This year, we have been using a new (to us) science curriculum, CKE Earth & Space, and are really liking it so far. I’ve been looking for years to find a science program that would work well to teach multiple ages at the same time and we have finally found it!

The program is laid out so that there is a teaching time and a hands-on time. The kids also have notebooks that correspond with what they are learning. It’s working really well for us. They like the hands-on activities the best.

The most recent lesson was on the structure of the Earth. There were several hands-on activities suggested in the CKE book, including this one for demonstrating the layers of the Earth.

To create this 3D model of the layers of the Earth, you will need 5 colours of modelling clay and waxed dental floss.

Form a ball to represent the inner core. We chose red to represent the intense heat of the inner core.

Next, roll out a circle of another colour and wrap around the ball and roll gently. This next layer represents the outer core.

Each subsequent colour will need more modelling clay than the last. You will need a colour to represent the lower mantle, another for the upper mantle, and the outer layer for the crust.

You will not want to press the layers too firmly together so that the colours don’t mix.

Once your ball of 5 layers of modelling clay is complete, use a piece of waxed dental floss to cut the ball down the middle, revealing all the layers underneath.

The CKE notebook also includes a diagram to go along with this lesson that my kids were able to colour when we completed our 3D model. This way, they could use the same colours as the modelling clay that we used to further reinforce what they had learned.

If you are looking for other hands-on Science activities for learning about the Earth, you may be interested in following my CKE Earth & Space Pinterest board.

Follow Sharla Kostelyk’s board CKE Earth & Space on Pinterest.

Science can be fun and it doesn’t have to be complicated. This simple experiment allowed me to introduce several new science concepts to the kids.

For this experiment, you only need 2 items: a container (we tried using a glass container and a tall plastic cup and we preferred the glass container as it made more noise which contributed to the fun factor!) and a long string of plastic beads or a beaded garland. You can achieve this by using beaded necklaces (I bought mine at the dollar store) and cutting them once to form a single strand and then tying them together to create a long strand.

Put a piece of tape on each end of your beads. I used clear packing tape but I’m sure that any type of tape would be fine.

The experiment is so simple. Place the strand of beads into the container, ensuring that it doesn’t get tangled, hold it up and give the end of the strand a slight tug, causing the strand to begin falling. Before long, instead of falling straight down, you will see the beads begin to arch upwards. It is so cool!

This experiment depicts Newton’s law of inertia (Newton’s first law) which is basically that objects at rest have a tendency to stay at rest while objects in motion have a tendency to stay in motion.

I also used this experiment to talk to my kids about momentum. To give a further demonstration of momentum, I had them begin running and then suddenly told them to stop so that they could see that their body continued to propel forward. They found this to be quite a fun demonstration as well!

This video shows our gravity defying bead experiment. First, Snuggle Puppy is holding the container and then Granola Girl (who has a really funny reaction to watching the beads go higher and higher!). I’ve also put Granola Girl’s in slow motion to better show how it works.

If you are interested in other easy hands-on science activities, you may want to follow my Simple Science board on Pinterest or check out our other simple science for kids ideas.

Science is not my favourite subject to teach. To be honest, it’s hard to even wrap my brain around some of the more advanced concepts so other than nature studies and Science Fair projects, we do very little science in our homeschooling. Last weekend, our girls were invited to a birthday party with a science theme. The birthday girl’s dad is a friend of mine who is a high school Physics teacher and he is PASSIONATE about SCIENCE! I stayed and watched and I have to admit that his enthusiasm was infectious and by the end of the party, I began to believe that maybe science could be fun and that maybe I could be capable of teaching it.

One of the hands-on activities he had the kids do was a lesson in chromatography and it was one that I later repeated with all my kids at home. This easy science demonstration can be done with materials you likely have in your home already.

All that you need for this experiment is filter paper, markers, droppers, and water. It does works best on filter paper but you can also use coffee filters or paper towels. We tried with each of these and they all work well enough to demonstrate the principle, although filter paper did give the most clear results. For the water, we used droppers, a spray bottle and a paintbrush and all of them worked equally well for distribution of water.

