Considering that every thing around us, and a number of activities that we perform daily are all part of some stream of science, it is easy to add science experiments to the daily routine of a homeschooling family. Just start talking about the principles behind the activity being undertaken and it automatically goes from being a daily chore to a simple science experiment. Here are some suggestions for science experiments that you can incorporate into your daily homeschool routine.
Watering the Lawn
Mark off a small square with some string on four sticks. This area is part of the lawn, preferably towards one edge, that is not to be watered when the rest of the lawn is. Keep a visual record of how the patch of grass begins to dry up by using a digital camera. Calculate how many days the grass could survive without water before it dried up. Ask why the edge towards the rest of the lawn stayed green longer. Record all observations in a special science experiment notebook.
Cleaning the Kitchen Counter
With young children helping to make their own snacks, there is bound to be a mess on your kitchen counter. Use the bread crumbs, ketchup, peanut butter or jelly on the counter for a clean up experiment. Ask the homeschool students what would be the best cleaner to get the stuff off the kitchen counter. Have them try to clean the surface with a dry towel, then a wet wipe, and even using a cleaning fluid for more stubborn stains. Soon they will be able to deal with each type of mess in a much more organized manner, using the best cleaner to leave the kitchen counter spotless.
Drying the Wash
If you have a dryer, your children may not have seen a clothesline and how the sun can be used to dry the wash. Just rig up a small clothesline and have them wash personal items like hankies and socks to hang up on it. Now let them check how long it took for the sun to dry the clothes. To make it even more interesting one sock can be left hanging inside the house while the other dries in the sun. Have them record the time both took to dry.
