We conducted our very first homeschool science project this week.
We’ve been reading about the three different states of matter in The Berenstain Bears Big Book of Science and Nature. In case you don’t remember from your elementary science class, they are solid, liquid and gas.
In the book, Mama Bear does an experiment to change ice cubes (solid), to water (liquid) by letting them sit out and melt, and then to steam (gas) by heating it on the stove.
After reading about this quick experiment, the kids and I headed into the kitchen to conduct the same experiment ourselves, which turned out to be not as quick for us. Actually because I got distracted….this project lasted three days.
First, I put some ice cubes into a bowl.
The girls were able to identify that the ice cubes were a solid.
I sat them out on the counter to melt while we ate lunch. They weren’t completely melted after lunch, so we decided to let them sit out during quiet time.
Well, after quiet time I was busy cleaning and forgot all about our bowl of water sitting on the kitchen counter.
And then my neighbor came over to visit and invited us over to her house for a lunch playdate the next day. I chatted with her for a while and her daughter stayed to play during the afternoon while I prepared dinner.
As you may have guessed, after dinner, we got busy with getting ready for bed.
Our bowl of water stayed on the counter all night.
Wednesday was a super busy day for us. We had homeschool time, then our lunch playdate followed by quiet time for all. After quiet time we had afternoon baths, dinner, and then we had to quickly get ready to go to Children’s Choir and AWANA.
The bowl of water sat on my counter untouched all day.
Thursday was a more settled, routine day. When we got to Science in homeschool, the girls immediately asked if we could finish our experiment. I didn’t see why not, especially since that bowl of water was still sitting on the counter waiting on us to turn it into a gas.
All three kids (Will included) began singing, “Yay!! Let’s make GAS!!! Let’s make GAS!!!”
It was hilarious!
And so we took a trip to the living room, a.k.a. our very own Science lab.
I showed the girls the bowl of melted ice and they identified it as water, a liquid.
MC poured it into a small pot for me and I placed it on the stove top.
They all watched in anticipation as the water heated up and steam began floating up from the boiling water.
I pointed out that the steam was a gas and EA explained that she knew it was because it didn’t have a shape. (yay! She actually remembered that from our Science lesson)
And then they all did some celebrating and dancing in the kitchen to celebrate the making of GAS!
I am happy to report that our first homeschool science experiment was a success, although it taking three days to conduct such a simple experiment is my Friday Fail.
Visit My Blessed Life to see more Friday Fails from the week.
Sidnie says
LOL! Love it!
What a fun experiment, and I’m so proud of the girls for catching on and remembering!
.-= Sidnie´s last blog ..Sleepy Heads… =-.
homegrownstrawberries says
That is so cool! I am very glad they loved it so much.
.-= homegrownstrawberries´s last blog ..Mommy Moments: The Heart of my Daughter =-.
Hallee says
How fun!
Rachel says
Sounds like fun! Although I understand…things tend to occasionally be forgotten around here too! 🙂
.-= Rachel´s last blog ..Casserole Mishap =-.
Michelle says
They seemed to have so much fun with that! I can completely relate to that story. We’ve been homeschooling for nine years and there have been plenty of best-laid plans gone awry!
Have a blessed weekend, Monica!
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..The Sword in a Gaping Wound =-.
Homeschooling Resources says
I loved the title of this lol.. sounds like the perfect experiment for boys 🙂 DOing science at home is so much fun! We have been home schooling for a very long time and science experiments are still one of my favorite things to do!!!
Belinda
Kristi_runwatch says
I love the “gas dance!” 🙂 We froze some water ourselves yesterday – must be the thing to do this week!
.-= Kristi_runwatch´s last blog ..Are you ready for a fresh start in your parenting? =-.
myra says
Ha! I love it! The title “Making Gas” totally cracked me up! My hubs would have thought it was the best thing ever, but DON’T tell him I said that! (giggle)
I totally know what you mean! I’m always forgetting things!
Thanks for linking up to Friday Fails! This is so fun!!
.-= myra´s last blog ..Eat From The Pantry Plan – Week 4 =-.