MotherReader

STEM Friday focuses on books that promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Over the year I’ll be sharing the preschool program I created for the library and that I’m presenting once a month. The concept behind the program is to introduce science topics by combining fiction and nonfiction, songs and mini-experiments, action rhymes and hands-on times. As a preschool program the information conveyed is basic, and intended to encourage a questioning, observational approach to scientific topics. At the end, I leave up the mini-experiments for the kids to explore with me or a parent, and I explain that experiments should be done with a grown-up.

Bubbles

Book: Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum by Lisa Wheeler

Action Rhyme: Bubblegum
Bubblegum, Bubblegum
Icky, Sticky Bubblegum
Icky sticky, icky sticky bubblegum
We blow, and blow, and blow and pop!
Oh, no! It’s on my toe!
(Pull, pull and pull until it comes off)
(repeat with different body parts)

Book: Pop! A Book About Bubbles by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Experiment: Lots of Bubbles
Pour some drinks and spot the bubbles in soda, water, and milk. Now take a straw and gently blow into the drink. Now what happens with the bubbles? The water will bubble, but the bubbles disappear quickly. The soda will keep making bubbles, but they don’t stay around either. The milk is stickier than water so the bubbles will stay at the top of the glass for a while.

Book: Bubble Bath Pirates! By Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Experiment: Give the Duck A Bath
Put a rubber duck in a tub with a little bit of bubble bath. The bubble bath solution doesn’t do anything on its own; you have to swish it around. Why? You need to add air to the water which you do by swishing your hand in the water. The more air you move into the water, the more bubbles you have.

Book: Bubble Trouble by Margaret Mahy

Experiment: Bubbles In The Sun
Blow bubbles, outside if possible, and observe that all bubbles are spheres and see the rainbows that the sun makes on the soap.

There’s a new meme in town. STEM Friday focuses on books that promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. The round-up this week is hosted at, well, STEM Friday.

Over the year I’ll be sharing the preschool program I created for the library and that I’m presenting once a month. The concept behind the program is to introduce science topics by combining fiction and nonfiction, songs and mini-experiments, action rhymes and hands-on times. As a preschool program the information conveyed is basic, and intended to encourage a questioning, observational approach to scientific topics.
Rocks
Book: Rocks in His Head, by Carol Hurst

Hands-on "Rock Show"
Examine different kinds of rocks: from the garden, the ocean, caves, polished, carved, etc. Maybe kids can bring their own rocks.

Book: Rocks, Rocks Big and Small, by Joanne Barkan

Experiment: "Rock Layers"
Layer modeling clay lightly in sheets and press together to show how rocks can press made in the compression of layers.

Book: Let's Go Rock Collecting, by Roma Gans

Experiment: "How Does Solid Rock Melt?"
Fill a cup with warm tap water. Put a spoon in the cup of water. After 30 seconds remove the spoon, and put a chocolate chip in the spoon and see it melt. Though rocks are also solid, when they reach they’re melting point they become magma.

Book: If You Find a Rock, by Peggy Christian

Hands-on: "Rock Collector"
Look at different kinds of rocks. How would you put them in categores? By color? By size?
By name? Test rocks for hardness by scraping with a penny and piece of quartz. Scrape the rock across a surface to see if it makes a mark.

There’s a new meme in town. STEM Friday focuses on books that promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. The round-up this week is hosted at Simply Science.

Over the year I’ll be sharing the preschool program I created for the library and that I’m presenting once a month. The concept behind the program is to introduce science topics by combining fiction and nonfiction, songs and mini-experiments, action rhymes and hands-on times. The target age for the program is three to six years old, so the information conveyed is basic, and intended to encourage a questioning, observational approach to scientific topics.


Book: Kidogo, by Anik McGrory

Experiment: “Big or Little”
Hold up various objects – pencils, stuffed animals, etc. — and decide as a group if they are big or little. What do we have to consider? Comparison? The use of the object? Standard sizes of the object? What makes something big or little? This exercise shows that description is subjective, and we need more standard ways of measuring.

Book: How Long Is It? by Donna Loughran

Experiment: “I Need an Envelope”
Each child has a card and needs to order an envelope of the right size. The child measures the envelope with any of the following units: fingers, paper clips, or pencils. The instructor fills the order, but the envelope doesn’t fit. Why not? Because the adult filling the order has a bigger finger, smaller paper clip, and smaller pencil. This exercise demonstrates why standard measuring systems are needed.

Book: Measuring Penny, by Loreen Leedy

Experiment: “Types of Measuring”
Show different items and ask the group what they measure. Things like a measuring cup & spoons, a scale, a thermometer, a ruler, measuring tape, a scale, etc. What else measures?

Book: Magnus Maximus, a Marvelous Measurer, by Kathleen Pelley

Experiment: “How Big Is It?”
Hands-on time to measure different items. Each child has a paper ruler (look online for templates) and a pencil. Six items to measure are a pencil, an envelope, a card, post-it notes, a book, and paper clips. This is also time to explore the other measuring items from “Types of Measuring.” Have beads and pom-poms for the measuring spoons and cups, let the children measure each other with the tape, and weigh themselves on the scale. (Put away the thermometer before somebody sticks it in his mouth. Lesson learned.)