Many parents like to enjoy outdoor activities with their children, but it doesn’t take long to exhaust the parks and playgrounds in most areas. However, the vast majority of people in the US live within an hour or fishable waters, so consider grabbing a rod and reel and teaching your kids how to fish.

Fishing is not only a great way to get your kids away from digital screens and surround them with fresh air and sunshine, it provides a fantastic opportunity to bond with your youngsters too.

5 Easy Tips for Teaching Your Kids to Fish

To make sure your kids’ first fishing trip is a good one, you’ll want to embrace a few important tips and tricks:

1. Provide your kids with a rod and reel that suits their size.

Don’t hand your kids adult-sized rods and reels; they’ll only grow frustrated while trying to wield inappropriate equipment. Instead, set them up with rod and reel combos that are appropriate for kids. Typically, a 5- to 6-foot-long spinning or spin casting combo will suit most kids perfectly.

2. Target kid-friendly species.

Ignore the largemouth bass and walleye that draw the attention of advanced anglers – your kids are unlikely to catch these shy and wary species. Instead, go after the abundant and bold species in your local waters. Depending on your location, this will likely mean fishing for bluegill, catfish or perch. Teaching your kids to fish is a lot more fun when they actually catch something!

3. Use real baits rather than artificial lures.

Serious anglers often use artificial lures rather than live baits, but your kids should stick to worms, crickets and corn kernels. Not only will these types of baits trigger more bites for your youngsters, they’ll generate fewer snagged lines than artificial lures will.

4. Fish alongside your youngsters.

Above all else, you want your kids to have the opportunity to reel in a fish during their first fishing trip – that’s the most exciting aspect of the activity! And because you’re more likely to get nibbles and hook fish than they are, you should keep your own line in the water. When you hook a fish, hand your rod to one of the kids and let him or her reel in the catch (be sure to alternate between the kids to ensure everyone gets a chance to battle a big fish).

5. Don’t forget to obtain a fishing license before heading to your local pond or lake.

Most states allow children under 15 or 16 to fish without a license but be sure to consult the relevant local authorities to ensure you stay on the right side of the law.

If you’d like to learn a few more tips and tricks about teaching your kids to fish, check out the comprehensive review of the topic over at Outdoor Empire. There, you’ll learn a few more ways to ensure you provide your kids with the best equipment and that you select a good fishing location, among other things.

Author Bio: Jon Sutton loves to spend time in the woods and on the water. His life has revolved around outdoors since his early childhood days when he caught his first bluegill in his local pond. Since then he has grown into a full-fledged angler targeting salmon and bass during his free time. He also enjoys hiking, camping, and traveling. He is currently a content manager for Outdoor Empire.

The post Teaching Your Kids to Fish: 5 Easy Tips! first appeared on True Aim.

5 Easy Tips to Make Science Fun for Your Kids

1. Explore Your Backyard

When was the last time you headed outside for science? I don’t know about you, but I tend to grab a book before we head out the door. But the best way to introduce kids to science in the real world is through nature.

Explore your backyard! You’ll find quite a few science experiments hiding there from observing birds to studying the various plants. One of my sons spent a summer studying the ants in our yard.

Make a butterfly feeder and keep a journal about the different types of butterflies it attracts. Study the trees in your yard and discuss how plant stems work to bring nutrients and water to the top of the trees. Stems are a lot more impressive when you’re staring up at a 2 story-tall tree!

And check out these Top Outdoor Science Activities for more fun ideas to do science with your kids outside in your yard.

2. Nature Study

Why do we see stars at night? What creates the weather? Why do the seasons change? Every parent has heard these questions! So use nature study to answer these questions and interest your kids in science.

Use a curriculum such as Exploring Nature with Children to guide your nature study. Head out on long nature hikes every week. Check out the natural world as you travel around town. You can see birds, trees, and rocks as you run errands.

If you’re studying clouds, point out the different types of clouds in the sky. If you’re studying birds, point to the various birds. And if you’re studying chemistry, point out how plants use the chemical reaction called photosynthesis to turn sunlight into food

Nature study brings science to life.

3. Follow Rabbit Trails

Kids’ questions are endless! The moment you think you’ve answered all the questions, another dozen pop up.

So use your children’s curiosity and follow the rabbit trails. If you’re studying the sun and the kids ask why the sky is blue, research the answer together. Google the question, check out books, and do a science experiment.

Follow your children’s interests and explore science topics your curriculum doesn’t cover. There’s no better way to make science fun than to follow your children’s own interests in science.

4. Use Hands-on Activities

Reading about science day-in and day-out, never actually doing a science experiment or seeing a science demonstration is dull. You must add hands-on activities!

Go on a bug hunt after reading about bugs. Create a volcano using vinegar and baking soda. Explore why camels feet don’t sink in the sand using salt, a canning jar lid, and a dime.

Reading may give the kids knowledge, but hands-on activities bring understanding and delight to your homeschool.

