Many of us hope that the tide is turning, that educators, parents and young people, too, are becoming more aware of the value of out-of-school experience and self-directed exploration and play, especially in natural settings. Want your kids to get into Harvard? Tell ’em to go outside.” TAKE ACTION TUESDAY BUBBLES (use a stick or something to mark the spot). 4. Blow another bubble from where you end up and follow that one. 5. Complete steps 2 through 4 a total of TEN times. Measuring Wind Speed With Bubbles: Work in teams: Blower, Timer, Finisher, Recorder 1. Mark the start location, and place another mark at 32.8 feet (10 meters). 2. Blow some bubbles. Start timing. 3. Stop timing when a bubble reaches the finish line. 4. Record you time. 5. Complete steps 2 through 4 a total of TEN times. Then calculate the average speed. Bubble Distance (meters) Time (seconds) Speed (meters per second) Example 10 4 10 divided by 4 = 2.5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total Average Speed IS (meters per second) total distance divided by total time
We met in the park with several homeschool families for some fun bubble science today.
We get together one time a week for fun games, science, community focus programs, physical activity, etc. This is a homeschool club called Take Action Tuesday. It is so special to meet up with other families on a regular basis, knowing we are providing something valuable for our kids.
Yes that is right, meeting in the park is valuable. Letting kids play freely, moving their bodies, using their exploration and reasoning skills, is important in their future development of both their brain and their body, and helps determine how well they will do in their other studies.
And you thought you were doing them a favor, making them sit all day at a desk or computer to study so hard! Nope, if you want to really develop their learning ability, put down the books and computers and get them learning, exploring, and playing outside.
No kidding, I just read an article that if you want your kid to go to Harvard, or do well in any college program, they need to do 95% of their learning in an outdoor, exploring, and playing environment. I know what you are thinking. “What? You mean kids need to play outside to be ready for college?” Yes, and there are numerous studies to prove it. It is so sad the public schools, private schools, and even many homeschools have reduced and / or eliminated this important aspect of development for children and teens, making it that much harder for them to be ready for their future.
Here is a quote from the article:
“A growing network of grassroots volunteers and professionals, natural teachers, and pediatricians work every day at getting kids and their families connected to nature.
You can read the whole article here
http://www.childrenandnature.org/blog/2011/08/25/want-your-kids-to-get-into-harvard-tell-em-to-go-outside/
I love it! What more enjoyable way to learn, than to learn surrounded by God’s creation, fresh air, sunshine, friends, and fun things to do.
This article is Part 1 of the story, including the prep work and some fun science my family did getting ready for the big event. You can read about Bubble Science Part 2 outside in the park here, and we are going to do another day of learning bubble science outside at home, so you can read Part 3 here, as soon as I get the articles published.
To start with, we did lots of research. We read several articles, watched several YouTube videos, and developed a plan of action.
Questions we wanted to answer included:
What is a bubble?
How is a bubble made?
What is surface tension?
What is a liquid?
What is a gas?
What is soap?
What is a soap film?
How does soap help water hold gas?
What gas is inside the bubble?
How can bubbles help us understand our environment?
Then we wanted to come up with a fun program of science and art projects to learn more about bubbles and the environment. This is the program itinerary we handed out to each kid, and on the opposite side of the paper, was a fun coloring page of a child blowing lots of bubbles for kids to take home and color.
Measuring Wind Direction With Bubbles:
1. Mark your start location
2. Blow some bubbles and pick one to follow
3. Chase your bubble, but stay out of its way until it pops .
6. Look back to where you have come from.
7. Use your compass to work your way back to the starting point.
This will give you the average direction, because wind direction refers to where
the wind is coming from.
Add together and divide by 10 to get average.
Make A Bubble Bomb With Carbon Dioxide Bubbles
For each bomb, use 1 ½ Tbsp. baking soda in a paper towel packet, ½ cup vinegar, ¼ cup warm water, place all inside a zip lock bag, zip shut and leave on the ground, a chemical reaction will take place making carbon dioxide bubbles, step back and watch from a safe distance until it explodes.
Biggest Bubble Race & How To Measure A Bubble
Work in teams: Blower, Drawer, Measurer
Using the sun , trace the shadow of the bubble on the ground. Measure the narrowest width to find the radius of the bubble.
Change jobs and see who can blow the biggest bubble.
Make A Bubble Blowing Cone
Wrap two sheets of paper into a cone shape.
Tape with masking tape near the small end.
Cut the small end straight across leaving a 1 cm hole.
Cut the large end straight across about an inch up from the bottom. Make sure you have a smooth edge and the cone should stand upright on a flat surface.
Dip the large end in bubble solution for 30 seconds the first time. After that you will only need to dip it for 2 seconds each time.
