Ice Cream!

 Next week, we are making ice cream in a bag.  Here is an easy recipe.  Have plenty of ice on hand.  Here are instructions for making ice cream with coffee cans.  The kids roll the cans back and forth.  Wear gloves!  The metal gets so cold!  Here is an article from Flinn Scientific about the underlying science.  We might make ice cream in chemistry when we do freezing point depression.  This week is Camp and fun—not school.

Tips for Science Camp

 Here are a few tips for hosting a Science Camp.  First, add fun.  Usually, we tie-dye camp t-shirts I day one.  My husband helped at on of the camps we held at our church in West Virginia.  There were forty kids and a dozen teens.  He had never tie-dyed before.  We did it outside; Rob remains scarred by the ordeal.  Instead, we’re designing Sharpie T-shirts.  (If you are tie-dying, use Dharma Dyes.  Their website has excellent instructions.  Here are tie-dye pattern instructions.). Monday, the first thing the kids are going to do is design their t-shirts, plan group names, and create a group cheer.  Some groups like to sing.  Here are some camp songs. My favorite camp song book is A Prairie Home Companion Folk Song Book.  It has classics, such as O Tom the Toad and Greasy, Grimy, Gopher Guts, both of which are sciency songs.  We have games or recess outside.  Some groups just require a ball.  Serve a snack.  At Church Science Camp, we ate leftovers from VBS all week.  By all means feed them.  Send stuff home.  For example, Monday, the kids will take home polymers they make in recycled, yogurt cups.  I ordered sciency tattoos and UV beads.  One last tip: have extra stuff ready.  I think Ali have enough experiments, games and challenges to last several weeks.  But, I made sure to have several days’ activities pulled in advance, in case my Monday plans finish in fifteen minutes.  So, just in case, I’m keeping six or seven science experiment books ready.

Why would you do a science camp?

 Good question.  Science Camp is a lot of work.  I save supplies for months: jars, yogurt containers, bottles, yarn, etc.  I plan experiments, create a giant spreadsheet, and  download or print instructions.  Some experiments must be tested in advance.  Personally, I have to gear myself waaaayyyy down before doing Science Camp.  So, why do you bother?  Many kids don’t get to do much science.  One, science is messy.  Home-school, public school, Head Start school, and private schools all tend to avoid messy labs. In one classroom, the kids were given a penny and instructed to write and describe its metallic properties or to see how many drops a penny will hold.  These types of labs do not excite kids.

Several years ago, my home-school friends asked me to do science camp.  I haven’t looked back.  Now that we are out of quarantine, it was a home-school mom who asked me to do a science camp again.  Next week, when the kids have fun, try a few amazing experiments, and run home excited by science, all of the effort will be worth while.

Mad Science Camp: Ready to Rock

 Next week is Mad Science Camp!  My husband, Rob, and I are ready for Monday—I think.  We pulled most of the materials for each day.  You need a plan for the week.  But in reality, you need to be ready for Monday.  Here is the big picture.  Below are pix of the basement ready for action!  I’ll post pix next week.

No Chemical Chemistry Labs

 Kelsey Reavy posts frequently on social media.  Here are 15 No Chemical Chemistry Labs.  Many families find Chemistry to be a struggle.  I like a combo of activities similar to these, experiments from the textbook, and labsI’ve collected.  Heya,  I want you to have options.

Apple Mummy Lab

 One of the first labs we do in Biology is teach experimental design with apple mummies.  Natron is sodium carbonate.  I pull all different salts for this lab: sodium carbonate (washing soda), sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), sodium chloride (table salt), and magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts).  The class spends time talking about controlled variables: same size and types of paper cups, same amount of salt, same mass of apple, same apple species, and same conditions, such as room temperature and humidity.  The kids determine the combinations of the four salts.  Here is the blog post with pix from the lab.  Hereis a data sheet with all of the combinations from different groups.  Here is a sample lab report.  The object is to teach kids how to create an experiment and consider how to isolate one variable: the combination of salts which dries out the apple the most.  This lab is an investment of time; the teens learned a lot.

