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The Math and Science of OOBLECK! | Elementary Homeschooling

June 9, 2010 By Laura 14 Comments

oobleck goop

It wouldn’t be surprising, if many of you have already heard of and made some ‘Oobleck’, with your kids.  Some may know this crazy-fun concoction by another name.  My sister says they call it ‘Goop’.

My kids have indeed made and played with Oobleck before.  I first heard about it at least a few years ago, from my friend Maria, over at Very Blessed Mommy. It’s a downright fun little activity, that will keep your little ones  happy and busy for quite awhile!  It’s appropriate for ages 4-42 (at least ; )

We’ve made it several times since that first, but this time, we looked closer at the educational aspects of math and science, that come with this very intriguing activity!  If we were going to keep playing with the stuff, it just seemed like a good idea to get a little more intellectual about it.    So here we share the recipe for Oobleck, what we learned or reviewed, and as always, too many photos.   (Thanks for understanding.)

Necessary ingredients:  corn starch, water, food coloring, bowl(s), wooden spoon(s), and measuring cups.

The Recipe for one batch:   2 cups of corn starch, mixed with 1 cup of water.  Then a few drops of food coloring.

Now, the recipe calls for 2 parts corn starch to 1 part water.    So the recipe is adequate for two little kids to play with.  But you could make 2 separate batches so they have their own bowl, whether you half the recipe for them or not.

This day, we literally quartered the recipe for each kid that day, because we were running low on corn starch!  But it still worked out alright.    What’s great is, it was an opportunity for the kids to practice their measurement math.

Since the recipe calls for 2 cups, what is 1/4 of that?   How about 1/4 of 1 cup?

Not only is measuring ingredients a great exercise for their math skills, but it’s great for them to follow directions, and do it all themselves!

This is such a perfect summer time activity for kids of all ages.  Mom can make a batch for little ones, just to play in. There is no need to worry about a mess outside! Everything washes very easily away, with water!  I take the hose and just spray off the table and deck.  Once the food coloring is mixed in, there is no worry about color staining either.

My kids had their play clothes on, so I let them put their own color drops in too.


{JM} made his Oobleck blue.

  05_yellow_oobleck
{S} wanted his yellow.

But {O} wanted hers orange.  But there is no orange food coloring, right?  Here was more opportunity to learn; reviewing color mixing of primary colors, to create secondary colors.

So I asked {O}……if the only colors we have, are red, green, blue and yellow, how can we make orange?

She knew, that red + yellow = orange.

Of course……using just a few drops, in relation to the amount of corn starch and water, we got a very light orange.  Similar to peach or orange sherbet.

{JM} decided he wanted to try making his blue Oobleck,  purple.  So I asked him what color he would need to add to his blue, to make purple?

blue + red =  purple

Again….in relation to the amounts of ingredients, we had lavender.

{S} wanted to change turn his yellow Oobleck, green.  Well, he knew that yellow was already a primary color, but so was green. So what would happen if he put green in his yellow?

yellow + green = lime green.

But the most interesting thing about Oobleck, is the constant change in consistency, depending on it’s state. This is where we get into the scientific study.

On appearance, it seems to be a liquid form.  If you run your fingers through it, it is still a liquidy form.  But any act of compression, suddenly turns the liquidy state of substance, more solid.    If you look at the photos below, in frame 1, {S} is just holding a puddle of it in his hands.  But as soon as he starts to squeeze it, in frames 2-4 it turns to a more solid mass.

But left when the compression is relieved, it begins to return to it’s liquid state again.

It’s amazing, isn’t it?

Here is a more specific explanation, taken from this link, which also has different Oobleck activities, for different ages, if you’d like to check it out after.

Water and starch do something unusual when mixed together. The substance they form pours like a liquid, but when squeezed with your hands, becomes solid. When a substance acts like both a liquid and a solid, scientists call it a discrepant substance.     Two things commonly cause this type of change—temperature and pressure.  We will see that temperature has no effect on Oobleck and that its solid or liquid state is influenced only by pressure (or lack of pressure). Squeezing it in our hands turns Oobleck into a solid. But if we hold it without squeezing, it drips through like a liquid. You can roll Oobleck into a ball, but when the rolling stops, it will become a liquidy mess!

