Homeschool Sciencescience Activityactivity && Videovideo Seriesseries

HomeschoolHomeschool ScienceScience ActivityActivity && VideoVideo SeriesSeries

Includes detailed project steps, explanations and key concepts, tips & tricks, and access to instructional videos.

SuperchargedSupercharged ScienceScience www.SuperchargedScience.com

A collection of quick and inexpensive science experiments that work you through electricity, introduce you to chemistry, and present project ideas guaranteed to get your kids excited to do science.

Vol. 5 Chemistry Issue 2 Supercharged Science SuperchargedScience.com

IINTRODUCTIONNTRODUCTION Thank You for Do you remember your fact, every chemical is first experience with real potentially harmful if not science? The thrill when handled properly. That is purchasing the something you built yourself why I’ve prepared a special actually worked? Can you set of chemistry experiments recall a teacher that made a that include step-by-step Homeschool difference for you that demonstrations on how to changed your life? properly handle the chemicals, use them in the Science Activity First, let me thank you for experiment, and dispose of caring enough about your them when you’re finished. child to be a homeschool & Video Series. parent. As you know, this is Chemistry is predictable, a huge commitment. While, just as dropping a ball from a you may not always get the height always hits the floor. I hope you will credit you deserve, never Every time you add 1 doubt that it really does teaspoon of baking soda to 1 make a difference. cup of vinegar, you get the find it to be both same reaction. It doesn’t simply stop working one time This book has free videos and explode the next. that go with it to show you helpful and step-by-step how to do each You know what to expect experiment. You can view when you do a chemistry the videos at: experiment, especially if SuperchargedScience.com insightful in you have a teacher to help /savs-chemistry.htm you understand what you are doing. And I’m going to walk sparking young Access code: ESCI you through every step of the way so you know exactly Go to this page now so you what’s coming. minds in the can get a preview of the videos. A Word About Safety… make sure you work with field of science! “Isn’t Chemistry someone experienced when Dangerous?” A lot of folks you’re working with new stuff get nervous around you’re unsure about. Just chemistry. You can’t always use common sense—If it ‘see’ what’s going on (are seems like it could be there toxic gases generated dangerous, ask for help. from that reaction?). Let’s get started! Put on Unfortunately, a lot of people your safety goggles and have made the generalization gloves (yes, those are that chemicals are dangerous REQUIRED) and let’s go! and their effects are bad. In Supercharged Science SuperchargedScience.com 3 TTABLEABLE OFOF CCONTENTSONTENTS Introduction…………….. ………….2 Vitamin C Indicator………………...4 Supercooling Liquids…………...…..6 Fruit Battery………………….….…8 Iodine Clock Reaction…………….10 Laundry Soap Crystals…...…….…12 Teaching Science Right..………….14

“The future belongs to those that believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

~Eleanor Roosevelt 4 Supercharged Science SuperchargedScience.com VVITAMINITAMIN CC IINDICATORNDICATOR Activity Always wear your color, the more the safety goggles vitamin C that’s inside You'd be surprised at the sample. where vitamin C pops up and gloves. in your kitchen - I know I 8. Put a sample of milk in was! Experiment a disposable container. Add a drop or two of I found it in my broccoli, To start with, watch the the indicator. Did it butternut squash, sweet video for this experiment: change color? If the potatoes, Swiss chard, milk turned blue (the spinach, carrots, kale, SuperchargedScience.com color of the indicator), peas, leeks, tomatoes, /savs-chemistry.htm that means that there is guava, watermelon, no vitamin C in your grapefruit, pecans, Access code: ESCI milk. raspberries, bell peppers, onion, papaya, pineapple, 1. Place two cups of 9. For solids like spinach, and pistachios! water into your add water to the saucepan. spinach and whirl in a Let's find out how much of blender. Strain out the this vitamin is already in 2. Add 1 tablespoon of solids and test the your home - are you starch to the water. liquid itself. ready?