Chemistry Labs for Fall

 During COVID I taught Chemistry remotely for our local home-school Co-op.  Not my first choice.  I made up Chemistry kits families picked up off my front porch.  Here are some of the labs and lab links the kids did at home.  Yes, they also did experiments from the Exploring Creation with Chemistry textbook.  My approach to teach Chemistry is to start with a lab and use the lab to scaffold instruction.  The teens perform over forty labs during class.  You should, too!  Many of the labs require household chemicals.  You can use yogurt cups, coffee filter, craft sticks, etc. instead of expensive lab equipment.

Rocks and Minerals

 Over the years I have taught Earth Science several times—always reluctantly.  My background is in Biology and Chemistry.  Too often administrators believe a science teacher can teach anything.  The unit in Earth Science I love least is Rocks and Minerals.  I can run tests and spout facts; I just don’t have any education in rocks and minerals.  What is the solution?  A good set of rocks and minerals already identified, with the numbers and answer key readily available.  Good Will online has a classic set, The Washington School Rock Collection, up for auction.  Rainy Day Mum has ideas and instructions for making your own identification kit.  

Mad Science Camp: Polymers

Update: Squishy Baff looks promising.  Here is an experiment from Steve Spangler with sodium polyacrylate, the polymer in Instant Snow.  I went through my supplies and have both Magic Sand and Kinetic Sand. (The article in the link explains the difference between Magic Sand and Kinetic Sand.)  Here is a Magic Sand lab.  Here a lab with Kinetic Sand and a diy recipe to make your own kinetic sand.   Here is another, similar lab, featuring Kinetic Sand.  I have a box.  Evidently, the kids can mold it.  Now I need sand to make our own DIY version for camp.

 My husband, Rob, and I are drilling down our plans for Mad Science Camp.  My emphasis is on Chemistry and his is on Physics.  The girls coming to camp are excited  by polymers.  The boys?  Not so much.  I’m planning to do a few labs everyone will enjoy before we diverge into two groups.  First is Jiggle Gels from ACS.  (There is a kit, too.). Try a variety of experiments with polymers.  Instant Snow is always a hit.  Here, and here are instructions.  Sodium polyacrylate is the material in disposable diapers which absorbs urine.  Here are instructions.  How about water gel crystals? (Home Science Tools sells polyacrylamide crystals, too.). Sometimes, you can find these crystals at plant nurseries.  Use these gel crystals to make Ghost Crystals or these fun ideas. We like Gro-beasts, growing spheres, and super slime.  Here are home-made Polymer and Slime ideas from HST.  The boys are likely to lose interest; we are capping off polymers with Benzoic Acid Blizzard in a Bottle.  I can’t wait!

Chemistry Summer Assignment

 Yes, my teens do summer assignments.  My husband posts work for his math classes, too.  A few families requested more rigor.  We are happy to oblige.  Here is the post describing the cards, which are based on this article from the Journal of Chemistry Education.  Here is another Periodic Table card game from SMART Space.  Here is a blog post From Homeschool Creations about making elements cards.  I like the little drawings kids make.  It helps them remember the elements—just like homemade note cards.  Basically, the kids need to learn around 50-55 of the most common elements.  There are 43 elements described here.  This is fun!

Which science edition should our family use?

 The home-school science classes use Apologia textbooks.  We use the second editions for both Exploring Creation with Biology and Chemistry.  The third edition of Chemistry is rife with error—the last thing a homeschool family needs!  I have a copy of the third edition of the Biology textbook, which is good.  However, we do so much enrichment, I don’t see the need for the added expense.  You can buy second edition textbooks for Biology or Chemistry for $10.  These editions have all of the content necessary for a complete course in Bio or Chem.  Even if you only used the textbook and limited your teen to the experiments in the book, you would have a sound program.