MrsStranahan

I have ordered the original version of The Backyard Scientist and we
have been making goop, mixing potions (water, oil, food coloring,
glitter, sprinkles ... ) and making more volcanoes. My daughter has
gotten in on it now too and she's having just as much fun as Jack.
Yesterday while we were mixing potions Jack said, "Oh I want to go to
science class!!" Olivia said (who has been to some of 1st grade), "You
would be in 1st grade if you went (to school) and they DON'T have
science class." I said that they probably do have a science class but
I don't remember ever playing with stuff in science class. I only
remember paperwork and tests."

The conversation about class and school ended there because we were
mixing stuff and having fun with that but that was the second time in
as many days that he has brought up school. I want to be able to say
the correct things to him and I don't want him to feel he is missing
something. I also don't think he is actually asking to go to school.

I am planning on getting worms for under the sink (for me, but they
will be fascinated that mom has worms under the sink- on purpose) and
a rock polisher (they love rocks) so they will have more sciencey type
stuff to play with, but neither of those things are things they have
asked for. He wakes up asking to do an experiment.

I googled around a little trying to find a science class (like a dance
class or karate class, not a school) but didn't find anything.

He seems very happy and satisfied playing with what we have, so I'm
not sure how to handle the school or class thing when it comes up.

Lauren

strawlis

--- In [email protected], MrsStranahan
<mrsstranahan@...> wrote:
I don't remember ever playing with stuff in science class. I only
> remember paperwork and tests."
>
> The conversation about class and school ended there because we were
> mixing stuff and having fun with that but that was the second time
in
> as many days that he has brought up school. I want to be able to say
> the correct things to him and I don't want him to feel he is missing
> something. I also don't think he is actually asking to go to school.
>

*** I think you're doing a great job...and I agree I don't think he
is truely asking to go school...keep it up


>> I googled around a little trying to find a science class (like a
dance
> class or karate class, not a school) but didn't find anything.

*** Try your local science/children's musuem/center...they usually
have lots of hands on exhibits and often offer demo/classes/camps at
very reasonable rates.


> He seems very happy and satisfied playing with what we have, so I'm
> not sure how to handle the school or class thing when it comes up.

*** Agian I think your doing a great job...keeping him supplied in
science fun. If school issue keeps coming up....you could acutaly
shcedule a vist to the local elementary shool...but I would wager
that he would much perfer a tour of a college lab. Who knows you may
hind a community college that will let you take a class with him!!!

Elisabeth

Sandra Dodd

-=-I am planning on getting worms for under the sink (for me, but they
will be fascinated that mom has worms under the sink- on purpose-=-



The lid to my little worm bin was intended to wedge in the top, but
by the time I trimmed it, it's a cardboard platform that lies on top
of the dirt.

I've discovered that this is PERFECT, and I wish I had thought of it
(instead of stumbling onto it from error).

#1, air gets in around, so the cardboard doesn't get soggy.

#2, as the worms process the scrap and the dirt goes down, the
cardboard lid goes down too!! So I can tell by looking if they need
another dose.

I've changed the dirt out once. It was very exciting for me, a
little exciting for Holly, and a little baffling maybe (my
excitement) for Holly's boyfriend.



Sandra

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Nancy Wooton

On Mar 21, 2008, at 9:27 AM, MrsStranahan wrote:

> I googled around a little trying to find a science class (like a dance
> class or karate class, not a school) but didn't find anything.


Where do you live? Are there any museums within reach? We're
fortunate to have some great resources here, including museums with
"free Tuesdays" :-)

Nancy (in San Diego)

Robyn L. Coburn

You might find some fun activities or day camp type stuff coming up over
summer at your local Natural History Museum or Science Center.

