Kindergarten • Carrots Are Orange

The Ultimate List of Light Energy Experiments for Kids

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Activities, Science Tagged With: Kindergarten, Physics, Preschool This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I scoured the internet to discover the BEST activities to explore light. This post includes dozens of light energy experiments for kids to keep you and your kids busy.

The Ultimate List of Light Energy Experiments

Light Energy Experiments for Kids

Build Your Own DIY Spectroscope from Buggy & Buddy

Kids will LOVE to make their own DIY spectroscope! The best part of this science activity is that it can be done with a few simple materials and explore the spectrum of different light sources. This science activity for kids makes a great addition to a unit on light or weather. Plus, you get to see rainbows so add it to an April preschool unit or St. Patrick's Day themed unit.

Sky Science – Why does the sky change colors? from Steam Powered Family

Finally, have an answer to the age-old question: why is the sky blue? Even better explore why the sky changes color at sunrise and sunset. You can explain until you're blue in the face about the science of the sky colors but doing an experiment brings the understanding to a whole new level.

Learning about Optics with Two Fun Light Experiments! by From Engineer to Stay at Home Mom

Explore how light behaves with this activity! Furthermore, explain the concept of OPTICS as the study of how light works. This water and light experiment was showing him how light works.

Explore the Eye's Blind Spot from Carrots Are Orange

The blind spot is a little spot of the eye. Everyone has a blind spot. The blind spot is the point in the eye where all the nerve in the eye come together. The nerves form a bundle of nerves calls the optic nerve, a nerve that runs from the eye to the brain.

So, why makes the blind spot “blind'?

$Light Experiment - Refraction$

Simple Light Refraction Experiment from Look We're Learning

Learn an easy way to teach kids about light with this simple light refraction experiment!

Light Energy Experiments for Kids

Light Activities for Preschoolers – Learning about Light Energy from Carrots Are Orange

This post includes loads of light energy experiments and ideas to explore.

DIY Sundial from KC Adventures

Learn an easy way to make a sundial using simple materials.

UV Light Experiment from Inspiration Laboratories

Try this simple exploration to explore ultraviolet light with your child.

Exploring Science Through Art: Colour & Light by Childhood 101

This activity is sweet and to the point. What a lovely hands-on way to explore color and light.

Reflection Science with Light Patterns in a Box from Buggy & Buddy

A super cool and remarkably easy to put together light energy experiment.

Rainbow Science for Kids: Exploring Prisms from Buggy & Buddy

Prisms are one of the most beautiful and simple materials. Learn ways to explore light science with this simple object.

Light Science of Motion

Easy Motion Science Experiment from Carrots Are Orange

Learn how movies are made with this easy motion science experiment. My sons have been on a “how does this work?” kick. This easy science experiment was one answer to “how do movies get onto a screen?”

Science for Kids: How to Make a Kaleidoscope

Learn how to make a kaleidoscope in this fun & easy science activity and craft for kids. Kids will LOVE to explore light, reflections, and symmetry by making their own kaleidoscope.

The Ultimate List of Baking Soda & Vinegar Experiments

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Activities, Science Tagged With: Chemistry, Elementary, Kindergarten, Preschool This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

This post delivers the ultimate amazing list of baking soda and vinegar experiments for kids. We're talking baking soda and vinegar with balloons, rocket boosting baking soda and vinegar, color changing experiments, and so much more! Are you ready to dig into these ROCK star baking soda and vinegar experiments? Yeah, me, too…

The Science Behind Baking Soda & Vinegar

Baking Soda and vinegar react chemically we know that much simply by observing the experiments. We can see the chemical reaction. What it is about the two ingredients that react in such phenomenally cool ways?

The science is that baking soda and vinegar react with each other because of an acid-base reaction. Baking soda is a bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and vinegar is an acetic acid (HCH3COO). One of the products this reaction creates is carbon dioxide, which makes the bubbles.

Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiments for Kids

Fizzing Colors from Happy Hooligans is not only fun science learning but it is also great fine motor skills work. This baking soda and vinegar experiment with food coloring adds a bit of pizazz to a child's day.

Busy Toddler adds a bit of a twist on the dropper food color experiment by Happy Hooligans. She presents the baking soda and vinegar activity with hidden colors. By adding this element of surprise, this activity has kids at ‘hello'.

My sons LOVED this baking soda & vinegar experiment. Chelsey from Buddy & Buddy nails this one with her exploding baggies.

Along the same lines, Sarah from Frugal Fun for Boys & Girls created a rocket baking soda & vinegar experiment for her kids. Totally out of this world!

