Posts tagged ‘science’

Spring is almost here!  Take advantage of the changing weather patterns to study cloud formations, with this week’s Featured Pathway.

Description of Learning Unit:

In this unit, your child will learn about clouds, their names and how they effect the weather. She will make a cloud in a bottle, create fog, and create condensation. Your child will also learn how precipitation from the ocean creates clouds, which in turn produce rain and falls back to earth. In addition, your child will learn how to observe the clouds and make predictions on what type of weather will be occuring in your neighborhood. This unit is designed to last one week, depending on how often you teach science.

List of Objectives:

To be able to understand cloud formation and the specific names of clouds.
To understand the cycle of water, from earth to the clouds and back to earth.
To understand the concepts of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation, as well as their roles in the earth’s atmosphere.
To be able to predict the weather by looking at the clouds.

This week’s feature Pathway is all about the Planets.  Read all about this fantastic unit that includes, audio, video, worksheets and hands-on projects and then find out about this week’s giveaway.

This fun unit introduces your child to the planets in our solar system. Children will be introduced to what the solar system is and the concept that the sun is a part of our solar system. Through a song and by making a model of the solar system, children will learn what planets are in the solar system and the order of the planets. They will also learn about Saturn and discover what the rings are made of. In addition, children will discover that Pluto is a dwarf planet and that there are currently eight planets in our solar aystem. This unit is designed to last one week, depending on how often you teach science.

Doesn’t that sound like a great unit?  It’s loaded with great resources.  Everything you need to complete this unit can be found in your own home and online, but for one lucky reader, we’re going to make it even better!

We’re giveaway one copy of “The Solar System” Book & Mobile kit.

Discover the wonders of the Solar System in this out-of-this world pack, containing a 24-page book, jam-packed with information, plus your very own model of the Solar System to build!

Here’s how to enter:

Visit this week’s featured Pathway.  Come back here to the blog and tell us which Stepping Stone you like the best!

Comments will be open until midnight (EST) Wednesday, January 19th.

One winner will be picked at random and announced next Friday.

Good luck!

Have you been hit by the winter cold yet?  Now is a great time to explore what life is like in Arctic habitats and it just so happens we’ve got a fantastic line-up of resources for you to build your unit study.

This unit teaches children about the arctic habitat. They’ll learn about the climate differences and how animals and plants live within these environments. Learn about polar bears, create an Arctic scene and try an experiment to discover how it might feel to be an animal living in the Arctic. This unit also include printable worksheets, games and videos to complete your study.  This unit is designed to last about one week, depending on how often you teach science.

CurrClick is known for offering high-quality resources for homeschoolers and classroom educators.  In addition to great printable downloads, they also offer live classes.  This week, you can try one for FREE!

The class offering is “Active Science” and it will take place on Wednesday at 1:30 Central time.  Your children can enjoy all of the benefits of a classroom experience and you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home!

Calling All Scientists!

We’d love you to attend a free introductory glimpse of “Active Science”. A semester full of hands-on science…perfect for the short-attention-spanned, including younger audiences and children with various mild-moderate developmental delays*.

“Paced Learning” knows that we all learn differently and at our own paces so we’ve incorporated a wide range of teaching styles–vocabulary, experiments, journaling, collecting, drawing, observing…sure to keep your child involved and stimulated.

Join us for a free introductory class where you’ll meet the teacher, get an overview of the semester’s themes, and participate in a sample experiment!

*(ie: ADD, ADHD, ED, LD, Asperger’s/Autism, etc…)

Because of Azulio’s generous sponsorship, we have another giveaway for you today.

Please read our previous post about Azulio’s fanastically low prices and browse their site.   You’re sure to find the right product to fit your budget.

The prize is Bill Nye The Science Guy DVD “Stuff Happens”

Let s face it, we all have stuff. Whether it s necessary or needless, our random accumulations have environmental and personal consequences. America s favorite Science Guy, Bill Nye, takes a closer look at the ramifications of the products peppering our everyday lives, from the foods we eat to the clothes we wear and even our choice in toothpaste. Nye goes into our bathrooms, attics, basements, garages and backyards to snoop in our stuff and show us the far-reaching effects our actions have on the rest of the planet. With easy-to-follow science, lighthearted demonstrations and expert interviews, Nye helps viewers get a grip on big topics and presents simple solutions to make our everyday lives greener. Find out how your bed harms polar bears and if your backyard grill is affecting gorillas. Yes, all of our stuff is examined – and every piece lives a secret double life.

If science wasn’t fun enough, Bill Nye takes it to a whole new level!

Contest Details:

There are two methods of entry for this contest:

• Take a look at our Science Pathways and leave a comment here on the blog, letting us know your favorite
• Tweet this on Twitter: Enter to win a Bill Nye DVD from @Azulio & @LessonPathways! http://bit.ly/dBspnc

You will be entered once for each method of entry (limit one blog comment and one Tweet per person)

Entry will be open from 8:00am EST today through midnight EST today and the winner will be announced tomorrow morning!

