National Chemistry Week is around the corner. Are you ready?

 National Chemistry Week  (NCW) coincides with Mole Day!  NCW’s 2026 theme is construction.  My Co-op Chemistry class focuses on Mole Day; however, there are always interesting labs in among the NCW resources. 

1. Celebrating Chemistry is designed for kiddos, ages 9-12. Scroll down the page to see previous themes and magazine issues, such as The Healing Power of Chemistry or Fast or Slow.  Each issue has articles, activities, and a puzzle—another instant lesson.  

2.  NISE offers a Let’s Do Chemistry Kit! NISE has more activities, such as the Atoms to Atoms Card Game.  The NISE resources are organized into kits for presenters doing outreach events in conjunction with National Chemistry Week.  Electroplating might fit into a Construction theme.

3. Want more?  LabXchange has a host of resources, including videos, simulations, and guides, such as Turning Milk into Plastic.

4. Let’s look at Construction resources, too.  Here is a poster..  Do you feel very ambitious?  Look over Material Science Classroom Kit: Shape Memory, Candy Fiber Pull, Bobby Pins, Concrete, and Chocolate, part of  Free Lessons, many cited in the slide deck. 

5.  Kiddos can make  Composites, float cement, Engineered Concrete, 5 Summer Concrete Projects,  or Concrete Composites.  Here are cement facts. These are the resources I associate with the Construction theme.  These resources can inspire a new direction to science at your house!

Mole Day is October 23rd! Are you ready?

 National Mole Day is less than a month away.  Of course there’s a website!  They finally announced their theme: Molar Cup.  Head here to the Homeschool Scientist’s Mole Day page for ideas: puzzles, demos, and jokes—all typical fare to celebrate Mole Day.  Here are more ideas if you want a complete Histiry of Mole Day and more ideas to go OTT. 

We fabricate moles. The best one wins Tootsie-Mole pops. You need the classic Mole Day pattern.  Below is a video.  The boys are always stumped.  If you use felt, just hot-glue the mole together.  Dollar Tree sells felt and trim.  I save fabric just for moles. Sometimes the kiddos set up scenes.  You could plan an entire Mole Day Celebration, including cookies or cake.  I like to contain my celebration to moles, cookies, and cake.  I’m trying to teach!  Try your own celebration!  Make Chem more fun!

Microscale Chemistry

Are you teaching Apologia’s Chemistry course?  Did you look at the optional  MicroChem Experiment Lab Kit?  New kits are very expensive.  Even used kits are expensive.  You don’t need a kit to do microscale!  (Take a look at this Blog Post for even more information.)

I’m on a quest to locate microchem, microscale, and small scale labs and lab equipment.  Why?  Microchem is safer and can be cheaper.  Start here and here with these microscale introductions.  Here is Bob Worley’s YouTube page.  

There are loads and loads of  microscale experiments.  Microscale uses tiny amounts of chemicals.  Think droppers not beakers full of chemicals.  This coming year, I’ll post labs, links, and tips.  Below the image are a few links.

(The lab above is Making Ionic Compounds.  I use 0.1 M concentrations for the chemicals.  Forming and Naming Ionic Compounds has more chemicals and uses 0.2M concentrations.)

Here is an article about introduction microscale chem using plastic straws and the blister pack from chewing gum.  More examples include Solubility Rules, Pleasing Precipitates, Petri Dish Electrolysis, and Microscale Titration of Vinegar, Tea Time Chemistry is more small-scale than microscale.  Small scale means small amounts, not drops.  Tea Time also uses household chemicals.  This year, more than ever, I want to enable you to do labs with your teens.  I’ll do my best to provide ideas, resources, and support!

See an ad—find the lab! Specific Heat

 Below is another screenshot from an ad for chemistry experiments.

What do we have here?  The title is Coffee Cup Challenge. It looks like a variation of the The Specific Heat of Metals lab.  Scroll here to see an image of a standard coffee cup calorimeter.  

