handson

EASY Hands-on Earth Science: Fun Water Testing Kit

September 20, 2017 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

For years we’ve used a water filtration system in our home because we recognize the value of the human body’s makeup of water and need for safe water. So, when I heard about Test Assured and got a chance to use their home water testing kit, I jumped at the chance of connecting science to real life.

I was given this product free from Water Testing Kit and I was compensated for my time. However, paid for my time does not mean paid off. ALL opinions are my own and for sure I will always tell you what is on my mind. When I do accept a product it’s because I’m giddy to tell you about it. Read my full disclosure here. Now on to the fun stuff!

Also, living here in Texas, the Gulf Coast has been affected by Hurricane Harvey. So safe water has been on our minds more now than ever.

I think your kids will love this water testing kit because it’s not only easy and fun, but it’s relevant today with all the rain and flood we’ve had here.

Easy Hands on Earth Science Using a Water Testing Kit. Can't get any more easier than this. Click here to grab this kit.

SCIENCE FAIR WATER TESTING KIT

Look at all the supplies you get in the kit.

4-pack tests. Each packet includes a vial, test chart, iron reageant tablet, and 3 test strips to measure:
►Chlorine/Copper/Nitrate/Nitrite
►Iron
►Alkalinity/pH/Hardness
Guidebook
TDS Meter

You’ll want to find 4 different water sources. We used the ditch in the back of our house, the creek from the local park on our walk, bottled water, and tap water.

Because Tiny has gone with my husband to show the demonstrations of water ionizers to family and friends that needed safe water to drink, he was familiar with the effects of using a filtration system.

This was different though because he got to test the quality of water without a filtration system.

We take it for granted that our boys understand that the quality of water is important to our health. But this test really enforces an understanding of what is in the water we drink.When you get the kit, you’ll want to read the directions carefully like store it at room temperature and don’t use hot or bleach water. Then you’re ready to move on to the fun.

I know I’ve said it before, but I love easy activities that don’t require much setup and where I don’t have to round up a lot of supplies.The instructions are on the chart and it gives you an order in which to do the tests.

First, we checked each sample for chlorine/copper/nitrate/nitrite, then alkalinity/pH/hardness, and lastly the iron.

Then we compared that to the chart. Jotting down test results is easy because the kits have a results notebook. What is especially cool about the kit is the TDS meter. TDS is abbreviated for total dissolved solids which are the total weight of all solids (mineral, salts, or metals) that are in a given amount of water.And you use the TDS meter to check your water filter and to check the hardness of your water.

It gives out a digital reading and the lower the number the better the water can be absorbed by your body.

This water testing kit is a good fit for your family if:

►You want to teach in an easy way about the quality of water and connect it to every day life.
►You have multiple kids and they each want to participate in the activity.
►You like having all the supplies in one box for you. No hunting and gathering of supplies. I like that part. I know you will too.
►You’re looking for a project for your kid to do to participate in a science fair or homeschool co-op.
►You want your middle or high school kid to do science independently.
►You want safe home science products for your younger kids. There is no glassware here and the testing strip is safe. This is assuming your kids are not going to drink the creek water. Ha.

ENGAGING WATER UNIT STUDY IDEAS

Also, look at these topics and ways to include this water testing kit in your unit study.

►Learn about the geography of a country through understanding the natural resource of water.
►Learn about countries that are underdeveloped to understand the importance of clean drinking water.
►Learn about the human body and how it processes water.
►Learn about ways the local industry or even farming affects the local water source.
►Talk with your older kids about how to make water potable.
►Ask your high school kids if it’s necessary or even healthy to remove all the impurities from water for it to be safe for drinking.
►Connect water usage to the Ancient Rome aqueducts. How much water was in the aqueducts?
►If water could be made safe to drink in countries where water had to be used from streams and rivers, could water-related diseases be eradicated?

These are just a few of the ways I see that you could use the water testing kit in your homeschool day.

How to Purchase It.

►Product Name: Water Testing Kit
►Website: Test Assured Water Testing Kits and Supplies
►Grade Level: multi-grade level
►About the product: Looking for the perfect product to use to demonstrate water testing to your child, student, or classroom? Test Assured is here to help. We offer 4-pack kits that are perfect for schools and science fairs
►Price: 4-Pack Kit $24.99

When I heard about Test Assured and got a chance to use their at home water testing kit, I jumped at the chance of connecting science to real life. Look how easy you can use this water testing kit in your science day! Click here.

