Where can I find a bunch of chemistry labs?

 First, I use Apologia’s Chemistry textbook for my high school classes.  Additionally, I bought five MicroChem Kits used with the manuals.  As a parent these two resources are plenty.  What about teachers, especially those in small private school or who teach for Co-ops?

The textbook alone has a bunch of labs; combined with the MicroChem kit you have a year’s worth of labs.  I’m bothered by individuals selling labs for teachers—even with collections of notes and slide decks.  There is loads of labs available for free.  The issue teachers confront is how to find additional  labs.  We end up googling topics, such as percent composition lab.

I have plenty of labs.  I’m never content to have enough.  I’ve taught Chemistry long enough to have an opinion.  The best collection of labs is in the 2005 Prentice Hall Chemistry textbook.  The textbook is fine, too.  However, both the standard labs and the Quick Labs (in the textbook) are superior.  Many of the labs I use, such as Percent Composition lab, derive from this textbook. (Here are lab instructions.)  The teacher’s textbook is available used at reasonable prices.  The reason I like the used teacher’s edition is because it has notes and sample data, along with descriptions.  The Quick Labs do not require fancy equipment; they’re designed for classrooms with limited resources.  If you teach Chemistry often, this is a worthwhile investment.

Everyday Science: Sound!

 I’m always surprised how much kiddos like to explore sound.  Younger children must just be curious about everything.  Years ago, I had a couple of sound experiments I was using as filler activities at Camp.  The campers had a blast!  Huh.  Many of these experiments are from the Exploratorium.  Here are a bunch of fun activities.

1.  Frugal Fun has  Blow out a Candle with Sound—and an adult.

2. Head Harps, Secret Bells, and Spoon Gong are all tried and tested hits.  Test the difference between string, yarn, and twine.  

3. Another hit is Bee-Hummer.  Again, the first time I tried this experiment, I was uncertain how well the kiddos would like it.  The answer is a lot.

4. Make a Rain Stick with rice and aluminum foil; this version uses toothpicks and bottle caps.  Try both.  Have washi tape available to decorate the paper rolls or Pringles Rain Maker version.

5. Littles love Sound Cups.  Let your older kids loot the junk drawer for items to shake.

6. If you have an LP, try Groovy Sounds.

7.  How about CANdemonium?  

8.  Steve Spangler has several good experiments: Talking Cups, Singing Glasses, Spinning Penny, Water Whistle, and Pop Bottle Music.

9. NASA’s Sound on a String is written as an experiment.  The kids test sound quality with different lengths of string. Similarly, Senses of Sound tests different lengths of a rubber band.

10.  Make a Hydrophone from a bottle and test the sound of objects in a sink of water. 

Gummy Bear Anatomy!

 Good Will has a Gummy Bear Anatomical model which is hilarious!  It would dovetail well with the Gummy Bear Lab and Slides. 

Everyday Science: Balls!

 The weather is lovely here in Virginia.  Our neighborhood of about 100 houses has over 50 kiddos.  Let me tell you, our neighborhood is lively!  (Yes, we have our share of ‘Ding-dong Ditch’.)  Let’s explore science outside.  Gather a variety of balls: playground ball, bowling ball, tennis ball, golf ball, basketball, ping-pong ball, pinky ball, and bouncy ball.  Go outside!

1.  My favorite ball experiment is Small Ball, Big Bounce with a basketball and a tennis ball. Bouncing balls has kids stack and drop balls.  Try a tennis ball and a ping pong ball. Use a playground ball or pinky ball with different ball combinations. The trick is to drop the two balls simultaneously.  Next try three balls or four!  Bonus points if you can recover all of the balls!  The results are hard to measure because the top ball flies off.

2.  Bouncy Ball Science Experiment is one ball experiment you should do inside.  It is hard to recover those bitty, bouncy balls.  The experiment evaluates a ball’s bounce depending on its temperature.

3.  Try Ball Drop Rebound Test.

4.  Make DIY Bouncy Balls and compare them with your ball collection.

5.  Floating Ping Pong Ball requires a hair dryer.  Consequently, this lab may need to be performed inside or on the porch.  The porch might attract an audience, which always adds value to an experiment.