The Coffee Cup Challenge looks as though it tests different coffee cups, such as paper cups.  Notice the aluminum foil wrapper or double cup? ( I like a styrofoam cup in a glass beaker, with a lid.) The challenge is to test several versions.  Which maintains a temperature of 100 degrees Celcius the longest? Try it with ice water, too.  Which maintains zero degrees Celcius the longest?  While you are at it, calibrate your thermometer.  Proceed and do the specific heat lab.

There was a second ad—testing paper towels.

Here is a similar lab.  Test different brands.  The steel washers and marbles are acting as weights.  I like new ideas.  I understand new teachers might pay for labs.  However, I am allergic to paying for a lab—especially one which has been around for a long, long time or has a simple explanation.

Children’s Books and Science Lessons

 When I’ve done science stations with Littles, I like to include books: Lyle Crocodile books and a grow alligator, Mouse Paint and color mixing, Germs Make Me Sick with Glo Germs.

NSTA has a series of Picture Perfect Science Lessons, which use children’s books with science lessons.  Here are book lists for two of the books in the series.  Scroll down in this book sample to see Chemical Change Café  paired with Eric Carole’s Pancakes, Pancakes!  The science lessons are all about chemical change. Children make pancakes.  

Here are more ideas for Storybook Science: Jack and the Beanstalk (plant seeds) or The Three Little Pigs (build).  Read a Tree is from Start with a Book!  Their website is just loaded with book and science lessons, such as Be an Inventor!  Be inspired!  What could be better than combining reading and science?

Material Science for Kids

 Concrete and cement got me thinking about Material Science.  It would make an interesting unit study.  Yes, I have an article, The Case of the Flaking Floor .  Teach Engineering has a great Material Science Unit.  Between the slide deck, demo, terms, and video, there’s an entire mini-unit.  Let’s flesh this out with more fun!

Science Buddies has Elementary School Material Science Experiments.  Many like milk plastic or testing sunscreen are familiar. 3D Printing with Icing and 3D Printing with Sand and Glue are both original ideas for kiddos.  Use the activities with this ESL lesson, 3D Printed Houses. How Much Does It Cost?  (Warning!  It is easy to fall into this rabbit hole and forget entirely about other aspects of material science.)

The teacher’s resource site is  here, at Ceramic and Glass.  Here are the free lessons from their kit.  These labs are intended for experienced, science teachers.  Use them for inspiration or try How Strong is Your Chocolate?  Similar labs are Mechanics with Candy and Spaghetti Beams.

What can your youngest do while the rest of the family is doing advanced investigations?  Science Sparks has Materials and Their Properties: Viscosity, Loom Bands, and Stretchy Material—all interesting investigations for Littles.  

Hoopla has audiobooks—including Apologia’s Science books!

 Does your library offer Hoopla?  Hoopla has audiobooks for all of the most recent editions of Apologia’s science books.  Yeah!  Download the app, link it to the library account, and listen in the car.

What about older editions?  Have you tried Rilda Reads for Biology 2e?  There are audiobooks for Apologia’s 2e Chemistry textbooks, too for around $16.

UK Science for Kiddos

 I just returned from the UK.  Rob and I were visiting family; my son is stationed at an RAF in England.  My brother lives in Wales.  We are boring.  Yes, we visited three museums.  It occurred to be earlier to check the museum resources.  But, are the science resources different, too?  Yes!  No, I don’t mean the spelling.  Yes, the UK sites often have a different take.

1.   What is the UK’s National Science Curriculum?  How do they compare to the NGSS?  Look at these NGSS sample lessons.  Personally, I think the NGSS lard their lessons with jargon and politics.  Look at the UK K-1 Sound Lesson.  It has lessons and videos, materials teachers actually use, rather than jargon rational people ignore.

