding artist go wild.

3. Another collection is Science Trek’s Light and Color. One example in this collection is a light video and DIY Kaleidoscope.  There are loads of levels of instruction—everything from Optics for Kids to The Physics Classroom: Light.  The Exploratorium has Science Snacks: Light. Try Hole in Your Hand.   I think most of these activities are more germane to a physics class.  Hey!  If you’re planning to teach Physics, you’re in luck!

4. JPL’s The Science of Color is more my speed.  The lesson uses colorful water beads and sheets of colorful cellophane.  I’m using this next year for Camp!  

5. Light and Color is an article explaining the basic physics of light and color.  Explore UV Beads.  Scroll to the bottom of the page, below the video, for more lessons.  

Science Experiments Archives

 Okay, I’m already in a countdown to fall.  I’m on a mission to get you to do some science experiments!  I understand how important it is to get your kiddo to read, write, and do math.  Fundamentals have to take priority.  Could you institute a monthly Friday Fun Day! and plan a morning of experiments?  No, it’s not cheating to select experiments which aren’t messy at all.  Below are three good archives full of experiments.  I shop at these sites for ideas for science camp.  Below are the archives with a selection of low-mess experiments—mostly.

Steve Spangler has water crystals, Diving Ketchup, Coin Tower, Shrinking Chip Bag, and Mysterious Colors—all clean experiments. Another favorite is The Spinning Penny.  There are pages and pages in the archives.  Spangler has a video archive, too.

Science Bob has a similar archive of experiments.  For example, Dancing Popcorn has instructions and an embedded video.  (Raisins and spaghetti will dance, too.)  Science Bob has edible experiments such as A Density Experiment You Can Drink or Ice Cream in a Plastic Bag.  These can be a little messy.  Produce these experiments (or Edible Aquifer) when you want to raise your polls and prove you’re a fun mom!  

Have you ever heard of Shakashiri?  His archive is Science is Fun; here is the YouTube channel link.  Shakashiri used to put on annual Christmas shows, Once Upon a Christmas Cheery, from the Lab of Shakashiri.  I just ignored some of his rants in the videos and focused on fun experiments. Here’s an instructor’s guide, if you feel ambitious. (I have this  set of demos.) Fizzing and Foaming is a classic and a little messy!  

The Experiment Archive has labs for any science subject: Warm and Cold Plates, Water Whistle, and Straw Propeller are all clean experiments.

NASA Space Place has UV Handprint, Fan of the Earth’s Layers, Oreo Moon Phases, and Moon Habitat.  The NASA activities are uniformly great.  Often there is a video or template.  

Instant Lessons: Sound

Once in a while the kiddos make sound toys at Science Camp.  I’m always surprised how much they like these activities.  Littles, too, seem to be curious about the nature of sound. My inclination is to just make toys and play with sound.  I have a few lessons because many, many people despise open-ended instruction.  Some of the best ideas, such as Secret Bells or Head Harp, are part of the Exploratorium’s Science Snacks: Sound.

1. Montessori has presentations, rather than lesson.  Here is a presentation about sound with sound cylinders; this website has ideas to make your own sound cylinders, with a small jars or plastic, Easter eggs.  

2. Start with a Book: Music has a collection of books, activities, such as Bee Hummer, and Write to Music.  Tune-in! Is a five day program, with unusual ideas, such as a ‘music mural’, and a lot of singing and song-writing.

3. Here is another very detailed sound lesson with a script.  While I find scripts anathema, some of you are going to be very happy.

4.  Make a Kazoo—there’s a lesson, too!  Get a variety of card board tube (or Pringles can) and make a Rain stick.  We’ve had good results with aluminum foil, nails, or toothpicks, and rice.  Test a bunch!  Try different lengths and diameters.  Make a Rain Storm—the type you make when you tell the Bible story about Noah and the Ark.  

5. The Singing Pipe is another camp hit. The tubes have many names; Sound Tubes has a video and Lesson.  You can buy lengths of corrugated pipe at Lowe’s.  Test them in the store to see if they produce sound.  

Exploratorium

Many families do not use a formal, science program with their elementary-age children.   I have a family friend on a wait-list for a science Co-op; she is expecting her seventh child and doesn’t have the bandwidth to do experiments at home.  However, even if you do not use a science program, such as the Young Explorers series you can still do science experiments!  Plan Friday Fun Day!  Create a week of science camp during your Christmas or Easter break.  See if you can recruit a grandparent willing to help plan experiments.  

Want loads and loads of ideas?  Try the Exploratorium: Science Snacks and Special Snack Collections. Try Secret Bells,, Remote Control Roller, or Head Harp.  

Years ago, the Exploratorium published three books.  These three books can add a lot of science to your portfolio: Pringles Pinhole, Root-Copter! (pattern), and Bee Hummer are in the books.  It can be difficult to locate all of the experiments online.  Here are several of the experiments from The Science Explorer—which I think is the best of the three books.  Yes, I use many, many of these experiments at Science Camp.

Yet More Instant Science Lessons: Flight!

It looks like families want more instant science lessons.  I get it.  Our Co-op is full of large families.  (We’re Roman Catholic.)  There you are at home with five or six kiddos, the oldest is ten, and you are expecting another baby.  Somehow you manage the basics: reading, composition and grammar, history, and math.  Science just seems to be a bridge too far.  Pick a theme—one even the baby will like!  This time the theme is flight.  Trust me.  If you have things flying all over the room, even the baby will be entertained.  Now is the time to squeeze in some science before you resume lessons!

Start with a Book has DIY Science Camp: Flight.  Here is the sample schedule, which you can spread over four or five Friday Fundays.  One activity, Rotocopters, is the one I would do first.  Whenever we do a morning of flight at Science Camp, this is my starter activity.  Look at all of the books!  Really, any pile of library books about flight—including the history of flight work well.  Plan to read after lunch during quiet time.

If you want to keep up this theme for a while, lean on NASA.  Here are paper airplane templates.  Here are NASA videos demonstrating how to fold airplanes.  (Rob and I are kind of inept when it comes to folding airplanes.) we typically start with these basic plans.  I like to buy flying toys, especially hand-copters!  Wear safety glasses!  Have a blast!