5. Read Biographies

Read biographies as part of your science studies. Look for fascinating biography about famous scientists such as Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Marie Curie.

Kids are fascinated by how people lived, worked, and studied in the past.

Reading about the childhoods and lives and famous scientists brings home the fact that people discovered all these fascinating facts about science.

And your child could be the next famous scientist themselves!

Making science fun is important to develop a sense of wonder, curiosity, and fascination with the world. Use biographies, nature study, hands-on activities, and rabbit trails in your homeschool.  Your kids will fall in love with science and beg for more!

How do you make science fun for your kids?

The post 5 Easy Tips to Make Science Fun for Your Kids first appeared on True Aim.

When to Find North Using the Sun

Of course, if you are lost and need to find your way without a compass, you can use this method to find north. However, the smartest use for this is to find north before you head out on an adventure. That way you know which direction you are headed and can then find north and make sure you head back in the right direction. If you don’t know where you came from, knowing which way is north might not be of any use.

To find north on a sunny day, you’ll need a straight, medium sized stick and two rocks. Find a clear sunny area and push the stick into the ground or have a partner hold it. Mark the end of the stick’s shadow with a rock.

Take a break and wait 15-20 minutes making sure you keep the stick in the same spot. So if you are just holding it, you’ll need to mark where you placed it if you want to put it down.

Then do the same thing and mark the end of the stick’s shadow. Put your left foot on the first rock and your right foot on the second rock. The way you are facing is north. Now you can mark each direction, north; east; south; west, with your stick.

The Science Behind Finding North with the Sun

Make sure to remind your children that the sun always rises in the east and sets in the west. That means that the sun’s shadow points in the opposite direction. If the sun is in the eastern part of the sky (before noon) then it’s shadow is pointing west. Your first rock stands for west and your second rock stands for east. So, if you make a point directly in the middle of your east and west rocks you can find north.

This is a great review of directions and map reading. If you want to go further you can look up how your area of the world is affected by where the sun is in the sky. Some great questions to ask: How does the direction of the sun affect plants? How does the sun’s rising and setting pattern affect animal habitats? What does the pattern of the rising and setting of the sun look like throughout the year; how does it change?

You might also like Outdoor STEM with Balloons

Want more STEAM ideas for kids? Check out this 28 day series!

The post Nature STEAM for Kids: Find North Using the Sun first appeared on True Aim.

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20 Awesome Science Gifts for Science Lovers

Science Gifts for Preschoolers

Preschoolers are always asking why. Why is the sky blue? Why does it rain? Why is the sun warm? Encourage your kids’ questions by giving science gifts so your kids can discover the answers for themselves!

Telescope
My First Telescope designed for kids 4-6 gives your kids a chance to take a close look at the stars! You can set it up on the porch, in the back yard, or at a window. It’s a focus free telescope with 10X magnification, perfect for small curious tots.

Microscope
My First Microscope is designed for ages 3-6, making it perfect for preschoolers. It has two extra large eye pieces to make it easy for your kids to examine various objects with the 8X magnification. Take a look at hair, leaves, and onion skins to explore a microscopic world.

Binoculars
These Kidnoculars were made for youngsters from ages 3-11. They’re focus free to keep life simple for little fingers. Your kids can take a close look at birds flying in the sky or trees on a distant hill with these comfortable large lenses. With 2X magnification, they’ll see more than they’ve ever seen before!

Science Lab Set

Pick up the Science Lab Set for ages 3-9. After all there’s nothing like actual hands-on experience to develop a love of science. Kids get to use durable plastic beakers, test tubes, magnifying glass, funnel, activity guide, experiment cards, and more!

Bugnoculars

Send your kids into the backyard to examine bugs close up with these bugnoculars designed for kids 3-6. The bug collection water-tight container has a snap-lock lid with air holes. You can collect ants, beetles, and spiders to examine. There’s also the opportunity to collect underwater life like tadpoles and fry to examine. Once you’re done, just release the critters back into the wilderness of your backyard.

Backyard Exploration Kit

There’s no reason to settle for the Bugnoculars. Also pick up the backyard exploration kit to explore the world in your backyard. This 18 piece kit is designed for ages 3 and up. It comes with nets, tweezers, compass watch, magnifying glasses, clip board, and more. Your kids will be ready for adventure and exploration with this kit.

The Big Red Dog Rainbow Science Set

The Big Red Dog Rainbow Science Set was designed with kids ages 3-10 in mind. There’s a lab tray, measuring cup, and test tubes. Kids get to join Clifford on an adventure while they learn all about rainbows.

Kids First Science Laboratory Kit

The First Science Laboratory Kit is aimed at kids ages 3-5. Preschoolers get the tools they need to explore the world around them. It even comes with a set of 10 experiment cards to get them started.

Elementary Age

Curiosity isn’t limited to just preschoolers. Your elementary age kids are just as fascinated with the world around them, so encourage them with one of these awesome science kits for kids.