It really is a great deal of fun to play with!  And I promise you it is not as impossibly messy as it looks.  And trust me…it looks it! But it washes away with such ease, it’s enough to make any mother smile. A REALLY BIG GRIN!!

The thrill of it it does not wear off, any time soon.

Oh, we never tried shaking hands before!!  How do you do??  <giggles> <giggles>

And the fun goes on and on and…..

…..on.   AND on.

We hope you enjoyed this post.  Have YOU made Oobleck before?  Do you call it something else?  Will you let your kids make some (again) soon?   Oh and, can YOU play with them?

Yes you can.  I sure do.

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Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Elementary Homeschooling HOME ECONOMICS, Elementary Homeschooling MATH, Elementary Homeschooling SCIENCE, Homeschooling, Math, Science Tagged With: color-mixing-lessons-for-kids, goop, goop-recipe, homeschooling-elementary-science, measuring-fun-for-kids, oobleck, oobleck-recipe

Your Kids Might Dig This, Too! | Archeology Digging Fun for Kids | Homeschooling

May 22, 2010 By Laura 2 Comments

If your kids love archeology, digging in the dirt, or finding treasured, they are really going to dig this!
(This post contains an affiliate link.)

archeology for kids

My cousin and her daughter (my God daughter) came down a couple of months ago, for a girl’s overnight with myself and my own 2 girls, and so thoughtfully, she had brought some great gifts for the kids! It was so sweet.  It was unexpected and unnecessary, but I do love gifts that are both project-like, fun and educational.

archeology for kids

This is one of those gifts,…. which was for {JM}:  Dig & Play Treasure Island.

Some may not think of it as educational, initially, but many of us homeschoolers, tend to quickly identify the learning aspects that are truly in just about anything, and everything.

Dig and Play Treasure Island brings out the excavator in your child.  The kit contains a plaster block, which contains buried treasures and coins. Using the specially designed digging tool, they must dig at the plaster little by little, to find the treasures.

It takes hard work, determination and ambition, but is ultimately rewarding.  To me, this helps instill the life lessons, that nothing worth having, comes easy.  What’s more, {JM} spent hours having fun, was excited about what he had found, and inspired to keep going to see what else was still yet to be discovered.

By reading and following the directions (such a necessary skill in life), {JM} learned that wetting the plaster, would make the digging easier, because the plaster would soften. (Science).

Soon he could see the edge of something!  He dug more ambitiously around the treasure, so that he could get it out.

Gold and silver coin treasures were being exhumed all over the place.  Because the plaster digging was a dusty job, {JM} wore a face mask that Daddy had on hand.  But a bandana would do as well.

{JM} also learned that the more water he sprayed on the plaster, the easier the job got!

What’s this?  It looks like a treasure chest!  He wondered what was inside.

Wow!!  Look at the beautiful gems!  And a die?

Dig and Play Treasure Island, also comes with a game board. and game directions.   Game pieces are also exhumed while digging in the plaster block.

So once the digging is all done, the fun doesn’t end!
What a great gift idea, for your kids, or other kids in your life.

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Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling SCIENCE, Games, Homeschooling, Science Tagged With: archeology-for-kids, archeology-projects-for-kids, dig-and-play-treasure-island, educational-games, educational-gifts, elementary-homeschooling-science, homeschooling, homeschooling-archeology

Earth Day 2010

April 24, 2010 By Laura 4 Comments

earth-day-activity-ideas-17 A few years back, we decided to invest some ‘extra’ personal efforts of our own, on Earth Day, to help preserve and protect our environment.

 It has become a tradition of ours, every year since.  Somehow, we’ve been blessed with perfect weather to revel in every year on April 22, as well.   This year was no exception.


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Typically, our Earth Day starts with heading out into our neighborhood in the late morning, with our poke sticks and big trash barrel on wheels, to clean up all of the litter we can find.

As we work our way down the side roads, people drive slowly by, and smile at us, through their puzzled expressions.  As if they are thinking, “What on earth, are they all doing?” (No pun intended. lol).  Some actually roll down their windows, and ask us out loud.  Others get it right away and already know and say, “Are you cleaning up because it is Earth Day?”….to which all the kids say in unison, “Yesssss.”  And they usually say something like, “That’s so niiiiice.  Thank you.”  And again in unison they say, “You’re welcommmme.”

earth day ideas It’s downright sad, to easily find all we do.

