Homeschool Science Boot Camp Day 1: Get Ready for Experiments

Welcome to day 1 of Homeschool Science Boot Camp! Today we are going to get ready for experiments. So grab your pencils, paper, books, and a cup of coffee – let’s get started!

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Highlights

Alright, to help you guys prepare for this next year of homeschool we are going to have 5 days of boot camp. Let’s dig into day one where we are going to get ready for experiments.

# 1 – Plan your experiments.

The first step for getting ready to do experiments is to plan them out.

There are two options here:

1. Get a program with the experiments planned out for you and take a moment to read over the first couple of weeks of experiments just to see what you have in store.
2. Pull out those experiment books or pull up your Pinterest account and search for science activities that will fit the topics you have planned.

Once you have the hands-on activities you are going to do planned out, you are ready to take on the next step.

#2 – Get your supplies ready.

Your second step to getting ready for experiments is to gather the supplies you need for at least the first few weeks of experiments or for the whole year

But once you have the supplies on hand, you are ready to move to the next step.

#3 – Be ready to handle failure.

The final step of day 1 of our boot camp is to mentally prepare yourself for failure.

We chatted about these questions in episode 23, but basically, you want to:

• Ask a few questions that will help you to get to the heart of why the experiment didn’t go as planned.
• Then, discuss what should have happened or you can correct the problems.
• And finally, try again if there is time.

Going through this type of analysis will help you rescue that dud and turn it into a positive learning opportunity!

 

Once you plan your experiments, get your supplies ready, and mentally prepare yourself for the work, you are ready to dig into sharing experiments with your kids this next year.

Additional Resources

If you still feel uncertain, here are a few more tips: 

• Ep. 19 - Do I really have to do experiments?
• Scientific demonstrations vs. experiments
• 5 Tips for success with experiments at home
• Ep 23 - Have you visited the realm of the failed science experiment?
• 100 Useful items for a science supply closet