Posts Tagged homeschoolers

STEM Tuesday– Chemistry– In the Classroom

By on February 10, 2026   /   Chemistry, STEM Tuesday   /   Leave a comment

Cover of How Do Molecules Stay Together?How Do Molecules Stay Together?
by Madeline J. Hayes, illustrated by Srimalie Bassani

How Do Molecules Stay Together? is a picture book that introduces readers to some basic chemistry concepts. This could be a good read-aloud as an introduction to chemistry, although I suspect older students may find the call-and-response phrases a little too childish for their liking.

 

Marie Curie for Kids
by Amy M. O’Quinn

This is a book that’s great for readers who love history and activities. Follow Marie Curie’s life from a bright, young girl in occupied Poland through her Nobel prize winning discoveries. This book is packed from activities that explore a wide range of topics, including geography, culture, and science. I read this book in its e-book version, which had some formatting issues that occasionally made it challenging to absorb. This could be an opportunity to explore those areas with an activity. (See below)

The Radium Girls
by Kate Moore

What happens when people are exposed to light waves emitted from radioactive material? That’s what this book covers, by telling the stories of a group of women who worked with radium. This is not an easy read emotionally, but it tells a very important story. It’s referenced in Marie Curie for Kids, and would be a great follow-on book for that one.

 

Bonus Books:

Werewolf, dressed as an astronaut, standing on a scale. Scale reads: "Matter Meter: 100% Werewolf"Werewolves and States of Matter
by Janet Slingerland, illustrated by Angel Mosquito

For readers who love graphic novels and/or werewolves, this book provides a great introduction to chemistry. It explores the concept of matter, what states it can exist in, and how matter transforms from one state to another.

 

Cartoon character appears to create molecular structure out of sand with the help of another character with a bucket.Explore Atoms and Molecules! (with 25 Great Projects)
by Janet Slingerland, illustrated by Matt Aucoin

If you’re looking for activities that help explore atoms and molecules, be sure to check out this book. It covers lots of different chemistry topics, including atomic structure, the periodic table, and chemical reactions. There’s even a section that introduces readers to Lewis dot diagrams, a great way to visualize how atoms combine.

 

As always, there are lots of different things that can be done with these books. Be sure to check out the activities provided in the books. Some of the books also have educator materials or informative websites associated with them. Here are links to some of them:

There is a website dedicated to The Radium Girls. There is an educator guide linked on this page of the site: https://www.theradiumgirls.com/the-radium-girls-young-readers

The Atoms and Molecules page of my website has some links of interest: http://janetsbooks.com/atoms-and-molecules

There is a classroom guide and a free downloadable activity on the Nomad Press site: https://nomadpress.net/nomadpress-books/explore-atoms-molecules

Some of this month’s books are older, and the web links provided in them no longer work. However, since the authors thought they were worthy of inclusion, exploring them might be a good exercise. If a link no longer works, can you find the same information on another reliable website or page?

Here are some other ideas for activities.

Create a Timeline

As mentioned in the book descriptions, I had some difficulties with the book formatting in Marie Curie for Kids. This was particularly true for the timeline provided in the book. In order to better visualize the timeline, create one of your own. This could be done on a single sheet of paper, or it could be constructed so it wraps around an entire room. This can also be an opportunity to explore the use of technology in presenting a timeline, whether it’s created with a graphic tool like Canva, a slideshow like PowerPoint, or whatever your favorite tool is.

Students can choose what should be placed on the timeline, based on the books they’ve read. Including pictures or illustrations of the events helps everyone visualize the events better. This provides lots of opportunities to practice research skills. This is also an opportunity for students to work together to create it.

Here are some ideas of things that could be included on the timeline:

  • Major life events for the people involved in the science (the Curies, Mendeleev, Bohr, etc.).
  • Important discoveries, including elements, atomic structure, effects of elements, etc.
  • Key dates related to products using chemicals.
  • Major world events like the World Wars.

Get Messy!

Chemistry can be one of the messiest of the scientific disciplines. The books on this month’s book list include lots of experiments that explore chemical reactions. Here are a few popular experiments:

Elephant Toothpaste:

Erupting Soda:

Making slime:

Get Thoughtful

Scientific discoveries often have unintended consequences. The stories of the Curies and the Radium Girls are perfect examples of this. Here is an article from the Society of Physics Studies and the American Institute of Physics that addresses this topic:  https://students.aip.org/radiations/discoveries-unintended-consequences-and-the-values-of-science. After reading it, have some discussions about the topic. Does the scientific process help to address this?