2.  Look at British Science Week’s Activity packs.  The  Early Years has Which pegs are best for keeping washing on the line?  Most UK homes have a small washer; families hang out their wash owing to the cost of electricity.  The Primary Pack has How can you tell how old a shark is?  It is different from aging fish.  The Secondary packet has What’s the best way to protect important objects?  I hadn’t thought about curation and the necessary science.  The UK is teaming with antiquities.  

3. Are you considering a field trip to a museum?  Look at this Science Museum Group post.  I like the idea of the Great Object Hunt for younger kiddos.  The post has many ideas to help make the museum visit more engaging.  In the U.S. many museums have scavenger hunts.  Print or ask for a copy.

4.  Oxford and Cambridge publish science booklets. While hunting I came across Science Experiments for Primary Schools. While old (1992), the experiments are cheap and easy to replicate at home.  There are nearly 600 pages of experiments.  Look at 6.1 Metals Expand When Heated or 7.7 How A Drinking Straw Works.  

Colorful Unit Study: Little Kiddos

 Kiddos love color.  Let’s plan a unit study around color.  Start with an armful of books about rainbows.  The Homeschool Scientist has the Rainbow Science Lesson and Activities.  Look over HST’s Rainbow Science Projects, too.  What’s the plan?  Read several rainbow books.  Do a bunch of fun experiments.  Learn about ROY G BIV.  Complete a worksheet and color a rainbow.  Boom! Instant unit study for your kiddo!

1.  Ward’s World’s Rainbow Lab is an exercise in following directions precisely.  

2. Rainbow Walking Water is another staple.  Look at the two images below.  Just use water soluble markers on paper towel.  Anatomy of a Rainbow has an excellent printable, which dovetails with the Walking Water experiment.

3. Here are 15 Rainbow Experiments. Ask the local thrift store to save you CDs.  

4.  Round out the lesson with HST’s Rainbows Worksheet or Rainbow Color by Number.  No, you won’t need to create an account, subscribe, or sell your name to download these.  

Harley Davidson Stem 101

Who knew?  Yes, I saw another ad.  This is a public service post.  Harley Davidson and STEM?  Evidently, the corporation is fully invested.  While I don’t immediately associate home-schooling and Harley Davidson, it’s certainly intriguing!

 Harley Davidson has a STEM 101 program.  The Electrical Circuitry kits are $35 each.  (Here are more science kits.) The kit price is consistent with other science, subscription programs.  I had no idea Harley Davidson was pursuing STEM.  Frankly, I think it’s hysterical!  Learn to wire your future motor cycle!  I can see moms lining up to promote buying a motor cycle!  Not. In any case, I feel strongly you should be aware of interesting resources.

CER: Claim Evidence Reasoning What am I leaving for my husband when I plan to miss Co-op one class?

Update: It’s a little ridiculous to have this many posts.  However, this blog post is part of the notes I’m leaving for my husband, Rob. He is NOT cavalier about lessons.  At. All.  I have written notes, pulled materials, made copies, and created a lesson in Classroom, and now have created a post.  This is the sort of detail he likes. 

My husband, Rob is subbing for me this week; I’m having surgery and plan to get back in one week.  The Chem class is in the initial stages: tools, such as spreadsheets, data analysis, such as percent error, significant figures, etc.  Now is the time I introduce CER or Claim Evidence Reasoning.  

I modified a CER Slide Deck.  The lesson begins with examples of CER.  Here is a blank CER template.  Step one is to show the kiddos the data table below.  ‘Are any of the liquids the same substance.’  The table and question are the best approach I’ve found to introduction CER.  (There is an answer key in the slide deck.)

The next part is to show the density bottle.  Here is an explanation.

Have the kiddos explain what is happening.  The tricky part is to get them to write down their claims, explanations, and reasoning without calling them out and influencing their peers.  

There are other videos in the slide deck with discrepancies two discrepant events: disappearing beaker and shrinking volume.  The final activity is Reaction in a Bag.