If you’re looking to add an easy and simple, but engaging way to learn about the water in your area or maybe have a budding environmental scientist you’ll want to grab this kit.

You’ll love these other activities for understanding the power and necessity of water:

Hugs and love ya,

Cheaper By the Dozen Hands-On Literature: Learn Morse Code!

September 17, 2017 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Written by Jen at A Helping Hand Homeschool.

The novel Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey chronicles the adventures of the Gilbreth family. This family, as the title implies, had twelve children! They lived in New Jersey in the early 1900s, and they had some interesting times.

The Gilbreth parents were early efficiency experts, which meant that they studied processes and teaching methods used by businesses and found ways to make them better. Father didn’t just do this for a job, though – he tested his theories by teaching his children! Father taught his children everything from sailing a boat to using a typewriter, and some of his “projects” can be used by kids today.

In the 1830s, a man named Samuel F.B. Morse invented both Morse code and the transmitting system used to send and receive it. The code went through some changes before it became the alphabet we know today. Learn how to make this easy hands-on idea! Click here.

One of these involves learning Morse code! See how we turned it into a hands-on literature activity!

Hands-On Literature: Learn Morse Code!

In the 1830s, a man named Samuel F.B. Morse invented both Morse code and the transmitting system used to send and receive it. The code went through some changes before it became the alphabet we know today, but it has been in use for over 170 years. Originally, the receiving machine recorded the “dots” and “dashes” on a paper tape, kind of like an adding machine today.

Soon, though, operators became skilled enough to translate it by ear and just wrote down the message as it came through.

Today, we don’t use Morse code nearly as much as they did in the 1800s. It is still used among amateur radio operators though, and military pilots were required to know it up until the 1990s.

It’s a really fun and easy “language” to learn though, and it’s useful for a lot of things. It’s also really fun to be able to use a “secret code!”

To do this activity, you will need:

3 or more sheets of posterboard – white or light color works best
Permanent markers – 4 different colors
Cardstock “tags” (found in the scrapbook section of a craft store) or notecards – approximately 40
1” book ring or twine, string, or yarn
A journal or notebook

The first step to learning an alphabet like Morse code is to become familiar with it. In Cheaper by the Dozen, Father taught this code to his children (all of them!) over summer vacation. They complained that they didn’t want to study in the summer, so he promised them they wouldn’t have to.

Instead, he made it almost impossible for them not to learn it!

In order to give his children a constant but easy study tool, he grabbed a can of paint and started in the bathroom. He painted the Morse Code alphabet and mnemonic devices all over the walls! Then, he started in on the hallway, the porch, and the other rooms in their summer cottage.

Needless to say, the kids learned it quickly!

Now, I don’t recommend you paint your walls with Morse code, but you can achieve the same result with posterboard and some permanent markers. (I used four different colors: one for the English letter, one for vowels, one for consonants, and one for numbers.)

This way, your child has an easy reference to work with!

However, we also made a pocket version of this reference, a Decoder Booklet. Now, your child has their own decoder that is easy to carry around and use. We used cardstock “tags” that I purchased in the scrapbook section of my local craft store, but you could just as easily use notecards.

To make the booklet, I used one tag for each letter. I wrote the English letter on one side and the Morse code on the other, so it works like a flash card. For the Morse code letters and numbers, I used the same colors as on the poster.

With this Decoder Booklet, it’s easy to take a few minutes throughout the day to self-quiz and to do different activities. We had fun doing spelling homework in Morse code – it requires your child to both think through the spelling word and the code!

Once you and your kids have a handle on Morse code, it’s fun to write messages back and forth! Father and his children did this each day during the summer. He often left them clues to treats and prizes, but occasionally he used the messages to prank them!

Using a journal or a notebook, you and your kids can leave messages for each other – and respond – in Morse code. It’s really fun, and it helps you to learn and use Morse code much more easily!

