Do you ever look at that change in your pocket, particularly coins? Sometimes you get lucky enough to get a newly minted coin that’s nice and shiny. Do you ever wonder why those other coins looked darker? The copper atoms in the coin are attracted to the oxygen atoms in the air to form copper …
Professional communication and letter-writing is an important middle to high school skill that will give your child confidence as he applies to colleges in a few years and help him find success in the business world. Help your child practise this crucial adult skill and spark his interest in civic engagement and current events by …
Your high school student can create a unique painting in the style of Italian masters such as Rembrandt and da Vinci. He’ll learn more about this unique style of painting in art history. Chiaroscuro paintings often have strong contrasts of light and dark within the image and were popularized during the Renaissance. Often artists would …
Orange peels, lemon peels, apple peels or any peels—these fruity leftovers can easily be recycled into deliciously scented potpourri. Show your kid how to make his own, and he’ll be in for a real treat. The fragrant, netted pouches can be hung in a bedroom, bathroom, or kitchen, to freshen things up. And because you …
Does your child have a wish or goodwill blessing he’d like to send out to the world? Traditionally, carrying messages of peace, compassion, prosperity or happiness, prayer flags are a rich part of Tibetan Buddhist culture. Encourage your child’s interest in other countries and cultures by helping him create his own colourful prayer flag inscribed …
For many kids, the notion of a parent/child book club could spell more flipping out than flipping through pages cover to cover. But kids’ book clubs are springing up left and right, and book clubs are quickly evolving to fit every kind of kid, from the novel novice to the seasoned skimmer. These clubs provide …
Do you have to pull your child away from T.V. to get him to complete his homework? With this activity, you can let him watch T.V. and do his science homework at the same time!This activity is to be done over the course of several days.What You Need:❑ Paper❑ Pen/Marker❑ TV What You Do:Day 1Begin …
Get your creative kid into tasseography! The ancient art of reading tea leaves to tell the future gets a modern update in this simplified version for youthful fortune tellers!What You Need:❑ Tea cup❑ Loose tea leaves❑ Tea strainer❑ White plateWhat You Do: Tasseography is an ancient practice of reading patterns and visual symbols in tea …
Living an environmentally conscious life often means getting creative with what you already have at home. Show your teen how to live green by transforming old CD cases into drawer dividers. Not only are you reusing old things that normally go in the trash, but also you’re helping your teen get organized in the process.What …
Trick your eye with this funky flip book project! If you’ve ever wondered how animators get your favourite cartoons to look like they’re moving (even though they’re just drawings), this is the activity you’ve been waiting for. You can easily create your own hand-held animation by making a flip book, a book with different pictures …
These days, “handmade” can mean unique, high-quality, and, often, expensive. But it doesn’t have to be. Teach your teen self-sufficiency by showing her how to create her own products at home. Take your first plunge into handcrafting with this neat and tidy soap recipe. Don’t worry, you’re not actually making the soap from scratch, but …
Take recycling to new heights. Papier-maché is French for “chewed-up paper”-and that’s kind of what it looks like! In this activity, kids reconstruct old newspaper using a mould and wallpaper paste to take part in this century-old practice. This Earth-friendly crafting technique will result in a functional pencil holder that’s loads of fun to make.What …
This potato cannon activity teaches your middle schooler about the principle of Boyle’s Law. Your child will love playing with his food to make a working potato cannon. This outdoor activity will turn a humble potato into bursting ammunition, with a little help from Boyle’s Law. This explosive experiment demonstrates the basic principles of Boyle’s …
Show your child how to create a concoction of simple household ingredients that changes colours as acids and bases are added! This magic mixture is called a “pH indicator,” a chemical compound that is added to a solution in order to determine its acidity or basicity visually. While many items (such as cabbage juice) have …
In middle school your child will be learning all about heat energy and temperature measurement, and will likely get to use a lab thermometer. This project will enable your child to construct a homemade thermometer that will compliment what he’s learning about this instrument in school.What You Need:❑ Tap water❑ Rubbing alcohol ❑ 11-ounce clear, …