This opens up the topic of the scientific process. This website from UC Berkeley has lots of information on this topic: https://undsci.berkeley.edu/understanding-science-101/how-science-works

Explore (Largely Unsung) Scientists

Marie Curie was the first women to achieve many accomplishments. There are other groups of people who have historically faced huge obstacles to achieving things like college degrees and scientific discoveries. Often, discoveries made by women and minorities were attributed to others.

Explore some of the underrepresented people who have made great discoveries related to chemistry.

Each student could explore a different scientist and incorporate it into the timeline from above.

February is Black History Month. Here are a few lists of scientists to explore (there is some overlap between the lists):

March is Women’s History Month. Here are some lists of women scientists to explore:

Woman with short brown hair and glasses, smiling.Janet Slingerland has written over 2 dozen books for young readers, including Werewolves and States of Matter and Explore Atoms and Molecules! (with 25 Great Projects). To find out more about Janet and her books, check out her website: http://janetsbooks.com

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STEM Tuesday– Transportation– In the Classroom

By on November 11, 2025   /   STEM Tuesday, Transportation  


Books Read

From Here to There Inventions That Change The Way the World Moves Book CoverFrom Here to There: Inventions that Changed the Way the World Moves
by Vivian Kirkfield and Gilbert Ford

This book highlights some of the key inventions that changed how people and things move around the world. Rather than explaining the science of these inventions, it contains mini-biographies about the inventors who created these ground-breaking devices. I learned a lot about how and when different modes of transportation came about, in addition to learning about the people who made them happen.

 

Since I didn’t have easy access to many of the books on this month’s list, I chose to read some other books that also fit into this theme. These “bonus” books are:

Great Train Designs (Engineering Wonders of the 21st Century)Engineering Wonders of the 21st Century: Great Train Designs cover
by Sophie Washburne

I’m a big fan of trains, so I was really interested to learn more about them. Great Train Designs focuses on the science and innovations that have improved train travel over the years. It also explores some of the issues surrounding train travel and takes a brief peak into what the future of train travel might include.

Marvels of Technology: Vehicle & Transport Tech Cover

Vehicle & Transportation Tech (Marvels of Technology)
by Anita Loughley and Alex Woolf

Like the first book, this one highlights many different types of transportation. Unlike From Here to There, Vehicle & Transportation Tech takes a closer look at the science and technology behind the different transportation achievements rather than the people who made them.

Whichever books you choose to read, here are some activities you can pair with them.

Explore Transportation Science and Engineering

Pick a type of transportation that interests you. Now think of a specific mechanism or idea that it uses. Find an experiment to conduct or activity to do that explores this topic. Here are a few you might want to try.

Here are some other collections of activities to explore:

Create a Timeline

Did you notice the dates that different inventions were made? Did any of them surprise you? Create a timeline to track when different transportation innovations came about.

Decide if you want to focus on one type of transportation (like automobiles/cars) or if you want to include all different types of transportation on one timeline.

Think about how you can make the timeline easier to understand. Perhaps all car events are shown in red, boat in blue, and plane in green. If you’re focusing on one type of transportation, maybe safety items are red, movement (including engines and tires/tracks) is blue, and comfort is yellow.

You could break up into teams, with each team focusing on one type of transportation or area within that transportation.
Create a giant timeline that goes around the room. Include images and brief text to highlight each point on the timeline.

Once everyone has completed their part of the timeline, present it. Decide who is going to present each item and how much time they have.

Alternatively, create a video that walks viewers through your timeline.

Research Current News

Do some research to see what’s happening in transportation science and technology these days. There are a few sites that are dedicated to reporting on science news. You may want to start there.

Try different search words and parameters to find transportation-related news stories. You may want to focus on a specific type of transportation that interests you. Report on what you have found.

——-

Janet Slingerland has written over 2 dozen books for young readers, including Superfast Motorcycle Racing. To learn more about Janet and her books, go to janetsbooks.com

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STEM Tuesday– Cephalopods — Writing Tips & Resources

By on June 17, 2025   /   Cephalopods/Mollusks, STEM Tuesday  

Creativity and Octopuses!

