One learns by doing a thing; for though you think you know it, you have no certainty until you try.

-Sophocles

I have to admit that science was the subject that absolutely bored me to tears when I was in public school.  It was dry, dull and disconnected from reality.  What was the point of memorizing these formulas, elements and structure of atoms.  How was that going to impact my life?  Since I took no science-related courses in university, it had been a very long time since I had to think about this. 

How was I going to teach this to my daughters when I dozed off every single time I watched instructional videos on how to teach science in homeschool?  I could handle going out and exploring nature on our farm with my girls but not much more.  Then I decided that the best approach for us was to do projects.  Neither one of them was dreaming of becoming a biophysicist, so why go through the drudgery of those dry science books?

For those moms and children who do find science fascinating, I think that adding real-life hands-on projects will only enhance their love for the subject.

Here are a few suggestions to get your creative juices flowing:


Salt Dough

For the younger crowd, being able to make their own modeling clay is lots of fun.  They can experiment with mixing colors from natural juices from beets, blueberries, turmeric, cabbage, wheat grass or whatever else you may have on hand.  There’s no need (no pun intended) to bore them with the science of it all.  Just have fun and experiment!


Kinetic Projects

Children love movement.  They can construct things as simple as a popsicle stick catapult.  Or something more complex like a Strandbeest.  I LOVE those kits.  Or a kit for making a solar-powered car.  These projects will keep her occupied for hours!


Wingspan

This is such a beautiful game and your children will learn about birds and their habitats as well as forward-thinking skills and strategy.


GeoCaching

On a gorgeous day get outside in nature and learn mapping, compass, patience and determination skills.  You can find coordinates for caches on geocaching.com  You will then navigate the coordinates, search for and find the cache.


Food Preservation

Harvest times are probably the best time of year but food preservation can be done at any time.  Vegetables can be lacto-fermented,  Create your own version of kimchee.  Green tea can be made into kombucha.  You can experiment with a second stage fermentation and add different fruits for a more flavorful drink.  And fruit can be canned.  Besides glass jars no special equipment is needed.  Fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese and eggs can be dehydrated.  These make great snacks for a day of hiking and geocaching.