Need some fun science activities to teach virtually or to keep your own kids learning at home? We have you covered! Times are crazy now and we know more than ever how important it is to instill the love of science in our young learners. We certainly appreciate all our scientists now, as they work diligently to help us through this crisis. God bless them!
You can start with any book in the Quirkles and Fuddlebrook Science Series. The creators like to start with the Quirkles Inquisitive Inman and/or Who Stole Herman Tweed in the Fuddlebrook Science Series. This is because both books introduce the concept of what a scientist does and a great way to get kids excited about science!
We suggest a shared reading experience whether that be virtually, a recorded teacher reading, or a one-on-one story time at home. In these times we must be creative! The stories are from five to 15 minutes depending on which book you are reading.
But wait…there’s more! Don’t forget the experiments!
Experiments to Do in Five Minutes or Less
The Mysterious Leaning Can Investigation (Fuddlebrook-A Case of Gravity) This requires an empty 12-ounce soda can (silver bottom), water, and a flat surface. Use the materials to stand the can diagonally. The can must be self-standing. Did you find the center of gravity?
Herman Tweed’s Rain Shower (Fuddlebrook-A Spring Thunderstorm) This requires a plastic clear cup, water, shaving cream, food coloring, and an eye dropper or pipette. Mix water with different drops of food coloring to make a variety of colors. Squirt shaving cream on top of the water. Now use the pipette to drizzle different colored drops of water on top of the shaving cream until it begins to sink to the bottom. A rain cloud has been created!
Gilbert Gas’s Balloon (The Quirkles-Gilbert Gas)-This requires a round nine-inch balloon, small bottle of carbonated soda, teaspoon, and salt. Put a teaspoon of salt into the mouth of the balloon (it does not have to be exact). Place the balloon over the mouth of the soda and let the salt fall into the carbonated drink. The balloon will inflate with carbonated gas and stay inflated for a period of time.
These are just a few of the 156 experiments provided in the Quirkles and Fuddlebrook science books. Also, be sure to check out our Youtube channel to view the many experiments provided there.
After doing the experiments, have children create a science journal to show the results. They can do this through graphing, drawing pictures, or writing a paragraph. Use this opportunity to make learning as fun as possible. Science is a great avenue to do this!
From all of us to you, please be safe and we will get through this together!