Additional Morse Code Learning Resources:

Here are some fun and useful resources that you may want to add to this activity:

Learning Morse Code Patterns – If you have an auditory learner in the house, this video is a simple but effective way to learn the patterns for Morse code. It also teaches the phonetic military alphabet!
English to Morse Code Learning – This video lesson gives both auditory and visual cues to help connect the Morse code with the English letter.

Learn even more ways to make literature hands-on and fun for your kids!

Middle Ages Hands-on History: Make a Codex Activity

September 11, 2017 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Written by Selena of Look! We’re Learning!

I am a huge bookworm. HUGE. If I was left alone on a desert island with a choice between food or books, I’d have to make myself choose the food. That’s just how much I love to read.

As we started studying the Middle Ages, we learned a lot about the beginning of the publishing industry, to which what we owe our modern-day books. It turns out that present-day paper books began with the invention of the codex, the first truly portable written document.

After finding out how codices were made in the Middle Ages, we decided to make one of our own!

Middle Ages History: Make a Codex Activity

The codex was actually invented during the Roman Empire, centuries before the Middle Ages began. Prior to its creation, most important documents, such as literature, speeches, and journals, were kept on scrolls or pieces of parchment.

Since these methods were so bulky, something more convenient was needed, especially for documents that needed to be transported across long distances. Some historians say that Julius Caesar was the first person to develop the idea of a notebook of folded and bound pages, but there is some uncertainty about this.

Either way, the codex (folding pages into small packets and then sewing them into a bound book) quickly became the standard for publishing and distributing literature. In fact, if you look behind the spine of a thick book, you’ll see the individual packets of paper sewn together that make up the book. This is basically a codex in itself.

To make our codex, we decided to focus on a codex from the Middle Ages: The Peterborough Chronicle. This document, which dates back to the 12th century, chronicles the establishment of the British Empire.

To make your own codex, you’ll need the following supplies:

Pieces of blank unlined paper
Yarn needle
Seam ripper (or X-Acto knife) *Be sure to use adult supervision when working with sharp objects.*
Bulky yarn
Ruler
Pencil
Chisel-point marker

Begin by folding the pages in half. You’ll want to make several packets of three to four pages. For our codex, we folded six packets of three pages each.

We used a seam ripper to begin punching holes in the first packet. After a few holes, though, we swapped it out for an X-Acto knife, which worked better. If you have an awl, that would probably work even better.

We lined up the packets to draw the holes and then punched them in the same spots to make sure the holes would line up for sewing the codex together. Interestingly, when publishers created codices, they also had to make the paper sewing holes by hand. This process was called “pricking”.

Now it’s time to sew the codex together. Thread the yarn through the eye of the yarn needle and insert the needle into the first sewing hole through all the codex packets.

Hands-on Middle Ages History

After pulling the needle all the way through, bring the yarn back around and thread the needle through again to secure the first stitch. Then move down to the next pricked hole in the codex.

Stitch in this same manner all the way down the side of the codex.

When you get to the end, pull the yarn back through the last stitch vertically.

Cut the thread to bind off the sewing. Do the same at the top.

You’re ready to add writing to your codex now! In the Middle Ages, it was common to line the pages of a codex with ink to make it easier for scribes to write neatly. Just like ruled notebook paper we have today!

Use a ruler and a pencil to draw writing lines on your codex pages. Be sure to leave space for the first letter of the work to be about three lines in length.

Like so. The first page of the Peterborough Chronicle is written in Old English, which looks very different than modern English. Thankfully, the content has been translated. That was the source material for our codex.

Use a chisel-tip marker to write in your codex and you’re done!

This would be a great extended activity for history! Let the kids find a historical codex and write a paragraph or two from it each day! You could even include pieces from several codices and let the kids discover the kinds of content that would have been considered valuable enough to publish in this manner centuries ago.

As we started studying the Middle Ages, we learned a lot about the beginning of the publishing industry, to which what we owe our modern-day books. Click here to learn how to make this fun codex!

You’ll also love to read about How to Teach History in 14 Lessons (From Daunting to Doable) and Medieval Homeschool History – 4 Surefire Ways to Beat a Boring Study.

Learn more about the Middle Ages with these activities!

Hands-On Science: Label the Skeleton System Activity

September 9, 2017 | 3 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I have a labeled human skeleton activity. Also, look at my Human Body Lapbook and Fun Unit Study and Human Body Crafts for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning for more fun ideas.