We know some escaped the back of a truck on the way to the dump, or blew off someone’s deck by accident, etc.

earth day ideas

We also know how many people just carelessly toss out their vehicle window, anything they are done with.

earth day ideas

We love the part where we get to our beach.

earth day ideas

We don’t find a whole lot of trash on the shore, but some.  There are often adults, settled with their chairs and blankets at the beach, on (school) days as warm and fine as these.  So most of them strike up a conversation with us.  They first group thought we were a real crew, hired to clean up the beach, because of their colored shirts.  But the kids explained, they were trying to wear “Earth Day colors”.  Then they got it…”Ohhhh.  It’s Earth Day….that’s right.”

I know the awareness of Earth Day has slowly grown since the 1960’s.  But it seems we have a ways to go!  For ALL to be aware not only of Earth Day, it’s history and purpose, but to contribute to it’s success every day of the year, through our daily habits.  That’s the goal.

earth day ideas

earth day ideas

For us, our rituals of global love include not only cleaning up, to beautify our environment….

earth day ideas

….but appreciating the beauty and Creation by God already all around us.  Like this huge sea snail I spotted in the rocks, left behind by the receding tide,  as we made or way down the shoreline.  O.k., ‘beauty’ may be a stretch, for a sea snail.  Sure, in it’s shell, it verges on pretty.

earth day ideas

But I am quite sure, out of it’s shell, it’s about as ugly and nasty as the dickens.

earth day ideas The kids studied the sea snail meticulously….

earth day ideas

…and had lengthy discussions about how interesting it was. And big!  Then they decided it would be kind, to return the snail to it’s safe-haven home:  the sea.

earth day ideas

So that’s just what they did, even though it was a bit of a hike to the water line, as the tide was going out.

earth day ideas

But the sea snail seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, or perhaps a thank you, as bubbles quickly rose from it’s shell, to the surface of the water.

earth day ideas

Like any gorgeous weathered day around here by the shore, it’s hard not to feel so blessed, and amazed, at all God has created, for us.  We sure do love it.

Soon, we headed home, ate some lunch, and later on, baked some Earth Day treats!  Cupcakes.

earth day ideas

The cupcakes were deviled food cake mix, aiming for an earthy color.   Then we colored ‘whipped’ vanilla frosting from a can, and got creative.  Going with the whipped was a wise choice.  It was so easier to work with.

I do love the “EARTH” ones, that Michael/Daddy did.

earth day ideas

Michael, {A} and I designed the rest.

earth day ideas

earth day ideas

These 2 were a couple of my favorites.   By sight, and bite.   : )

earth day ideas

Our Earth Day has been  as simple as this, but I have some bigger ideas for the future.  We know many others do special things on Earth Day, and still others do nothing special, but are just good “earthlings” all year long.  (And we appreciate that!)   Did YOU or your kids do anything in particular, at home or at school, for more global awareness, appreciation or nurturing, on Earth Day?

Year round, we try to recycle, conserve energy (for our bills too, lol),  reuse materials, and do other clean-ups on our street now and then, and we never, ever litter!  (We also let anyone we see littering, really ‘have it’.  “Excuse me. Pick that back up, please. NOW!!! <throat clear>. Thank you.”)   Michael wants to put a rain barrel in the ground, to use for watering our gardens.

We hope you had a wonderful EARTH DAY!!  Feel free to share with us anything about your day this year, or any and all tips or habits you use throughout the year, that benefits us all, as we preserve and protect the beauty of our world, together.

(P.S.   After commenting, don’t forget to visit the Home Page!  XO)

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Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Field Trips, Homeschooling, Life In General, The Big Picture, Traditions Tagged With: don't-litter, Earth Day, earth-day-activity-ideas, earth-day-cupcakes, Earth-Day-neighborhood-clean-up, earth-day-snacks, homeschooling, homeschooling-earth-day

How Doing Puzzles Benefits Our Brain

March 21, 2010 By Laura 2 Comments

Puzzles are not only a great deal of fun, challenging, and an enjoyable way to pass time, but putting together puzzles benefits our brains in numerous ways! For people of all ages. The brain can be so fascinating, as we all know, and learning the many ways in which doing puzzles help our brain health, is really cool.  I’m going to tell you the many ways as to how, in just a moment.
(And by the way,  I should also let you know that this post has a couple of affiliate links.)

