I just love alliteration, don't you?!

I don't know what the weather's been like in your neck of the woods, but in ours it's been simply delightful!  I can hardly believe it's August with the low humidity and Spring-like temperatures and periodical rain.  Last August we were well on our way to temps close to 100 degrees and a drought!  It's made for some really blessed Nature time in God's creation.  And we've also used this opportunity to do more outside science experiments.

All of the experiments we have done came from  Nature in a Nutshell for Kids, i love dirt, or Wild Science Projects About Earth's Weather.

Sun, Shade and Ground Temperature

-How does the temperature in the sun, in the shade, and underground differ on a Summer day?

First we placed our thermometer on a piece of cardboard and set it in the sun for a few minutes, then we recorded down the temperature which was 90 degrees (the last of the hot days since) onto our Science Journals.

Then we moved the cardboard and thermometer into the shade a waited about five minutes.  And we recorded the temperature again, which was now about 86 degrees.  Did you know that the sun's surface is about 11,000 degrees Fahrenheit.  That's about 2-300 times hotter than the Earth's surface!

Then we wanted to know how the temperature would vary underground.  So we dug a hole and placed the thermometer in it and covered it up with the cardboard.  And waited about 5 minutes.

Then we recorded the temperature, which was a cool 79 degrees.  Then Hannah wanted to experience this in a really "real" way, so she got the idea to bury her hand.  "Ahhh, so cool," she noted outloud.

Our sun is a star and stars are giant balls of hot gas.  Our sun is the closest star to Earth.  It is the perfect distance away, not too close, not too far, just right for us to benefit from the energy it provides.  Placed just right by a just perfect Creator.

 Low Humidity

- Why do you feel coooler when the humidity is low?

On another, much cooler, low humidity and sunny day, we headed out for another nature walk.  This time we wanted to know if the humidity was low, like today, why it felt so much cooler.  So again, first we took the temperature in the sun.  It measured a beautiful 79 degrees.

The air always contains water, even though the water cannot be seen.  Humidity is the measurement of the weight of water in a specific volume of air.  On low humidity days there is lots of room in the air because the amount of water is low.  Because of this, water evaporates much more easily in low humidity because there is room for the air to absorb the water.  And when water evaporates, it takes heat from objects around it which makes it feel much cooler.  I admit this was a bit of a confusing concept for us at first, but we finally grasped onto it.  So, we wanted to see this for ourselves.

We wrapped a wet cloth around the thermometer and placed the other end in a bucket of water to keep the cloth wet.  After just a few moments the thermometer began to come down to 75 degrees.  Cool!

Shadow Watch

- What happens to a shadow after a few minutes?

On yet another sunny day nature walk we brought along a thermometer, a piece of cardboard, an object (we choose a clay pot), and a pencil.  This time we were on a quest to find out if shadows will change shapes or sizes if an object doesn't move.

We placed the cardboard and object down in the sunlight, and drew an outline of where the shadow was.

A shadow is made when an object blocks the light rays falling on it.  The shadow is about the shape of the object that blocks out the light.  In our case our shadow, created by sunlight, was about the shape of the clay pot.  As the earth moves, the angle of the sun's light on the object changes which causes the shadow to change.

After just about 10 minutes we returned to our shadow to find that it indeed had changed.

LAST, but not least...

Chlorophyll Test

- Why is grass green?

One day we were reading about how grass and other plants are green because they contain a pigment called chlorophyll.  Chlorophyll is vital to plants, because without it photosynthesis couldn't take place, which is how the plant gets fed.  The kids both wanted to see this green pigment for themselves.  So we decided to do the experiment where you take a piece of paper and put it on the grass and step on it, smudging it into the paper.  When we looked at the paper there was only a very small amount of green on it.  We weren't satisifed with that!  So Hannah came up with a great idea to show chlorophyll, and she wanted to share it with you! 

Don't worry, it washes off with the garden hose!

Summer is such a great time to grab up some materials and get out in the great outdoors for science experiments.  I'm sure when the weather turns cold, we'll be back inside our schoolroom for most experiments, so we're enjoying the gorgeous weather and using it for school as much as possible!

This is a really neat and fun experiment that my daughter asked to do today.  She remembered it from a library program she attended a couple of years ago.  I decided to let her get a little "in front of the camera" experience and walk us through the experiment.  After all she's the one who knew how to do it!

