How to Answer Kids Science Questions

Kids love to ask why. It is one of the reasons they are such fun when exploring science concepts and simple experiments.  Everything seems amazing.  They want to take apart the world and see how it works. But I have been stumped. A lot. Even on stuff I might know! It is one thing to know it and a completely different thing to be able to explain it in a way that won’t elicit a whole new wave of whys. Sometimes I even do it to myself.  We start with a simple science experiment on the kitchen counter and then I find myself Googling the theories behind buoyancy, magnetism, fire, evaporation, etc., etc., etc. That is where our sponsor, Science 4 Us, came to my rescue.  I found out about them a month or so ago after I wrote of my love for the Vocabulary Spelling City website.  They were super sweet and contacted me and let me know that they had another site. Science4Us.com is a science learning website that has full lesson plans with tons of kid-friendly information on a variety of science topics.  Kids interact with the site through games, taking notes in a notebook, watching funny little videos and taking little assessments in the form of a game show.  Parents/teachers have access to a ton of additional lesson plan information behind the scenes including printable materials.  Those materials come in different forms for Kindergarten, 1st grade, or 2nd grade.  There are 29 lesson modules with each having 8 sessions.

Learning the Science Behind the Activity

There are some demo lessons on Science 4 Us that correlate with activities we have done here at Kids Activities Blog.  I thought it would be fun to connect the two in case you find something that interests your child. Food Choices explained with a food energy lesson – We have explored the My Plate for Kids guidelines to help kids make healthier food choices.  Science 4 Us has an energy module.  You can see part of the food energy information which includes a cute detective video. Force and Motion – We love creating motion with science.  Here are a few of our favorites:

• The basics of motion begin with perspective.  Start with our directions grid game and then watch the location and perspective video which also includes a notebook game.
• Learning about measuring motion can be a really fun lesson.  Start with our bicycle games and then watch the motion video and participate in the 4 minute interactive lesson on how motion is measured.
• Creating a force that propels action starts with an activity like our air pressure experiment and then head over to Science 4 Us to play a game on force mountain.
• Magnets are magical!  Start with our defying gravity with magnets trick and then watch and play all about magnets.
• What about machines that cause motion?  Create a simple machine like our pulley power activity and then head over to watch and play with some other simple machines.

Changes in Matter – It is the perfect time of year to conduct the great rotting pumpkin experiment and then learn more about changes in matter through a video and picture activity. I literally could go on and on!  I have only scratched the surface of what is available for free.  The paid version has volumes of more information and resources for parents and teachers who have to answer the question why. Thanks so much to Science 4 Us for sponsoring this post and letting me use the website with my kids.