Is that Animal Real?

Last summer I took my Kid Scientists to the zoo.  We were having a great time...the oldest was particularly interested in the information regarding endangered statistics and my youngest just loves animals.  We were nearing the end of our visit, when Aiden (6 years old) asked if we could see the Werewolves before we left!  What a perfect teachable moment to talk about mythical animals.

You know the Science Mommy loves good books, but so often good books convey misinformation about real animals.  Learning to distinguish between Real and Not Real or Fiction and Non-Fiction is an important learning target.  This activity is prompted by my own Kid Scientist and is an adaptation of a Project Wild activity, "And the Wolf Wore Shoes."

Ages: Little Kid Scientists

Materials: 

• Lots of books that depict both real and imaginary animals (see the end of the post for ideas).  This can also be done at the library if you don't have many books at home.
• This activity sheet

Procedure:

• Share the books with your Kid Scientist.  Typically they enjoy looking at the pictures in the non-fiction books and listening to the fiction stories.
• Ask your Kid Scientist if she can divide the books into two piles...books about real animals and books about make-believe animals.
• Use the first part of the activity sheet to record these observations.  Depending on the age of your Kid Scientist:  mom can write the titles, mom can write the names of animals or characters, kids can draw pictures or kids can write the names of animals or characters.
• Using examples from the books, work together on the second part of the activity sheet.  This will introduce Kid Scientists to the idea that all animals have specific needs for food & shelter and have particular behaviors.  There are many ways to fill this out...conversation, dictating to mom, drawing pictures or writing on their own...the conversation and learning is more important than the finished page!
• This activity opens the door to having many conversations about Real / Not Real which is important, developmentally for Kid Scientists

Some of the Science Mommy's Favorite Books...

Real Animals:

Dorling Kindersley Encyclopedias

Albino Animals by Kelly Milner-Halls

Owen and Mzee by Isabella Hatkoff

Whose Tracks are These by James Nail

Owls by Gail Gibbons

Make-Believe Animals:

Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt

There's a Hair in My Dirt by Gary Larson

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

Shark and Lobsters Amazing Undersea Adventure by Vivienne Schwarz

Chicken Little by Steven Kellogg

True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Sceiszka and Lane Smith

Make-Your-Own I Spy Bottle...

This project is great fun and will reinforce your Little Kid Scientists "Powers of Observation"!

Ages: Fun for everyone to play with, but especially good for the Little Kids.  

Materials:

 * Empty water bottle

* Rice

* Small objects and toys ( The Science Mommy even used some stickers placed on card stock as objects)

* Tag or Label with items listed

Procedure:

• Gather up lots of small objects or toys to place in the bottle.  Little Kids can certainly help scavenge for tiny items
• List the items on a tag or label...this will be useful for Little Kids learning to read.  For Really Little Kids take a picture of the items you'll be placing in the bottle.

•  Fill the bottle part way with rice, and then drop in all your items.

•  Fill your bottle about 3/4 full, cap and shake.  You want to make sure the objects are distributed throughout the bottle.  Once everything is shaken up, finish filling the bottle with rice...nearly to the top.

•  As Kid Scientists roll the bottle, different objects appear!

Different Ways to Play:

• If you've identified all the items, Kid Scientists can take turns finding items, in order, on the list
• Give Kid Scientists 1 minute to find as many items as they can
• Without the label, see how many items Kid Scientists can find in the bottle
• Place beads or tiles with letters that spell out your Kid Scientists name.  Challenge him to find all the letters in order.
• With Older Kids, challenge them to find all the objects that are model of living things...then all the objects that are models of non-living things. 

Tub Time Paints...

This fingerpaint is great fun!

Ages: Little Kid Scientists

Materials: 2 c liquid dish soap (clear is best), 6 tbs cornstarch, food coloring, muffin tin

Procedure:

• Mom's should mix dish soap and cornstarch together
• Pour the solution into the muffin tin sections
• Kid Scientists create paint colors by mixing in food colors
• Kid Scientists can paint the inside of their bathtub, and themselves, before the water comes in & creates bubble bath
• These paints can also be used on paper, like traditional finger paints

Sorting...

Ages: This is designed for Little Kid Scientists, but there's nothing stopping the Big Kids from getting in on the fun

Materials:  Shells, rocks, leaves...any group of items that are similar with identifiable differences

Purpose:

This activity is designed to introduce Little Kid Scientists to the idea of physical properties.  Physical properties of matter can be observed or measured without changing what is being observed or measured.  They include appearance, color, texture, odor, density and others.  Later Kid Scientists will learn to distinguish between Physical Properties and Chemical Properties or use Physical Properties to identify something unknown.  For now, this activity will start Kid Scientists thinking about ways to describe shells (or rocks, or leaves or flowers...)

Procedure:

• 
  
  Share the collection with your Kid Scientist, looking at each item. 
• 
  
  Ask questions about what you're observing...How does that feel?  What color is this?  Is this bigger or is this one?
• 
  
  After you've observed all the shells in the jar, ask your Kid Scientist to put them into groups.  "How many groups of shells can you make?"  or "Can you sort the shells into different groups?"
• 
  
  Allow your Kid Scientist to sort the shells all by himself.  Be supportive, and ask questions but allow him to do the thinking.
• 
  
  Once the shells are sorted, ask him to describe each group.  "How did you decide which shells went into each group?"
• 
  
  You can help your Kid Scientist with new vocabulary by labeling the groups if he doesn't.  "Oh, all these are small shells" or "So this is the group of shiny shells"

Fun Fruity Dough...