3. Bring it to a boil on the 10.You can also start with Materials stove. the indicator in a cup  cornstarch and add drops of the  distilled or filtered 4. Remove from heat and juice samples until you water allow to cool to room get a color change. The  old saucepan (just for temperature before more drops it takes to chemistry) or chemistry doing the next step. change color, the less glassware vitamin C your sample has.  disposable stirring stick 5. Add 10 drops of iodine or spoon to the solution.  disposable cups  iodine 6. Your indicator is ready What’s Going On?  stove with adult help to go!  foods to test (you'll be Vitamin C is essential for humans and some animals throwing them away when 7. Put a sample of orange (mostly primates), you are done - don't eat juice in a disposable protecting the body from them!) cup. Add a couple of oxidative stress (involved drops of indicator to the in many diseases) and juice. The lighter the Supercharged Science SuperchargedScience.com 5 helping heal wounds. Questions to Ask What is stuff made of? When humans don't get enough vitamin C, they 1. Which has more vitamin If you had a really high-powered get sick with scurvy C: fresh orange juice or microscope and you looked really close (bleeding from all mucus store-bought orange at an apple to figure out what it was membranes, brown spots juice? made out of, you’d see tiny, fuzzy little on the skin...), which is dots that have forces pulling on them. actually how scientists 2. Do dark green leafy Those forces are what keep the apple in discovered vitamin C in its shape so it doesn’t fly apart. The vegetables like kale forces also connects the little dots the first place. and spinach have together to make molecules. more or less vitamin Plants and most animals C than orange juice? The fuzzy little dots are called atoms. actually make their own Have you ever heard of oxygen or vitamin C by converting 3. Which fruits that you hydrogen? Those are atoms! glucose (sugar). love to eat have the The definition of an atom is: the Latest research (2008) most vitamin C? smallest part of stable matter. There are discovered that the red things smaller than an atom, but they are blood cells in humans and 4. Does the vitamin C unstable. primates more efficiently level change use vitamin C already in Atoms are very stable and can be around depending on how old for long, long, long periods of time. the body by recycling DHA. the food is? Atoms rarely hang out on their own The neat part about this though. They really are friendly and love discovery is that only 5. Which has more to hang out together in groups. humans and some vitamin C: cooked primates have this ability - spinach or raw? These groups of atoms are called plants and most other molecules. A molecule can be made of animals do not. anywhere from two atoms to millions of

atoms. Together these atoms make absolutely everything.

So if hydrogen and oxygen are two kinds of atoms, then a molecule is when hydrogen and water atoms combine to make water. Water is the molecule.

All matter is made of atoms. Shoes, air, watermelons, milk, wombats, you, everything is made of atoms. Hundreds, and billions, and zillions of atoms make up everything.

