Science World
Animals for Kids
Look for animals in your neighborhood or in rural areas nearby. Think about how many different types of animals there are. Howe do scientists group them? Some are grouped by general categories, like with a backbone and without a backbone. Scientists also group animals with very tiny details, like separating one type of plant spider from another. How is a dog like a bird? How are they different from each other? Which is more like an insect – a spider or an elephant? Why? Look at a dog show and notice that even one species (canine) can have a lot of variety within it. You can also incorporate animal coloring pages to make the learning even more fun.
Earth Science for Kids
What is the weather like today? Watch the evening news or the Weather Channel for descriptions of active weather in your area. Most meteorologists explain why things happen when they broadcast. Take a look at the dirt and geographical features near your hometown. What are they like? How did they get that way? How is it different or similar to other places you have visited as a family?
Human Biology for Kids
Has anyone in the house been sick lately? Talk about how germs work and the white blood cells attack. Ask them why washing hands and covering noses helps. Look at the back of someone’s hands and notice the veins and other blood vessels. Do they look like different colors? Tell them about oxygen from the lungs, blood moving everywhere taking care of each part of your body when you aren’t even thinking about it.
Physical Science for Kids
Show your kids how magnets work, how one side pulls and the other pushes. Describe electricity as a flowing river full of tiny charged invisible things. What makes a good electricity conductor? Wood? Glass? A metal pole? Everything in the universe is on the move, even molecules in so-called “solid” objects. How does a lever work (like a teeter-totter)? Heat can be created by causing friction. Rubbing your hands together will demonstrate this easily. Heat is energy moving around faster – ever wonder why you feel warmed up after you run fast?
Chemistry for Kids
Chemistry describes the “stuff” our world is made of and what it can do. That’s called matter. Anything and everything is made of matter. Randomly pick up 10 things in your house. What are each of them made of? Metals have different types of molecules than organic-based items like paper or food. What is water like when it is a solid, a liquid, and a gas? What else does that?