Snow Science Experiment

Winters in Tennessee are always interesting. One day it is 68 degrees and two days later it is snowing. We usually do not see much accumulation in my geographic location, however, this year we are sitting on 4 inches in my area (I know, I know...for those of you in many areas of the US, this is not much at all -- but for us, this might as well be a blizzard 🤣) 

I found this simple and fun science experiment to celebrate this beautiful, infrequent occurrence in our area from The Science Kiddo. 

Here is a link to the site and the experiment: 

https://www.sciencekiddo.com/snow-science/

This is the perfect experiment to explore states of matter, how particles expand, chemical reactions, and more!

Following the Child

After our traditional book reading last night, Little Angel was walking up the staircase singing and humming. All of a sudden, she stops, holds up her index finger, and said "What is this finger called?" I told her and she sprinted happily up the stairs to brush her teeth for bed.


All of a sudden, I realized this is an opportunity to "follow the child." She posed interest in the different names of the fingers and I could offer a learning experience for her. I ran upstairs and created a "finger labeling activity." Of course, before I completed the activity, she was asleep. However, I had it on the table for her to "discover" the next morning.


I traced my hand and created labels for the thumb, index, middle, ring, and pinky finger. I also created a control card. We placed the blank hand in the workspace and the labels for the fingers on her dominant side. The control card is to the right of the workspace (we flipped it over so the answers did not show). 


She loved it. It was also amazing, that even though she is still in the early reading stages, she was able to use critical thinking and logic skills to decode which label referred to each word.

Little Angel busy at work doing the
"Finger Labeling Activity"
The control card is located to the right
 (upside down).

Little Angel checking her work
with the control card

Close-up of control card

Here is a link to the finger labeling activity I created... I have it located on my "free download index" (scroll down to the bottom of page) on insightfulbrain.com. Please feel free to download- it's free!

Awesome Science Resource for older children

I love to use the Kids Discovery magazines for science and social studies.

They are very engaging and up to date on the latest discoveries. I do not have to worry about outdated information. The pictures are vivid and the writing is perfect for elementary-age children.

I read the magazines before hand and create questions on note cards for my older children. They read the magazines and then record the answer to the questions in their journals. We also make a point to discuss the information that they have learned and relate it to their daily life. There are even puzzles and activities in the back of the book they enjoy completing for a fun review of the information they learned.