When you fly your kite, it’s the air atoms (nitrogen and oxygen mostly) moving against the kite that keep it up. When you float in a boat, it’s water atoms (hydrogen and oxygen) under your boat holding it up. 6 Supercharged Science SuperchargedScience.com SSUPERCOOLINGUPERCOOLING LLIQUIDSIQUIDS Activity Experiment #1: What’s Going On? Instant Ice In nature, you'll find Did you know that supercooled water drops in supercooled liquids need To start with, watch the freezing rain and also to heat up in order to first video for this inside cumulus clouds. freeze into a solid? experiment at: Pilots that fly through Supercooling a liquid is a these clouds need to pay really neat way of keeping SuperchargedScience.com careful attention, as ice the liquid a liquid below /savs-chemistry.htm can instantly form on the the freezing temperature. instrument ports causing Access code: ESCI the instruments to fail. Normally, when you decrease the temperature 1. Fill a glass halfway with More dangerous is when it o of water below 32 F, it water. forms on the wings, turns into ice. But if you 2. Fill a bowl with ice. changing the shape of the do it gently and slowly wing and causing the wing enough, it will stay a 3. Put the glass of water to stop producing lift. Most liquid, albeit a really cold inside the bowl, making planes have de-icing one! sure that the level of capabilities, but the pilot We’re going to do two ice is higher than the still needs to turn it on. experiments so you can water. really get the hang of this 4. Sprinkle salt around on We supercooled the water, idea. Are you ready? the ice (no ice in the and then triggered the glass of water!) crystallization (freezing) Materials process by adding in the 5. Let sit for 15 minutes.  water ice. While we're only going  glass 6. After 15 minutes, to supercool it a couple of  bowl CAREFULLY remove the degrees, scientists can  ice glass of water (don’t actually supercool liquid  salt disturb it) from the ice water to below -43oF!  two reusable hand and set gently on the warmers (the kind with table. Don't mix up the idea of sodium acetate inside supercooling with "freezing 7. Add a piece of ice  disposable aluminum point depression." (without salt—get a pie plate Supercooling is when you fresh piece from the  safety goggles keep the solution a liquid freezer) to the cup—  disposable rubber below the freezing just drop it in. gloves (you don’t want temperature (where it to touch sodium acetate 8. You’ll see the crystals normally turns into a solid) with your hands) instantly form! without adding anything to the solution. "Freezing Supercharged Science SuperchargedScience.com 7 point depression" is when in the pie tin. You’ll find back into a liquid and do this you lay salt on the roads it instantly forms into a experiment over and over to melt the snow - you are solid. again! lowering the freezing point by adding something, so 6. Continue to grow the The crystals melt at 136oF the solution has a lower stalagmite using the (58oC), so you can wrap the freezing point than the rest of the liquid! used warmer in boiling water pure solvent. (wrap it in a towel first so you What’s Going On? don't melt the bag) for about Experiment #2: To supercool a liquid, you 10 minutes to liquefy the Hot Ice Sculptures slowly and carefully bring crystals. For crystals outside down the temperature to the bag (like your icicle), After you’ve finished below the normal freezing place the icicle in the foil pan #1, it’s time to watch point and it’s still a liquid. over a heat source to gently the second video (right We did this in our previous melt it into a liquid state. below the first one). Instant Ice experiment. You have seen sodium acetate 1. Always wear gloves and before - when you combine goggles when handling Since the temperature is baking soda and vinegar in a sodium acetate! now below the freezing cup, the white stuff at the point, if you disturb the bottom of the cup left over 2. Flex the disc in one of solution, it will need to from the reaction is sodium the hand warmers to heat up in order to go acetate. (No white stuff? Then trigger the back up to the freezing it's suspended in solution with crystallization process. point and to turn into a the water. If you heat the Did you notice how HOT solid. solution and boil off all the the warmer gets when water, you'll find white it goes from a liquid to When this happens, the crystals in the bottom of your a solid? solution gives off heat as it pan.) The bubbles released freezes. So instead of cold from the baking soda-vinegar 3. After the warmer has ice, you have hot ice. reaction are carbon dioxide. cooled down, cut open Weird, isn't it? the solid pack and remove a small crystal Sodium acetate is a and place it on your colorless salt used disposable pie plate. making rubber, dying clothing, and 4. Open the second neutralizing sulfuric warmer (this one is still acid (the acid found in in its liquid state) by car batteries) spills. snipping a corner with It's also commonly scissors. available in heating packs, since the liquid 5. Slowly trickle a steady -solid process is stream of the liquid completely reversible - directly onto the crystal you can melt the solid 8 Supercharged Science SuperchargedScience.com

These copper ions interact with the zinc electrode FFRUITRUIT BBATTERYATTERY (negative electrode, or anode) to form zinc ions. 1. Roll and squish the Activity lemon around in your The difference in electrical This experiment shows hand so you break up charge (potential) on how a battery works using the membranes inside, these two strips causes a electrochemistry. without breaking the voltage. skin. If you’re using The electrons inside the non-membrane foods, The basic idea of copper are going to react such as an apple or electrochemistry is that with the acid in the lemon potato, you are all charged atoms (ions) can juice to make a flow of ready to go (you don’t be electrically directed current you can detect have to squish it). from one place to the with a digital multimeter. other. If we have a glass 2. Insert the copper and of water and dump in a Materials zinc strips into the handful of salt, the NaCl lemon, making sure (salt) molecule dissociates  one zinc strip or they do not contact into the ions Na+ and Cl-. galvanized nail each other inside. Put  one copper strip or them about an inch When we plunk in one shiny penny apart. positive electrode and one  two alligator wires negative electrode and  digital multimeter or 3. Clip one test wire from crank up the power, we LED (1.7V or less) the digital multimeter find that opposites attract:  one fresh large lemon, to each metal strip Na+ zooms over to the orange, grapefruit, using alligator wires. negative electrode and Cl- potato, or apple zips over to the positive. 4. Read and record your The ions are attracted results. (directed) to the opposite Always wear your electrode and there is safety goggles 5. What happens when current in the solution. and gloves. you gently squeeze the lemon? Does the Electrochemistry studies voltage vary over time? chemical reactions that generate a voltage and Experiment vice versa (when a voltage What’s Going On? drives a chemical To start with, watch the The copper electrons are reaction), called oxidation video for this experiment: chemically reacting with and reduction (redox) the lemon juice, which is a reactions. When electrons SuperchargedScience.com weak acid, to form copper are transferred between /savs-chemistry.htm ions (cathode, or positive molecules, it’s a redox electrode) and bubbles of process. Access code: ESCI hydrogen. Supercharged Science SuperchargedScience.com 9

