How to Make Learning FUN? Grab Outdoor Science Lab for Kids by Liz Lee Heinecke (FUN Experiment and Giveaway!)

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge,from Quarto Publishing, for review and giveaway, purposes on this blog, and from the author for blog posting (experiment). No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it,  all opinions are my own.

If you read this blog, you know that this is Miss Grace's second week of homeschooling!

So far, fingers crossed, all is going well. One of the reasons for that is that we are able to have hands on art, science and history experiments and lessons, that really ENGAGE Miss Grace, and help her to understand the principals she is learning, in a tactile way.As she is a tactile learner (60%), this is a BIG boon, to reigniting her love for learning!

So when I heard that Liz Lee Heinecke had a new book, that brought science experiments to the back yard, and covered ALL science subjects in out curriculum, I was thrilled! I've already pulled quite a few from her blog, The Kitchen Pantry Scientist, for Miss Grace to do, so I knew her quality of experiments is really great!

This new book really lets you look at take your kitchen pantry and backyard and turn them into the foundation for some really great FUN educational afternoons. Even if you don't home school, these experiments are SUPER for re-enforcing learning. Unfortunately, most teachers just don;t have the TIME anymore to do these in class. By using this book, YOU can become their secondary teacher, and showing them their book learning, in a way they can touch and feel. And as we all know- those are the lessons that tend to STICK with kids!

About the Book:

Review:

With 52 family-friendly at home science experiments, this book really DOES cover the gambit of science: Biology-botany,gardens, animals, invertebrates, Earth Science- atmosphere, solar science, ecology, Chemistry and Physics. They seriously range from uber simple to the "oh my gosh, I can't believe we did that!".  All the ingredients you need are readily available, usually in your pantry or backyard, making for quick set up and prep time! Something busy parents can love. Now some of the experiments take only a few minutes, other may require days and months (like tadpole transformation), to see full results. BUT that is true scientific method at work! Kids need to learn in this modern age of technology, that some things take TIME.

Liz includes safety and helpful tips when necessary, and breaks the experiments down by materials, protocol, science behind the experiment (helpful for parents to read BEFORE the kids do the experiment, in case you didn't know it beforehand!), and a creative enrichment, for what to do AFTER the experiment, t take the learned info to another level. As a parent, who is now a teacher, I LOVE that she has set each up this way, so that there is no guesswork. It's all here and ready to go.The experiments are aimed at the upper elementary to middle school age, and most are ones they can do themselves (with some oversight), allowing them to learn all aspects of conducting a science experiment!  But even older kids can help lead the experiments, and younger ones can observe along, so the experiments can cover all your kids! 

This is an AMAZING book, that is FUN and educational. You could give it as  Christmas gift, along with some of the materials needed, and kids wouldn't even think of it as a boring gift! They'd be thrilled to become a 'mad scientist' and amaze their friends! We HIGHLY recommend it for all families!

And speaking of 'mad scientists'///

With Halloween fast approaching (eek where DID the time GO?), Liz has some simple, inexpensive and fun experiments will have your kids running for their lab coats and crazy hair wigs! As part of this book tour, different blogs will each have a fun experiment for the holiday from Liz. So be SURE to check out the list below and link over (list below) to find out what scientific fun your kids can get into!

For our featured experiment, 

we get to bring gummy worms to “life” with a simple chemical reaction!.

Frankenworms Experiment:

Materials

Gummy worms candy

Scissors or kitchen shears

3 tablespoons (42 g) baking soda

1 cup (235 ml) warm water

Spoon

White vinegar

Fork

(yes, that is REALLY all you need!)

Protocol

·       Step 1: Using scissors or kitchen shears, make super-skinny gummy worms by cutting them into long strips. Cut each worm lengthwise at least four times. The skinnier you make your worms, the better they’ll work. 

Safety Tips and Hints

·       To avoid cuts and frustration, help young kids cut the gummy worms into long strips.

·       Step 2: Mix the baking soda with the warm water. Stir well. 

·       Step 3: Drop your skinny gummy worms into the baking soda solution. 

Let them soak for 15 to 20 minutes. 

While your worms are soaking, fill a clear glass or jar with vinegar.·     

·       Step 4: When the 20 minutes are up, fish the gummy worms out of the baking soda solution with a fork, and drop them into the glass of vinegar to bring them to “life.”

Get ready for the 'ewwwws" and 'wows"!

Creative Enrichment- ask your kids:

1. Why don’t full-size gummy worms work well for this experiment? 

2. What else could you bring to “life” with this chemical reaction?

The Science Behind the Fun 

·       The gummy worms float and move as the vinegar (acetic acid) in the cup reacts with the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) you’ve soaked them in, to form carbon dioxide gas bubbles. The gas bubbles are less dense than the vinegar and will float to the surface, pulling the worms with them. This makes the gummy worms wriggle until the chemical reaction stops.

From Kitchen Science Lab for Kids by Liz Lee Heinecke

© 2014 by Quarry Books, Text © 2014 Liz Lee Heinecke; Photography © 2014 Amber Procaccini Photography



Book Tour!

Book Tour- all of these participants will be offering different experiments and content, like giveaways of the book, so be sure to click into each one for something new to try out with YOUR kids:

Blog	Home Page URL	Date of              Participation
April Noelle	http://www.aprilnoelle.com	17-Oct
Happy Healthy Hip Parenting	http://www.happyhealthyhip.com/blog/	18-Oct
Mom of 2 Dancers	http://www.scrappyd.blogspot.com	19-Oct
Just Joanna	http://justjoanna.com	20-Oct
Familylicious	http://familylicious.com	21-Oct
Say it, "Rah-shay"	http://sayitrahshay.com/	22-Oct
Honey Badger Mom	http://honeybadgermom.com	23-Oct
The Life of a Home Mom	http://homemom3.com	24-Oct
Mom, Are We There Yet?	http://momarewethereyet.net	25-Oct
Bless Their Hearts Mom	THIS POST	26-Oct
Central Minnesota Mom	http://centralmnmom.com	27-Oct
Cassandra M's Place	www.cassandramsplace.com	28-Oct
My Silly Little Gang	http://mysillylittlegang.com	29-Oct
Houseful of Nicholes	http://housefulofnicholes.com	30-Oct
Cook with 5 kids	http://cookwith5kids.blogspot.com	31-Oct

Giveaway:

One lucky BTHM reader, or those who are visiting today (HELLO!), will win their own copy

of this great book!

Entry-Form

About the Author:

Liz Lee Heinecke has loved science since she was old enough to inspect her first butterfly. Liz graduated from Luther College. After working in molecular biology research for ten years and getting her master’s degree (in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison), she left the lab to kick off a new chapter in her life as a stay-at-home mom. Soon she found herself sharing her love of science with her three kids as they grew, journaling their science adventures on her KitchenPantryScientist website.

Her desire to spread her enthusiasm for science to others soon led to a regular segment on her local NBC affiliate, an opportunity to serve as an Earth Ambassador for NASA, and the creation of an iPhone app, with the goal of making it simple for parents to do science with kids of all ages, and for kids to experiment safely on their own.

You can find her at home in Minnesota, wrangling her kids, writing for her website, updating the KidScience app, teaching microbiology to nursing students, singing, playing banjo, painting, running, and doing almost anything else to avoid housework.