I LOVE astronomy. It all started when my mom rented me Space Camp from our local video store about 30 years ago. I became absolutely obsessed with that movie. As a junior in high school, I figured out how to enroll in our local community college so I could take Intro to Astronomy over the summer. ...
Middle School Learning
Cloud in a Jar Experiment
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For the past several months, my kids and I have been studying Earth Science using the Sassafras Science Adventures curriculum. (My kids still enjoy this curriculum after 2 full years. Click here for my full unsponsored review.) However, as the school year draws to a close, we've definitely fallen ...
Color-Changing Invisible Ink
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What better way to get kids excited about science than with an experiment straight out of a spy novel? Write a secret message using colorless ink, wait for it to dry, then use a special secret solution to reveal the message. This activity was inspired by the Berlin blue experiment in this chemistry ...
Extracting DNA from a Strawberry
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Extracting DNA in the kitchen? I know what you're thinking. That *sounds* cool, but I'm sure it's way too complicated. At least, that's what I thought. I'd seen some instructions in the past that involved weird ingredients and lots of waiting and I figured, my kids won't be up for that. Then we did ...
Raspberry Pi Computer Building for Kids
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I'll be honest. I'm a little cheap. I wasn't always this way, but I've been with my ultra-frugal husband for almost 20 years now (crazy) and he's rubbed off a bit. An organization in my area that provides STEM classes for kids recently advertised a computer building class for nearly FOUR HUNDRED ...
Homemade Traveler’s Notebook
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A couple months back, I was listening to this homeschooling podcast, when the interviewee said that her kids used traveler's notebooks. I was intrigued by the idea of my kids journaling in notebooks which could be easily and inexpensively swapped out as they filled them up. I ended up making 4 ...
Low Floor High Ceiling Math Problems
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Last spring, when I said I wanted to teach a math class to kids between the ages of 9 and 14 at our local homeschool co-op, people looked at me like I was crazy. "You can't teach the same math to a 9 and 14 year old." "Their ability levels vary too greatly to do math in a co-op setting." That's what ...
United States Quarter Collection
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I made this United States quarter collection board so my 7 year old could collect the coins from all 50 states. Since he spent the past year learning United States geography, I thought it would be a fun and educational summer activity for him. However, it's my 5 year old daughter who has really ...
Homemade Spinning Brushbot
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What better way to get kids interested in science and technology than fun, hands-on projects that move on their own? This simple, homemade, spinning brushbot was inspired by the book How to Build Robots. This book recommends taking apart a battery-powered, electric toothbrush to get the parts for ...
United States of America Toothpick Map
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Geography is not my strong suit. I am determined, however, that the same will not be true for my kids. I'm going to do what I can to ensure that they don't have to live their lives in quiet embarrassment, hoping that no one ever asks them to point out Delaware on a map. This homemade United States ...
Michelle has a PhD in Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor's Degree from the California Institute of Technology. 