Katie from Preschool Inspirations tops the cake with her color changing baking soda & vinegar experiment.

A few years ago we explore chemistry with a baking soda and vinegar experiment with balloons. To celebrate Earth Day we use an earth balloon and really made the scientific point about expanding air.

Maria Montessori & Science

What is a scientist?… We give the name scientist to the type of man who has felt experiment to be a means guiding him to search out the deep truth of life, to lift a veil from its fascinating secrets, and who, in this pursuit, has felt arising within him a love for the mysteries of nature, so passionate as to annihilate the thought of himself. ~ Dr. Montessori

More Easy Science Experiments for Kids with Baking Soda & Vinegar

Kim from Life Over Cs does a fizzy baking soda and vinegar experiment with ice!

Darcy at Darcy and Brian creates a Melting Rainbow Baking Soda and Vinegar experiment.

I quickly added this baking soda and vinegar activity to our list. Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls made hot ice from a few items you likely have in your home at this current moment.

Life Over Cs presents us with a playdough volcano baking soda & vinegar experiment.

The Pinterested Parent takes her baking soda and vinegar experiment a step further by creating art from the volcano eruptions!

Bitz and Giggles created electric eels twist on the baking soda and vinegar experiment!

What's Next After All this Baking Soda & Vinegar Experimental Learning?

Try to add other substances such as carbonated water, hydrogen peroxide, or dish soap. Observe how the eruption changes.

Make elephant toothpaste
Study physics with these science experiments for kids
Join Steve Spangler STEM Lab Club (AMAZING!!)
Black Marker Coffee Filter Experiment & Science of Colors
Science Activity with Milk & Food Coloring

Montessori Preschool Bird Unit

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Montessori, Outdoor Education Tagged With: Kindergarten, Life Science, Nature, Preschool, Zoology This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I have vivid memories of red cardinals visiting the birds feed during the whitest and shortest days of the winter season. The vibrant red ricocheted off the glistening white of newly fallen snow.

Always fascinated with the adaptation of these birds, I studied birds over the years through observation mainly. I always anticipated spring with nests, eggs, and eventual chirping.

I recently began homeschooling my youngest son. At 4-years-old his schooling with me is limited to max two hours a day. Then we're out and about exploring when I carefully observe him as he develops interests in various topics.

One such topic, much to my delight, is birds.

So, of course, like any Montessori trained homeschooling mother would do, I began making materials as we read about birds, their beaks, their nests, their feet, and their sounds.

Related Read: Bird Feeding At Home & In the Classroom

Take time to listen to birds' calls and talk about how the sound makes you feel, why the sound is what it is, and so on. Then, go out for a walk and see if you can hear a bird's call. Then discuss the rhyme and reason behind the call. Listening activities are a big hit with kids and will engage them in the learning process. There are amazing apps put out by the Audubon Society that will add a great deal to the learning & teaching in your homeschool.

Types of Birds Beaks

The shapes, sizes, & functionality of birds' beaks will spark an interest in your child. You can lean into your child's personality. Is he a gentle, nectar sipping hummingbird or a carnivorous raptor such as the bald eagle, or maybe a “chisler” like the woodpecker? Find that hook and go with it.

Montessori 3-Part-Card – Types of Beaks

Types of Bird Nests

Equally as fascinating is how a bird creates his nest, the why, the how, and the where…

Montessori 3-Part-Cards – Types of Nests

Montessori Bird Activities, Ideas, and Resources

Best Adapted Beaks from Scientific America
15 Birds with Unbelievable Beaks
Scientific Names & Explanation of Beak Shapes, Sizes, & Functionality
How to Identify Birds by Sound
Montessori Bird Puzzle

Bird Books to Use for Learning

Here is a short list of the books we used in our learning this week!

Backyard Birds: A Field Guide

National Geographic Kids' Bird Guide Birds, Nests, & Eggs: Take Along Guide

Other resources that added to our learning include:

Bits of Intelligence Birds Cards (beautiful for nuggets of information, tracing, and studying the parts of a bird)
A good set of binoculars
A journal for observation, drawing, writing, and storytelling
Safari Toobs – Backyard Birds
Backyard Bird 3 Part Cards – Do an object to image matching pre-reading work!

The Missing Symbol – Math Games for Kids

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Activities Tagged With: Kindergarten, Math This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Math is fun! Yes, you read correctly! (Am I being too enthusiastic?) I am so excited to introduce this math game to you! Kids love it because they're having fun and learning. I will say it again: Math can be fun!

I tested this math game on my boys recently. Kids are amazing in this way.

Seriously, the best “testers” that exist on the planet.

