Thinking of ways to keep kids busy and mindfully engaged during the summer is every parents brain teaser. In an attempt to keep them well occupied with things which are fun and educational, we can stretch our parental creativity to what seems beyond it’s limits. Although, I’ve been very fortunate to have a support system from other mothers and parents in general, which has provided me some fun summer backyard science experiments . These have proved themselves to be successful for keeping my kids occupied and happy. Try some of these summer science projects at your house.
Homemade Bubbles
What 2 or 3 year old isn’t happy as a clam with the onset of bubbles? We’ve made homemade bubble solution at our house on numerous occasions, with plenty of anticipation to blow bubbles throughout the process. In fact, once my 2 or 3 year old knew making homemade bubbles was the plan, we couldn’t contain the laughter. Just do an online search to see what homemade bubble solution you feel most comfortable with, and let the bubble blowing begin.
Homemade Mentos Geyser
Progressing to your older kids… say around the ages of 7 or 8, you’ll find a great experiment involving adding Mentos candy to a bottle of white soda. The explosion that takes place after the Mentos candy has been added cannot be outdone. Mostly because the kids get such a bang out of watching the spout of soda shooting up to approximately 10 or 20 feet in the air. The look on my kids faces while this explosion occurred was priceless.
Sink or Swim
Enjoy a pleasant nature walk with your younger kids . Help them choose things from nature that will either sink or float on water. Have fun collecting leaves, rocks, acorns, feathers and any other outdoor items which catch your eye. Then take your findings home, fill a bucket of water and ask your child if the item will sink or float. Younger kids have fun with the anticipation of seeing if they’ve guessed right.
Backyard Weather Station
Take a trip to the hobby shop with your older kids ages 7 and older to pick up supplies for a backyard weather station. You’ll be able to pick up a thermometer for measuring outside temperature, a rain gauge to measure rainfall, a wind/weather vane to keep track of wind speeds, and a journal to record all of their findings. Discuss with the kids how often they’d like to record data and for how long before the experiment begins. You can also get various plans for backyard weather experiments online to help you prepare ahead. My kids loved taking turns recording the daily changes.
Source: Personal experience.
