Lifepaq at Good Will

I don’t know anything about the Lifepaq curriculum.  However, Good Will online has a set for 8th and 9th grade.  I do know these sets are pricey.  If you use Lifepaq, take a look.

Biology on a Budget: Blood Typing

 When I teach genetics the kids do blood testing—both ABO and Rh types.  The problem is the blood tests are pricey.  In another life, a nurse friend or student’s parent could access the blood typing sera. Lately, I’ve used Eldon cards—also pricey.  If your family already knows each member’s blood type, consider testing or typing with fake blood.  Here is a complete lab, including teacher notes, using milk, food coloring and vinegar.  Here is a more expensive lab, using hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, silver nitrate, and barium nitrate.  If you teach Chemistry, you may already have these chemicals on hand.  FYI silver nitrate is also pricey.  Our Co-op consists of a number of large families; often the entire family wants to test blood.  If you are testing a big group, buy the anti-sera and a bunch of lancets.  Otherwise, the cheapest version with milk and vinegar will suffice.

Biology on a Budget: Microscope Slide Art

I’m obsessed with gardens right now.  A friend asked me to write grants for the Montessori school where she teaches.  (In another life, I wrote grants to support my high school science programs.) Gardens and Botany are essential parts of Montessori education.  I’m taking a deep dive into gardens.  I went to the Botanic Garden in D.C.  The photo below features microscope slides as art on the side of the Botanic Garden building, housing its green house.  Consider making your own art.  Focus on plant microscope slides (or any cool slide) and draw it.  I think a collage of several prints would make a great display—or at least an original art project.

FOSS

 Good Will online has four FOSS drawers.  This set is from the 2014 middle school level curriculum.  These four drawers are a comprehensive, year-long program.  The textbooks are sold separately.  But, I’m interested in the contents.  Look at the materials and check the shipping before you bid.  See if these kits make sense for you or your Co-op class.  

There is another FOSS Magnets and Electricity kit just listed with the book.  There are two related drawers.  Search ‘Full Option Science System’.  Check this out!

Below is a screenshot of a listing on eBay with both drawers.  We used similar sets for Science Camp this summer.  My husband liked the electricity piece and plans to use it in Physics.  

Apologia Biology: Lab Equipment

 Some lab equipment, such as test tubes, racks, beakers, and funnels are used in both Chem and Bio.  Some aren’t.  Here is a list of some Bio basics, including a diagram of the parts of a microscope.  (BTW I test kids on the names of the parts of a microscope.). Here are the names of the dissection tools typically in a dissection kit.  Here is a dissection tray and pad.  Keep in mind none of these lists of equipment is exhaustive.  A college-level Bio class might hav incubators, centrifuges, spectrophotometers, and gas chromatograph.  Try to plan a field trip with your Co-op to tour a college lab.  

Apologia Chemistry: Lab Equipment

Kids learning Chemistry should know the names of the equipment—some of which they don’t use in high school, but might in college.  Here and here are worksheets just for lab equipment.  The first day of class I pull out examples of these equipment and pass out hand-outs with names.  All year I reinforce terms.  All.  Year. Long.

Co-op Science Safety

 Are you a new Co-op instructor?  Many of you teaching science for a Co-op are veteran teachers from private and public schools, just as I am.  It’s likely you already have a binder with lab safety tips.  New instructors may not be familiar with these resources.  One excellent document is from the American Chemical Society (ACS): Guidelines for Chemical Laboratory Safety in Secondary Schools.  This guide is probably more than you need; however there is good information about Material Safety Sheets, formerly MSDS.  My kids and their families sign Flinn’s Safety Contract.  I keep a folder in my classroom.  Flinn has a Safety test, too.  Texas Gateway has a safety series online I used when I taught remotely during COVID.  Here is What Not To Do Lab graphic and Kids, Don’t Try This.  Yes, it’s a lot!  Follow the links and see which activities are most useful for your group.  Lab safety is about common sense, which may or may not be abundance in your class.

Biology on a Budget: Twizzlers Science

 Ok, now that you bought a package of Twizzlers for Edible DNA, what other experiments can you do?  I’m glad you asked!  Here is The Decay Curve of Twizzlers or help-life, Twizzler Mitosis, Invisible Licorice, and Twizzler Linear Regression.  Here is my post on AACII with Twizzlers—which might be a little over the top.  Get ahead this summer and do some science!

Biology on a Budget: Edible DNA

Yes, candy again!   Here is ‘Have Your DNA and Eat It, Too!  Pick up a package of colorful mini marshmallows and a pack of Twizzlers.  In the photo below I had to improvise with multicolored marshmallows.  Fun, right?

A Patriotic Microscope Lesson: Benjamin Franklin

One of the first  Biology lessons I do is to pull out different microscopes and let the kids take a look at dollar bills.  I have some foreign currency, too, left from trips we use.  (Sometimes the cost to convert is more than the amount of currency we have remaining.  The zloty to usd is $.025.). There is a recent article in the Wall Street Journal from Nature examine the tools Benjamin Franklin used to keep others from counterfeiting early colonial currency.  Compare with modern anti-counterfeiting methods.  We use one, five, ten, and twenty dollar bills for the lesson.  It’s a fun way to learn how to focus the microscopes.  Isn’t it cool to think about how Benjamin Franklin planned so many different ways to thwart counterfeiters?  Just keeping our Founding Fathers fresh!

