Thanks to Lynn at homeschooling with heart for these links.

Debbie And Whales:
http://www.destinat ioncinema. com/our_films/ whales/documents /v1_5.pdf

Fish:
http://www.ncfisher ies.net/kids/ fish.htm
http://www.kidskonn ect.com/Fish/ FishHome. html

Marine Life Kid's Corner:
http://www.fishid. com/facts. htm

Ocean Animal Printouts:
http://www.enchante dlearning. com/subjects/ ocean/Oceanlife. shtml

Ocean In A Jar:
http://scidiv. bcc.ctc.edu/ gj/Crystals- BathSalts. pdf

Shark Surprise:
http://www.eduplace .com/rdg/ gen_act/fishy/ shark1.html

A Sailor Went To Sea Sea Sea:
http://www.kididdle s.com/mouseum/ s043.html

Five Little Tunafish:
http://www.kididdle s.com/mouseum/ f054.html

Have You Ever Been Fishing:
http://www.kididdle s.com/mouseum/ h017.html

Ocean Activities:
http://www.kinderar t.com/littles/ undersea. shtml

Paper Fish Craft:
http://www.mssscraf ts.com/crafts/ paperfish/

Pie Plate Fish:
http://www.kinderar t.com/recycle/ piefish.shtml

Storybook Art: Swimmy:
http://www.kinderar t.com/across/ swimmy.shtml

Under The Sea Crafts:
http://www.danielle splace.com/ html/under_ the_sea.html

Whale Unit:
http://www.northcan ton.sparcc. org/~greentown/ whale.htm

This is a neat science experiment from that creator of crafty ideas, Lynn from Homeschooling With Heart.

Wave Maker

Supplies:
Clear, Plastic Bottle (atleast 10 inches high)
Denatured Alcohol
Blue Food Color
Vegetable Oil

Fill the bottle three-fourths full using denatured alcohol. Add blue
food coloring (make it a deep blue) Fill the bottle with cooking oil,
leaving a small space at the top. Glue the top on for safety. The substances
will not mix and the water will move like a wave over the oil when moved up and down.

Have your kids make their own set of flashcards to study the clouds by using index cards and cotton balls. On one side, they can glue the cotton balls on in a way that describes that cloud by sight. On the other side, they can write their answer of what type of cloud it is called. They can also describe what the weather will be like on that kind of day that the cloud forms. For example, "stratus" clouds are gray and are the lowest in the sky. So your kids may spread out the cotton ball and color over top of it with a gray crayon or marker. It should also be positioned on the lower half of the index card. On the backside of the card it would say its name plus that it means there might be a light rain. Do the same for "nimbostratus", "cirrus", and "cumulus" clouds.

You will need:

a metal can
crushed ice
salt

What to do: Place 3 teaspoons of salt into the metal can, fill it halfway with crushed ice, add 3 more teaspoons of salt and fill with more crushed ice. (Leave one inch at the top.)  Stir this mixture until a thin layer of frost appears on the outside of the can.

Why this happens:  Frost is the ice crystals that forms when water vapor is cooled to below freezing. As the moisture condenses, it collects as frost.

Jennifer  has been busily creating a rock study and has graciously agreed to share it with us! Thanks, Jennifer. Be sure to check out her blog for lots of neat ideas and interesting reading.

Sedimentary
Introduce sedimentary - show the "ingredients" and talk about observable characteristics?

6-8 year olds - 1. Use legos to practice "layers" for a few minutes. 2. Fill jars with layers (graham cracker crumbs, corn meal, flour) to imitate sedimentary rock. 3. Place small shells in plaster of Paris for fossils.

9-12 year olds - 1. Learn about the formation of sedimentary with a sand castle. 2. Make sedimentary rock (sandstone) using sand, water, and epsom salts. I think we can place shells in this for fossil as well. (Becomes a take home. to dry and comes back.) 3. Perform acid test for limestone identification. 4. Perform a basic scratch test and ID.

*Both groups will have the opportunity to "search for fossils" in a pre-made bin.

Igneous  (What I want to do: have the kids see how a viscous liquid can harden.)
6-8 year olds will make "lava rock" out of gingerbread icing. 
9-12 year olds will talk about the different types of igneous rock. (EX: intrusive/extrusive/a'a/pahoehoe) Then they will demonstrate the experiment for everyone in the group: volcano eruption. (Set up on a tarp primarily in advance!)

Metamorphic
Combine both age groups for this activity? (Must be done early to allow for observation.)
1. Form three small balls of clay (try some layers in them via different colors).
2. Freeze the balls before the experiment.
3. Place a heavy brick on top of the frozen balls.
4. Observe what happens. Talk about how this relates to Metamorphic formation (heat & pressure).

This is the recipe for the volcano.

1 tablespoon liquid dishwashing soap
3 drops red food coloring
1 cup vinegar
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
You will also need 1 empty 25oz. plastic bottle.

This is sung to "Oh my darling, Clementine."

Water, water all around,

much more sea than solid ground.

Two third's water, mostly sea,

on our globe, that's what you'll see.

Should we change our name to fit?

Earth just doesn't make a hit.

Oceana rings the bell,

it fits our planet well.

This is sung to "Sing a Song of Sixpence."

We know the earth is filled inside

with hot and melted rock.

And sometimes all that heat builds up

and people come to gawk.