Robyn L. Coburn
www.Iggyjingles.etsy.com
www.iggyjingles.blogspot.com

<<<> I googled around a little trying to find a science class (like a dance
> class or karate class, not a school) but didn't find anything.>>>

graberamy

> The conversation about class and school ended there because we were
> mixing stuff and having fun with that but that was the second time in
> as many days that he has brought up school. I want to be able to say
> the correct things to him and I don't want him to feel he is missing
> something. I also don't think he is actually asking to go to
school.>>>

When my daughter was about 8 or 9 she said she wanted to go to school.
I knew she had these ideas about it and I knew they probably weren't
very accurate. But I did want her to be able to check it out and make
an "informed" decision so I scheduled a tour with the principal of our
local elementary school. She'd been to the school before to have lunch
with friends so she knew how that went but I asked the principal to take
her into a classroom (this was during the summer) and show her what it
would be like and we also asked what they would be learning about that
year.

Luckily for me she decided home was a more eventful and fun place to be!
Plus she found out that kids didn't actually break out in song and dance
in the cafeteria (high school musical reference)! bwg!

footnote: when I called the principal ahead of time to schedule this
tour I told her that I really didn't want my daughter to go and that I
bet she wished she had school full of kids who really wanted to be
there! This principal was soooo nice to Lydia, and I was glad, she
really tried to "sell" it to her. And I was REALLY glad when Lydia
chose not to go.

<<<*** Again I think your doing a great job...keeping him supplied in
science fun. If school issue keeps coming up....you could acutaly
shcedule a vist to the local elementary shool...but I would wager
that he would much perfer a tour of a college lab. Who knows you may
hind a community college that will let you take a class with him!!!

Elisabeth>>>>

I don't know how close you are to a university but we're pretty close to
one here and I've taken the kids up to the campus a few times and
they've had a GREAT time. In the geology building they've been given
cool rocks by professors and shown tons of fossils. There's an
anthropology building that is like a museum with lots of cool things in
display cases. The entomology department also sets up tours with bugs
to look at and touch! The engineering department has lego robotics type
classes (for elementary age kids) and they were really flexible. From a
one day tour/class to setting up a six week class.

A few other moms and I used to do a "science club". We'd do things like
go to a pond with buckets and nets, go to a fossil gorge and let the
kids find fossils, go to the science center together, set up
experiments, movies, build forts, make scarecrows, start seeds, etc.
Many times we'd plan nothing and let them play and the moms and I would
laugh about all the science that was still happening. Sleeding
(pulley's and angles), digging in the dirt, climbing on a
playset..."Science" is endless because science is EVERYWHERE!!

Today we went on a field trip with friends to a bee farm...it was really
cool! And the honey straight from the farm seemed to taste even better.
We can't wait until the end of summer to go back to get honeycombs!

Just remember, keep thinking outside the box and keep on googling!!:)

amy g
iowa



--- In [email protected], MrsStranahan <mrsstranahan@...>
wrote:
>
> I have ordered the original version of The Backyard Scientist and we
> have been making goop, mixing potions (water, oil, food coloring,
> glitter, sprinkles ... ) and making more volcanoes. My daughter has
> gotten in on it now too and she's having just as much fun as Jack.
> Yesterday while we were mixing potions Jack said, "Oh I want to go to
> science class!!" Olivia said (who has been to some of 1st grade), "You
> would be in 1st grade if you went (to school) and they DON'T have
> science class." I said that they probably do have a science class but
> I don't remember ever playing with stuff in science class. I only
> remember paperwork and tests."
>

>
> I am planning on getting worms for under the sink (for me, but they
> will be fascinated that mom has worms under the sink- on purpose) and
> a rock polisher (they love rocks) so they will have more sciencey type
> stuff to play with, but neither of those things are things they have
> asked for. He wakes up asking to do an experiment.
>
> I googled around a little trying to find a science class (like a dance
> class or karate class, not a school) but didn't find anything.
>
> He seems very happy and satisfied playing with what we have, so I'm
> not sure how to handle the school or class thing when it comes up.
>
> Lauren
>

Sandra Dodd

-=-Luckily for me she decided home was a more eventful and fun place
to be!
Plus she found out that kids didn't actually break out in song and dance
in the cafeteria (high school musical reference)! bwg!-=-

Fame! That movie has the greatest school cafeteria musical
extravaganza of all time. (Or maybe not! There are probably others.
<g>)

It has to do with explosions (of enthusiasm) and piano, too (looking
at the subject line...).



