Category: general science

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Preschool Science: Worm Farm

By Rachel Paxton, Homeschool-articles.com

Preschool-aged children love to play with worms (at least my boys do!). You can turn their curiosity with worms into a science project with just a few items from your house and garden. Here is what you’ll need:

Empty two-liter pop bottle
Exacto knife
Dirt
Small shovel
Sand
Grass clippings
Kitchen compost (apple peelings, etc.)
Worms

Before you let your child loose in the garden, you will need to use the exacto knife to cut off the entire top of the pop bottle.

Help your child create a label for the container that has the child’s name and “worm farm” printed on it. You can make it by hand or on the computer. Tape the label to the front of the container.

Go out to the garden with your child and let he or she shovel a couple of inches of dirt into the plastic container. Pat the dirt down so the next layer of sand won’t filter through. Explain to your child that they need to be careful not to shake or jar the bottle or the sand and dirt will become mixed up.

Add a thin layer of sand, and then continue with a couple of inches of dirt and another thin layer of sand. The top layer should be dirt. Leave an inch or two of space at the top of the bottle.

Next add a few grass clippings on top of the last layer of dirt. The worms will need food, so add a few pieces of fruits or vegetables in with the grass, such as apple or orange peelings.

If you are lucky enough to have worms in your yard, help your child dig for a few worms for his or her worm farm. If you can’t find any, go to your nearest bait shop and buy a small package of night crawlers.

Let your child play with the worms before putting them in the worm farm. Help them make observations about their worms. Check out a book about worms at your local library or search for information online about worms. Talk to your child about how a worm’s job is to eat waste and mix it into our soil to fertilize it.

After your child places a couple of worms into the worm farm, they will be able to see for themselves how worms mix up soil. When the worms dig through the container, they will leave a trail of sand behind them that your child will be able to see mixing into the dirt.

For the most worm activity, place the worm farm in a dark place or tape a piece of paper around the worm farm to keep the light out. Worms do most of their work at night.

Your preschooler will have a lot of fun creating his or her worm farm. From digging in the dirt, to playing with worms… what’s not to like!

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of five. For resources for the Christian family, including parenting, toddler and preschool activities, homeschooling, family traditions, and more, visit Christian-Parent.com.

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Understanding Science

By Samantha Burns, Homeschool-articles.com

It amazes me how many folks are intimidated by the idea of science.  I think this is because of a deficiency in their science-knowledge.  People just didn’t understand it when they were learning in school, and so now they don’t understand it as adults.  Every day we are bombarded with messages based on science.  Media representations of science and science-related policy are essential in quickly communicating scientific messages to the public.  However, important parts of the scientific message can easily get lost or garbled in the translation.  Understanding the nature of science can make a better-informed consumer for those messages and policies.

Understanding science can help you:

  1. Separate fact from fiction.
  2. Identify misrepresentations of science.
  3. Find trustworthy sources for further information.

Science is essentially, our knowledge of the natural world and the process through which that knowledge is built.

Today’s children have the opportunity to learn about science in a different way than generations before them.  And the need is increasingly urgent that we deliver a significant science-education to the children that will endow them with the knowledge needed to bring in a new age of civilization.  By better understanding the world around us, we can make better choices for our families, our people, and our world.

As homeschoolers we can freely pursue that significant science education with any style or method that we choose.  The important thing is choosing to study science.  We must be brave, and open ourselves to the natural world.  By utilizing the scientific method of observation, questioning, hypothesizing, and testing, anyone can learn about the world around them; and with so many different areas of study there’s bound to be something that intrigues every individual–something that ignites a spark of curiosity.  It’s that curiosity that drives science.

Studying science need not be intimidating or overwhelming.  It’s okay to admit to your children that you do not know all the answers.  When you can’t sufficiently answer a question take the opportunity to encourage the child to do the research himself.  “Look in a book!”  If you do not have the necessary reading material, try the nearest library (if they do not have it, they may be able to get a book through the inter-library loan program), or research it on-line.  You don’t need to “know it all” .