Blow the bubble downward at first, then slowly raise the cone to a level position as you blow slowly, eventually raise the cone at an angle.
When the bubble is the size you want, rapidly flip the cone up or down to release the bubble.
Bubble Race
Blow your bubble and release. Follow your bubble by blowing underneath it to keep it airborne and moving toward the finish line. See who gets there first.
Stacking Bubbles Race
See how many bubbles you can stack on your hand, or stack in a container before they burst!
Create Geometric Shapes and Art
Using straws and pipe cleaners make cubes or tetrahedrons or whatever you want. Fully cover your frame with bubble solution. Lift it and observe. Tap gently or blow gently to create new configurations inside the frame.
Paint With Bubbles
Add food coloring to bubble solution. Use a straw to blow bubbles on the surface. Gently lay paper on top of the bubbles just enough to transfer the shape and color. Remove paper to dry.
Bubble Wands We Made Today
Giant Bubble Wands made from a dowel rod, eye screw, washer, and rope.
Cone Bubble Wand made with paper.
Straw Bubble Wand made with straws and pipe cleaners
Straw Bubble Blower made with straws
Water Bottle Blower made with a bottomless water bottle.
Two Handle Bubble Wand made with two straws and rope.
Also used various shapes and sizes of premade commercial bubble wands.
Vocabulary Words
Surface Tension
Soap
Soap Film
Surface Area
Interference
Suspension
Osmosis
Gas
Liquid
Carbon Dioxide
Oxygen
Acid
Base
Chemical Reaction
Color
Light
Waves
Bubble
Bubble Solution We Made Today
3 ½ quarts water
12 oz Dawn dish liquid
4 0z liquid glycerin
Things we made ahead included: bubble solution, bubble bomb packets, bubble wands, and bubble blowers. Not exactly sure of how many kids would be arriving for Take Action Tuesday, we mixed up several gallons of the bubble solution.
Here are the steps to some of what we did:
Start with a gallon of water, and remove two cups so you have a total of 3 1/2 quarts water.
Slowly pour in your 12 oz (1 1/2 cup) of dish liquid, and 4 oz (1/2 cup) of liquid glycerine.
Put your lid on. Then very slowly so not to cause it to lather, turn your gallon jug over three or four times to gently mix the liquids together.
By adding dishwashing liquid and glycerin to water, we created a stronger bond for the molecules to hold onto each other, thereby making it a stronger surface to hold a gas inside.
We read lots of articles online that stated it is best to make your bubble solution a day or more in advance to give everything time to blend and ripen better and make better bubbles.
We repeated the process to make several batches.
Next, the kids took rulers and paper towels and measured 5 inch squares. 
Then they cut the squares out to make packets for our bubble bombs. At the park, we will add 1 1/2 Tablespoon of baking soda inside the center of the packets, and fold the sides over twice to make a closed packet to hold the powder. We will add vinegar and water to ziplock bags, then drop in our baking soda packets and zip shut to make our bombs and learn about chemical reactions that create bubbles and produce a carbon dioxide gas. 
Next, we recycled several water and pop bottles, and cut off the bottoms to make bubble blowers.
Next, the boys used some carpentry and crafting skills. With Dad’s help, they made giant bubble wands. They researched online how to make them, and found several different versions. 
Everything homeschool is even better when we get Dad involved! The boys love the hands on projects with Dad.
Using dowel rods, washers, rings, eye screws, rope, a drill to make a small hole in one end, measuring, cutting, and tying knots, etc. they made these fun bubble wands.
A few other supplies we needed were totes to pour the bubble solution into, balloons for demonstration of gas held inside, ziplock bags, pipe cleaners for making geometric shapes, straws, baking soda, vinegar, a compass, stopwatch, soft gloves, masking tape, paper, scissors, food coloring, and a measuring tape.
We also shopped some local stores for some extra wands to play with. Especially for the ease of using with toddlers and preschoolers, but also fun for bigger kids too. 
Now, if you want to read the rest of the story, stop on over and read Part 2 here and see how we put all this fun science learning into action for Take Action Tuesday in the park.
Yep! That’s me in the black shirt. I am getting very close to delivering our next child. Yeah! We are really excited. I am 41 and feeling as young as possible, surrounded by all these great kids. Their energy and excitment gets me excited and it is so much fun to spend time with them each week.
And if you would like to see more fun adventures we have had with Take Action Tuesday, you can read more articles posted here.
This post will be linked up with
No Time For Flash Cards
Science Sunday
Raising Homemakers
ABC and 123
What a great time at the park! Thank you to the entire Weiser family for your hard work and preparation. Bryson and Gracie had a blast and we are so thankful for all of your efforts.
I agree, but it’s so hard to get them outside in the 100 plus degree weather. I’m trying.
You are so welcome! We had a great time having FUN with you!