Dangerous Household Reactions

 I tell my chemistry classes about the hazards of mixing Bleach and Ammonia.  The Facebook Chemistry group posted this worksheet, Dangerous Household Reactions, and the Infograph below.  The NFPA has a similar article.  Take a look at Building a Better Bleach, a Chemmatters article.  Here is a safety fact sheet about bleach and other incompatible chemicals.  This article, Never Mix Bleach and Ammonia, has tips if you do mix the two.  Go over these hazards with your family before they start getting creative mixing cleaning products in the half-bath.

Animal Project

The Bio Co-op class began the Animal Kingdom.  We are starting with Porifera, Sponges.  This is another mega-project: sketches, dissections, clay models, paper dissections, and a giant comparison chart. I took this approach last year successfully. We’ll see how things go this year.

Chemistry Equipment

 Be sure to scout Good Will when you’re shopping for basic chemistry equipment.  I like the kits.  I do browse eBay for deals, too.  I’m shopping for inquiry kits, the sort sold to college kids taking online chemistry classes.  Often the kits are pristine because the student learned he could complete the class without doing any of the actual labs.  Some families don’t want to bother reselling them and just donate the kits to Good Will.  The best kits have a microscale, thermometer, and glassware.  Something there is a ring stand, funnel, or other simple equipment.  I’ve purchased the MEL starter kits and MicroChem kits, too, used.  Try to pay less than $50 for a kit which can get you through the entire course.  If you’re shopping for the MicroChem kits, be sure it has the manual.  Below is an assortment.

End of the Year Chemistry Projects!

Let’s keep the momentum going until the end of May.  If you have completed the course work for Chemistry, invest in a project to stretch instruction just a few more weeks.  The National Chemistry Teachers’ Group on Facebook posted loads of ideas for the end of the year. Below are a few of their ideas with links.

1. Tied Dye was a popular suggestion. I’ve had some experience.

2. Another mentioned making Ice Cream in a Bag.  Do you have a local dairy source?  They may donate the milk.

3.  Another idea was Biodiesel.  Here is an older Chemmatters article, questions, and notes to get you started.  I’ve done this Biodiesel Lab  with older, high school teens.  Get a scientist parent to supervise. Fueling up with Biodiesel has instructions to test the caloric value.   The lab suggests comparing values with diesel fuel.

4.  Two other ideas were to build a game or adopt an element.   I use An Educational Card Game for Learning Families of Elements as a summer assignment.  It would be a great end of the year project.

End of the Year Biology Projects!

Our high school Co-op won’t conclude until the end of May.  But many of you have completed the coursework.  Now is a good time to assign a science project.  Most of us won’t resume class until after Labor Day.  While many families schedule camps, VBS, and family vacations, there can be a big gap in instruction if you wind down now.  Instead, pick a fun Biology project.  Below are a few ideas from past projects. 

1. Using Guides and Animal Size…. can be adapted for several grades.  Here is the Nature Watching lesson, Fact Sheets, and Data Collection Form.  Do an Owl Pellet Dissection as part of the project.  Read My Side of the Mountain and use this teacher’s guide to help craft a book report.  This is one of those books which appeal to a kid who is a naturalist; teens like the book, too.  (BTW, there is a film, too.)

2. In another life I wrote grants for teams of kids and their projects.  One thing the kids loved best was to plant trees.  Talk to the local forester.  The Forestry Service may have an upcoming project or access to free trees to plant.

3. Paint rain barrels.

4. Install a  green roof with sedum plants.

5.  Plan a watershed and groundwater event for your Co-op.  Ask the local Soil and Water agency or Extension Office if they have education specialists with models.  Let your teen doing the planning and ask about training so he or she can lead the program.  Be sure to ask the specialist about hands-on activities kids can do which relate to watershed or groundwater, such as the Crumpled Paper Watershed or  A Drop in a Bucket.

