I wanted to share my science activity bags because I am so excited about them. First of all, I wouldn’t even know science activity bags existed if it weren’t for my friend, Leslie. She is an amazing woman. If you visit her blog, you’ll see what I mean.
What you see above is a large laundry basket full of almost-ready-to-go science experiments. Each experiment came from a book from this website:
Leslie organized a swap and she had 25 moms who were interestd and signed up for the swap. Each lady took one experiment and made 25 bags of supplies for the same experiment. So I arrived at the swap with 25 identical bags and left with 25 different bags.
Do you know what this means?
I have 25 weeks of hands-on science for Michaela. Each bag has pretty much all you need, though there may some small thing to pick up to go along with some of the experiments. For example one of the bags is all ready to go except I need to buy a bag of mini marshmallows the week we do it. The experiments are geared for K-6th grade, so I think we’ll easily get a lot of use from them. (Michaela is entering 6th grade this year. )
Worm Farm, anyone?
How about Fly Cycle?
I’m psyched. And Leslie, thank you so much.
Lynn
for you to leave a comment, but you can also e-mail me at lynn AT thehealthyhomeschool.com
That is an amazing idea! I can’t wait to see what experiments you guys do!
This is a great idea. I, like Jennifer am very interested in seeing the list of everything that was done. Our science is one of our strongest areas, but it was pretty week back in grades 3-6. This really would have worked great for us because we would have made a rule that could not open a bag or even look at it until the day of the experiment. The kids would have vibrated with enthusiasm when the day arrived. That really is quite a group, too. Twenty-five participants is impressive.
Hi Lynn,
These look great. Just a question-Did you each pay for the supplies for the 25 bags you were preparing? Who covered the cost of printing the material, the cost of bags etc? Just curious as I’d like to try this!
Bev
What a great idea…I hope you have a great time with that…and I am off to see Leslie’s site too!
C~
Dear Lynn,
That is such a fun thing to do! Thanks for the great ideas for homeschooling you share with us. Your friend is a wonderful person, indeed. Her recent blog posts brought back memories of AnnaMarie’s hospital visit.
Love,
Marqueta
Hi, Jen.
Ken, we are going to do one at a time, for sure, and not go to the next until we have completed the lab sheet, etc.
Bev, each person paid for their own supplies, bags, and paper. I think the bags were designed to cost 1 dollar apiece or LESS. So if you count a dollar a bag, that’s 25.00 dollars, but some things I already had. Paper for the printer was something I keep on hand, including cardstock, and I buy ziplock bags in bulk from Sam’s club. Even at 25.00 I consider it a deal because I could not have done all 25 of these experiements on my own for that cheap.
Carrie, thanks! You’ll like Leslie’s site. She’s a dear lady.
Marqueta, I have thought about you and your AnnaMarie as Leslie has been dealing with this new territory. I thought of introducing the two of you. She has a lot of information coming her way right now. I know you must know how overwhelming it all is.
Lynn
That is awesome!!
Kate, isn’t it great?!
And I have to reiterate that if it weren’t for Leslie I would in no way have this done!
Lynn
What a wonderful idea! And a great group. I know you’ll have alot of fun with these science experiments.
I KNOW you will enjoy having these pre-made!
Looking forward to seeing what’s in them!!!!
Mich/ivy
Dana, you hit the nail on the head: great group!
Michele, I am very excited about them! Today I am working on lesson plans for the year and this figures in nicely!
Lynn
That is amazing. I love to see people get together like that and makes things easy for everyone.. What a great way to unite and help out!
Greetings,
I noticed your great blog and the wonderful photos of from your Activity Bag swap! My name is Sherri MacLean, one of the authors of Preschool Activities in a Bag – http://www.ActivityBags.com and we would love to post your photos on our web site. We are searching for swap photos to post on our site. If that would be okay with you, could you please email me any photos you have to info@activitybags.com? Thanks you so much in advance!
Blessings,
Sherri
http://www.ActivityBags.com
“Where fun and education fit in the same bag.”
Sherri, you are welcome to take the photos right from here and use them. I am not sure I still have the originals on my computer. However, as we go through the rest of the bags (we still have not done some of them), I’ll be glad to take pictures and e-mail them to you.
Lynn
Thank you so much Lynn for allowing me to take the photos right from the web site! I will get them posted on our website, hopefully very soon.
Many blessings to you and your family!
Have a glorious day,
Sherri
http://www.ActivityBags.com
“Where fun and education fit in the same bag.”
I love the idea of science activity bags. I will have to try them next. I have done lots of bags before – both the official ones and our own. some of our own are pictured and explained at http://traininghappyhearts.blogspot.com/2010/04/frugal-fridays-vol-2-sensory-and-skills.html if you need new ideas.
Martianne, thank you so much for your comment and for the link. We are hoping to finish up the Science Bags that we did not get to last year. They are such a handy resource! Thanks for sharing ideas for them! Lynn