Sandra

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

swissarmy_wife

It's early morning as we are headed out of town this morning, so
excuse me if I have the wrong thread, or if someone else mentioned
this site already. But I remember someone mentioning mentos and diet
coke???

Anyway, here is a fabulous website I found dedicated to the "soda
fountain". The kids LOVED it!!! There is even PDF files on how they
made it all happen.

http://www.eepybird.com/

Enjoy!

MrsStranahan

At first I thought we could do diet coke and mentos eruption in the
shower, but after watching more videos I think that's a very bad idea.
I might be able to do it in the park. We don't have a backyard, we
have a strip of concrete with neighbor's windows very close to it.
Great for hopscotch but probably very bad for mentos and diet coke
experiments.

We have a science center here so we are going to become members. My
kids have been to science centers in other cities but not our own.
Funny how that works.

He asks as soon as he gets up to do experiments and by that he means
he wants to mix stuff to see what happens. I had the idea of using a
plastic bin and putting the stuff that he can mix with in the bin. I'm
hoping The Backyard Scientist gets here next week.

I thought rock candy would be a neat thing for my kids to make but
Jack didn't get excited about it. He wants to see things happen. I'm
still going to make the rock candy though, I think it sounds fun. And
I think once he sees the sugar crystals growing in the jar he will be
interested, but it's not a fizzing, bubbling thing he can stick his
hands in.

That is a cool website. I bookmarked it.

On Sat, Mar 22, 2008 at 3:34 AM, swissarmy_wife <heatherbean@...> wrote:
>
> It's early morning as we are headed out of town this morning, so
> excuse me if I have the wrong thread, or if someone else mentioned
> this site already. But I remember someone mentioning mentos and diet
> coke???
>
> Anyway, here is a fabulous website I found dedicated to the "soda
> fountain". The kids LOVED it!!! There is even PDF files on how they
> made it all happen.
>
> http://www.eepybird.com/
>
> Enjoy!

Sandra Dodd

-=-He asks as soon as he gets up to do experiments and by that he means
he wants to mix stuff to see what happens. I had the idea of using a
plastic bin and putting the stuff that he can mix with in the bin. I'm
hoping The Backyard Scientist gets here next week.-=-



In the meantime, here are a few things:



http://sandradodd.com/strew/tadaa.html



Sandra

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

graberamy

--- In [email protected], Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
>
> -=-Luckily for me she decided home was a more eventful and fun place
> to be!
> Plus she found out that kids didn't actually break out in song and dance
> in the cafeteria (high school musical reference)! bwg!-=-
>
> Fame! That movie has the greatest school cafeteria musical
> extravaganza of all time. (Or maybe not! There are probably others.

And I was thinking about this after I sent it, we actually DO break
out into song and dance at our house, it's just not choreographed
quite as well!!;)

MrsStranahan

We live in Burbank and there's a science center nearby in downtown Los Angeles.

Thanks for suggestion that, my brain was off in a different direction.

On Fri, Mar 21, 2008 at 12:56 PM, Nancy Wooton <nancywooton@...> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Mar 21, 2008, at 9:27 AM, MrsStranahan wrote:
>
> > I googled around a little trying to find a science class (like a dance
> > class or karate class, not a school) but didn't find anything.
>
> Where do you live? Are there any museums within reach? We're
> fortunate to have some great resources here, including museums with
> "free Tuesdays" :-)
>
> Nancy (in San Diego)
>
>

Melissa Wiley

>
> -=-He asks as soon as he gets up to do experiments and by that he means
>
> he wants to mix stuff to see what happens. I had the idea of using a
> plastic bin and putting the stuff that he can mix with in the bin. I'm
> hoping The Backyard Scientist gets here next week.-=-
>


Mixing is a favorite activity here too. My kids love this one: put some milk
in a pie pan or other shallow dish. Add a drop or two of food coloring.
Don't stir!
My kids like to put a dot of red on one side of the pan, a dot of blue on
the other,
etc. Then add a small squeeze of dishsoap like Dawn or Joy. The soap makes
the colors swirl around in the milk. It's very cool.

