Kindergarten is a fun year to homeschool. We have some study time each day so that CJ continues working on reading and math. Then we do awesome play dates with our homeschooling group to explore other areas of the world. About 2x a month we host science days. CJ picks through the MythBusters Science Fair books and picks an experiment that he'd like to try. Our science Tuesday for yesterday was Water Rockets.
We were lucky enough to have a friend who called her army of people to gather corks for us. We ended up with almost a dozen corks, enough for each child to have their own rocket. The idea behind water rockets is that there is a baking soda/vinegar reaction inside a water bottle and it shoots the cork out the top. They can be a little tricky to find, particularly if you're shooting them into a fall garden, so we added streamers to the corks (use a push-pin at the top).
Then we headed outside for instructions. I love that top picture of all the boys listening to how to make a satchel of baking soda. To do this at home: fill a disposable water bottle (16-20oz) with 1 inch of vinegar. Add enough water so that it's about 1/2 full. Make a satchel of baking soda with 1 square of toilet paper and 1.5tsp baking soda inside it. Shove the satchel inside the water bottle and put the cork in the bottle. Hold the bottle, aiming it away from others. The pressure inside the bottle will build and build until the cork comes shooting out!
My boys were a little uncertain to be participants. Everyone else wanted a turn and they held back. After a bit of convincing they finally decided to do it. EMan (3yrs) then kept saying, "Momma, I wanna make it 'splode again!" It was a fantastic day to do a little science experiment with friends! The next science play date is in 2 weeks. We don't know what the concept will be, but it's sure to be fun!
