Several years ago I wrote a set of Physics based lesson plans for middle school students based on a course I built for my son (at the time he was 10 – he’s now 18 and about to graduate!) – if you’d like to wander down memory lane you can read that post here. Then, three years ago, I updated… Read More
Simple Machines with Fantastic Physics – Lesson Plans & Printable
If you’ve been a long time reader here, you may remember this post from six years ago – Boy Meets Machine. My then-10-year-old was enamored with a course I built around a fantastic book, The Way Things Work by David Macauley. The book naturally connected itself with some interesting hands-on Physics based explorations and some other fun reading that animated… Read More
Toward the Sciences: Considering the Lilies and Setting Their Feet In a Very Large Room
I’m often asked, “How do you DO science in your home? Especially in the early years? What do you use?” I can certainly tell you what we enjoy, and give you some ideas, but it may not be the tidy, wrapped-in-a-bow package you’re looking for. “The child who sees his mother with reverent touch lift an early snowdrop to her… Read More
Elementary Living Science Resource
I’m so thrilled to let you all know about this series of books authored by Mr. Glenn O. Blough and delightfully illustrated by Jeanne Bendick! They are all out of print now, but they were very easy for me to find and purchase used very inexpensively. They may still be in your library system, so do check! I discovered one… Read More
Learning about Ducks…and Discovering Smithsonian’s Backyard
We’ve really been enjoying some wonderful non-fiction science picture books and I thought I’d share them with you! I have long been a big fan of the Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science series of books. They’re engaging and a wonderful way to introduce elementary science concepts. I have collected several of them over the years; I began to wonder if there were any… Read More
Element-al, my dear!
Chemistry (and non-chemistry) fans will love this video! Enjoy an introduction…to Oxygen! Oxygen from Christopher Hendryx on Vimeo.
The Way Things Work – Boy Meets Machine
I wanted to offer what has been an exciting and very fun science course for us this year! When I asked my 4th grade son what he would like to study for science his response was, “ENGINEERING AND BUILDING THINGS!!” I immediately thought of a great book already living on my shelf – The Way Things Work by David Macauley…. Read More
Home as Laboratory
Approximately 10 tadpoles have been lovingly deposited here, in my favorite fountain. They seem to be thriving. Initially I thought – GREAT! – science project! We pulled out our book From Tadpole to Frog and started reading. Then, somewhere near the end, the boom was lowered. “Tadpoles sometimes take as long as 2 years to complete their transformation into a… Read More