Finally, the kids are going to summarize their observations on a CER template.  I also left three quizzes and a stack of worksheets to practice significant figures, scientific notation, and conversions.  Remember when I said I leave sub plans which take a week?  I was sincere.  Here is the list on the whiteboard.  Rob announced that we need to review all of these plans again on Monday.  Aaaaaarrrrrrrgggggghhhhhhh!  I’m certainly motivated to make a swift recovery.

DIY Lab Equipment

First, save recycled materials.  Yogurt cups can substitute for a plastic beaker.  Styrofoam trays are fine for dissections. Soda cans and coffee cups become calorimeters (below).  Raid your house; tea candles can be used to heat solutions.  Use coffee stir sticks, toothpicks, q-tips, and craft sticks for labs.  Cupcake liners replace weigh boats.  Clothes pins can hold small test tubes.  Now, let’s make homemade lab equipment!  

Graduated Cylinder: Make your own graduated cylinder with a soda bottle.  A1/2 teaspoon is 2.5 mL and one teaspoon is five mL. Below are instructions using a syringe.  

DIY Balance Scale: Here are six homemade balance scales using hangers, rules, even an egg carton.  This Homemade Scale is even simpler.  Use coins as weights.  For example a penny weighs 2.5 grams, a nickel, five grams.  Kiddos must do a little math.  A digital scale is fairly inexpensive.  Compare the degree of accuracy.

CD Spectroscope: Make your own spectroscope or this more sophisticated version.

Soda Can Calorimeter and a Coffee Cup Calorimeter: These are the calorimeters I use.  Really.  Teens like to rig equipment; both produce good data.  

Conductivity Meter: This version has more detail and uses pencils, which have graphite.  

Cell Phone Microscope:  The video show you how to make a microscope with a laser pointer and a cell phone.  (Use an old cell phone.) 

This microscope clips on to your cell phone. It’s pretty cheap; the better the cell phone’s camera, the better the resolution.  

Young Explorers Chemistry and Physics: Module 1

 The Young Explorers Chemistry and Physics (YECP) class meets once a week for 75 minutes.  Today we did the rest of the chapter vocabulary, reviewed properties of matter, and did do Try this! exercises.  Last week we weighed a bunch of objects with a digital scale.  (I’m teaching high school Chem, too.  I had cylinders, cubes, marbles, cork, etc for a density lab the high schoolers did.)  We’re recording data in the Notebooking Journal.  I’m working on recording, the title, the names of the objects, and units of measure under the projects section.  The kiddos are learning to take a few notes, how to record data, and following directions.  We also made it through the buoyancy experiment.  The kiddos made aluminum boats and observed how many Pennie’s the boat holds and still floats.  Yes, things were quite wet.  However, the class is very enthusiastic.  I only got one photo.  I’ll work on it!  There are three Co-op classes taking place simultaneously.  I made it clear, the YECP group need my undivided attention.

Sorry this is so grainy.  The twelve year old took the photos while I was helping high school students.   Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhhh.

Claim Evidence Reasoning: Density Bottle

 What is Claim Evidence Reasoning CER?  First, it’s another tool to get kiddos to think. Next week, I ‘m using the density bottle to get kids to make an observation and explain just what is happening. The Density Bottle is an example of a discrepant event.  (I bought mine here.  In fact, I put my original bottle in a safe spot and thought it was gone.  It’s so cool, bottles do walk off sometimes.  Surprise!  Now I have two.)  How does the demo work?  I pull out the bottle, shake it, and let kids watch the beads settle into the middle.  They write down what is happening, based on evidence, and explain their reasoning.  The bottle has salt water and alcohol.  (Here and here are instructions to make your own bottle.  We tried this summer at Maker Camp.  Exactly one bottle worked.  One.  I want to try with distilled water and or higher quality salt.  Here is an explanation about salt water density.)  The clear liquid in the bottle has a mixture of water, alcohol, and salt.  Additionally, the beads are UV Beads and plastic, pony beads.  The beads have a different compositions and different densities.  The Density Bottle is a favorite.  Anything different is good.  Kiddos like to think about a discrepant event! Yes, I work harder to make Chem interesting.  Why?  Chem is hard.  However labs and demos are fun.  I have to achieve a balance to keep the teens engaged.  (Yes, I did use the density bottle with the YECP Middle School class.  They liked it, too!)