The first of the cephalopods that comes to my mind is an octopus. To me, the metaphor of a multi-limbed being is in the multi-possibilities offered to apply to creative activities. Many arms and many legs and many muscular hydrostats mean that connections can go many ways. As my focus is STE(A)M, I began to run options though my head. I settled on music, research, and visual art (camouflage). Like a cephalopod, these are just three of the connected “arms” in the world of art. I make my case below.

Music and the Octopus.

One of the best known octopus songs is “The Octopus’s Garden,” by Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) and recorded by the Beatles.

“I’d like to be under the sea
In an octopus’s garden with you”

The cover of Octopus's Garden

The song is full of fun and joy. It is said that Ringo wrote the song after being told that octopuses collect stones and shells to make a decorative garden around their homes. Studies have shown that while we don’t understand their full capacity, octopuses have great intelligence.

Ringo is crediting them with a sense of artistry. Enough artistry to design and build a garden where …

“Oh, what joy for every girl and boy
Knowing they’re happy, and they’re safe”

Musicologist  Alan W. Pollack says:

The charm of “Octopus’s Garden” lies in its simplicity and complete lack of pretension.

Alan W. Pollack is an American musicologist known for having analyzed every song released by the British band the Beatles. Since this STE(A)M post is about science, I was wondering if a musicologist is considered a scientist. While Wikipedia describes it as “the academic, research-based study of music,” it employs of a number of fields of science, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, formal sciences and computer science.

The Octopus and Reasearch

Back to the idea of octopus as metaphor -it makes a great visual for research. Sometimes called a map or web for exploring possibilities, finding connections through random ideas is a superb tool for creativity. One can imagine the octopus, sitting in their garden, all arms reaching out to explore different places. There are no boundaries to using the mind this way.

Listening to “The Octopus’s Garden,” you find it is more than about a garden. It tells a story, shows emotion, incites curiosity, invites the imagination. Which is what good research should do. Musicology is sometimes considered to be a social science but many aspects, such as acoustics, musical instruments, and sound waves (and more), involve mathematics, materials science, psychology, and the list goes on. It one of many multi-armed disciplines.

In planning projects for kids, music and octopuses are intriguing ways to frame research and creative thinking. The investigation can be about any topic at all.  

Visual art and Octopuses

Octopuses have been the subject of artists since ancient Greece. Shown here is a lithograph from Jean Baptiste Vérany’s Chromolithographs of Cephalopods (1851). There is curiosity about creatures so unlike humans.

A historic lithograph of an octopus.

Members of the shell-less subclass of cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish, and octopuses) have the magic trick of color changing (yes, I know it’s a complicated process – not magic, but it is like magic to me). Some of their cells are capable of producing rapidly changing color patterns to match the surrounding areas or mimic other creatures. What a fascinating ability!

Doing art activities involving camouflage is a great way to improve eye, hand, and perception skills. And a real challenge. One needs to recognize shape, value, and colors to accurately reproduce them. Teachers Pay Teachers (link below) has a number of activities listed on their website. You don’t have to be an art teacher to use art projects as encouragement for students to do in-depth observational studies. With today’s fast-paced imagery of phones and games, people seem to be losing ability to focus. The value of practicing real observation can be time well spent.

Conclusion

Making connections is a large part of the creative process. It may appear this post strayed off topic, but it is an example of allowing the brain to find solutions that are new. Many inventions (such as the printing press) were the result of someone making an odd or unusual connection that ultimately led to a very useful solution. And, like learning to play music or becoming a good athlete, preliminary training paves the way. Anyone can practice connected thinking skills and use them for practical situations. Sometimes when I am doing research, allowing my mind to wander discovers materials better than what I was looking for.

Happy Connecting!

Margo Lemieux

References and more info

The Octopus’s Garden book https://bookshop.org/p/books/octopus-s-garden-with-cd-audio-ringo-starr/10265712?ean=9781481403627&next=t

The Octopus’s Garden video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De1LCQvbqV4

Alan W. Pollack https://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/og.shtml

Teachers Pay Teachers Cephalopods

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/browse?gad_campaignid=20273913093&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgIXCBhDBARIsAELC9ZiEjEwazcCjEgkVAUxueIxDCn_5mZEzBJuPrZn1OJjIO_wtepaOXSAaAtP5EALw_wcB&search=Cephalopods%20

Teachers Pay Teachers Camouflage

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/browse?search=camouflage

Historic lithographs of cephalopods

https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/verany-cephalopods

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