More Science – Thirsty Plants

There are many activities you can conduct with children to emphasis science in your classroom.  Here is one of my favorites in which results are seen pretty quickly.

Supplies:

Celery

Glass of Water

Food Coloring

Have your children mix some food coloring in a glass of water.  (I suggest doing this with several glasses and colors.) Place a celery stalk in the water.  Watch what happens for a few days.  Does the celery stalk change over time?  You can have the children make predictions of what they think will happen before the experiment and later they can tell what actually happened.   This is also a great way to teach children how plants grow by drinking water.  It provides a great opportunity for conversations on the importance of children drinking water and staying hydrated during these hot summer days too.  

 

Science Activities – Grass Seed Starters

The quickest and easiest sees to grow are grass or alfalfa.  They tend to grow almost anywhere as long as they are watered regularly and receive sunlight.  Here are some ideas for unusual planters.

Potato

Slice the top and bottom from a baking potato.  Scoop out the top, fill with moistened cotton balls, and sprinkle seeds.

Paper Cup

Fill a paper cup with potting soil and decorate it to resemble a face.  Sprinkle the soil with seeds and moisten it with water.  You children will enjoy watching the planter sprout hair.

Sponge

Soak a sponge in water, then sprinkle on seeds.  Moisten the sponge when dry, and soon it will be teeming with life.  Variation:  Try making sponge planters in different shapes.  Cooking cutters make excellent stencils for cutting sponges.

For more creative ideas visit the following websites:

http://sciencenetlinks.com/lessons/look-at-those-seeds-grow/

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/seedgermination.html

 

Bubble Experimentation

Bubble blowing naturally gives rise to scientific investigations.  Children will notice that not all bubbles look the same or even behave in the same way.  Let you children experiment with bubbles for several days.  They may discover answers to some of the following questions:

What happens if they blow softly?

What happens if they blow hard?

What color are bubbles?

Are all bubbles the same shape?

Are all bubbles the same size?

If you touch a bubble, what happens?

How long do bubbles last?

These activities can lead to many discussions and create lots of fun at the same time.  See future blogs for recipes to make your own bubbles and ideas of bubble blowers you can simply make.