For detailed instructions and the how and whys of the experiment go to Tie-Dyed Milk Experiment.

We are also doing the fun experiment to find out how plants and flowers give themselves a drink of water, by putting white daisies into water tinted with food colors.  If it works, in a day or so we should have red, blue, yellow and green daisies!

With all the rainy days we've been having lately, it seemed appropriate to "shower" ourselves with a great rain science experiment using Wild Science Projects About Earth's Weather.

All we needed is an aluminum pie pan, a glass jar or cup, ice, and hot water.

First I asked the kids what they thought makes it rain, and they filled out their predictions on a Science Journal page.

Then, Alex filled our pie pan with the ice cubes.

And Hannah added the hot water to the jar.

Next, Alex helped me balance the pan on top of the jar.

Then, we had to set a timer and wait for 15 minutes.  During that time, they drew a picture of what we were doing on their Science Journal.  As you can see, Gabby is filling hers out too! :)  She kept asking "How do you spell B?" LOL

When the timer rang, we came back to observe water droplets forming on the bottom of the pan above the jar, and if we knocked the pan slightly while it is still sitting on the jar, they would fall down back into the jar.

Lastly, we discussed in detail the reasons why it rains and the water cycle, using the experiment book and this website (www.metoffice.gov.uk/education/primary/students/watercycle.html) which provided us with the following step by step water cycle process description:

The Water Cycle

Stage 1

The first stage of the water cycle is when moisture from the sea and plants is lifted into the atmosphere. As the sun beats down it warms the oceans, rivers and lakes. This causes the water to rise into the air as water vapour. This process is known as evaporation. A tiny amount of moisture is also released from trees and plants. This is known as transpiration.

Stage 2

As the water vapour rises in the atmosphere, it cools and condenses, forming clouds. This process is known as condensation. It is the same process that makes you see your breath on a cold winter morning. The clouds will then produce rain or snow (known as precipitation) which returns to the Earth's surface as water. The cycle then starts all over again.

Stage 3

Only about three quarters of the rain which falls back to Earth lands in the oceans. This is much less than leaves in the first place. The remaining water makes only a slow return to the oceans. Most is locked up in glaciers and icebergs and can take several thousands of years to complete its cycle. In tropical areas the process can take just a few hours.

The remaining water runs slowly overground, seeps into the ground or is taken up by plants as the cycle begins again.

We concluded by discussing whether their predictions were accurate and finished up the Science Journals.  COOL!

Today, for Alex's reading, he read to me the simple, but very educational, book called Who Likes the Rain? by Etta Kaner.  This book may seem early elementary, but I learned quite a bit from it!

I am gearing up for a cloud unit study in the spring, when of course the weather stays warm long enough for us to cloud gaze in comfort!  I'm thinking another few weeks maybe.

Today, we enjoyed a fun Science experiment from Wild Science Projects About Earth's Weather.  My son is weather crazy, anything and everything to do with weather, he's into it.  And my daughter thinks its pretty cool too.  So all of the experiments in this book are on target with us.

The experiment we did today was on the temperature and season changes.  I felt with Spring upon us, this was a good time to make a great visual of why our temps and seasons change.  We have had lessons on this in our past "textbook" era, but never have we been able to make it so visual and hands-on.

Before the experiment, I gave them an overview of what we were doing and asked them why they thought we had changes in temperatures and seasons.  Then they wrote a couple of sentences with their thoughts and predictions on their Science Journal page.

All we needed was a sheet of white paper, globe, flashlight, and a dark room.  First, we placed the white paper on the floor, and for a better visual aid we used one of my son's little plastic men to put in the center (this was optional).  Then, they held up the flashlight straight overhead to illustrate when the sun is directly shining down and is hotter, and then held the flashlight at an angle to illustrate when the sun is hitting us more on an angle and the heat is less potent.

Then we used the globe to show how this concept makes our seasons happen.  By pointing the flashlight directly on the Tropic of Capricorn and demonstrating how the Earth travels and tilts.

Honestly, I learned a lot too!  I had some of my facts a bit crossed, so I enjoyed getting hands-on clarification about the whole subject too.

Then, Hannah finished up her Science Journal.

Apparently Alex was finished with writing for the day!!  At least I got him to do a little bit.