Spreadsheets

 The math and science Co-op classes use spreadsheets whenever possible.  My husband, Rob, worked in corporate finance with SAP.  Data, in many forms, was organized in spreadsheets.  The kiddos in Chemistry completed a density lab.  

  After collecting the raw data, students add formulas, correct decimals, learn about accepted values and percent error.  The raw data and formulas all go into the spreadsheet.  (One common error is teens will make simple calculations, such as density, on the calculator, and enter the number.  This is called ‘hard coding’.  Instead students should enter formulas; answers can change if the data changes.)  Initially, this process takes some time.  Anytime you build skills, kiddos need to practice.

Spreadsheets are just another tool.  Google Workspace has spreadsheet tips.  While Rob really prefers Microsoft Excel, the pricing is out of control.  (Another subscription?!?  Booo!)  The result is Google Sheets.  Try using a spreadsheet.  Ask around for help!  Keep adding tools your kiddo can use now and in the future.

Measures

Measures or measurement can be its own unit, adaptable for your family.  

Elementary: NSTA has a sample, How Big is a Foot?, from More Picture Perfect Science Lessons.  I like lessons which include books, especially for kiddos.  Look at all of the Measures Books and easy lesson ideas.  For example, read How Far Can a Kangaroo Jump? and then measure how far your kiddos can jump.  

Middle School: Make your own Balance Scale and coins as weights.  You’ll need to do a bit of math.  The Volume Lab requires a graduated cylinder.  There are four parts to the lab, including the classic rainbow lab.  Human Body Ratios is another fun lab.  Set your own Body Benchmarks.  For example, the width of a child’s finger is often close to one centimeter.

High School: Typically, students are taught how to use the lab equipment during measurement labs; Equipment Measurement Lab is one example.  Introduction to Measurement uses pennies for several activities: direct measurement, mass, volume by displacement,  density, and includes significant figures, estimated digit, and precision.  Even in high school Chemistry and Physics Co-op classes, we review measures.  HST offers Apologia’s Module #1 Measurements and Units (Chemistry 2e)  Two experiments, Comparing Conversions and Density are in Apologia’s Physics (2e) textbook, too. See why I like Apologia?  This book and answer key comprise an excellent assessment of measurements.

Reinforce measurements all the time!  Use Body Benchmarks to estimate lengths.  (We do this all the time; my husband’s foot is about 12 inches, perfect for measuring rooms and rugs.)  How much fertilizer do you need to make a solution for the tomato plants?  Weigh the apples.  How many pounds do we need for the apple sauce recipe?  What if we want to double the recipe?  How much sugar, cinnamon, and apples will we need?  Calculate the car’s average mileage.  Measures is likely one of the most practical STEM lesson you can teach.

Biology: Dichotomous Keys

 Apologia refers to Dichotomous Keys as Biological Keys.  All three editions have one biological key experiment.  My teens need more trials before they can understand how to key out species.  

1.  Here are two easy keys with answers.  One has candy.  Do the Jelly Bean Classification next.  Classic Jelly Belly flavors work well for the activity.

2. Pamishans (Key) and the Button Family are classics.  My kiddos get bags of button to learn how to make their own keys.

3.  Here are more sets to use to practice.  My teens usually need about four activities to master the concept.  The quiz is usually another key.  Mollusk Dichotomous Key has a few keys to use for a quiz.  Start with the Teacher’s Guide.  I think the Pasta Types and Key is a good quiz.  The goal of a quiz is to check for understanding, especially if your kiddo seems to get the concept.

Bicycle Science!

