Saving money by stocking up on clearance rack candy?
Save even more money on your dentist bill!
Instead of rotting your teeth, turn that candy into a logic-building, skill-building Science Lab! (Look for candies that dissolve easily like Nerds, BottleCaps, SweetTarts, and Skittles. Also, candy that melts easily like M&Ms.)
We discovered Candy Experiments last year and fell in love.
Skills we can teach little ones:
(I knew my B.S. in Biology would pay off one of these days)
* How to create a hypothesis – an educated guess – before the experiment
* How to use clean specimens and equipment, as well as how to keep all other factors constant so that they know for sure the reaction occurred because of the specimen itself.
(For example, we pulled a candy pumpkin out of baking soda water and poured vinegar on it. The outside of the pumpkin fizzed. We might have concluded that the pumpkin reacted with the vinegar, when in fact it was the baking soda residue, don’t ya know. So, I showed Vivienne the importance of using a clean pumpkin for the vinegar bit, and we learned that a candy pumpkin will not be moved – no way, no how – by a teaspoon of vinegar.)
* How to measure accurately.
* How to record results and observations during the experiment.
* How to evaluate their hypothesis: why was it correct or incorrect?
Whether your child is called to life sciences or food sciences she will enjoy this sweet time with you in the kitchen!
These skills will increase her abilities, confidence, and creativity in her home!