Biology on a Budget: Starburst Candy Lab

 Okay, I do a number of candy labs.  Yes, this is pandering to the students.  The first unit I teach in Biology is Ecology.  I just ran across this lab, Starburst Energy Pyramid.  Energy Pyramids can be hard to convey.  I usually teach the topic with a lecture.  The lab instructions say to repeat twice.  Instead, do the activity ten times and average the results.  Then the kids can eat the candy.  

Hillsdale College Free Online Class

 Are you familiar with the free, college-level electives from Hillsdale College?  Take a look at The Great Principles of Chemistry and Mathematics and Logic.  The courses include civics, ethics, philosophy, and literature.  The courses are a series of video lectures with quizzes.  Lacie, a home-school student whom I supervise, took several courses to fulfill an elective credit for graduation.  The number of weeks and the length of the video lessons vary.   Let your teen select a course to try, perhaps a nine week class.  If the courses don’t resonate with your teen, at least it was free.

Biology on a Budget: What size test tubes fit into a standard test tube rack?

 While I was scouring websites for deals it occurred to me to ask what size is a standard test tube or a standard test tube rack?  The standard test tube rack has a 25 mm opening, which fits 18-20 mm test tubes.  (BTW the pegs on the rack is for drying inverted test tubes.). Six test tubes, one rack, and one brush is fine for one student taking Bio and Chem.  I use both plastic (polypropylene) and wooden racks.  (The plastic does melts a little if the test tube is hot.). Even the cardboard test tube racks from eScience kits are fine for most labs.  Be sure the glass test tubes are borosilicate ( Pyrex or Kimax).

Magic Rocks Lab

 I love Magic Rocks. (MEL Chemistry has a similar ‘Chemical garden experiment’.)  Here is the experiment.  The problem is the cost for sodium silicate and the metallic salts: copper (II) chloride, iron (III) chloride, or cobalt chloride are pricey.  This is one kit worth buying if you can find it for less than $10.  Check the box to see how much sodium silicate is included.  The larger sets have enough to make at least two ‘gardens’.  

A cheaper, crystal garden uses Mrs.Stewart’s liquid bluing.  Here are the crystal garden instructions.  I’ve had good results with charcoal.  Alum crystals are easy to grow, too.  Crystals are a great choice for Science Camp.

Prime Day! Should you buy a microscope on sale?

I am all about paying less for tech.  Many of you have one or two teens taking Biology in high school.  I would not buy an expensive microscope.   Yes, I have a few, high quality microscopes.  I teach Biology for Co-op frequently.  Most of the time we use digital, USB microscopes, take screen-shots, and sketch. Amscope is a better brand.  Another option is a clip-on lens for cell phone cameras.  Here is a post about toy microscopes.  I was surprised by the quality of the microscope.  If you can snag a clip-on lens for your cell phone for about $5, this is a good bet.  They are tricky to focus, but produce decent images.  Your teen can take a screen-shot and then sketch it.

Biology on a Budget: Sketch Book

 When I taught Biology two years ago I used loads of graphics with the kids.  I had an epiphany.  Why not keep all of their graphics in one spot instead of a pile in their textbook or stuffed in a backpack?  This coming year I want the kids to keep a sketch book along with a composition book.  Five Below has 9 x 12 inch sketch books for $5.  Pick up construction paper and composition books at Back to School sales.  Below are some graphics we do in Biology. 

Chemistry on a Budget: Basic Equipment

Check out these! 

Next week is Amazon Prime Day!  Time to scoop up sales on basic equipment.  What do you need?  Basics include safety glasses, pipettes or a glass medicine dropper, a digital scale, cupcake liners (weigh papers), graduated cylinder, beaker, reaction plate, scoop, filter paper, thermometer, heat source, funnel, six test tubes, rack, brush, and pH paper.  I use polypropylene beakers, cylinders, and funnels unless I’m heating a solution.  You’ll need borosilicate (Pyrex or Kimax) glass beakers, flasks, Petri dishes, and test tubes.  If you have just one teen, buy one borosilicate beaker.  A 250 mL beaker should be fine.  

I bought four folding stoves for the Co-op class. You can use votive or tea candles or stove pellets to heat solutions.  The fuel pellets produce an extremely hot flame.  Tea candles are safer.  Most of the time, I use electric burners to heat solutions.  Much safer!  If you use a folding stove, place it on a pizza stone.  The MEL Chemistry Starter kit—used can be a good buy.  Complete kits have a glass flask, glass beaker, safety glasses, and a folding stove.  Good Will lists MEL kits frequently.  Try to score a kit for $25 with shipping.  

I recommend the MS-600 Digital Scale.  Other inexpensive digital scales break too quickly.  

One way to save is to buy used kits: Labpaq, eScience, and Quality Science Labs.  Check Good Will online or eBay for used kits.  I like to cannibalize these kits for their contents.  Look for kits with reaction plates and small digital scales.  Try to pay less than $30.  Below are screenshots of kits and their contents.