Tired of your kids taking pictures of themselves on your phone? Why not lead them in a delightful science experiment? This week, I will introduce you to a book that has really helped me entertain and teach my children.
But first, let me back up and tell you that I am starting a new series for the Fall called Sweet Surrender. Every week, I will be highlighting a helpful resource for your busy, hectic life, and if you buy it, I get a commission, which I can direct toward finding more resources for us. I hope this series will help us transition from “I don’t want to do this!” to “Oh my gosh, I’m really looking forward to this!” The idea here is to surrender to what your kids really want to do AND is good for them, but may actually be really anxiety-provoking for you. For example, science projects. We know our kids love them. But if you’re anything like me, you just want to curl up like a cat on your favorite spacious, comfy chair with a book and some warm beverage, and you wish your kids would think this is a great activity for them as well. Yes, let’s all do this right now, mom. I so love to read! No, they want to use their hands. They want to get dirty. They want to learn something.
Let me introduce to you Smithsonian Maker Lab!
Hey, I want to do some super cool projects, too! Projects that don’t require me to sell the kids’ clothes in order to afford the materials list. Projects so well explained that I’m not lying in bed at night trying to visualize each step in my head, dreading the next day. Projects that I’m actually looking forward to doing with my children! Projects that actually teach me something, too!
In this amazing book, you will find step-by-step directions to making Sticky Slime, Baked Alaska (ice-cream insulated by merengue on the top and delicious cake on the bottom), a DNA Model, Rubber Band Planets (we are doing this project today and my kids are so excited!), Balloon Rocket Car, Breathing Machine (balloons that actually look like lungs), a Soap-Powered Boat, and, of course, an Erupting Volcano. The book itself is gorgeous, and the best part for me is the scientific explanation following each project. I can easily explain “what is happening here” because here the explanation is! We can read it together!
In case you are still hesitant, may I address a possible fear? Do you think the project won’t work and the kids will be super disappointed? Let me share my epic fail and how it motivated me to epic success. So, one summer, a professor asked me to design the curriculum for a summer camp. Somebody suggested I plan a Rock Candy lesson. I had never made rock candy, but I thought, there’s nothing that Google can’t help me find. I followed the online instructions, conveyed them to the teachers, and. . . nothing happened. I mean, the rock candy didn’t grow to the gigantic size promised to me by my online guide. I personally was really upset. However, this epic fail motivated me to design an around-the-world interdisciplinary curriculum that included art, music, geography, history, and science. The kids loved it! Had the rock candy disaster not happened, I don’t think my kids would have “traveled” to a different country each day and created artifacts matching the culture. Sometimes, our biggest failure motivates our biggest success. So, no fear! Bravely embark on your science adventure, knowing that the Smithsonian created the science plans for you, and that even if, despite all odds, the lesson doesn’t work, you can still spend time with your kids having fun. Frankly, I want to make some slime now, so peace out, and have a blast!
peace and love,
Elena