Magnet Investigation Box!

For my investigation box I decided to do a magnet theme. My box is geared towards 3rd grade and the Next Generation Science Standard that it is connected to is:

3-PS2-3.	Ask questions to determine cause and effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other.

The above pictures are just pictures of the investigation box itself. 

Above is a picture of the 3 books I chose to include in my investigation box. The first one is Magnets: Pulling Together, Pushing Apart by Natalie M. Rosinsky, then What Makes A Magnet by Franklyn M. Branley, and Science: Explore How Things Work. 

 This is a photo of the directions for Activity 1 in the box. In this activity the students use a big magnet to test other objects to see if they are magnetic or non-magnetic. While they test the objects there is a graphic organizer that they color in, if the object is magnetic they color in the smiley face, if it is not magnetic they color in the sad face. The following pictures are of activity 1:

 The above photo is the directions for activity 2. In this activity the child gets to explore what happens when they hold a magnet up to a bottle full of cut up pipe cleaners. There are also questions on this activity sheet to get the child thinking about after they have done the activity. Below is a picture of the activity:

Above is a photo of the directions for activity 3. In this activity the child uses one of the large blue or red magnets and searches the box of rice to find the correct letter magnets to spell their name on the cookie sheet. This is a great sensory activity as well. There are questions on the directions sheet to guide the children in this activity. Below is a picture of this activity:

Above are the directions for activity 4. In this last activity the child uses two magnets, one on top of the cardboard and one below. They guide the magnet along the line on the cardboard. They can even create their own cardboard with what ever kind of line they want to draw. Below is an example:

All of these are great to get children exploring magnets!

Additional resources to learn more!

Science Kids

Easy Science For Kids

Kids Konnect

Physics 4 Kids

10 Science Blogs!

1. 

Learn Play Imagine

This blog has so many activities for all different ages! There is a learn, play, and imagine tab at the top, in these tabs you can chose the grade level and that brings up a variety of activities for that age level. Under the play tab there is indoor, outdoor, sensory, messy, and games. This blog has so many science and other activities that can be used with kids!

2. 

Playdough to Plato

This blog can be used for so much more than just science activities. This blog has preschool through first grade and has options of reading, math, writing, science, fine motor, life skills, pretend play, holidays, and an activity pack. This blog is packed with activities to do throughout all the subject areas and more!

3. 

Reading Confetti

Although this blog is called reading confetti, it is packed with science activities as well. This blog has crafts for tons of holidays, activities for reading, letters, numbers, science, sensory, outdoors, food, games, fine motor, and writing. 

4. 

Lemon Lime Adventures

This blog has tabs like learning, playing, parenting and life, sensory processing, and teaching. There are a variety of science experiments under the learning tab for kids to do. There are also different sensory activities that could even be used along with science. This is a great blog for not only children but teachers and parents as well.

5. 

Buggy and Buddy

Buggy and Buddy is jam packed with activities and books, and all different things! You can create, learn, play, look at books with activities, different themes, and activities for throughout the year. This blog is not only great for science activities but all these other things as well. This is a great blog to check out!

6. 

EDventures with Kids

This blog is more geared towards science activities than the other blogs mentioned above. It has great science experiments to do with kids such as how much water is in snow, exploring habitats, sand paper science, sound waves, and so much more!

7. 

Inner Child Learning

Inner Child Learning has a variety of activities, especially sensory activities for children. You can search learning activities by season, or theme, or even quick and easy activities! This blog has so many activities to search through that children will love!

8. 

Coffee Cups and Crayons

Coffee Cups and Crayons has so many things to check out! There is a tab for all kids activities like crafts, food, old school summer, busy bag of the month, and holiday fun. There is also a tab for learning activities which includes science of course along with math, reading, ABC activities, after school activities, writing, and getting ready for kindergarten. This blog also has ideas for family travel and party ideas so it is great for the whole family!

9. 

A Little Pinch of Perfect

This blog has tabs to create, play, learn, food, holidays, and printables. There is so much more to do and look at than just science activities. There are things to do with sensory play, making play dough, activities to do with the weather, and so much more!

10. 

One Time Through

This blog has arts, crafts, learning, play, sensory, positive parenting, and free printables. There is so much more to browse through than just science activities. This blog is great for teachers and parents as well!

10 Good Read Science Books!

1. 

 10 Things I Can Do To Help My World by Melanie Walsh
Do you remember to turn off the tap while you brush your teeth? How about using both sides of the paper when writing and drawing? Or planting seeds and nurturing the new plants as they grow? Bold, child-friendly illustrations and die-cut pages will draw even the youngest listeners to this gentle reminder of the easy, everyday ways we can be kinder to the earth. This book is great for learning more about recycling and saving our planet.
Source

2. 

What If You Had Animal Teeth by Sandra Markle

Featuring a dozen animals (beaver, great white shark, narwhal, elephant, rattlesnake, naked mole rat, hippopotamus, crocodile, and more), this book explores how different teeth are especially adapted for an animal's survival. At the end of the book, children will discover why their own teeth are just right for them. And they'll also get a friendly reminder to take good care of their teeth, because they're the only teeth they'll ever have. 