6. Do a Stream Study.  Here is an excellent background slide deck about streams.  Here is a good overview about the types of activities associated with stream studies. I recommend starting with Save our Streams Macroinvertebrates Study.  See if Soil and Water or the Extension Office has a guide trained to identify macroinvertebrates.  While it’s nice to have a kick seine, all you need is a bucket and ice cube tray to sort critters.

7.  Creat gardens.  Do you have a boggy area?  Plant a  rain garden.   Need a bit of color?  Plant a raised bed.  Sow and grow your own plants.  Do a bit of research about which plants are suitable.  Talk to the Soil and Water specialist for help with your plans.  They may even have a hydroponics unit to lend for you to try.  Really!

Mega Dissection Lab Report

 The Biology Co-op Class just began Kingdom Animalia: Modules 11, 12, 13, and 16.  My class will be doing a formal lab report.  However, their reports will have a ton of supporting materials: dissection images, sketches, paper dissections, clay models, etc.  Apologia has one dissection, perch, and an optional frog dissection.  We’ll do seven: worm, grasshopper, clam, crayfish, sea star, perch, and frog.  Here is an introductory slide deck.  I’m saturating the kids with different projects and lessons to help them understand the major animal phyla.  At the bottom is an inspirational photo from Matthew Simpson’s Biology classes; he is a major contributor in Facebook’s National Biology Teacher’ Group. 

Gummy Bear Anatomy Dissection

 We’re doing the Gummi Bear Dissection to learn Anatomical Position.  I want the kids to understand the anatomical terms for planes and positions, such as proximal and distal.  Hey!  We use candy, which is always fun!

Family Science: Food Science Elective

 I’m a big fan of electives—especially for kids who have completed their core courses: Biology, Chemistry, and either Physics or Physical Science.  Often teens have completed Algebra I and II and Geometry before their senior year.  Some kids just don’t want an AP or higher level math course.  (We created a Consumer Math elective for high school we plan to teach again.)  Many teens are interested in Food Science.  I’ve been looking for material.  

1. The Food Education Center has eLearning Lessons for pre-K to Grade 12.  Here is Eating Pasta Together, a sample lesson for grades 9-12. Another here is about potatoes.  (I had to search the links separately, such as Southern Living’s What are Root Vegetables? and Harvard’s The Pros and Cons of Root Vegetables. The content has a mix of background, history, writing, and recipes.  There is a bit of nutrition information.  (I consider nutrition a science.)

2.  IFT has a few resources for your curriculum: Careers in Food Science, Why Food Science Matters (videos), and K-12 Teaching Resources.

3.  National Agriculture in the Classroom has a plethora of lessons.  Just look at the associated vocabulary. The lessons, such as A Tale of Two Burgers tend to be more on the order of topical  lessons, rather than a complete curriculum.  Although the lessons are replete with resources.

4. NY has Food Science Curriculum, Food Preparation Curriculum, and a teacher’s homepage.  Teachers sometimes use Weeblys to organize their coursework, such as this teacher’s Foods for Life course.  Often, the teacher includes her notes, links, slide decks, and videos—all in one place.  This can be invaluable as you plan.

5.  OER Food Science and Nutrition have loads of free, online textbooks. Sample Chemistry of Food and Cooking.  

6. Do you want a few test banks?  Here is Iowa’s FFA Food Science Question Bank. Here are FFA questions organized by year. Here  is the Arkansas workbook with questions.   This appears to be part of an annual competition.  Here is the 2025 handbook.  These types of question banks are useful as a final exam.

7. You need some experiments for the lab component: Experiments in Food Science, Experiments in Food Science, Vol. 2, Cookies (white sugar vs. honey), Acid Bases, and this whopping  436 page series, What’s on Your Plate?

Family Summer Science: Materials Science Resources

 Are you looking for a summer elective?  Why not do some material science or engineering projects?  Engineering doesn’t fit neatly into high school courses.  Make your own elective with this overview, High School Material Science curriculum.  At the bottom of the list are modules for younger kiddos, too.

