The water cycle fits into many areas of study. Little people love it as it pertains directly to their lives (even the littlest people know that clouds form and it rains). Start your water cycle lesson with this simple activity! Materials: Ziplock bag sharpie water food coloring Procedure: Use your Sharpie, and draw a simple […]
Author: littlepeoplethinkingbig.com
Alison is a homeschooling parent of four children. She is also a former Science teacher and has a Master of Science in Environmental Science.
Alison believes that children learn best when they are constructing their own knowledge. She developed this website to help other homeschool parents facilitate this type of learning in their own homes.
STEM Lego Car — Action/Reaction
This is a great way for kids to understand Newton’s Third Law, that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, without worksheets and boring read alouds. Try this STEM challenge, as learning through play is a powerful way to acquire knowledge! Materials: Legos (enough to make a car, including 4 wheels) One balloon (standard […]
Weather Vane – Measuring Wind Direction
You have probably seen weather vanes atop barns, houses, or mailboxes and they are used to show wind direction. Those are usually made of welded metal, but homemade weather vanes are fun, easy to make, and really work well, especially on windy days. Materials: paper plate pencil with eraser pin straight straw (or bendy straw […]
Ocean Zones in a Jar
Kids love this visual representation of the ocean layers! You can also reinforce the concept of density with this activity. Materials: Vegetable oil Corn Syrup Dish detergent Water Green and blue food coloring Glass jar (this could also be done in a plastic bottle, glass, vase, or anything else that is clear and can hold […]
Hovercraft Balloon – The Science of Friction
Friction is a force that we are so used to, we barely think about it. This is a fun and simple activity to do with your students. You will reduce the friction force between the CD and the floor, and watch how fast the CD will move! It’s really cool! Materials: Balloon Old CD (that […]
Build a Boat STEM Challenge
These types of STEM challenges are the best. I love giving kids materials, a specific objective, and then setting them off! I like to do these challenges as a lead-in to a topic. For example, learning about buoyancy? Start off with a challenge like this, and then, as you are doing your readings/discussions/lessons, you can […]
Submarines
Submarines sink down into the ocean by taking on water, and float by taking on air. The tricky part to this activity is cutting the holes into the bottles and cap. We used a drill and 1/8″ drill bit. Materials: plastic (disposable) water bottle flexible straw 24 pennies 3 large rubber bands masking tape drill […]
Transpiration Activity
Transpiration is the process by which plants release oxygen into the atmosphere through their leaves. You can see this process with this simple activity that gives incredible results! And the only material needed is a ziplock baggy. Easy peesy. Procedure: Zip a dry baggie around a few leaves of a tree. Wait a few hours… […]
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