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Allowing children to learn by discovery allows for some possible messes, but a lot of fun and that's what learning is all about.

Float or sink?
Teachable Moments: A great tool when needing to occupy young children for a time is the float experiment.
Materials
o Paper and pen/pencil
o Children's collections of small, waterproof and durable items from the house

o Large container
o Water
Procedure
o Have your children go around the house collecting small items capable of being submerged in water
o Write each item down as they bring it to you.
o Once you have a pretty good list, go through each item: will this float? Or will it sink?
o Have your children guess and write float or sink by each item.
o Fill a large container with water (deep enough that if the item sinks, it can go completely underwater, and if it floats, it will not touch the bottom).
o Put each item in and watch!
o Have the children tell you what happened.
o If they guessed wrong, see if they can guess as to why they were wrong.
The Why: This is a great activity for children to learn how to predict and how to adjust their predictions as well.
Questions Kids Ask:
"Why did _________ sink (float)?"
Answer: Use this opportunity to teach your children about the material that the item is made out of and explain why it didn't sink. If you are not sure, acknowledge the question and help them find the answer through research.
Weather:
Teachable Moments: Weather is an awesome teaching moment.
Sunny Days
Beautiful sunny days can be used to teach children why to not look directly into the sun. Talk about the color spectrum and temperature (see math on temperature). Look up information or check out a library book to go through and explain why the sky is blue and why the colors change at sunrise and sunset.
Cloudy Days
Cloudy days can lead to discussions on the difference between each cloud type and why some clouds rain on us and some don't.
Rainy Days
Rainy days can lead to discussions on staying safe when it is thundering and lightening, what makes some storms worse than others and the different types of bad storms. If you live in an area prone to a particular type of bad storm, teach your children safety precautions so they know what to do in the event of bad weather.
The Why: Because weather is constantly changing, this type of learning will help hone your children's observation skills. Be prepared for lots of questions!
Questions Kids Ask:
"Where does the white

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