Here's another fun dough that will keep Little Kid Scientists busy all afternoon!

Ages:  All Kid Scientists can have fun with this mixture

Materials: 
2 1/4 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 tbs cooking oil
1 cup water
1 package Kool-Aid

Procedure:

• Combine flour, salt, and Kool-Aid in a large bowl
• Stir in oil and water
• Stir until your mixture is the consistency of bread dough
• Knead on a floured surface until it's firm

This dough smells yummy, but make sure Very Little Kid Scientists don't eat it!
Dough can be stored in a plastic bag & refrigerated

Extensions for Big Kids:
- Big Kids can experiment with mixing different flavors of Kool-Aid to achieve different scents and colors
- With mixtures like this one, Big Kids can also explore the proportions in a recipe...What happens when you add too much flour or too much salt?  Can you use different types of oil?  Can you add sugar instead of Kool-Aid?  Will a different drink mix work the same way?  Will hot or cold water change the consistency of the dough?

Make-Your-Own Fingerpaints...

Here's another great rainy day project...

Ages: Everyone will enjoy these paints, but they're aimed at Little Kid Scientists.  Even Very Little Kids can play with these paints, because if fingers go into mouths...it's just pudding!

Materials: large package of instant vanilla pudding, 2 cups ice water, food color, small plastic cups, freezer paper

Procedure:

• Mix water and pudding together in a bowl, until well mixed
• Refrigerate for 5 minutes
• Divide the mixture into several small cups
• Allow Kid Scientists to create their paint colors with food color drops
• Paint

The Science Mommy likes to use freezer paper for fingerpainting because the glossy finish on the back prevents the paints from seeping through.  You are also able to pull off a much larger sheet for a bigger picture. 

Exploring Density...

Density is a physical property of matter and there are some great explorations for Kid Scientists to build background knowledge.

Ages: All ages

Materials: Two glass containers - one larger than the other, water, string, food color

Procedure:

• Tie the string around the top of the smaller container
• Fill the larger container with cold water
• Fill the smaller container with hot water and add a couple drops of food color 

• Lower the container with hot, red water into the container with cold water
• Watch what happens

What's Happening? The density of cold water is greater than that of hot water.  The hot, red water pours up, out of the container like a fountain and creates a layer on the top of the glass.

Kid Scientist Extension: Aiden watched this reaction and said, "I have an idea!  I am going to call it 3 Cup Madness and find out about pouring." 

 Using the materials he had, Aiden carried out his personal exploration.  It's not always important that we understand their thinking, or even that they can articulate their question.  Sometimes the best explorations are the ones that come in the moment. 

Celebrate the personal questions of your Kid Scientists!

Oatmeal Dough...

This is perfect for a rainy day, I'm bored moment.  Unleash your Kid Scientist's creativity.

Ages:  All ages of Kid Scientist will have fun with this one.  (Probably even Mom Scientists!)

Materials:   1 cup flour, 1 cup water, 2 cups oatmeal

Procedure:

• Combine the flour, water and oatmeal into a bowl
• Stir until the mixture is smooth.  Add flour if your dough is sticky.
• Use a lightly floured surface to play with your dough.
• This dough can be stored in an airtight container when you're done playing.

Add some Exploration:
This is another opportunity for your Kid Scientists to play with mixing colors.  Bring out that box of food colors and challenge them to create Orange, Purple and other mixed colors.

Sink and Float

This is a great exploration for Little and Really Little Kid Scientists!

Materials: Plastic tub, sink or other water source, toys and little stuff

Procedure:

• Fill the container or the sink with warm water
• Give your Little Scientist all kinds of stuff
• Depending on the age, ask your Kid Scientist, "Will it sink or float?" before each object is placed in the water.  Making predictions is an important aspect of developing scientific thinking. 
• Kids will be developing an understanding of concepts like density and buoyancy with this activity

This is a great activity to keep busy kids engaged while you're cooking or doing something else that requires part of your attention.  It's also a fun game to play when you out at a river or a lake. 

My Kid Scientist Aiden, has always been fascinated with water.  Many Children's Museums and Science Centers have water play tables for this very reason.  Play with thinking is a very important part of developing scientific reasoning.

Check out this Reaction...

This is an interesting demonstration that kids of all ages can do quickly and easily.

Materials:  shallow bowl, pie plate or dinner plate with high edges, food colors, milk, toothpick and dish soap

Procedure:

• Fill the bowl or pie plate with milk (you don't need much, about 1 cm deep)
• Add drops of food color scattered around the edges
• Dip the toothpick into dish soap
• Touch the surface of the milk with the soapy end of the toothpick
• Watch what happens
• Most Kid Scientists will want to try this again, once they have seen what happens!

What's Happening?

• First of all, for Little Kid Scientists, the explanation is beyond their understanding and they probably don't care.  I like to use this when my kids are squirrely while I am cooking.  They can sit at the counter and watch the reaction, while I get dinner ready.
• If Big Kid Scientists are interested in the chemistry involved, then they have their research question to explore.  (Hint...there is a connection to drops of water on a penny)

I didn't post any pictures this time because I didn't want to give anything away.  The Science Mommy would love to post your pictures...send them in!