It's better if they stay way back

cause thing's can happen fast.

Sometimes the lava oozes out

sometimes you'll have a blast.

This is sung to "Row, Row, Row, Your Boat."

The moon has phases, waxing , waning,

yes it does, yes it does,

when it's new it can't be seen,

it has no gravity,

it's seen at night, it's seen at night.

The moon has craters, The moon has craters,

but has no life, but has no life.

When it's full it round and bright,

shining in the starry night,

but no atmosphere, no atmosphere.

This helps your child learn how that water which contains dissolved minerals can leave deposits when the water evaporates.

You will need:  A cup of water, salt, measuring spoons, a straw, and a flat dish.

1. Add 2 Tablespoons of salt to the cup of water and stir until the salt is completely dissolved.

2. Fill the straw with the salt water mixture. Place ten drops on your dish, making sure to place them apart from each other. Let the dish sit until the water evaporates and observe what is left.

3. Ask: "What is that? Where did it come from? What would happen if more drops kept depositing more salt in the same location?"

You will need:  a clear plastic box with a clear lid, a small bowl, water, a lamp, ice cubes, and a plastic bag that zips closed.

1. Set the bowl in the box at one end. Fill it with water. This will be the ocean. Close the lid.

2. Position the lamps a few inches above the box's lid, directly over the bowl of water. The lamp will represent the sun. Turn the sun "on" and let it shine over the ocean for 2 hours.

3. Ask, "what happened?"  Where is the water?

4. Now put the ice cubes in the plastic bag and seal it. Set the ice cubes on top of the other end of the box.  Leave the lamp on and wait tow more hours. What happened now? Why?

This helps students compare the difference between the water holding ability of topsoil and sand.

You will need: 2 paper cups, a pencil, sand, potting soil, water, and three measuring cups.

1.  Poke ten small holes in each of the paper cups with a pencil.  Fill the cups two thirds full, one with sand and one with potting soil. Set each inside the measuring cup.

3.  Slowly pour one cup water into each paper cup. Pick up the cups and allow them to drain for two minutes. Set the cups aside and measure how much water is in each measuring cup.

4. Ask:  Which cup has more water? Which type of soil held more water? Why? Why would this be important to us?

The kids can learn how different kinds of sediments settle into layers. For this experiment you will need: sand, silt, gravel, pebbles, an empty clear gallon jar with a lid, and water.

1.  Place a small amount of silt, sand, gravel, and pebbles into the jar and fill it nearly full with water.

2.  Cover and shake carefully. Ask: What will happen when I stop shaking and let the jar sit? What will settle first? Why?

3.  When layers are settled, observe the order they have settled in. Draw a picture of the layers.

In this activity, kids can see how freezing water expands, and pushes things as it does.  (This helps explain why rocks are cracked by water.)

You will need:  a PLASTIC juice bottle with a push close cap (you can't use a screw on cap), water, and a freezer.

1.  Fill the bottle completely with water. Put on the cap and place it in the freezer overnight.

2. Remove the bottle the next day. 

3.  Ask:  "What happened?" "Does frozen water take up more or less space than liquid water?" "If the bottle were a rock, what kind of weathering would this be?" (mechanical)  "Why?"  Because physical force broke the rock, not chemical change.

When pollution in the air mixes with water droplets in the clouds, acid rain can form. This experiment helds kids see how acid rain affects stone and statues.

You will need:  one paper clip, bent open,  a piece of chalk, a lump of clay, a saucer, an eyedropper, and white vinegar.

1.  Make a statue by using the open paper clip to carve details in the chalk.  Stand the chalk upright in the lump of clay and place it on the saucer.

2.  Use the eye dropper to drop the "acid rain" (vinegar) over the statue. While you continue to make it rain,  observe how the statue changes.

3.  Ask "What kind of weathering is this?" (Chemical),  Why? Because the chemical change weakened the chalk.  The calcium carbonate in chalk is related to limestone and marble, the rocks that are most affected by acid rain.

This is sung to "Ten Little Indians."

Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic,

Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic,

Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic,

are the three types of rocks.

This is sung to "Row, Row, Row Your boat."

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet,

these are the colors of a rainbow,

with a prism you can try it.

Extensions-- Use a prism to try to make the colors of a rainbow.  Use the water hose to make a rainbow. Make a picture of a rainbow.

This is sung to She'll be coming around the Mountain.

This is the water cycle, H2o,  This is the water cycle, H2O,

oh, I rise up from the ocean,  I am constantly in motion,

and all life depends on me to live and grow!

This is the water cycle, H2o,  This is the water cycle, H2O,

in the air I group together and then I make all kinds of weather,

and all life depends on me to live and grow,

This is the water cycle, H20, This is the water cycle, H20,

and no matter where you go, I'll be there as rain or snow,

and all life depends on me to live and grow.

This is the water cycle H20, this is the water cycle, H20,

from creeks down to the river to the ocean I deliver,

and all life depends on me to live and grow.

This is the water cycle H20, This is the water cycle H20,

evaporation, condensation, precipitation, transportation,

and all life depends on me to live and grow.

I used to do this with a weather chart. We posted cloudy, sunny, rainy, or whatever daily. This is sung to the tune of "Clementine."

What's the weather?

What's the weather?

What's the weather like today?

Is it rainy? Is it windy?

Are there clouds or is there sun?