Melissa in San Diego, mom of 5
melissawiley.com/blog


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Melissa Wiley

Oh, shoot--the very next thing after sending that post, I saw Sandra's link.
Pam gives instructions for the same milk thing near the top of the page!

Melissa


Mixing is a favorite activity here too. My kids love this one: put some milk
> in a pie pan or other shallow dish. Add a drop or two of food coloring.
> Don't stir!
> My kids like to put a dot of red on one side of the pan, a dot of blue on
> the other,
> etc. Then add a small squeeze of dishsoap like Dawn or Joy. The soap makes
> the colors swirl around in the milk. It's very cool.
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

MrsStranahan

On Sat, Mar 22, 2008 at 7:46 AM, graberamy <graber@...> wrote:
>
> And I was thinking about this after I sent it, we actually DO break
> out into song and dance at our house, it's just not choreographed
> quite as well!!;)

HA! We do too.

Olivia, 8 was on a Hannah Montana kick ... I was really having a
problem with it, even wrote out a post to send the list. I decided to
hold on to the post for a day and see if I still wanted to send it. I
didn't. It was very whiny and all about me. And just as quickly as the
Hannah Montana interested started it ended. She hasn't even turned the
tv on in the last two days and I've asked her a few times if she
wanted to watch it.

During the time when she was watching a lot but after the time I wrote
the post I really watched her watching tv and then I watched her
playing when she wasn't watching tv and she was singing a lot. I'd ask
her a question and she would sing me the answer. She also dances
instead of walking, but she did that before Hannah Montana too.

Sandra Dodd

-=-Oh, shoot--the very next thing after sending that post, I saw
Sandra's link.
Pam gives instructions for the same milk thing near the top of the
page!-=-



No problem! If two people recommend it, it must be cool. <g>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

g-liberatedlearning

We do too sometimes -- "Hairspray" (the 2007 version) and "Across the
Universe" (not quite as danceable) have fed that aspect of our lives
lately.

Chris in IA too!

On Mar 22, 2008, at 9:46 AM, graberamy wrote:

> And I was thinking about this after I sent it, we actually DO break
> out into song and dance at our house, it's just not choreographed
> quite as well!!;)



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

diana jenner

On Sat, Mar 22, 2008 at 7:41 AM, MrsStranahan <mrsstranahan@...>
wrote:

> At first I thought we could do diet coke and mentos eruption in the
> shower, but after watching more videos I think that's a very bad idea.
> I might be able to do it in the park. We don't have a backyard, we
> have a strip of concrete with neighbor's windows very close to it.
> Great for hopscotch but probably very bad for mentos and diet coke
> experiments.
>
>
>


Perfect size for dry ice :) We picked up a chunk from the ice guy (the same
place we'd get ice when *I* was a kid, so cool ::g::) for $10 and keep it in
a sled (it was long, plastic and had 3" sides all around). We'd use a hammer
to get smaller chunks for making smoky liquids (different thickness of
liquids give different kinds of "smoke") and use the bigger chunk for
"dancing coins" and "singing pop cans" (yeah, the coins *jump* when left on
the dry ice and the full, closed soda cans make this amazing high pitched
squeal as they vibrate across the surface). Leather gloves are the best
though our regular winter gloves did fine :)
When we stored in a cooler, when not playing with it, it lasted 4-5 days!!
--
~diana :)
xoxoxoxo
hannahbearski.blogspot.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

riasplace3

--- In [email protected], "Melissa Wiley"
<thebonnyglen@...> wrote:
> My kids love this one: put some milk
> in a pie pan or other shallow dish. Add a drop or two of food
>coloring. Don't stir!
> My kids like to put a dot of red on one side of the pan, a dot of
>blue on the other,
> etc. Then add a small squeeze of dishsoap like Dawn or Joy. The soap
>makes the colors swirl around in the milk.


Does anyone know WHY? We did this today, but couldn't figure out why
it did what it did.

Ria

Pamela Sorooshian

There is also a good book called, "Science Experiments you can Eat."

Making rock candy - an awful long "waiting" time <G>.

