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