My son’s good friend broke his arm over the summer. The boys talked all about how it happened, signed the cast, and appreciated the color he chose.

When we were driving home, I asked them which bone he had broken in his forearm. Both of them looked at me like I had two heads.

If you have a hands-on learner, he'll love learning about the skeleton system with this fun hands-on science activity. Scoot by and see how to do it @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Although we had briefly covered anatomy in their science curriculum a year ago, neither really remembered much about the skeletal system.

I understood – the learning was a bit dry and I decided then and there to come up with a hands-on way to understand and learn about the human skeleton.

I wanted something that would stick, and would make sense for my active, potentially bone breaking themselves, boys.

Labeled Human Skeleton Activity

For this activity, you’ll need:

Two paper skeletons with mobile extremities, per child
One piece of white construction paper or poster board
Glue
A marker
A ruler
The Human Skeleton Printable (downloadable cheat sheet)
Bonus Activity – Any large decorative skeletons/bones you may have in your garage or choose to buy when available in stores

The key to this project is a paper skeleton that can be easily manipulated and held. While it is possible to make them, the good news is that pre-made paper skeletons are not hard to come by.

Depending on the time of year, you can find decorative skeletons at the Dollar Store.

There are also several, inexpensive options that work well for hands-on learning available year round, online.

To begin this activity, glue one of the paper skeletons to the poster board. Using the ruler, draw lines indicating the the bones you wish to introduce.

For my boys, I started with the basics.

We all sat around the poster board and named different bones.

Then, we took turns writing the names of the individual bones on the lines, using this printable as a cheat sheet.

When our reference board was complete, we were then able to use it over the course of the week for more hands-on practice and understanding.

I quizzed them on the different bones while they used the paper skeleton that had not been glued down.

Because they were able to hold and move the skeleton around, they were easily able to apply what they’d learned.

Here are all the project steps in order:

Step 1: Glue skeleton to poster board
Step 2: Draw lines to bones and label them
Step 3: Check for understanding and learning using additional, free moving, paper skeletons.
Step:4 Name more and more bones as your child becomes more and more proficient.

As a bonus activity, we practiced naming the different parts of the skeletal system on our full skeleton (named Boney by my youngest.

We also used a “bag of bones” set, and placed the larger bones alongside our reference poster.

Hands-On Science: Label the Skeleton System Activity

Overall, these hands-on exercises helped solidify my sons’ understanding of the skeletal system and their own bodies.

Now that they know the basics, we will continue to add more bones to our poster. Our goal is to identify all 206 by the end of the year.

Written by Shawna of Not the Former Things.

More hands-on ways to teach kids about the human body

Hands-on Geography: Longitude/Latitude Mapmaking Activity

August 17, 2017 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have a longitude latitude activity today. Also, look at my page Homeschool Geography for more geography tips and activities.

Learning to read longitude and latitude is a major part of reading maps.

With these measurements, geographers can locate any place in the world, simply by finding the correct degree coordinates.

It’s important to learn what these terms mean and it’s important for kids to understand how to use these coordinates.

But there’s no better way to teach it than by doing a fun, hands-on geography activity!

This fun longitude and latitude mapmaking activity is a great way to help kids get involved in making maps.

Plus, it helps the concepts of longitude and latitude to really “stick”!

Longitude and Latitude Mapmaking Activity

When I was a kid in geography class, I would always get longitude and latitude mixed up. I couldn’t seem to remember which measurement traveled in which direction. Eventually, I came up with this memory aid:

Longitude measures the earth the “long” way around (vertically)
Latitude measures the earth the wide way around (horizontally)

That might be useful to your students as well.

Longitude and Latitude Activity @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

To do this activity, you’ll need:

One piece of blue construction paper
One piece of white construction paper
Scissors
Glue stick
A green colored pencil
A green marker
A black ink pen
A ruler
And pushpins (if desired)

To begin this activity, cut an elongated oval out of blue construction paper.

You want the oval to be large enough to depict the world, but small enough to fit onto the white construction paper.

Making a Longitude and Latitude Map @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Glue the blue oval onto the center of the white paper. Leave enough space around to write your longitude and latitude measurements later.

