Show and Tell for Parents
Search Site: 
Parents Teachers
By Susan Darst Williams
Parental Involvement
Ages & Stages
Coaching Your Child
Discipline & Safety
Health, Nutrition & Fitness
Homework Helpers
Reading
Writing
Math
Curriculum & Instruction
Teachers & Teaching
Other School Staff
Testing
Technology
Special Learners
School Management
Finance & Taxation
Government & Politics
Preschool
Private Schools
Homeschooling
Choice & Charters
Learning on the Go
Community Involvement
Controversies
Education Heroes
Bright Ideas for Change
Site Map
Mini-Grants

Parental Involvement Lite

Parents, Kids & Books

Great Books for Kids

Character Education

Writing Tips

Inspiration

Wacky Protests

School Humor
Home | Purpose | Ask A Question | Subscribe | Forward | Bio | Contact | Print

Coaching Your Child        < Previous        Next >

 

At-Home Science Enrichment

 

Q. Our daughter is sad that there never seems to be time for hands-on science experiments or activities in school any more. She is going in to sixth grade. What are some ideas for things she can do at home to get some quality science experience outside of school?

           

Science is so much fun for both parents and kids! Every room of your house contains possible science lessons. You can make just about anything into a science project! But you're right: if you are deliberate about it, you are much more likely to actually do it. So here are some ideas:

 

§         Ask a science teacher for ideas and resources.

 

§         Ask a librarian.

 

§         Ask your district's curriculum director; this is also a good opportunity to share your concern about the lack of quality experiences in the science classroom.

 

§         Search the Internet for "science and homeschooling" or "science projects for kids."

 

§         There are a lot of great "at-home science projects with kids" and "kitchen chemistry" books in the marketplace. Try a bookstore or garage sale.

 

§         Set up your daughter with a "science mentor." Call the local high school and find an honors student. Pay him or her babysitting rates to come to your home once or twice a week for an hour or so, and do fun and simple experiments with your daughter. For example: botany (start plants from seed); physics (build structures); chemistry (baking bread to learn about gases, or making controlled explosions with vinegar and baking soda).

 

§         Check out science-related DVD's from the public library.

 

§         Get your child hooked on the many quality science TV shows instead of brain-draining cartoons and sit-coms.

 

§         Local museums often have a kid-friendly section that teaches about science as well as the arts.

 

§         Treat every vacation as a source of science learning. On a fishing lake, watch pelicans fly and then look up their skeletal structures online to see why they fly the way they do. In a big city, find out how they handle wastewater or garbage. The learning opportunities are endless if you spend most of your time in the greatest science lab of all: the great outdoors!

 

 

Homework: A wonderful resource to bookmark and visit often:

 

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/parent_resources.shtml?from=Newsletter

 

 

By Susan Darst Williams www.ShowandTellforParents.com © 2011

 

Coaching Your Child        < Previous        Next >
^ return to top ^
Individuals: read and share these features freely!

Publications: please contact ShowandTellforParents.com to arrange for reprint rights to these copyrighted news stories and features.

Mini-Grants


 Links to Learn More 

 Enrichment Ideas 

 Nebraska Schooling 
DailySusan
 Humor Blog 
DailySusan
 Glimpses of God 
Copyright © 2024 ShowandTellforParents.com
Website created by Web Solutions Omaha