6. Floating Bowling Balls requires a large vessel and ice.  12 lb. bowling balls bobble in ice water; an 8-10 lb bowling ball floats.  Why?  They are less dense than cold water.  A bowling ball which weighs more than 12 lbs. will sink.

7. Look at this unit about STEM Basketball and Explore the Science of Basketball.  Ask your kiddo to study ways to improve his shot.

 

Science, STEM, and Cooking!

 Have you seen the adds for I’m The Chef Too?  Kiddos love edible science.  I tracked down a few ideas: Eat Your Science, which has butter in a jar, popcorn in a bag, ice cream in a bag, etc.—all traditional kitchen science experiments.  Create a file of recipes or instructions for summer.  Whenever your kiddos need a fun break, try an edible experiment.  I like to write the name of the activity on to craft sticks; the kiddos pick an activity by pulling a craft stick at random.  Hide the bin of supplies, such as pop rocks, in the back of the pantry.  Declare the bin forbidden.  Build excitement for these fun, edible experiments.  

1. Geode Cupcake Toppers, Candy Agate, or Rock Candy are all guaranteed hits.  Make Crystal Egg Geodes or alum geodes which are NOT edible and bake cupcakes for the edible geode toppers.  I buy a bag of geodes to smash, too.  This is would a great birthday party for a budding geologist.

2. A Pop Rocks Volcano is edible.  The volcano can be made from a cupcake or rice cereal treats.  How about Exploding Cupcakes?

3. Layered Lemonade and Color Changing Lemonade (Galaxy Lemonade) go well with Galaxy Iced Cookies.  Try Slurpee Science.

4. Weelicious Bubble Tea for kiddos unlikely to choke on the tapioca pearls (DIY)  

5.  Making a Mug Cake in the microwave has the science explained here.

6. Look at this Oreo Catapult!  Here are STEM Cookie Projects, with Oreos.  You’re going to need a big bag!  Sweet Science: STEM Experiments You Can Do with Chocolate Chip Cookies is similar.  You may like Cookie STEM Challenges.

7. Dig your own fossil cake or make a Fossil Feast.  Add on salt dough fossils (less edible), Fossil Casts, or Fossil cookies (very edible).  

8. For a tremendous treat try HST ‘s Baked Alaska Edible Science.

9.  Make pretzels or bake pretzels.  There is a great deal of Science Behind the Pretzel.

10.  Be inspired with Kid-Friendly Kitchen Experiments with Spherification.  You do need sodium alginate and calcium lactate.  Use either a pipette or syringe to make the little balls.  Try different recipes: Tiny Juice Balloons, Edible Spheres with gelatin, or Basic Spherification.

Oreo Cookie Percent Composition Lab

I’m looking for a few fresh ideas to breathe more life into my Chemistry curriculum.  One idea is the Percent Composition of a Cookie.  Here are the class instructions.  Here is sample data.  Please note the regular Oreo cookie’s percent composition will differ from a double-stuffed cookie.  Below is a screenshot with the percent composition of cream in both original cookie and the double-stuffed cookie.

My plan is to use Oreo Percent Composition and follow up with some practice, such as this worksheet and the Percent Composition Hydrate Lab, also described here.  The teens struggle with these calculations.  We’ll see if Oreos help increase their understanding.

Plan Summer Camp!

 This summer we’re hosting Maker Camp.  The past few years, I’ve limited Camp to three days.  Why?  June and July are busy months.  We help with VBS and a two week Faith camp.  Both require a great deal of planning.  In August we travel and return ready to tackle fall classes.  

There are key factors when planning Science Camp.

1.  Find a space with both indoor and outdoor room.  The fellowship hall at church can be ideal.  For years our church hosted VBS and then Science Camp.  If your church campus has the room, try to host Camp there.

