Elmer
Reminding us that we are happiest in our own skin, this story may also lead to an investigation of colour and camouflage in the animal world.
Optics
Isaac and his amazing Asperger superpowers!
Isaac’s brain works differently, giving him “superpowers”, such as being able to remember many things and hearing noises that others can’t.
Mr Archimedes’ bath
Mr Archimedes’ bath overflows when he and his friends hop in, so he starts measuring and experimenting to try and understand why.
Potions and lotions
A chance to experiment with smells, textures and, although not in this activity unless heavily supervised, tastes is part of our experiences of the world. Using our senses is important to developing our sense of the world. This activity is a wonderful way to use STEM to develop observational skills.
Making chalk paint
Make your own rainbow chalk using household ingredients and in the process help children learn about measurement, viscosity, fluids and colour mixing. Do you know what a non-newtonian fluid is? You will after this Little Scientists at Home activity.
Dyeing eggs with natural dye for Easter
You can see good results dyeing eggs with food colouring but to be honest, we used up all the food colouring in our house tie-dyeing t-shirts recently, so this year we had to improvise and try natural dyes instead. Luckily, our garden and the pantry provided some great options! But of course, it was not all smooth sailing so find out what we did!
The day the crayons quit
Why not get out crayons and talk to the children about their favourite colours? Are there any rules about which colour should be used when?
Twig
This gentle story about a stick insect who camouflages among the trees touches on how differences in abilities can enrich our lives.
Water bottle wind spirals
Make your own wind spirals then put your STEM hat on and ask yourself: What could children be pondering when watching the spirals spin in the wind? What question could I pose to spark children’s interest in air?