Fruit batteries use containing acid or other What is electrolytes (solution electrolytes. containing free ions, like Electrochemistry? salt water or lemon juice) 2. You can use a to generate a voltage. galvanized nail and a If you guessed that this has to shiny copper penny do with electricity and Think of electrolytes as a (preferably minted chemistry, you’re right! But you material that dissolves in before 1982) for might wonder how they work water to make a solution alternate electrodes, together. that conducts electricity. although they don’t have as much surface Back in 1800, William Nicholson Fruit batteries also need area as the strips and and Johann Ritter were the first electrodes made of will give a smaller ones to split water into conductive material, like voltage. hydrogen and oxygen using metal. Metals are electrolysis. conductors not because 3. If you want to light a electricity passes through light bulb, try using a They added energy in the form them, but because they low-voltage LED ( 1.7V of an electric current into a cup contain electrons that can or lower) in place of the of water and captured the move. multimeter. You can bubbles forming into two also power a digital separate cups, one for Think of the metal wire display if you have one hydrogen and other for oxygen. like a hose full of water. you can rip out of an The water can move old clock. Soon afterward, Ritter went on through the hose. An to figure out electroplating, which is depositing one metal insulator would be like a 4. You can connect several onto another using electricity. hose full of cement - no lemons together by charge can move through connecting the copper it. strip of lemon #1 to You need two different the zinc metals in this experiment strip of that are close, but not lemon #2, touching inside the and the solution. If the two metals copper strip are the same, the of #2 to the chemical reaction doesn't zinc of #3, start and no ions flow and etc. For no voltage is generated - comparison, nothing happens. you’ll need about 557 lemons to Going Further light a 1. You can try potatoes, standard apples, or any other flashlight fruit or vegetable bulb. 10 Supercharged Science SuperchargedScience.com IIODINEODINE CCLOCKLOCK RREACTIONEACTION Experiment the chances of Activity cross- First discovered in 1886 by To start with, watch the contamination. Hans Heinrich Landolt, the video for this experiment: iodine clock reaction is one 4. Measure out 1 cup of the best classical SuperchargedScience.com of distilled water chemical kinetics /savs-chemistry.htm and pour it into experiments. Here’s what your first cup. Add to expect: Two clear Access code: ESCI ½ teaspoon sodium thiosulfate and solutions are mixed. At 1. Put on your safety stir until all the crystals first there is no visible goggles and gloves. You are dissolved. Touch reaction, but after a short do not want to come in the cup (with your time, the liquid suddenly contact with sodium glove) to feel the turns dark blue. thiosulfate or potassium temperature iodide. change. Is it hotter or colder? Materials 2. This is a very sensitive experiment. If you’re Find the chemicals at 5. Measure out 1 cup of using glassware, rinse HomeTrainingTools.com distilled water into a everything out very new container. Drop in thoroughly with water  two test tubes the starch packing three times, to ensure  packing peanut peanut and stir it that nothing is  sodium thiosulfate around until it contaminated before  potassium iodide dissolves. Packing the experiment so you  disposable droppers peanuts can be made of can get a clean start. If  hydrogen peroxide cornstarch (as yours is, you’re using disposable  distilled white vinegar which is why it “melts” cups, you’re all set.  distilled water in water) or polystyrene  four disposable cups (which melts in 3. You can use droppers  popsicle sticks acetone, not water). or measuring spoons  clock or stopwatch (dedicated just to  measuring spoons 6. Into a third cup, chemistry, not used for  measuring cups measure out 1 cup of cooking) to measure  goggles and gloves hydrogen peroxide. your chemicals. For

droppers, make sure 7. Into the fourth cup, Always wear your you’re using one measure out 1 cup of safety goggles dropper per chemical, distilled white vinegar. and leave the dropper and gloves. in the chemical when 8. Fill your test tube with not in use to decrease three parts starch Supercharged Science SuperchargedScience.com 11

