Originally published 4/9/12:
This year for science we are using Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Astronomy. This is our second year using Apologia’s elementary curriculum by Jeannie Fulbright and I feel we have finally found “the one” (all you other homeschoolers know what I’m talking about)! Lord willing, we will use this curriculum all through the elementary years.
We are really enjoying our astronomy studies this year. It is just the right fit for my four oldest kids (9,7,5 and 3). It’s mainly for my older two, but my 5 and 3 year old enjoy listening to the readings (I’m amazed at the things they remember even days later), coloring, and doing the experiments.
We just finished up our study of Jupiter and for our project we made a hurricane tube. And in case you’re wondering what hurricanes have to do with Jupiter…… The Great Red Spot on Jupiter is like a hurricane here on earth. Did you know that the Great Red Spot is really just a huge storm and it moves around Jupiter? And, did you know that it is twice the size of earth and has been going for 300 years? That’s one big storm!!
This is such a simple project – easy to make and requires very few supplies. All you need is two clear, plastic 2-liter bottles, a 1-inch washer, and some electrical tape. Fill one bottle about 2/3 full of water, put the washer on top of that bottle, place the other bottle on top of that and then tape like crazy (on our first flip we had some leakage, so I had to tape it up some more, but after that it was perfect)!
Then just flip your contraption over and move the bottles in a circular motion so that you get the water in the top bottle swirling around. It took us a few tries to figure out just the right motion to get it going, but once we got it, the kids were pros. So, if at first you don’t succeed…….
My 3-year old pretending she is the teacher! Little smarty-pants.
I just love these faces! The looks of awe and wonder! This makes it all worthwhile!!
This was such a hit that all four big kids continued to play with the tube long after our lesson was over. They couldn’t wait to show daddy when he got home from work. Even our extended family members enjoyed playing with it during my daughter’s birthday party over the weekend. Toys are so over-rated! I’m going to rethink Christmas gifts for this year!
Updated on 9/11/19 to add:
As you probably read above, when this post was published, I had high hopes for Apologia’s elementary science curriculum. It’s now been over seven years and I’m happy to report that Apologia is still our curriculum for elementary science; it’s our favorite!
There are so many things I love about the Young Explorer series – the combination of reading, hands-on experiments and projects, narration activities, and notebooking; being able to do it with multiple ages; it being easy to follow and teacher-friendly; and most importantly that it is taught from a Christian perspective.
Now that we have used almost all of the courses in the Young Explorer Series (except for Botany, which we just started last week), I have to say that the astronomy course is one of my favorites (probably in my top 2). There so many neat activities throughout the astronomy course, making it so fun and memorable for the whole family. Some of our favorites are:
- making a model of the solar system
- making a model of Mercury
- making lava
- learning how radar works
- making a hurricane tube (as shown above)
- making clouds
If you are interested in learning more about the Young Explorer Series for elementary science, check out this post. If you have used Apologia’s elementary science, comment below telling us what course you enjoyed the most and what you like about the Young Explorer Series in general. Want to win a science course from Apologia? Check out the giveaway below!
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I’m visiting from Kate’s blog. When I homeschooled I loved Apologia! I used their Exploring Creation with Astronomy with my youngest and she loved the experiments!
Terri, thanks for checking out my post! We are really loving Apologia!
How fun!! We used her first text book but got sidetracked from the Astronomy book. It sounds like it was lots of fun too.
We got here from Hip Homeschool Hop. I love this post and am definitely gonna try the experiment. While not studying astronomy right now we are studying weather and it sounds like it will fit right in! Thanks for the post and feel free to visit us sometime too at http://homeschoolpool.info
Thanks for stopping by! I was thinking the same thing – this would be a great activity if you’re studying weather!
ok. So I had this huge comment typed up, but my internet ate it. lol. So here goes again.
We made these with Toby as a fun side project last year. We called them “calming tubes” to help him understand his feelings with his anger issues and frustration with people not understanding him cuz of all his autistic issues….then we got creative with them. They’re really cool if you add in oil and food color to the water and then throw in some glitter and confetti. It also can be a lesson in teaching density if you wanna get really fun and creative with it. 🙂
I hate it when that happens!!
I love your ideas! I think we will try the food coloring and glitter next time!
we will have to try this too
Your kids will love it; it’s great for all ages!
Stopping by from the Kids Co-op. I have wanted to make one of these ever since I saw one at Scitech. It just fascinated the life out of me! I love the comment above about adding things to the bottle. Thanks for linking up to the Kids Co-op!
Thanks for stopping by! I see you are a “Mum” to twins too! And I’m so excited about your list of other twin bloggers! I’m going to go check some out! Thanks!
Coming by from the Kids Co-Op … LOVE this! We were at a kids’ museum the other day and I really wanted to figure out the best way to re-create the whirlpool in a giant tank. Now I know how to do it on a smaller scale! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks for stopping by! I’m glad I could help!! 😉
I love those, they were my favorite thing to make as a kid
That is awesome Sarah, and no I did not know about the hurricane on Jupiter! That is very interesting – esp how it just keeps going! I’m originally from Florida and am very familiar with hurricanes- can’t imagine one going on for 400 years!! Thank you for linking up- it is such a blessing and encouragement to me. -Nicole @ Working Kansas Homemaker
I’ve learned so much just from teaching my kids! It’s so neat to learn with them! When you and your husband have kids, do you think you will homeschool?
We have loved their science and I wish we had found it sooner!!! My Dad was an entomologist so I grew up in what we would now call a STEaM heavy house. That being said I am not usually happy with elementary science programs and have even reported errors to a few companies. We have now used it in upper elementary and jr high. This year will be our first year for the high school curriculum and it’s set up different than the younger grades. Which makes sense. They also have a health book that we are excited to see!!
Ooooh I love me some Apologia science! We’ve done astronomy, anatomy/physiology, marine biology, zoology, and physics, and we’re starting ornithology this year. I’ve even already purchased botany for next year, also! My favorite part about these wonderful science programs is that the whole family can learn together, at all age ranges in grade levels.
I would love this opportunity!!
How fun! thank you for sharing!