2. Recruit help.  Teens are more likely to volunteer than adults, especially teens who have experience with STEM camps.  These teens want other kiddos to enjoy the fun.  I rely on teen help.  I have had the best luck recruiting adults when I’m looking for specific skills.  For example, nurses and doctors will volunteer for Anatomy Academy.  The local Rescue Squad will send out a truck and show kids basic first aid.  My friend, Herb, a forester, led hikes in the woods.  The Boy Scouts have volunteered when asked to teach a specific skill, such as knots.  (I’m not strict about Science Camp.  Kiddos like to learn knots.)

3. Look for activities which use recycled materials, such as scrap wood.  Make a list.  Ask everyone to save bottles, egg cartons, scrap wood, Pringles’ cans, etc.  Oatmeal boxes and coffee cans are always useful.  I keep boxes of recycled containers in the basement, such as yogurt cups to mix solutions.  I store solutions in labeled milk jugs. 

4.  Make a list of every activity with the required supplies.  See what you already have.  For example, if you have a mini pool and a hula hoop, make Kid in a Bubble.  I search based on supplies on hand.  I have pool noodles: Pool Noodle Balance Board and Pool Noodle Finger Rocket.  Don’t forget to add a few songs, games, and snacks.  Bonus points if your snacks follow your theme.  Honestly, my snacks are bags of pretzels, animal crackers, and chips.  Science Camp at our church ate the leftover snacks from VBS.  I use this compendium of classic tunes, such as Tom the Toad, for fun songs.  Another favorite is Herman the Worm.  

5.  As you plan your activities, map out the morning.  Most activities last 10-15 minutes, the attention span for most younger kiddos.  Snack lasts about 15 minutes.  If you have a big field or play ground, snack can last 20-30 minutes.  Bring balls!  Snack and play is a good time to send everyone outside with the teens so you can clean up and regroup.  I have at least ten activities ready for each day.  (BTW if the kiddos are engaged, I let them continue to tinker as long as they want.  It doesn’t happen often.)   Have extra things to do!  You need to be able to switch gears if an activity flops or the kids start to get a little wild.  

6.  Budget at least $500 for 40 kids for a week.  This is possible if you collect and use recycled materials and accept donations of goods.  I used to fund-raise for VBS and Science Camp.  Most of the families of the kids who attended couldn’t afford to pay a fee.  The best fund-raiser was a media and toy sale: books, CDs, DVDS, and toys.  We usually raffled a giant bear from Costco.  This fund-raiser usually generated about $1000–enough for VBS and Science Camp.  We set up trifold posters of the kiddos from VBS and Science Camp.  I can also recommend yard sales as excellent fund-raisers.

7.  Include games and challenges.  These activities are both cheap and fun.  Frugal Fun has a number of Minute to Win It Challenges.  BTW we declare winners, but do not award prizes.  Prizes cost money.  Money is needed for activities.  I do like to have small prizes to send home with everyone: bouncy balls, flying toys, tops, etc.  Besides, the kiddos are going to make a bunch of things to take home. 

Keep things fun!  Sing!  Play games!  Allow outdoor time!  Laugh!  Keep things moving!  Have a dozen, quick to make extra activities to add on an emergency basis.  

Happy Easter!

 I hope your family enjoys a blessed Easter!  

LEGO Klutz Books

 I’m starting to sort materials for my summer camp, Maker Camp.  I look for relatively inexpensive materials for the kiddos.  I have the budget for Klutz LEGO sets.  Yes, Good Will and eBay have used sets for about $5 each.  I can make this work.  Be aware that these kits do not contain many LEGOs.  But, I love Klutz books.  They are colorful and captivating.  I know small gifts impart great joy.  Try ThriftBooks, Abe books, and other used book stores to shop for these kits.

Friday Fun Day: Solar and UV

Kids love solar and UV projects.  I haven’t tried a Solar Updraft Tower; I have done a bunch of other solar or UV experiments with kiddos.  Littles light up the first time they wear a UV beads bracelet outside and watch the beads change colors.  I just remembered a solar tube.  We used one during Science Camp one year.  The teens forgot to tether the giant balloon.  It floated off…forever.  What a hit!  The kids stood outside hoping for the local Air Guard to shoot it down.  