One of the most beautiful parts of every cathedral is the stained glass window above the entrance, called a Rose window. Your child can create his own work of beauty based on these century-old works of art. Instead of cutting glass, he can use tissue paper and repeated shapes and patterns for a similar glowing …
Botany, the study of plants, is a very important field of science. Many of the medicines we use, as well as most of the foods we eat, come from plants. Botanists cannot go into the field to study every single kind of plant from all over the world, so they create an herbarium, which is …
To supplement your eighth grader’s study of magnets in school, try this simple activity at home. Your child will create a homemade working compass using just a steel needle, magnet, jar and a few other supplies. As he builds his compass, he’ll experiment with magnetism and will get to “see” the Earth’s magnetic field as …
Experiment with Magnetism: Make a Hanging Compass Read More »
Step aside Harry Potter; a new wizard is in town! Now your child can create his own wizard or witch puppet to send off on imagined adventures! This project blends many types of artistic elements, such as papier-mâché, painting, sewing and designing. Making the puppet is a detailed, multi-step process that can be completed over …
Does the mere thought of bungee jumping make your palms sweat? How about DIY bungee jumping at home with your kids? Don’t worry; there won’t be any broken limbs involved…just broken shells. In place of your child, an egg will be doing all the jumping. The nylon pantyhose you’ll use for this experiment has a …
To a child, a grandparent is a timeless figure. But your child’s grandparent had a childhood, youth and adulthood full of interesting and wonderful stories! Encouraging your child to learn about his grandparent’s past will not only strengthen family ties but also it can be a great writing exercise, history lesson, and gift, rolled into …
Can you think of a way of cleaning dirty water using the sun? How about getting salt out of water using the sun? In this activity, you will be making a “solar still” that is able to do just that! Let’s get started!What You Need:❑ A wide plastic basin❑ A smaller jar or glass for …
Do you remember Shrinky Dinks? They were sheets of plastic film you could draw on, cut out and bake into a shrunken solid piece of plastic. The original Shrinky Dink is no longer in the market, but now there’s something even better: Inkjet printable shrink plastic! Print your very own photos, snapshots or fine art …
The discovery of soap was one of the most important aspects in human history. Just think about all the things we use soap for, from keeping clothes and dishes clean to sanitation in hospitals.Today we make some kinds of soap using lye (which is leached from ashes), oils and water, or we can buy ready-made …
This autumn, embrace the back-to-school spirit by getting your child organized for the upcoming school year. Here’s a fun and easy activity to help: create a magnetic spice tin pencil holder! It will be easy for your teen to transform beautifully decorated spice tins and loose-leaf tea canisters into durable magnetic organizers that keep pens …
Does your child know that salt water conducts electricity? In this science experiment, your child will build a mini circuit to find out if he has salt water or fresh water. It’s a simple experiment but it will show how saltwater acts as a conductor to electrical currents, while reinforcing important lessons about conductivity and …
There is nothing worse than finding a mouldy piece of fruit in the bottom of a bag. Whoever thought that mouldy bread would lead to a the development of modern antibiotics? More cultures that you might know used mould to help prevent infection. Poultices of mouldy bread were used in ancient Egypt, ancient India, and …
Looking for a fun and different way to help your teen personalize her room? Create a lamp shade decorated with her silhouette portrait for a one of a kind work of art. Popular in the 18th century, silhouette portraits are traditionally black against a light background, but here you’ll create a silhouette by punching holes …
Charles Kaufman is an American cartoonist who began painting in 1990 and today he has art displayed in galleries across the United States and Europe. In his series Crushed Can Art, he takes old aluminium cans and flattens them, then paints them with an original design. Inspired by Charles Kaufman’s crushed cans, this activity lets …
Developing a keen eye for observation is an essential skill for any scientist and a fundamental step of the scientific method. Help your middle schooler (and yourself!) improve his observation skills by playing this simple game.What You Need:❑ Duplicate set of common household items (coins or Legos work great, as long as there are at …
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