This coming year for science we are studying chemistry. I am using a book called Inquiry in Action published by the American Chemical Society. The book is free to download, and is so fun. We started this past month because I was so excited to begin using it.
The first unit involved M&Ms, need I say more! The kids had a blast...more than I thought they would.
The unit focuses on learning to make observations, understanding variables in experiments, and how to investigate their own questions. The first activity involved observing what happens when an M&M is placed in water. The second was similar, but you placed the M&Ms in patterns of your choosing to observe (thus, above pics).
We observed that as the color dissolved it would spread out, but the colors would not mix. Another experiment was to determine if this property was unique to M&Ms, or a property of other sugar substances. So this experiment with the beakers involved colored corn syrup placed in water.
Darrell read somewhere that science becomes much more exciting for kids when you use actual chemistry glassware instead of just plastic cups, and boy is that true. They love using Darrell's test tubes, droppers, and beakers to do experiments.
I think their favorite part of science is the "playing" with all the supplies after the official experiment is concluded. I'm looking forward to the remaining units. What an awesome find for our homeschool.