For any formal science program, you should expect it to be a messy endeavor.  Science is, by nature, a hands-on subject, the scientific method dictates testing, following the process of observation, questioning, and hypothesizing, so any program you implement should utilize experiments and hands-on investigation.  To encourage a more scientific environment, keep a bountiful supply of reference books in your home library.  Don’t limit these to merely children’s resources, be sure to include plenty of science references intended for mature adults, children will benefit from these because they are not limited to one age range.  They will be able to “grow into them”, and will refer to them repeatedly throughout their youth.  Encourage questioning, allow them free-time for thinking and self-exploration.  Keep science-materials on hand, things like magnifying glasses, a microscope with accessories, binoculars, field-guides, rock-kits, fossils, science-posters, etc.  Most importantly, spend time outside–copious amounts of time outside–observing and interacting with the natural world.  Take field trips to geological sites in your home-state on tank-full of gas.  Go hiking, mountain-climbing, scuba-diving, plant a garden, start a compost heap, it doesn’t matter so long as you’re outdoors. Nature is vast, the universe is mysterious, but if we’re brave we can face science and impart a more knowledgeable way upon the next generation, using the scientific method and encouraging our interminable curiosity.

Samantha Burns is a self-taught homeschool teacher to 2 sons, and wife 10 years to a citizen scientist. You can visit her website at www.squidoo.com/chronologicalhistorystudies.

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Grow Your Own Scientist

Written by Samantha Burns, Homeschool-Articles.com, Articles by Homeschoolers for Homeschoolers

How do you grow a scientist exactly? Why would anyone want to grow a scientist?

And I say to you, that everyone should be a scientist in one manner or another. Science is in everything that surrounds us on any given day. It is the natural world that we live in. It is the technology that we have developed. Everyday we are bombarded with scientific messages, but if there is a misrepresentation, or a garbling of important bits of information, you will be none the wiser unless you possess a firm comprehension of the nature of science.

Currently there is a deficiency of science understanding among the general public. But by teaching our children basic science concepts, and the scientific method, we can instil in them a fair grasp of what this world is all about. Such an understanding will carry humanity into the future, where we will face environmental dilemmas, economical issues, and whatever else the untold future holds in store for us.

We will undoubtedly need scientists, and more of them, not fewer.

So how can we raise our children to be citizen scientists? Easy: start young.

Allow your babies, toddlers and preschoolers the free range to explore the natural world around them. Encourage their natural curiosity and allow them to investigate. Even toddlers can benefit from time spent with Daddy looking at a caterpillar on a leaf, or exploring the effects of a stone thrown into a muddy puddle (– or even exploring the effects of mud in the mouth!). Provide the youngster with a simple plastic magnifying glass and he’ll be occupied for hours, investigating the natural world around him.

As your budding scientists grow older, don’t wait to begin a formal science education. Start science young, about six years of age. Begin by furnishing your home library with a plethora of reference books. You should own various volumes of the Audubon Society’s Field Guides, and other materials intended for mature audiences, as well as age appropriate science resources. Some good ones are Eyewitness books, DK books, the Lets-Read-and-Find-Out series, and Usborne books, but there are plenty to choose from. Also, stock up on science-materials for your homeschool, things like a magnet-set, a scale or balance, insect collecting supplies, a microscope and accessories, binoculars, a telescope, safety gear, and posters, too.

Formal science education can be approached in a multitude of ways, but the main thing to keep in mind when you’re purchasing or creating science curriculum is that science is a hands-on subject. The scientific method dictates that we first study, then question and hypothesize, before testing our theories.

Any science program should host plenty of experiments and hands-on activities in order for the students to be able to fully grasp a concept. Don’t bother toning it down too much; you’ll be surprised by even the youngest learner’s grasp on the concepts.

Parents can role model good science skills by staying current on science news: read science publications like Discover, American Scientist, and National Geographic.  Participate in the annual species counts performed by the Audubon Society (you can do a search online for an office near you!), make it a family project.  Continue to explore the world around you by following your innate curiosities, refer to your reference books when you come across something unfamiliar.  Don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t know something — just go look it up in a book, or online; this will show your children that you’re never too old to stop learning.

As homeschoolers we possess the ability to teach our students science in a different way than generations before have learned it.  We can ensure a science understanding in tomorrow’s society in the hopes that our children and grandchildren might face the problems of the future with the best tools possible.

Samantha Burns is a self-taught homeschool teacher to 2 sons, and wife 10 years to a citizen scientist. You can visit her website at www.squidoo.com/chronologicalhistorystudies.