1. First is ASM’s Crash Testing Curriculum. Scroll through to see the materials; card stock templates, books, milk jugs, golf balls in pantyhose, sophisticated equipment.  You will need a ring stand and clamps.

2. What about Concrete? Engineered Concrete has kids make and test concrete pucks.  Concrete Materials Properties is a module.

3.  Demoworks has 43 material science activities: shape memory metals, paper clip fatigue, bending coat hangers, stress in balloon inflation, electromagnets, and ferrofluids. Fourteen K-12 Outreach Activities has even more activities such as hand warmers,  Instant Snow, and strength tests.

4. Ceramics includes Candy Fiber Pull. Here is a slide deck with demos and a bit of background.  

5. Review the Material Science of Chocolate.

6. ACS has Testing Materials to Learn About Their Properties, which is appropriate for younger kiddos.

7.  Finally, here is  Materials Matter, a middle-school, Material Science Curriculum.  

Happy Easter!

 

Chemmatters: Science Articles for Teens

I subscribe to Chemmatters and AACT whenever I teach Chemistry.  I rely on both for original articles, ideas, and fun labs.  But many of the Chemmatters articles are free.  Chemmatters articles have topic which interest kids:  3D Printed Food, Pimple Patches, Bugs and the Future of Meat, How to Raise a Jellyfish, and Ice, Cream…and Chemistry.   Be sure to browse the Resources for Teachers section.  I usually focus on the questions for discussion.  Look at this Emergency Lesson Plan: Chocolate: The New Health Food.  Or is It?  (When I taught in public and private schools, I saved Chemmatters articles with questions in a drawer as emergency lesson plans—for the day you’re just too sick to supply detailed notes for the sub.)  You can assign a simple writing lesson: Is chocolate healthy?  Explain.  It’s considered old fashioned to have your child read and article and write a response.  Print a few articles and questions to set aside when your week has just been chaos as emergency plans.  Make these part of your safety net for your home-school curriculum—just like the novel and book report.

Family Summer Science: DIY Paint, Pigments, and Ink!

 The first time I let a class of teens create ink I thought the project was a bit lame.  The kids didn’t.  Lesson learned.  Kiddos like to make useful products.  Here are some ideas.

1. Easy Koolaid Paint has Koolaid and water.  Period.  Color Me Koolaid has cornstarch and Koolaid for outdoor paint.  If I’m using Koolaid, all of the paint is outdoor paint. You can add food coloring to flour and make paint, too.  

2. Dye yarn (More tips) and wool with Koolaid.  Here is a bit of the science underlying Koolaid dyes and cotton.

3. Here is Flinn’s ink recipe.  Here is the ink recipe I used with my teens; although I didn’t use gum arabic.  Use q-tips to write messages.  Here is an ink recipe with tea and iron.  All three recipes are similar.

4. Here is egg tempera.  Here, here, and here are posts about natural dyes.  It helps to use mordants and fixatives when you dye fabrics or wool.

5. Before you buy expensive alcohol ink to make pictures, try these DIY versions:  Homemade Alcohol Ink or Make Your Own Alcohol Ink.  (Guess what?  You can use powdered dyes, such as Ritz or Koolaid.)

Family Summer Science: Make your own science experiment book! Start with science toys!

Many home-school families wind up their lessons in May.  Now is the time to think about summer projects.  Why not challenge your kids to make a family science experiment book?  Test out a variety of fun experiments.  Take photos and select your favorites.   You can get fancy and put together the instructions and photos into a sketch book. Make up a simple kit to go along with the science experiment book to make an exciting birthday present.  (BTW your own kiddos can practice handwriting or typing.) pick a theme, such as ‘toys’.  Make DIY Chalk, Giant Bubble mix (with straws and pipe cleaners to make Square Bubbles), a tornado tube, DIY Boomerang, and CD Spinner (templates), and Pringles Pinhole.