My daughter is only 4 so we do simple projects for science, usually. We'll be doing some science projects this month with Groundhogs Day and Valentines Day as subjects, leading up to both days respecfully. It's not hard to mix Science with just about anything you're learning, and I enjoy teaching several things from one theme to bring interest. My daughter has learned best with hands-on teaching. It just helps her learn better, and hey, it is more fun because you're using not just your mind, but all of your senses!

Valentine Flowers

You'll need a white flower (carnation, rose, daisy...)..

A vase

Food coloring

water

scissors

Snip the end of the stem with a diagnal cut using the scissors or snips. Whatever will cut cleanly is best. Remember!!!! Cut under the water!!!! Air can get into a stem if you do not do this, and it can slow the process as well as the project! Let your child pick what color they wish to use to color the water. We use purple for one, pink for another. We have to pre-mix purple, but pink is just a light dose of red in the water. Double up the dose, as sometimes it is necessary to see the colors. One experiment I read up on this did up to 30 drops...!

A fun side experiment in this is to take one or two of the flowers and slice the stem up the middle about half way. Put half the stem in one colored water, put half the stem in another color of water. See how this progresses.

Put the flower in the vase with the colored water. The flower will start to color within 24 hours. Sometimes it may take some time. Remember to be patient.

This teaches where a water goes when a plant is watered. It will show functions of roots, stems, leaves, and flowers.

Here's some technical things that I liked about this project:

"Okay, now it's time to get technical. There are two things that combine to move water through plants -- TRANSPIRATION and COHESION. Water evaporating from the leaves, buds and petals (TRANSPIRATION) pulls water up the stem of the plant. This works in the same way as sucking on a straw. Water that evaporates from the leaves "pulls" other water behind it up to fill the space left by the evaporating water, but instead of your mouth providing the suction it is due to evaporating water. This can happen because water is very sticky--to itself (called water COHESION) and because the tubes in the plant stem are very small (in a part of the plant called the XYLEM). This process is called CAPILLARY ACTION.

 

Coloring the water with food coloring does not harm the plant in any way but allows you to see the movement of water through the roots to the shoots. Splitting the stem simply proves that the tiny tubes in the stem run all the way from the stem to the petals of the flowers. Our unofficial tests indicated that the blue dye went up the carnations the fastest followed by the red dye and then the green dye.

 

Like colored dyes in this experiment, some chemicals that pollute our waters can get into the soil and ground water and contaminate our vegetables and plants growing in the soil. Some chemicals and pollutants, just like the color dyes, may travel up into the plant and affect its health or growth."

Heart Beat

We'll be studying the heart and heart rate before, during, and after exercise. Then we'll discuss the differences and make a chart while we're at it. Then I'll have her color a heart and then look at a real heart, and we'll talk about how they work. This is a real simple project, and it's science mixed with health and crafts.

Shadows

This is a simple project. We'll make a sundial for shadows outside and track it at various times during the day using a watch and paper.

We'll also be putting a trace down on the sidewalk of her shadow using chalk. When we go to check the sundial we'll also check the sizes of her shadow each time to see it move.

Skills this helps with: observing, predictions, comparing, classifying, communication, collecting and recording information, and making conclusions are among the main skills learned.

Added studies: Shadow Puppets. This brings in history, art, and other subjects. This will add in a lot of other things to learn, and I think it will add some time onto the project as a step up from learning about the other shadow work we'll do with the sundial and her own shadows.

Shadow Puppets will teach her how to interact with light and how light will react to certain objects and things that she will be using in the puppet work. This will also teach her about another culture, their history, and their art, music, and so on.

I'm finding these subjects so much fun!