Maybe "Kick the Can Ice Cream" would be more fun. <http://www.fathersworld.com/recipes/dadscookin/kickcan.html
>
We've kicked our ice cream cans while going on a hike - at the end of
the hike, we eat the ice cream.

How about a Make Your Own Root Beer kit? I think Hearthsong carries
them <hearthsong.com>

Also - really fun - pour milk onto a plate so it covers most of the
plate. Put drops of food coloring of different colors here and there
on the milk. Then drop drops of dishwashing detergent onto the milk.
Watch what happens and play around with it.
Well - here are more detailed directions (but my vague ones would
work): <http://www.kids.union.edu/swirlingMilk.htm>

Anyway - if you haven't done it already, go sign up for the Krampf
Experiment of the Week email list. It is awesome! And all his past
ones are archived on his website: <http://www.krampf.com/news.html>


-pam

On Mar 22, 2008, at 7:41 AM, MrsStranahan wrote:

> I thought rock candy would be a neat thing for my kids to make but
> Jack didn't get excited about it. He wants to see things happen. I'm
> still going to make the rock candy though, I think it sounds fun. And
> I think once he sees the sugar crystals growing in the jar he will be
> interested, but it's not a fizzing, bubbling thing he can stick his
> hands in.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Jenny C

>
> Making rock candy - an awful long "waiting" time <G>.
>

Hey we're doing that right now. It's been almost a week and still very
liquid! One day though, one day, it will be rock candy and sometimes
it's fun to forget about something and then remember it later.

Pamela Sorooshian

On Mar 22, 2008, at 7:49 AM, MrsStranahan wrote:

> We live in Burbank and there's a science center nearby in downtown
> Los Angeles.
>
> Thanks for suggestion that, my brain was off in a different direction.

My kids like that museum a lot - California Science Center. They have
special exhibits that come and go and some of those have been
highlights of my kids' lives. It also has the lovely advantage of
being FREE!!!

There is also Kidspace - near the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, which isn't
too far for you.

We have a nice hands-on science museum in Orange County, in Santa Ana.
(Discovery Center) which would be worth the trip.

He might be interested in Destination imagination - have a look at
some of the technical challenges kids get involved with there:
<http://californiacreativity.org/node/21>.

-pam









[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Pamela Sorooshian

On Mar 22, 2008, at 5:13 PM, riasplace3 wrote:

> c. Then add a small squeeze of dishsoap like Dawn or Joy. The soap
> >makes the colors swirl around in the milk.
>
> Does anyone know WHY? We did this today, but couldn't figure out why
> it did what it did.

The link I sent has a write-up of the scientific explanation.

What I used to do was read through all the science experiment websites
and books - I didn't call them "experiments" or "science" - but I did
pick out the ones that sounded fun to do. For fun.

I didn't worry about explanations, unless a kid was asking. I figured
that if they had a need to know the name of the phenomenon, whatever
it was, it would be some time in the future, not now. They don't need
to know that it is because of surface tension, but it still gives them
a fun experience with surface tension that will help them "get it" if
they ever do need to know it.


-pam

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

jenbgosh

Ever hear of Improv Everywhere? They set up these "missions" in
public places. Here's a link to Food Court Musical, where
people "spontaniously" burst into song at a local food court. The
patrons have no idea what's going on of course.

The whole site is worth a gander, it looks like so much fun.

http://improveverywhere.com/2008/03/09/food-court-musical/


> > Fame! That movie has the greatest school cafeteria musical
> > extravaganza of all time. (Or maybe not! There are probably
others.
>
> And I was thinking about this after I sent it, we actually DO break
> out into song and dance at our house, it's just not choreographed
> quite as well!!;)
>

graberamy

We loved this!! Thanks for sharing!!

amy g, lydia and graham
iowa

--- In [email protected], "jenbgosh" <pcjen@...> wrote:
>
> Ever hear of Improv Everywhere? They set up these "missions" in
> public places. Here's a link to Food Court Musical, where
> people "spontaniously" burst into song at a local food court. The
> patrons have no idea what's going on of course.
>
> The whole site is worth a gander, it looks like so much fun.
>
> http://improveverywhere.com/2008/03/09/food-court-musical/
>
>