1. Sun Print Totes require acrylic paint instead of Inkodye, shown below.

2. You can buy sun print paper or just use construction paper to make Sun Prints. Kiddos like both versions.

3. String UV beads on to pipe cleaners to make bracelets.  The beads change color with UV radiation, including black lights.  Use the beads to test Sun Screen.

4.  Try color-changing nail polish.  This is  UV color changing nail polish.

5. Build a Solar Oven.  Here are some serious DIY models.  I have found a window to be the most effective for baking marshmallows.  But, hey!  Kids all want to try building pizza-box ovens.

6.  HST ‘s Solar Energy Science  includes Absorb or Reflect?

7. Make a DIY Solar Bottle Lamp.  One time, at Science Camp, we explored the Liter of Light project.  We had cardboard boxes set up for the kiddos to test their solar lights.  Be sure to add bleach.  My friend, Marisa, put battery-tea candles into colored plastic cups, and inverted them into holes for the cardboard boxes.  Genius!  The kiddos hung out in the boxes all morning.   Here is a similar idea.

Can you teach the entire course in 30 weeks?

 Our Co-op begins fright after Labor Day and ends sometime in May.  Regardless, we finish before Memorial Day.  The science and math class meet twice a week, 90 minutes for science and 80 minutes for math, each class.  We are off Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.  This year we had three or four snow days; the ice on our street was too dangerous.  We need at least 30 weeks to teach rigorous math and science classes.

We teach high school level courses.  This year we’re offering Advanced Biology and Geometry.  Last year was Biology and Algebra I.  Next year is Chemistry and Consumer Math.  We also complete most of the book.  I’m on tract to finish 15 of 16 modules in Advanced Biology this year.  Yes, we do the labs!  Some of our students are enrolled in online schools, such as MODG, which requires students complete two-thirds of any textbook taught.  My husband, Rob, uses that as his guide for math courses.  He and I have surveyed math teachers’ syllabi to get an idea how much teachers actually teach.  Next year, Rob is teaching Consumer Math; he has strong opinions on financial literacy.  

How do you finish in 30 weeks?  (Okay, sometimes, we need 32 weeks-especially for Chemistry or Physics.)  Let me explain our process.  First, the kids are expected to do tests, homework, study guides, reading, and projects outside of class.  Occasionally, there is time in class to work on study guides.  If I’m at a good stopping place and have 15 minutes, the teens work on their study guides.  Rob likes for the kids to do their study guides in class before the test; he uses that time to answer questions.  

What do we do in class?  We teach.  Rob introduces concepts and problem sets in a very traditional manner.  He teaches a problem and the students practice with more problems.  Rob is all over the room to make sure the kids understand and show their work.  There are only seven students; the class is informal.  When a student struggles, he or she stays after or meets after lunch.  One students stays after class most Thursdays.  Most of Rob’s time is spent teaching math.  Period.

My science classes are structured differently.  We work in chunks.  This year is Advanced Biology or Anatomy. We spent ten to fifteen minutes at the beginning of class reviewing bones, muscles, lobes, etc.  Lectures or overviews are roughly fifteen minutes, too.  Yesterday, we started Digestion with a slide deck. We did a round-robin tracing the alimentary tract, watched an Amoeba Sisters video, toured the textbook’s module, and completed the two histology labs in the book.  The class does POGILs, labs, and dissections.  Next year’s Chemistey class will be structured similarly.  Instruction or review is limited to ten to fifteen minutes.  The remainder of the class time is invested in labs, concept maps, hands-on activities, such as Putting Ions in Their Hands or balancing equations.  If we’re learning how to name compounds, the teens need to practice.  The tests and projects are assigned to do at home.  However, if a student is bright and masters a concept quickly, I might test him or her in class while his or her peers work on practice.  

How can we finish the book in 30-32 weeks?  Class time is all about instruction.  Period.  We don’t tolerate disruptions or misbehavior.  Those kiddos clean.  We start class on time.  We use the entire class period to teach.  Both of us run a tight ship and want to deliver a good course.  You can, too!