This school year let’s do more science!  What do kids like?  They like to ride bikes!  Kiddos might want to know why professional cyclists hunch over their bikes in a race.  My husband, Rob, uses a bike to explain gears.  Do your children know how to maintain their bikes?  What are the parts called?  What do they do?  So much science!  Let’s get started.

Gears: I bought LEGO Gear Bots kits for my Chemistry and Physics class this fall.  We need to understand gears and gear ratios.  Here is a LEGO lesson about gears to use as an introduction.  Teach Engineering has a good Gears slide deck.  HST has Gears, both a lesson and an activity.  Cut out and play with styrofoam gears.

Bike Parts and Bike Safety: Bike Parts Race is a grab and go lesson with a labeled bike diagram, traffic lesson, and helmet safety.  Combine the lesson with Bicycle Safety Activity Kit, which has coloring and connect the dot activities for younger kiddos.

Science of Cycling Aerodynamics is an article from The Exploratorium; the article has an embedded calculator to measure aerodynamic drag.  Teach Engineering has Design a Bike Helmet.  Here is a teachers webpage with examples the class made to use as inspiration.

Don’t let the cost of a microscope deter you from buying a microscope for your Biology course. I have ideas!

 Just like the other expensive lab equipment or kits,  parents balk at buying a microscope. Some families sketch the image from an online image. Noooooo! Yes, decent microscopes can be run hundreds of dollars.   I think kiddos should have the experience of focusing and sketching slides—not just looking at the image online.  There are affordable solutions!

Does your library have a microscope?  They might!  Ours does!  They may or may not have microscope slides.  You may need to use the microscope at the library.  BTW I don’t think you have to use the specific slides recommended by Apologia.  It’s more important your kiddo gets a microscope experience.  A set of 25 prepared slides has enough variety for a high school Biology course.  (Sure, I’ve invested in microscope slides for Co-op.  But the first year, we used a set of 25 Amscope slides with borrowed microscopes.)

Another option is a clip-on or zoom lens for any cell phone.  Do you have an old cell lying in a drawer?  Use it!  Clip-on microscopes are around $10-20.  Your kiddo will get the experience of focusing, taking a screenshot, and sketching the image.  

Another choice is a USB Microscope, which runs about $20-30.  They attach to a laptop or a Chromebook.  Again, teens focus the microscope, snap a screenshot, and sketch the image.  I have a box of these microscopes.  Kiddos bring their devices.  Some brands work better with a laptop; others interface with a Chromebook.  I can’t get any to connect with an iPad.  

Do I use traditional microscopes?  Yes!  Typically, we set up every variety of microscope and have teens use all of them.  I have an adapter for a traditional microscope which allows students to position their cell phone and capture the image.  My favorite brand is Amscope.  The one immediately below is around $100 and includes a few slides.  Yes, we use kiddie microscopes, such as My First Microscope, too.  I can’t recommend buying a used microscope at eBay or Good Will. Have I tried?  Oh yes!  It’s been a very

mixed bag.   If you have a microscope slide, test any used microscope from the thrift store.  

Can you tell I am passionate about this topic?  Don’t blow your budget!  Do sketch microscope slides!  Her’s hoping your library has one you can borrow!

Unusual Electives: ORISE’s Harnessed Atom and AI and Us

 ORISE is the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. They have loads and loads of lessons.  (Be sure to take a look at the Oak Ridge History Museum.  Oak Ridge was once a ‘secret city’.)  Their middle school nuclear program is the Harnessed Atom—which is the program I use in Chemistry, if we can get to nuclear chemistry.  Do a mini-unit about nuclear energy.  ORISE is also offering AI and Us, an introduction to AI.  Here is the guide.  Explore AI as a family.  Try different versions of AI.  Have a deep discussion about AI and cheating.  I’ve taught professionally in private and public schools, as well as at a small college. Cheating is a huge issue which seems to be getting worse and worse with AI.  Let’s examine AI as a family and make it another interesting elective.