Science fun

I’ve written about this before, but just a reminder that we’re developing a series of Growing Readers focused on exciting kids about science and math. This means I’ve been doing a lot more reading and surfing on the topic. Here are some things I’ve found that I thought teachers, parents and kids might enjoy! I apologize in advance for the giggling and snickering you’ll hear when visiting these sites with kids.

The Yuckiest Site on the Internet (opens in a new window), from Discovery Kids, is the place to go if you (or your kids) want to know more about poop, ear wax, dandruff, and more. Using kid-friendly language, readers can learn a lot about body functions and body systems. There are even sound effects!

Activity TV (opens in a new window) is a site designed to help parents and kids work through fun activities together. Every project has a video, printable instructions, and other related information. The science section contains lots of fun experiments that are presented in an easy step-by-step way. The girls and I are going to do the Bouncing Balls (opens in a new window) experiment this week. I’ll let you know how it goes!

The Lawrence Hall of Science offers up science activities to continue learning at home. Measure Your Self (opens in a new window) is a fun way to compare how your ears, feet and height compare to those in the animal kingdom. Simply measure your ear, your foot and your body in centimeters (remember 1 inch = 2.54 centimeters) and enter the numbers. I learned my foot size is just between a grizzly bear and an elephant. And my ears are between a gorilla’s and a grizzly bear! Kids will love those comparisons.

Okay, bulletin boards may not be as fun as ear wax, bouncing balls or measuring your ear with a ruler, but they are important in classrooms. Displaying science on classroom bulletin boards (opens in a new window) describes ways use bulletin boards as one way to support instruction. Ideas include using “sticky notes to draw attention to specific look-fors: Note how Jason organized his data. What can we learn from Maria’s graph?” and encouraging students to use the bulletin board to hold ideas. “During a discussion or activity, use a section of a bulletin board for students to post “I wonder….” questions to be addressed at a later date.”

If you find something you like or use in your classroom, please let me know! And if you want to subscribe to our Growing Readers series, here’s the link.