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Real quick first though, I wanted to show you a very different kind of puzzle, than we had ever done before.

1_esphera-sphere-puzzle

My father had this 540 piece sphere puzzle, and he couldn’t figure it out how to piece it together. So he brought it along when came to visit one weekend, to see if the kids might want to give it a try. It’s a very unique puzzle, in it’s spherical shape, which as you can probably imagine creates new challenges to assemble, as opposed to the more traditional flat table puzzles.

It is a puzzle that is a bit more complicated.  At first glance, the pieces look typical of any other puzzle.
However, they are actually plastic pieces, and have a slight curve to them.

puzzles-benefit-brain-4
puzzles-benefit-brain__5 But the backsides are where they really differ.   They all have a little number on them, from 1-540, which is of course, how many pieces are part of this puzzle.   This is where our 7 year old triplets were able to help the most.  They grouped the numbered puzzle pieces into their proper hundreds:  100’s, 200’s, 300’s, 400’s and 500’s.  And then got them more so in order from there.  Great educational help, from the triplets.
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puzzles-benefit-brain__007  But {A}(12), our oldest, really did most of the puzzle assembly.  You would think the numbers on the back of the pieces, really give away quite a bit, as to what pieces go where.  But if you think about it, each piece connects to at least 4 others.  So number sequence is hardly at play at all times.
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puzzles-benefit-brain-8
It really is a bit a tricky thing, to connect them just right too, as there is no table or hard surface, to press down on.  Out girl found her technique though, and you would, too. In addition to the typical challenges of a puzzle, you don’t have a photo of the puzzle on all sides for this spherical one.  Of course, you do have the numbers to help guide you somewhat.  Still, it does take some focus and attention.
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It’s a proven fact, that puzzles are good for one’s brain.  EHow offers these facts about why puzzles are so good for your brain:

• The brain is a highly complex machine that constantly forms and reinforces connections between its 100 billion cells. Performing mental exercises, such as puzzles, can help form new connections and boost long-term mental performance.
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Making Connections

• Connections between brain cells, and in turn the ability of each neuron to chemically signal the 10,000 or so other cells it connects with, are what form memories.

puzzles-benefit-brain-2

Strengthening Connections

• Memory retrieval and the ability to process new information is associated with brain health.
Puzzles can help with both of these important brain functions by strengthening the connections between brain cells.

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Giving Your Brain a Work Out

• Just as you exercise to build and maintain muscle mass, you can also strengthen your brain by exercising it.
Engaging in problem solving exercises creates new connections in the brain while strengthening old ones.

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Use It or Lose It, Baby!

• If you don’t give your brain a solid work out, your mental strength starts to deteriorate.
As you age, it is important to keep your brain fit through routine exercises.

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Continued Importance Throughout Life

 • According to one study in the Journal of the America Medical Association, elderly people who strengthened their synapses through ten sessions of brain-boosting exercises showed improvement in memory, reasoning skills and mental processing, “well beyond the specific skills the volunteers learned.”

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puzzles-benefit-brain_010

So we can only assume, that puzzles are a great mental exercise, for our kids!  Or anyone, at any age.

I’m thinking with all of benefits for our brain, I could really stand to join my kids doing a few puzzles, or 1,000, myself.  Perhaps the younger kids start enjoying puzzles, the more their brains can benefit from them.    I think I’ll be encouraging doing more puzzles for my own kids, as an activity for those rainy days, or an after-dinner wind down before they settle into bed for the night.  I already know that they love to do crossword puzzles, and the more structural type.  But we need more old fashioned puzzles to put together around here! What a great idea for Christmas present, come to think of it. And putting together puzzles can be a great family-time activity, as well!

Here are some more ways in which kids doing puzzles benefits their brains:

• Hand-Eye Coordination     • Fine Motor Skills      • Gross Motor Skills      • Problem Solving
• Shape Recognition    • Memory    • Setting Small Goals

I haven’t been able to find this fairies design sphere puzzle online yet. But some of you homeschoolers may also love this other Esphera spherical puzzle (540 pieces) that is a world globe, which of course would not only be fun, but a great geography learning as well.

puzzles benefit brain
But if you and your family prefer traditional puzzles, they are just as fun, and of course give you all the benefits, too!

puzzles-benefit-brain-1

All in all, I think the likely perks of doing puzzles now and then, can be great for anyone.  If nothing else, it’s a leisure and relaxing activity, that exercises patience and persistence as well.   But as we all know now, there is so much more in it for all of us, than that!

