Today’s post is brought to you straight from my iPhone photos. Nothing fancy; just today as it happened. Update 8/20/20 I’m adding in some fresh photos.
For some, school is already back in session, however for my boys there are still a few weeks left before getting started. So instead of letting my 5th grader sit around and play video games, we’ve begun some 5th grade preparatory work which includes the typical 5th grade curriculum, but in a more relaxed fashion.
Stupendous Science Experiments
Today for example was primarily a science day because my son loves science. And, after reading Minimalist Homeschooling, I discovered a method that truly works for us. This method includes doing more of what your child loves, yet still incorporating the curriculum necessities.
You may enjoy 3 Easy Ways to Recreate Science Night at Home.
In doing more of what he loves, we began our day with a science experiment called the 1970’s Lava Lamp from the book, Stupendous Science Experiments that was purchased at a Scholastic Book Fair a few years back. The book has “70 Super Cool Experiments You Can Do At Home”.
1970’s Lava Lamp
I love this book because many of the items that you need to conduct your experiments are common items from around the house. For example, the 1970’s Lava Lamp consisted of having seven common items such as glitter, oil, water, and food coloring, just to name a few. In addition to utilizing common household items, the experiments are pretty kid friendly and fairly simple to complete.
Once my son was finished with his lava lamp, he recorded his thoughts in his science notebook. Having him record his thoughts is a great way for him to practice his writing, as well as incorporate new words into his vocabulary.
Science Sight Words
Speaking of building his vocabulary, we then worked on spelling some science sight words such as investigation, weight, research, and calculator. The sight word cards were picked up from Dollar Tree and can easily be used as bulletin board decor. We simply use them as flash cards.
You may enjoy How to Create a Minimalist Homeschool Space on a Budget.
Zombie Heads Slime
After a break for lunch and “free time” which lasted for most of the day, we picked back up with a fun slime experiment from Dollar Tree called Zombie Heads for the fun of it. The Zombie Heads slime was simply a pack of gross looking slime with zombie head confetti mixed in.
He let it sit in his activity tray and pulled out all of the Zombie Heads. If he had been younger, I would have had him count and record the number that he found. This would also be good as a Halloween sensory activity for younger children.
Exercise at Home
Once that was over, we concluded the night with a combination of exercises in the living room together. We did a combination of jumping jacks, sit ups, legs lifts, trunk twists, and yoga stretches for kids.
When we were done, we ended with telling each other three things we were grateful for from today. How satisfying?
Final Thoughts
While today was full of science, tomorrow may look a little different. We will return to our 30 minutes of reading with a written summary, some Math flashcards or Khan Academy, along with some fun art. Everyday is a little different, but it’s so much more relaxing and meaningful.
How’s school at home going for you?
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