Here’s a fun quiz for your older students or for the parents. The Pew Research Center and The Smithsonian created this quiz to test the knowledge of the public on science topics.
It includes topics that are both textbook-type questions as well as science questions related to daily living.
I scored a 12 out of 13 and missed the one most people miss.
How do you do?
Science and Technology Knowledge Quiz
NOAA (North Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has a free downloadable Discover Your World Activity Book for children.
It is full of hands-on activities related to science topics such as the earth, weather and climate. These would be especially good for upper elementary and middle school students.
Check it out here: NOAA Discover Your World Activity Book
As one might expect, The Smithsonian has an excellent website. Included in this is their always interesting Around the Mall Blog. From there you can go in dozens of different directions including educational videos, games, and the photo of the day.
Enjoy!
The University of Illinois has a lot of science and weather related activities for kids.
Just for Kids is their base site with links to many different topics. For example…
Tree House Weather Kids has a variety of activities that help children explore various types of weather.
The have all kinds of audio books for smaller children as well that cover topics such as insects, volcanoes, where food comes from, trees, the woods, etc.
Enjoy!
We happened across this a few months ago. We had a DVD of three Zaboomafoo episodes that Caroline received a few years ago with a magazine subscription. It was a bit above her so I put it away for a couple of years. She pulled it out recently and I looked to see if I could order some more from the library.
That was when we discovered Wild Kratts. (Remember. We don’t have cable/dish so even basic things on PBS we often miss.)
To say these have been a huge hit would be a major understatement. She loves watching these. They aren’t my cup of tea, but she has learned so much from them that I kind of put up with them. So I order them from the library and she learns.
By far her favorite is Creature Adventures.
Wild Kratts: Creature Adventures
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PBS also has a website with interactive games and such: Wild Kratts. They also have a Zoboomafoo section.
Caroline explored the BBC Science Clips site for a long time the other morning. Many of these science concepts are ones we haven’t explored yet in a formal fashion so this was a fun way for her to begin to hear the associated vocabulary and see them in action.
The site is broken down into age appropriate sections although naturally curious kids will probably explore all over!
Preschool should be all about hands-on, active fun and imagination. Preschoolers should be free to explore the world around them with absolutely no pressure.
Babble Dabble has a great list of 20 science projects appropriate for preschoolers and even kindergarteners.
Lots of fun ideas to check out!
Marcy from Ben and Me (and fellow mom of a fabulous only!) did a week of education apps. She covered the following topics in her AppSchooling series:
Planning and Organization
History and Geography
Language Arts
Math
Science
Bible
Free ieducation for homeschoolers
Stop by for a wealth of information and ideas!
David and I are weather geeks. We both wanted to be meteorologists when we were younger and I think Caroline got some of the genes. She found a homemade weather monitoring station in a book from the library and was very excited to make it. So I drafted David to do this as a science project with her!
We found it in How Does Your Garden Grow?: Great Gardening For Green-Fingered Kids
Here are a few photos of Caroline’s finished product…
Wind speed indicator made of dowel, table tennis balls and bamboo skewers
Rain gauge (and apparent free advertising for McDonalds Cherry Berry Chillers)
The weather monitoring station as set-up in Caroline’s little garden area. You can see the ribbon hanging there to indicate wind direction. It is super light-weight gauzy ribbon that moves with the slightest breeze. (Those are sugar pie pumpkins growing on the ground.)
Oh, what excitement there was when we finally got a couple of inches of rain a few days ago and she could run out to check her water gauge! Fun stuff!
Here are three more gardening books we’ve been enjoying as well!
101 Kid-Friendly Plants: Fun Plants and Family Garden Projects
Kindergarten and first grade children find pumpkins naturally interesting so it is a great age for a special fall or October pumpkin unit with crafts, fun read alouds and more! There are many simple ways to prepare a fun pumpkin unit for elementary aged children. Here are a few easy activities and books that will create a quick but enjoyable learning experience for everyone.
Predicting Pumpkin Weights Activity
Bring in an assortment of pumpkins of various shapes and sizes. Weigh the pumpkin students think is the “middle-sized” pumpkin. Based on that information, have students predict what the other pumpkins will weigh. The student who makes the best predictions can take one of the pumpkins home!
Torn Paper Pumpkin Arts and Craft Activity
Give each student a small paper plate, orange construction paper and glue. Students tear the paper into ragged edged pieces and then glue them on to the paper plate. When the plate is covered with overlapping orange paper, students can then add a green stem. It is also possible to provide black paper for student to cut out eyes, a nose and a mouth to make their pumpkin a jack-o-lantern. Or use the individual pumpkins for a bulletin board and connect them all with green vines!
Pumpkin Sticker Story
Give each student a sheet of pumpkin stickers. Students write a short story about a pumpkin, using a sticker instead of the word “pumpkin” each time it comes up in the story. Children who aren’t able to write their own story can dictate to an adult.
Picking Apples and Pumpkins Book
Picking Apples and Pumpkins
Apples and Pumpkins Read Aloud Book
Apples and Pumpkins
From Seed to Pumpkin Science Book
From Seed to Pumpkin (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 1)
Fall is a great time to enjoy special units for kindergarten and first grade students. Whether they are special units about apples or fall itself, children will be sure to enjoy the opportunity to do special things. By preparing simple activities, art projects, and read alouds related to pumpkins, teachers can easily spend time celebrating this great part of autumn.
Please also check out my Fall Literacy and Math Activity Pack with pumpkin activities!
This article originally appeared on Suite 101 dot com.