Using the green colored pencil, draw an approximate map of the world on the blue oval.

We just looked at a world map and drew it freehand.

That’s why the continents don’t look exactly right.

If you wanted to skip this step, you could print a world map and glue that onto the white paper, but I think drawing it out helps kids feel more connected to what they’re learning.

Longitude and Latitude Map Project @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

You could also use this part as an opportunity to talk about the distortions that come along with map projections.

Anytime a mapmaker designs a map, he or she has to alter the shape of the continents to get them all to fit. Just like we do when we draw the earth.

HANDS ON GEOGRAPHY

Once your drawing is completed, use a green marker to outline the borders and make them stand out a bit.

Creating a Map with Longitude and Latitude @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Now, use a ruler to draw a dashed line vertically down the center of the picture.

Longitude and Latitude Grid Activity @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Mark this line as the prime meridian – the center of the earth when measuring longitude.

The prime meridian has a coordinate of 0 degrees longitude.

Marking Longitude and Latitude Map Lines @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

From there, measure out equal distances to draw additional vertical dashed lines.

There should be six lines to the right of the prime meridian, showing 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 degrees.

Finding Longitude and Latitude On a Map @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Then label them all.

Adjusting Longitude and Latitude on a Map @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Do the same on the left side, marking six vertical measurements for 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 degrees. The key is to use an equal distance for each measurement.

Ours ended up being 3/4 of an inch apart.

As we completed the left side, we realized that our oval wasn’t actually equal, which was going to cause our measurements to be off.

We just cut some extra paper off the left side to even it up. Just like mapmakers may have to revise their designs as they go.

Finding the Equator On a Map @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Now it’s time to mark the latitude lines! Draw a line roughly across the horizontal center of the oval to mark the equator, which has a coordinate of 0 degrees latitude.

Marking Latitude Lines on a Map @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Then add three dashed lines below the equator to show 30, 60, and 90 degrees latitude. Label these lines.

Do the same to add three dashed lines above the equator.

Using Longitude and Latitude to Find a Location @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Okay! Now we can practice locating places on the map!

I started by asking my son to find the location marked by 0 degrees latitude and 30 degrees longitude.

(We drew our longitude lines first, because there were more of them to add to the picture. But in geography, latitude should always be listed first. Just FYI.)

Finding a Location On the Map with Longitude and Latitude @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Once we found it, we marked it with a pushpin.

If you wanted to find several places on the map, hang this picture on a cork board and let the kids try to spot places based on their coordinates!

Hands-on Geography: Longitude and Latitude Mapmaking Activity | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

A note of caution: This map is not going to be accurate, since it’s hand-drawn.

So remind the kids that the coordinates you call out and find on this map will not be the same coordinates they will find on Google Maps or a printed official map.

But this is a cool way to learn what latitude and longitude mean and how to find them!

Written by Selena of Look! We’re Learning!

handson

EASY Hands-on Earth Science: Fun Water Testing Kit

SCIENCE FAIR WATER TESTING KIT

ENGAGING WATER UNIT STUDY IDEAS

How to Purchase It.

Cheaper By the Dozen Hands-On Literature: Learn Morse Code!

Hands-On Literature: Learn Morse Code!

Additional Morse Code Learning Resources:

Middle Ages Hands-on History: Make a Codex Activity

Middle Ages History: Make a Codex Activity

Hands-on Middle Ages History

Hands-On Science: Label the Skeleton System Activity

Labeled Human Skeleton Activity

More hands-on ways to teach kids about the human body

Hands-on Geography: Longitude/Latitude Mapmaking Activity

Longitude and Latitude Mapmaking Activity

HANDS ON GEOGRAPHY

Categories

Archives

handson

SCIENCE FAIR WATER TESTING KIT

ENGAGING WATER UNIT STUDY IDEAS

How to Purchase It.

Hands-On Literature: Learn Morse Code!

Additional Morse Code Learning Resources:

Middle Ages History: Make a Codex Activity

Hands-on Middle Ages History

Labeled Human Skeleton Activity

More hands-on ways to teach kids about the human body

Longitude and Latitude Mapmaking Activity

HANDS ON GEOGRAPHY

Footer

Categories

Archives