Glowing Germs and GIANTmicrobes

August 19, 2008 at 12:48 pm · Comments (6)
Wordcount: 275

I absolutely love Steve Spangler, and so does my son. He spends alot of time on the Steve Spangler Science Website. As I’ve said before, one of his favorite subjects in school is science, and he aspires to be a scientist when he grows up. (yeah, awwwwee.) Anyway, as Steve Spangler says, it’s kind of hard to teach kids about germs because you can’t really see them. So now they’ve come up with giant germs, which are basically stuffed germ “animals” that resemble the germs themselves and I guess how they look under a microscope. They’re actually called GIANTmicrobes, and some of them are actually kind of cute. I’m not completely sure about that whole thing, but it’s a neat idea. They even have an H.I.V microbe. If you are interested in any of these you can pick them up at the Steve Spangler website or you can visit www.giantmicrobes.com.

Anyway, along with the GIANTmicrobes toys, there are some other things that you can use to help teach your child about germs. One of these things is called GLO germ lotion and when it’s applied to your hands or any other item, and a black light is used the germs will all glow. You can rub it on your child’s hands early in the morning, it goes on and dries clear, and when the day is over, you can use a blacklight to show your child all of the different things he or she has touched and help teach the importance of washing their hands and also keeping things clean. Check out the video for more info, he explains it alot better than I do.

Commenters: Claudine, Mamacita, robert hall

Jack Spangler’s Mentos Soda Pop Drop

August 11, 2008 at 7:05 pm · Comments (4)
Wordcount: 78

I know I’ve posted a video up here before about mentos and coke, but this is a little different. Steve Spangler’s extremely intelligent son Jack Spangler made a little invention to fill up a bunch of cups of soda all at once using the mentos exploding soda experiment and a little contraption he made. He felt that it was too much “work” to turn the bottle upside down and pour it the regular, boring way. Isn’t he cute?

Man, my son loves this stuff!

Commenters: Julie, Mamacita

Creative Writing

August 7, 2008 at 5:42 pm · Comments (4)
Wordcount: 138

I was going through some of my son’s old school work from last year and I found his creative writing folder. There’s some pretty funny stuff in here, let me tell ya…

Why my son wouldn’t ever want to be a Pirate

I would not want to be a pirate because they are smelly, they never brush their teeth, and they never take a bath. I do not want to be a pirate because they are always on a boat and I would be sea sick. I do not want to be a pirate because they do nothing but look for treasure. I would rather give the treasure to the poor. I do not want to be a pirate because they are jerks, they are rude, and they steal.

I don’t know about anyone else, but that is just too cute.

Commenters: Heather, Julie, Maria

Viscosity - Science For Kids

July 22, 2008 at 8:18 pm · Comments (1)
Wordcount: 164

Here’s a simple science experiment that my son and I did recently. It’s a little experiment that is used to compare the viscosity, or thickness, of different liquids.

For our experiment we used water, cooking oil and maple syrup. You’ll need to use liquids that are at least a little transparent so that you can see through them. Fill either 3 jars or glasses each with one of the liquids you have chosen. Drop a marble into the water and use a stop watch with a second hand to determine how long it takes to fall to the bottom. Record the result on a piece of paper. Do the same with the other liquids, and then compare to see which one took the longest. Discuss with your child which took the longest and why.

See? I told ya it was simple. If you’ve got any fun ideas for science experiments, comment or email me and let me know. I’d love to hear your ideas.

Commenters: Julie

Science Class Is Canceled

July 8, 2008 at 2:52 pm · Comments (4)
Wordcount: 391

So I called the Community Center where Eric would have been taking his science class tomorrow and every Wednesday this month, and was informed that the class had been canceled because there were not enough children enrolled for the month of July. The June and August classes were full though, which really sucks. She said she had tried to call but didn’t have a good number. This is because I recently switched cell phone companies and forgot to inform them of the new number. I called Eric at my mom’s and he asked if he could stay one more night over there then, since he didn’t have the class tomorrow. I said yes, though I miss him terribly, he’s having a good time over there. I am kind of annoyed by the whole situation, but it is my fault for not informing them of the new number. Otherwise they might have been able to get him in on one of the other sessions. He’s still on for the Mini Gourmet cooking classes though. He’s excited about that.

I decided that since he wasn’t able to take the science class I would use the money they are refunding me and buy him and his friend a pass to their game room and skate park. With passes to the game room, they have access to the gym also. I figure I could take him up there for a couple of hours.. maybe 2 or 3 times a week. He might enjoy himself, and make some new friends. I also plan on taking him to the skate park they have and the playground a few times this coming month. He’s also got his swimming lessons starting July 21st.

I’ve also decided that since he hasn’t been reading as much this summer as I’d like, that I’m going to set aside one hour every evening for us both to dedicate to reading. I personally believe that reading is a vital element in any child’s education and the learning process in general. It keeps your mind sharp and helps children learn to absorb and process information quicker. He’s got some really awesome books to keep him busy and we also just ordered him an Encyclopedia Brown box set from Amazon.com. Right now he’s currently in the middle of book one in the Chronicles Of Narnia series.

Commenters: Julie, Thao