Good Luck!

Spring has finally sprung! Here in the Midwest, the trees are beginning to fill up with leaves and we’ve been enjoying watching the Earth’s awakening from its winter’s nap.  We’ll be starting our garden soon so we can enjoy a summer’s harvest of tomatoes, snap peas, zucchini, peppers and more.

Like many homeschool families, find opportunities to educate throughout our day-to-day activities, so this week’s Featured Pathway about seeds, caught my eye.  We will complete the activities in this Pathway and discuss what we’ve  learned over the days and weeks as we plant our garden and watch the dark patch of soil begin to brim with green seedlings and morph into a delightful source of nourishment and beauty for our family.

This lesson provides information and resources for students to learn about seeds and create a nature notebook.This unit is designed to last about one week, depending on how many days you teach science and how much you do each day.

In this unit, you will:

• Identify common seeds.
• Identify the parts of a seed.
• Identify the parts of a plant and their functions.
• Learn about the different methods of seed dispersal.
• Identify the conditions necessary for seed growth.
• Go on a nature walk and create a nature notebook of seeds found in your area.

How do you incorporate learning into every day activities?

This unit, as well as over 900 other Pathways, is free for everyone. Please help keep LessonPathways.com free by supporting our advertisers. If you need to make a purchase, please consider using our online shopping mall, where a portion of your purchase will help make LessonPathways.com even better.

This post was written by Christina S., a homeschool mother and LessonPathways.com team member.  She lives in Michigan with her husband, two daughters, dog, cat and turtle.

Our family of LessonPathways.com users is a great one! Every day we receive emails with suggestions and feedback for our site and information to share.  Very recently, this site for ordering free butterfly eggs was sent to us, and we’d like to share it with you!

FreeButterflyEggs.com offers free butterfly eggs – you only pay the cost of shipping!

From their site: Why do we offer FREE Painted Lady Butterfly Eggs? Two reasons!
One: To encourage butterfly awareness and butterfly conservation and to encourage establishing butterfly habitats in yards and neighborhoods.
Two: To draw your attention to live butterflies and other butterfly products we offer at Shady Oak Butterfly Farm

These would make an excellent compliment to many of our Pathways featuring butterflies:

Frog & Butterfly Life Cycles

Letter B – Butterflies

Caterpillars (Language Arts)

You can use the search feature on LessonPathways.com to find all kinds of engaging butterfly resources.

Do you have a suggestion or a resource to share?  Drop us a line at Blog@LessonPathways.com

The Jones Family recently used our Year K Science Pathway, “Taking Care of the Earth”, and this is what they had to say:

Recycled Pen Container

“This Pathway was very educational and so much fun!  We used it with our kindergartener AND our 3rd grader and it turned into a full family project.  “

How have you used Lesson Pathways? Have you done any fun projects or want to share how a lesson worked for you?! Tell us about it!!

Many people have discovered the new ‘fun’ in Geocaching, but since we did not own a GPS system, we were left searching for similar activities where we could use maps or compasses.

In my search,  I discovered Letterboxing! It’s actually a tradition that started back in the 1800’s in England. Who knew?!

Letterboxing Adventures

Here’s a brief explanation of Letterboxing:

Letterboxing is an intriguing pastime combining artistic ability with “treasure-hunts” in parks, forests, and cities around the world. Participants seek out hidden letterboxes by cracking codes and following clues. The prize: a miniature piece of art known as a rubber stamp—usually a unique, hand-carved creation.

Letterboxers stamp their discoveries in a personal journal, then use their own rubber stamp, called a signature stamp, by stamping it into the logbook found with the letterbox, perhaps writing a note about the weather or their adventures in finding the letterbox.

My son is still too young to be able to read the directions and go on the hunt himself, but he thoroughly enjoys our adventures each time we go! I pack his little backpack with our water bottles, stamp pad, stamps, pen & journal and then print the directions and we head out on our adventure!

My favorite site for finding boxes is AtlasQuest. The searches are fairly easy and they even have simple symbols to explain a little more about the box. Make sure to pay attention though! One time I found a fun box, but didn’t pay attention to the symbol that told me ahead of time that it would be a 1-3 mile hike Needless to say, my lesson was learned that day! LOL!!

It’s a good idea to bring gloves along with you as well because in many cases, the boxes are hidden beneath brush and dirt. In most cases, the planter of the box tries to be aware of poison ivy or other environmental hazards, but like any time you go hiking in the woods, just be careful! There is a full disclaimer found on the site that explains more.

Let's see what's Inside!

Once you find the box, discretely open it up and discover what’s inside! Many of the stamps are hand-carved and just GORGEOUS! You then stamp the letterbox stamp into your journal, and stamp YOUR stamp inside the letterbox log. It’s that easy and really is FUN!

Check it out! You never know what you will discover while you are out on your adventure!!

This post was written by Gabby, a homeschool mom and LessonPathways team member.  Learn more about by clicking the “Our People” tab above.