Instilling curiosity in learning

I'm quite messed up when it comes to science experiments. Firstly, I'm not scientifically wired so something that's really commonsensical can turn out bizarre. Secondly, any experiments I try always (almost) turns out to be a failure. So I need to experiment many more times than the norm. Zech is, of course, fine with that. He enjoys the experiments. :) A lot of discovery learning stems from these experiments. What we predicted may not be the result and I guess, experimenting several times with different variables has given us some surprises.

A few weeks ago, we did a volcano experiment.

Wasn't too satisfied with this small volcano.

Wanted something more explosive. So I followed the instructions on a blog, noting that it would cause a mess so I put newspapers on the table. NEVER did I expect such an explosive volcano eruption! Thanks to my smart idea of using blue colouring, the explosion caused all my walls, the floor, piano cover, the kitchen, a small part of my sofa and even the ceiling to be stained! And of course, Zech's face and mine were blue too. We laughed over it but cleaning up was no easy task. Spent about 30 min or so cleaning. Zech helped to clean up the floor (one of the pros of not having a helper) while I worked hard at scrubbing my precious walls and sofa.

Still not satisfied, we tried again. I knew what went wrong so this time, I could control the amount of explosion this experiment will make.

See this? Very safe.

Just last week, Zech studied about rainbows. We started exploring with light every other morning. This time, I wanted a perfect rainbow. We explored various ways to make a rainbow using sunlight, mirror and water.

The prettiest rainbow was made using a prism. Borrowed from my neighbour's girl. :)

 

We saw strips of rainbow in the water by doing this.



 

Zech discovered the rainbow himself by simply looking into the jar of water, which clearly illustrated how a person has to be positioned between the sun and the water in order to see a rainbow.

The photo didn't do credit to the rainbow. :(

Here's another beautiful rainbow made just by placing a glass in the sunlight.

This week, Zech is learning about snow and ice. He's really excited about it. Mummy secretly wished the 2 boys will be able to experience snow soon cos we are flying to Tasmania next week. Our first stop is Cradle Mountain and it's snowing now!

For the time being, the boys can only console themselves with artificial snow.

Another experiment they love... is to excavate the Lego man trapped inside the ice. We've done this last year but the boys do not recall a single bit of it.

Zech poured lots of salt inside and he soon realised salt helps to melt the ice faster.



 

It's almost out!

Nathanael is the happiest with the Lego man while Gor Gor is proud of his own effort.

 

Although I'm not naturally inclined to Science, a curiosity in the world around us helps a long way. I remember being as inquisitive as my P3 and P4 pupils when I was teaching them Science. Bought fishes to rear in the classroom, mealworms to observe the life cycle and thanks to a pupil, caterpillars which turned into butterflies. Those were wonderful experiences and I've learned a lot. With my boys now, it is this inquisitiveness and curiosity I hope to instil in them, as the awe and wondrous beauty of it all not only gives us much joy in learning but also point to the Creator, the maker of heaven and earth.

 

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”  

Benjamin Franklin