I created this game thinking, “Wow, this math game is cool, ” but only when I played the game with my sons did I realize all the tweaks that needed to happen to make the game super cool.

Super Fun Math Game Kids Love

$math game for kids$

This math game is perfect for children beginning to learn basic operations. I have other versions for your older children or the children wanting to work on language that I will share with you soon. The math game comes with a master game board, basic addition & subtraction equation cards, and wild cards that send kids to jail, allow them to advance, and have the child skip a turn.

Steps to Math Game

Download the math game printable
Print out & laminate the game board
Cut & laminate the game cards to be drawn by the children
Gather “player” pieces such as lego mini figures or gems
Read the rules (see below)
Place the game cards in a box, bag, or bowl from which the children can easily draw
Introduce the game to children

Math Game Rules

Use a gem or creative marker for your playing pieces.
Youngest player goes first.
If there is a player already on the space, you get to move to the next one.
When a player lands in jail, he must answer the next player’s card and allow the player to advance to the next space. Then he can return to the space that landed him in jail.
The first player to reach the finish wins.

I am excited to launch additional board games over the next few weeks. I hope your kids enjoy playing and learning with this math game as much as my kids! Math and learning can be fun with a little creativity and hands-on activities!

Marnie

How Much Does Your Salad Cost?

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Activities Tagged With: Kindergarten, Math, Money, Preschool This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Check out this super fun kids money activity – How Much Does Your Salad Cost?– to help guide kids to financial responsibility!

Cool, right?

Okay, who are we kidding?

It is going to take A LOT more than a simple, fun activity to teach kids about money to really get the point across to them. I have loads of other teaching kids about money activities and ideas. The learning & the teaching does not happen overnight, or with a series of sweet exercises. As your children grow older, you will adapt to their needs and adjust your conversations to fit those needs.

Download Your Free Printable Now

Kids Money Activity

These activities are great for 5-7 Year Olds when you're beginning the conversation about trade-offs and decision making. I have a whole Learn All about Money Activities pack if you'd like to take a look.

The approach to this kids money activity is quite simple:

Download the How Much Does Your Salad Cost? printable
Print it out
Laminate the control card/price sheet for safe keeping
Introduce it to kids with scissors, a pencil, and a glue stick

Extension Ideas

Use real food items & real money
Go to a grocery store & do the same exercise
Peruse the advertising section of a newspaper to look at on sale items
Peruse a catalog and have the child find an “expensive” or ‘inexpensive” item
Play the “Guess How Much it Costs?” game with objects in a basket
Sequence items by most expensive to least expensive
Do this Needs versus Wants Activity
Talk about delayed gratification & how sometimes we have to wait for things we want, to save, etc.

Check out these Ideas

Learn 4 Super Fun Word Games for Little Readers

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Activities Tagged With: Easy & Inexpensive, Kindergarten, Reading and Writing This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

My five and six year olds are obsessed with any word game. So, I've unearthed classic word games that my boys absolutely love. Seriously these games never get old.

Word Game Activities

Silly Sentences – Fun Word Games

Silly Sentences (aka ‘Mad Libs') is the perfect game for working that parts of speech learning. One way we play this game is using the Montessori Farm Game labels. All the parts of speech are available and kids have a blast making pigs plow the field and helping a cow lay eggs. Here are a few of my favorite resources for this activity. I created a few silly sentence templates for my boys based on our life and experiences. Kids love when you can bring them into the activity!

Awesome “Silly Sentences” Ideas

Roll & Write Activity from This Reading Mama
Superhero Silly Sentences from Speech Musings
Silly Sentence Sticks from Teach Me Mommy

Build a Man – On the Go Word Game

Build a Man (aka ‘Hangman‘) is the perfect game to pull out when you're at a restaurant or on a card ride. I love that my five year old calls it the ‘Build a Man' game. Much better than the alternative! He builds an adorable stick figure and no one does! I give my sons hints by letting them know a category or a rhyming word.

Tongue Twisters – Laugh Out Loud Word Game

Tongue Twisters is a classic game. My boys crack up coming up with phrases that literally twist their tongues! They work those unique sounds, have fun essentially creating a poem, and challenge themselves to come up with new ideas. My sons enjoy this activity while we're jumping on the trampoline for some reason. Combining learning and movement is always a success in my home.

Nursery Rhyme Variation – Brainy Word Game

Take a classic nursery rhyme, song, or poem and make up your own verse. Ring Around the Roses and Roses are Red are great examples. This activity combines so much language learning. Kids learn while having a blast making up rhymes and discovering parts of speech.

Have fun!

Marnie