Science and Snickerdoodles

 Got your attention, didn't I? *smile* What does science have to do with Snickerdoodles? Read to the end of the post and see...

Science Games at 4YOU4FREE

(I just found this site, so I can't guarantee the quality

of every game, but the ones I saw were well done).

Actually, today's TOS Homeschool Blog Cruise topic is "Share your favorite homeschool science resource." Well, I have a LOT to say about homeschool science, and many resources to share, but rather than write a post a mile long, I am just (mostly) going to re-direct you to my Homeschool-for-Free website's science page. There you will find over 100 links to all things FREE and scienc-y on the Worldwide Web. The resources are organized according to science discipline. Covering Biology to Physics,  using entire online curricula (like Biology4Kids and Biology at Pronto Lessons) and unit studies (check out the one on anatomy from Guest Hollow), you can teach science to your homeschoolers without spending a cent. You will also find plenty to supplement your existing studies, from challenging games (I love Poke-a-Muscle), to virtual dissections of owl pellets and pigs (eeyeuw...don't try this one unless you have a strong stomach), and many useful printables. There is likely something to interest everyone in your family, so please go check out Homeschool-for-Free! (I will throw in a quick disclaimer, though. It has been a while since I went through and checked links, so if you find any that don't work, I apologize. Please feel free to leave me a message here and I will fix it asap. I found one inactive link this morning, and wound up finding the item again just by Googling the keywords, so if something looked really good to you, don't despair! Just try, try again!)


That said, I do want to share my all-time favorite science resource with you here, just in case you are strapped for time and don't want to get sucked in by all 100+ resources on my other site (I counted them this morning). Years ago we discovered a site called AE Mystery Spot. It is a collection of interactive mysteries, written to teach your students about the scientific method and investigative science. Each one focuses on a different topic, which include things like infectious disease, a plague of frogs, and killer bees. If you check out AE Mystery Spot, the mysteries you will want to try are on the left (with button images) with names like Venom, Angry Red Planet, Arctica, and Sneeze.

I didn't see our all-time favorite mystery CROAK there anymore, but I found it by Googling the name, so you can still try it. Yay! These mysteries are geared towards a middle school aged student, but are appealing to all ages, as long as there is an older reader to assist with longer passages. High School students will enjoy doing them for a fun change of pace (after all, I loved doing them!). In Croak! you have to solve the mystery of why all of the frogs are disappearing from a town by interviewing certain people within a given time frame. You only have enough time to interview a few people, so you have to make good decisions on what you choose to do with your time. It's a great exercise on planning and decision making. If you think you solved the mystery, you email Access Excellence your answer, and they email you back. Just plain learning fun!

Another just-for-fun favorite is a collection of six old LPs from the 1950's with science songs on them. There are a few interesting facts about these songs. First, the man who produced them also wrote The Unchained Melody, and secondly, the man who sings three of the albums wrote "On Top of Spaghetti." If that combination doesn't make you want to check them out, I don't know what will! Topics covered include: weather, the seasons, astronomy, magnetism, animals, the ocean, flowers, and more. There may be some evolutionary references in a few of them (it's been a while since we listened to them all), but you can filter those out. You can download the songs by clicking on either the 32 or 160 next to the song, then save as into a file. Your computer will then open the file in Media Player (or whatever your default player is), and you can add it to a play list. Download the ones your little ones will find useful. It's a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon. You can let your kids work on some animal notebooking pages from Homeschool Share while you listen, or complete one of their many  animal lapbooks.

I am going to try this recipe from Andrea's Recipes next.

It looks similar to my old favorite.

That brings us to the Snickerdoodles. Other than starting with the same letter of the alphabet ("S") and the fact that cooking does involve a little bit of science (measuring, experimentation, changing states, chemical reactions), Snickerdoodles really have nothing to do with my favorite science resource. We did, however, make them last night using a recipe from a cookie book I thought I'd really like...and it was a huge fail (in my picky opinion...my kids loved them).

 I can't find my old favorite recipe anywhere, so I was wondering if any of you folks who might stop by to swap science resources might consider swapping Snickerdoodle recipes, too? If so, leave me a comment with a link to your favorite, tried-and-true recipe, or just leave the recipe. I am hoping to make some yummy ones to share with others in my family, so we will just employ that excellent advice (good for both science and kitchen experimentation) and try, try again (never say the kids minded eating up the "failed" experiments!).

Blessings,

One last idea: If your weather is on the edge of Spring like ours is, you can still send the kids outside with this "winter" scavenger hunt and I am pretty sure that they will be able to find everything. Mine are heading out right now to seek and find what they can...I think yours might enjoy the break, too.

Check out what other homeschoolers say are their favorite science resources at the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog Cruise!