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Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Games, Homeschooling, Middle School Homeschooling, Science, The Big Picture Tagged With: brain-development-activities, educational-games-for-kids, homeschooling, how-puzzles-benefit-our-brain, puzzles, puzzles-develop-brain, puzzles-increase-memory, puzzles-make-you-smarter

The Benefits of Kids Using Their Own Creative Imagination: Making Something Out Of Anything

March 8, 2010 By Laura 9 Comments

Sometimes, I like to plan my kids crafts and art. But whether I plan arts and crafts or not,  it still happens in this house, and all over this house, every day! The kids sure don’t need me, to come up with creative ideas. The kids use their own imagination, and it’s awesome!  In fact, I’d go so far as to say, that their wild imagination tends to venture further than mine does.  And frankly, their are great benefits of kids using their own creative imagination.

While a child following directions (such as to make someone else’s craft idea) is crucial skill to their development, the benefits of a child completely using their very own imagination, far outweighs it. In thinking of and creating their own ideas/crafts/creations, they are:
– developing brainstorming skills
– learning how to think outside of the box
– developing planning skills
– learning how to problem-solve
– developing the abilities of an inventor!
– developing great personal character
– increasing their own self-confidence
– . . . . and so-much-more.

So, I try to keep the school room stocked with art supplies at all times, so that the kids can get creating any time it strikes their fancy to.  But to tell you the truth, they often end up using lots of materials I didn’t supply, or would have never even thought of! Every time I turn around in this house, there is some new creation sitting there, or they are playing with one, or someone is suddenly at my side saying, “Mama, look what I made!“.   I’m always surprised, over and over, by their creativity.  But really, I shouldn’t be anymore.

Here are just a very few things our young triplets have made lately, that I have found around the house, and happened to get photographed.

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A robot, made by {JM}.  Materials used:  a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee cup, paint, marker, and a toy car.  You should see it travel across the floor.

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Pistachio Shell Art, made by {A}.
Materials used:  Pistachio shells, and markers.
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A Tissue Paper Doll, made by {O}.
Materials used:  Tissue paper, glue, wooden screw cover buttons, and pencil.

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A Pop-Up Card made by {JM}.
Materials used:  Paper, marker, black pen, scissors, and glue.

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A Deck Hang-Out 2-Dimensional Art Piece, made by {JM}.  Materials used:  Rubber material (the scraps from a kit), ribbon, tape, glue,  a pencil, a cupcake tin, and firewood.

*Note:  {JM} made this creation for someone we really care about, who suffers from frequent migraines.

kids-creative-imagination-crafts

The hammock, which is my favorite part, is so she can lie there and relax until she feels better.  Since the project is so big and heavy, we decided to just send her photos, which she really appreciated.  She used one of the photos, in a blog post of her own, about migraines.
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A Watercolor Painting, made by {S}.  Materials used:  Paper, Crayola watercolors, pencil, brush and water.

I think I can let go of the guilt I feel sometimes, when I haven’t planned a craft project in awhile.  I don’t think they even need me.
And leaving the kids to figure out all of their own creative activities, is a gift of some time to us parents!  More time to do what we need or want to do, while they are busy making awesome things!

I encourage you, to encourage your children’s very own imagination! On the next rainy day, or a day they say they are ‘bored’, challenge them to find different kind of materials around the house, or even from outdoors, and make something creative and really unique! And when they do, and show you, make them feel really good about what they created! Because it is their very own imagination and efforts on display, and it has grown them in more positive ways than can meet the eye. And that is something to celebrate!
They may just inspire you too, as my own kids creations inspire me.
Please consider sharing, and spreading the creative inspiration.

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Filed Under: Crafts & Creations, Elementary Homeschooling, Homeschooling, Kids Arts and Crafts, Kids Arts and Crafts Tagged With: art, creativity, developing-your-childs-imagination, encouraging-your-kids-imagination, homeschooling, kids crafts, kids-arts-and-crafts, kids-creativity, kids-imagination, Parenting, positive-parenting, rainy-day-ideas-for-your-kids, robot-craft, tissue-paper-doll-craft

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