(packing What’s Going On? In the first (slow) reaction, peanut) There are actually two the triiodide ion is produced: solution. reactions going on at the - + same time. When you H2O2 + 3 I + 2 H —> 9. Add two combined the two - parts solutions, the hydrogen I3 + 2 H2O distilled peroxide (H O ) combines 2 2 In the second (fast) reaction, vinegar and with the iodide ions (I) to two parts triiodide is reconverted to create triiodide (I3) and potassium iodide by the thiosulfate: water (H2O). I - + 2 S O 2- —> 3 I- + S O 2- The sodium thiosulfate 3 2 3 4 6 2 (S2O3 ) grabs the triiodide iodide. (Make sure you to form iodine, which is After some time the solution don’t cross-contaminate clear. But the sodium always changes color to a very your chemicals — use thiosulfate eventually runs dark blue, almost black (the clean measuring out, allowing the triiodide solution changes color due to equipment each to accumulate (indicated the triiodide-starch complex). time.) Your solution by the solution changing should be clear. color). Usually, this reaction uses a 10. In another test tube, solution of hydrogen peroxide The time you measure is with sulfuric acid, but you can measure out three actually the time it takes parts starch solution. substitute a weaker (and to produce slightly more safer) acid that works just as iodide ions than the 11. Add two parts well: acetic acid (distilled sodium thiosulfate can white vinegar). hydrogen peroxide and wipe out. two parts sodium thiosulfate solution. If The second solution contains the solution in the test By accelerating the first potassium iodide, sodium tube is clear, you’re reaction, you can shorten thiosulfate (crystals), and ready to move on to the time it takes the starch (we’re using a starch the next step. solution to change color. packing peanut, but you can also use plain old cornstarch).

12.Your next step is to pour one solution into There are a few ways to When you combine one with the other and cap it, do this: You can decrease the other to get the overall rocking it gently to mix the pH (increasing H+ reaction, but remember that the solution. While concentration), or increase there are two reactions going you’re doing this, have the iodide or hydrogen on at the same time. someone clock the time peroxide. To lengthen the from when the two time delay, add more The next experiment to try solutions touch to when sodium thiosulfate. after this one is the oscillating you see a major clock experiment, in which the change. solution repeatedly changes back and forth, all by itself. 12 Supercharged Science SuperchargedScience.com BBORAXORAX CCRYSTALSRYSTALS Activity Experiment Can we really make To start with, watch the crystals out of soap? You video for this experiment bet! These crystals grow at: really fast, provided your solution is properly SuperchargedScience.com saturated. In only 12 /savs-chemistry.htm hours, you should have sizable crystals sprouting Access code: ESCI up. 1. Cut a length of string and tie it to your pipe You can do this bottom, you’re cleaner shape; tie the experiment with either ready. You have made other end around a skewers, string, or pipe a supersaturated pencil or wooden cleaners. The advantage solution. Make sure skewer. You want the of using pipe cleaners is your solution is shape suspended in the that you can twist the pipe saturated, or your jar, not touching the cleaners together into crystals will not grow. bottom or sides. interesting shapes, such as 5. Wait until your solution a snowflake or other 2. Bring enough water to has cooled to about design. (Make sure the fill the jar (at least 2 130oF . It’s hot to the shape fits inside your jar. ) cups) to a boil on the touch, but not so hot stove (food coloring is that you yank your fun, but entirely hand away. Materials optional). 6. Pour the solution (just 3. Add 1 cup of borax (aka  pipe cleaners (or string the liquid, not the solid sodium tetraborate or or skewer) bits) into the jar with sodium borate) to the  cleaned out pickle, jam, the shape. Put the jar solution, stirring to or mayo jar in a place where the dissolve.  water crystals can grow  borax (AKA sodium undisturbed overnight, 4. If there are no bits tetraborate) or even for a few settling to the bottom,  adult help, stove, pan, days. Warmer locations add another spoonful and stirring spoon (such as upstairs or on and stir until you top shelves) are best. cannot dissolve any Always wear your more borax into the

safety goggles solution. When you see bits of borax at the and gloves. Supercharged Science SuperchargedScience.com 13