Source

3. 

Blizzard by John Rocco

Blizzard is based on John Rocco's childhood experience during the now infamous Blizzard of 1978, which brought fifty-three inches of snow to his town in Rhode Island. Told with a brief text and dynamic illustrations, the book opens with a boy's excitement upon seeing the first snowflake fall outside his classroom window. It ends with the neighborhood's immense relief upon seeing the first snowplow break through on their street. In between the boy watches his familiar landscape transform into something alien, and readers watch him transform into a hero who puts the needs of others first. This is a great book to talk about different types of weather. 

Source

4. 

Even an Octopus Needs a Home by Irene Kelly

From the snug sleeping bags made out of leaves constructed by Honduran white bats to the thirty-feet-high towers filled with passageways and rooms that termites build, animals have impressive abodes. This book shows the variety of different homes that animals live in.

Source

5. 

From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman

A caterpillar comes to school in a jar and the class watches the caterpillar each day as it grows and changes. Soon, it disappears into a hard shell called a chrysalis. Where did it go? This is a perfect beginner's guide to the mystery of metamorphosis.

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6. 

How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro

Have you ever eaten part of a flower? You have if you have eaten an apple! Find out how an apple grows from bud to flower to fruit--ready for you to pick!

Source

7. 

Every Planet Has a Place by Becky Baines

Discover that Every Planet Has a Place. The Earth is just one of many planets in our solar system. Why is this the perfect place for us to live? Which are the "gas planets?" And why have we changed what we think of Pluto? What does Earth look like from space? Will I ever live on Mars? What experiment can I do to swing a planet into orbit?

Source

8. 

What Makes a Magnet by Franklyn M. Branley

Will a magnet pick up a paper clip or a feather? The answer is, just the paper clip. Magnets only pick up things that contain bits of iron. Author Franklyn Branley explains the properties and behavior of magnets. True Kelley's charming illustrations will entertain readers as they discover for themselves what makes a magnet. Hands-on activities include making a magnet and compass.

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9. 

Hail To Spring by Charles Ghigna

Springtime weather can bring big storms. Lyrical, rhyming text takes young readers on a journey with furry and feathery friends to experience springtime hail.

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10. 

The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle

A simple description of a flowering plant's life cycle through the seasons. Children can read this book and discover what the life cycle of a plant is.

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10 Science Lessons!

   

1. 

                                                     Walking Water Science Experiment

In the walking water experiment kids get to choose what two colors they want to use that are going to combine to make another color! The two colors will crawl up the paper towels and come together and mix in the cup in the middle! Watch as the empty middle cup gets filled with the two colors!

2. 

 Grow a Crystal Garden

In this experiment you can grow an over-night crystal garden with your students! Using epsom salt you and your child can grow a crystal garden that looks like snowflakes that students can explore with a magnifying glass!

3.

 Elephant Toothpaste

Elephant toothpaste is a fun, easy experiment that your students will love! When I did this experiment in the past the kids could not get enough of it! It doesn't take many ingredients, add them all together and foam will come exploding out of the bottle! Your students will have so much fun playing with the foam after!

4. 

Blowing Up a Balloon With Gas

Most children have seen a balloon being blown up or maybe have even blown one up themselves. In this experiment the students will be able to see a balloon being blown up with baking soda and vinegar! This is an example of a chemical reaction that causes the balloon to be blown up, it might seem like magic to the students but there is a science behind it!

5. 

Snow Storm In a Jar

Many children have seen snow before but some have not! In this experiment children can make their own snow storm in a jar! This is a great lesson to incorporate with weather and what causes it to snow and then the students can make it snow in their own jar!

6. 

                                                                     Oobleck

There are so many lessons on liquids and solids but this one puts a spin on it! When  I made oobleck with children before they went crazy over it, they just couldn't understand how it was liquid and solid at the same time! Do this experiment and let the children decide on their own, is it a liquid or a solid?

7. 

                                                              Color Surprise Eruptions

In this lesson children can find out what happens when baking soda and vinegar are added together! With some food color this experiment is inviting and exciting for children. It can be done with children of young ages, just have them squire a bottle of vinegar into a cup and watch the color eruption happen!

8. 

                                                                     Magnetic Slime

Magnets can be a great lesson for children, but making magnetic slime is even better! Magnetic slime is fun on its own to play with, but than give the student a magnet and watch how the magnet slime attracts to the magnet! What makes it attract? What items are attracted to magnets?

9. 

      Tornado In a Bottle

This is such a simple experiment! All you need is water, soap, and a bottle! This is another great activity to incorporate into a weather lesson. Most children only ever see tornadoes on TV, with this activity children can create their own tornado in a bottle!

10. 

Baggie and Pencil Magic

If you poke a pencil through a bag filled with water what will happen? Try this activity with your students and let them make guesses about what they think will happen. All you need for this activity is a bag, water, and a pencil! See what happens when the pencil is poked through the baggie!