Have the kids colour an area on the filter paper and then add a few drops of water to that area. Have them observe what happens to the colour. They will be able to see that not only does the colour spread, it separates into the colours that make up that particular colour. Be sure to have them try using a black marker as it separates into several colours.

Chromatography is the separation of mixtures so this simple experiment is an easy introduction for kids to that concept and also gives further study into colours and shades.

If you are looking for more easy science ideas, you may want to follow my Simple Science board on Pinterest.

This post is sponsored by Anatomy Now and I was compensated for my time, however the experiences and opinions are honest and all my own. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

We do a lot of hands-on learning in our homeschool. I find that the more hands-on the activity is, the better my kids retain the information and the more I am able to hold their attention. We have used 3D models for some of our learning already such as the edible cell we made last year and the human ear model we used when doing a study on the senses, but I plan to use them even more next year when we do a more in-depth study of the human body.

There are 206 bones in the human body, and both you and your kids might be daunted to try learning about them all. Then there are all the muscles, organs, and physiological processes that should be covered in any thorough anatomy lesson plan. Whether your child is an aspiring doctor or is just curious about how the human body works, dynamic anatomy lessons are a valuable part of their science curriculum.

While anatomy lessons can easily turn into exercises in rote memorization, they can be so much more engaging if you make them interactive for your children. One great way to pique your kids’ interest is to give them access to different anatomy models.

No, you don’t necessarily have to bust out a full-sized skeletal model (unless you happen to have one on hand), but you can show your kids anatomy models of just about anything, from regions of the brain to the structures of the eye to anything else that interests them.

Why Use Anatomy Models?

Sure, it might be tempting just to dust off your high school anatomy textbook (because surely you held onto it, right?) instead of tracking down anatomical models. Stick solely with a textbook, though, and you risk your children not getting the most out of their science lessons.

So what exactly are the reasons for using anatomy models in your homeschooling lessons? Here are just a few:

• If your child is a visual or tactile learner, using anatomy models may be a much more effective way to help them understand how the body works than just having them read a textbook.
• Studies have shown that memories are stronger when you engage multiple senses at the time of learning. Allowing your kids to play with anatomy models in addition to hearing about how the human body works will help the lesson stick.
• Kids (and let’s face it, adults too) tend to get bored doing the same types of activities all day. If they’ve spent the morning doing math or reading exercises and you sit them in front of an anatomy textbook in the afternoon, they’re not too likely to be fully receptive. Learning through anatomy models can give both you and your kids the chance to add variety to your curriculum.
• Many anatomy models can be deconstructed so that your kids can look at individual bones or tissues and see how they fit together. Being able to break down different structures can be a valuable tool, especially for younger kids who might have trouble grasping how different parts of the body work together.
• Using anatomy models may spark an interest in science that your kids will continue to pursue for years to come.

How to Use Anatomy Models in Your Lessons

Anatomy models make great supplementary teaching tools. You can buy an anatomy textbook or print off web resources to start with, then show your kids models so that what they’ve been learning about on paper becomes three dimensional.

Anatomy models are also great for quizzes; you can start off by taping labels to different parts of them while your students learn their names, then later take the labels off and see if your kids can identify different anatomical features on their own. You might also consider posting anatomical charts in whatever room you teach your kids, so that they can refer back to the charts while studying the models.

Finding Anatomy Models

Luckily, the advent of the Internet has made it incredibly easy to shop for and purchase anatomy models online. Anatomy Now offers 238 different human anatomy models, so it’s safe to say you can find an anatomy model for just about any lesson. If you want to make the most of your purchase, consider making plans with other homeschooling parents in your area to buy different anatomical models, then switch when you’re done with them. If you have kids of different ages, you can also hold onto these sturdy anatomy models and reuse them in a curriculum several years down the road. And, of course, Anatomy Now offers full refunds if you’re not completely satisfied with one of their products, so you don’t have anything to lose.