DO NOT EAT!!! Keep observe that happened What IS Science? these crystals out of reach and to try again when they of small kids, as they look feel frustrated or want to Science is more than a a lot like the Rock Candy give up. Most folks jump classroom… it’s actually pretty Crystals, but remember, ship at this point, but difficult to define. Science is they are made out of that’s what separates the not about what we know, but laundry soap! real scientists from those rather about how we face who just dabble and never what we don’t know. get anywhere. What’s Going On? It’s not a textbook of The magic behind this Science takes time and principles, set of rules, or experiment is the way we patience to cultivate, and collection of factoids. It’s a mix up the solution as well you want your kids to process, a thing you do. as providing a place for learn the joy of succeeding the crystals to grow. when they push through. Science is what happens when Scientists learn the most you ask questions, get back If you add something for when they make mistakes, answers, and try to figure out the crystals to cling to, like and your kids will too. a rock or a stick, crystals and make sense of it all. There are many different ways can grow. If you “seed” Don’t be afraid to let them to do this, the Scientific the object (coat it with the experience emotions like Method is only one of the stuff you formed the frustration or overwhelm, ways of sorting and sifting solution with, such as salt so they know how to deal through the information as or sugar), they will start with it when it arises in you go along. forming faster. real life. The real secret is not to take it personally, Believe it or not, there’s a If you have too much and know that science straightforward method to borax mixed in, your doesn’t always work the doing science. You can’t just solution will crystallize all first time… or second, or sit around and argue about at the same time and third. you’ll get a huge rock that how things work, but you actually have to do you can’t pull out of the Remind them to keep their experiments and be able to jar. If you have too little eye on the goal and to try measure your results. borax, then you’ll have to again. Your kids will be wait forever for crystals to truly rewarded when they And other people have to be grow. feel the excitement and able to get those same results victory after working on a on their own, too! Finding the right amount hard project and seeing takes time and patience, their results (in this case, Learn more about how to do which makes this a perfect a beautiful crystal). experiment to help your real science with the e- Science Online Program: young scientists learn Some scientists actually www.SuperchargedScience.com about diligence and look forward to (and perseverance. expect) their experiments not to work, so they can Encourage them to learn something new! 14 Supercharged Science SuperchargedScience.com TTEACHINGEACHING SSCIENCECIENCE RRIGHTIGHT Hopefully these activities and will have many more Most science books and have given you a small choices once they get out programs just focus on the taste of how science can into the real world. third step and may throw be totally cool AND in some experiments as an educational. Learning science isn’t afterthought. This just just a matter of isn’t how kids learn. But teaching memorizing facts and homeschool science theories. On the There is a better way. isn’t always easy. contrary, it’s developing a When you provide your deep curiosity about the kids with these three keys

world around us, AND (in order), you can give You see, there’s a lot more having a set of tools that your kids the kind of to it than most traditional lets kids explore that science education that not science books and curiosity to answer their only excites them, but that programs accomplish. If questions. they remember for many your kid doesn’t remember years to come. the science they learned Teaching science in this last year, you have a kind of way isn't just a Don’t let this happen to problem. matter of putting together you... you buy science

a textbook with a few books that were never What do kids really science experiments and really used and now your need to know when kits. kids are filling out college it comes to science? applications and realizing Science education is a they’re missing a piece of Kids who have a solid three-step process (and their education—a REALLY science and technology I mean teaching science in big piece. Now that's a background are better a way that your kids will setback. equipped to go to college, really understand and remember). Here are the So what do you do? steps: First, don’t worry. It’s not something that takes 1. Get kids genuinely years and years to do. It interested and excited just takes commitment. about a topic. 2. Give them hands-on What if you don’t have activities and time? What I’m about to experiments to make describe can take a bit of the topic meaningful. time as a parent, but it doesn’t have to. There is 3. Teach the supporting a way to shortcut the academics and theory. process and get the same Supercharged Science SuperchargedScience.com 15 results! But I’ll tell you carries affects the We start with aerodynamics. more about that later. aerodynamics of it, and so He learns about lift and drag, much more. makes his own balsa-wood gliders and experiments by Putting It I’ll use pilot training videos changing different parts. He to help us figure this out calculates how big the wings Into Action (short of a live demo, need to be to carry more video is incredibly powerful weight and then tries his Step one: Get kids for learning). model with bigger wings. (By genuinely interested and the way, I got a video on excited about a topic. My son is incredibly model planes so I could excited at this point about understand this well enough Start by deciding what anything that has to do to work with him on it). topic you want your kids with airplanes and flying. to learn. Then, you’re He’s sure he wants to be a Then we move on to the going to get them really pilot someday and is geometry used in navigation. interested in it. already wanting flying Instead of drawing angles on

lessons (he’s only 10 a blank sheet of paper, our For example, suppose I now). workspace is made of airplane want my 10-year old son maps. to learn about Step three: Teach the aerodynamics. I’ll arrange We’re actually planning part of for him to go up in a small supporting academics and the next flight my son and my plane with a friend who is theory. pilot buddy will take. Suddenly a pilot. This is the kind of Now it’s time to introduce angles are a lot more experience that will really academics. Honestly, I interesting. In fact, it turns excite him. have my pick of so many out that we need a bit of topics, because flying trigonometry to figure out includes so many different Step two: Give them some things. fields. I mean he’s using hands-on activities and angles and math in flight experiments to make the Of course, a 10-year old planning, mechanics and topic meaningful. can’t do trigonometry, energy in how the engine right? Wrong! He has no idea works, electricity in all the that it’s usually for high school This is where I take that equipment on board the and learns about cosines and excitement and let him plane, and of course, tangents. explore it. I have him ask aerodynamics in keeping my friend for other the plane in the air (to Throughout this, I’m giving chances to go flying. I’ll name just a few). him chances to get together also have my friend show with my pilot friend, share him how he plans for a I’m going to use this as what he’s learned, and even flight. My son will learn the foundation to teach use it on real flights. How about navigation, figuring the academic side of all cool is that to a kid?! out how much fuel is the topics that are needed for the flight, how appropriate. the weight the plane 16 Supercharged Science SuperchargedScience.com

You get the idea. The After this, consider how you key is to focus on building can implement the three key interest and excitement steps we just talked about. first, then the academics Either go through the steps are easy to get a kid to yourself, or use a program learn. that does this for you.

Try starting with the If you want to learn more academics and...well, program or curriculum about how to teach science we’ve all had the (live videos, not cartoons). this way, we regularly give experience of trying to get free online tele-seminars for kids do something they This will provide them with parents. To learn more about don’t really want to do. both the hands-on them, visit: experiments and the The Shortcut academic background they SuperchargedScience.com/ need. If you use a freeteleclass.htm Okay, so this might sound program that is self- like it’s time-intensive. If guided (that is, it guides My hope is that you have you’re thinking “I just your kinds through it step- some new tools in your don’t have the time to do by-step), you don’t need homeschool parent toolbox to this!” or maybe “I just to be involved unless you give your kids the best start don’t understand science want to be. you can in life. well enough myself to

teach it to my kid.” If this I’m partial to the Again, I want to thank you for is you, you’re not alone. “e-Science” program from taking the kind of interest in

SuperchargedScience.com your child that it takes to The good news is, you (after all, I’m in it), but homeschool. I know it’s like a don’t have to. The honestly, as long as a wild roller coaster ride some shortcut is to find program uses these days, but I also know it’s someone who already components and matches worth it. Have no doubt that specializes in the area you your educational goals, it that the caring and attention want your kids to learn should be fine. you give to your child’s about and expose them to education today will pay off the excitement that Your next Step should be many fold in the future. persons gets from the to take a look at how field. you’re teaching science My best wishes to you and

now and simply ask “Is my your family. Then, instead of you being kid getting the results I the one to take them want from his or her Warmly, through the hands-on part science education?” and the academics, use a

solid video-based Aurora homeschool science www.SuperchargedScience.com SSUPERCHARGEDUPERCHARGED SSCIENCECIENCE Focusing on wonder, discovery, and exploration.

Since 1999, our team has sparked the minds of thousands of K-12 students in physics, chemistry, and engineering. Supercharged Science offers exciting hands-on science workshops, science kits, online science programs and com- plete learning programs for families everywhere.

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