Ingenious Machines

What could be better than a robotic building set for kids 6 and up? Your children can construct all sorts of different machines. The instructions begin with 4 different toys, but from there your kids’ imagination is the limit!

My First Mindblowing Science Kit

My first Mindblowing Science Kit is a 20 piece set created to let your kids explore basic scientific principles. You’ll be amazed at how much they learn as they discover the joys of science. It’s aimed at 6 and up with adult supervision.

Snap Circuits

Snap Circuits are one of my kids’ favorite toys, designed for ages 7 and up. It’s literally a blast to play with when you create a siren. In addition you can you can put together a fan, flashlight, and more! Kids explore circuitry without needing special equipment.

Glow in the Dark Terrarium

Build your own terrarium in your bedroom! The mason style jar comes with air vents and glow-in-the-dark stickers, resin figures, and a plant mister. Simply assemble the terranium together, mist it daily, and watch the mini ecosystem develop.

Magic School Bus Chemistry Lab

Go for a ride on the magic school bus as you learn explore the Magic School Bus Chemistry Lab! Make sticky ice, a milk rainbow, and bubble sculptures. Learn about density, acids, bases, and chromatography. Your kids will have hours of fun with the Magic School Bus Chemistry Lab designed for kids from 5 to 12.

Glow in the Dark Slime Science Kit

Let me ask you, what could be better than making your own slime? If your kids are anything like mine, they’ll adore learning the science behind making glow in the dark slime to gross out siblings and friends. It’s a wonderful gift for kids from 6 to 15.

Scientific Explorer Soda Pop Science

Let your kids learn all about making soda pop. How is it made, what is used and why! Aimed at children 6 and up, these kits develop a love and fascination with science.

Science Gifts for Older Children

Let’s face it, our older children are just as fascinated with the world around them as their younger siblings. Use these science gifts to ignite their interests into lifelong passions!

Microscope

A Microscope for older kids ages 8-11! Unlike the one for preschoolers which only magnifies 8X, this microscope magnifies up to 400X. There’s even a 26 piece scientific tool set and an activity guide to get you started.

Microscope Slides

Microscopes are a lot more fun when you have a set of slides to go with it. So don’t forget to get the basic prepared microscope slides! You’ll get a set of 25 slides which show insects, animal, and plant tissues for a biological education.

Disgusting Science Kit

Nothing is like a disgusting science kit to gross out your siblings. Aimed at children 8 and up with adult supervision, your kids will find out exactly what is growing on their body. Create a stinky intestine, slimy snot, and fake blog. Grow mold and bacteria. You’ll have hours of fun discovering new facts about the human body.

Insectoid Robot Science Kit

If the disgusting side of biology isn’t your thing, try building a robotic insect with this insectoid robot science kit! It’s easy to build and designed for ages 8 and up. Your kids will discover exactly how robotic movement works. They’ll have hours of fun building then playing with a robot insect.

Chemistry Set
This ultimate Thames & Kosmos Chem C300 chemistry set is for older kids, 12 and up. There’s a total of over 333 experiments for your children to complete. After using this chemistry set, your kids will be ready for high school chemistry!

Science kits make wonderful science gifts. Your kids explore and develop a lifelong interest in science while they concoct, explore, and construct.

It’s hard to believe that the Christmas season is here once again!  And with it comes the season of giving!  It is such a blessing to give to others and I, along with 25 other bloggers, can’t wait to bless one of you with $500 Paypal cash with the Christmas Blessings Giveaway! Whether you decide to use this money for fulfilling your kids’ Christmas lists, paying off a bill, or just saving for a rainy day, we hope to lessen the financial burden and/or brighten the day of one of our readers with $500 Paypal cash to use for whatever their family needs.

You can earn a lot of entries in the Rafflecopter form below.  I know it can seem tedious and time consuming to go through all the entries, but isn’t a chance at $500 worth it?  I think it is!  Plus, if all of these generous bloggers didn’t participate, we wouldn’t have been able to have such a big prize!  So I hope you will take the time to go through each entry.  Who knows, maybe you will find some new blogs to follow!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway will run from Thursday, December 1st through Saturday, December 10th (ends at 11:59pm EST).  Winner will be notified by email shortly after the giveaway ends and will have 48 hours to respond to claim the prize or another winner will be drawn.  You must have a Paypal account to win.

The post 20 Awesome Gifts for Science Lovers + Enter to win $500 Cash Giveaway! first appeared on True Aim.

Solar Oven S’mores – What Do We Do All Day

Instead of frying an egg on the cement on a hot day, try making s’mores with this solar oven!

Learn about Dirt with Sediment Jars – Read Science

Learn about dirt, soil, and how plants grow with sediment jars!

Watermelon Volcano Activity – Little Bins For Little Hands

Try this twist on an exploding volcano; this time with a watermelon! Plus, it only requires three basic household ingredients!

Chalk Rockets – Growing A Jeweled Rose

With homemade sidewalk chalk, create rockets that can explode!

Mentos and Diet Coke – Keeping It Simple

Mentos and Diet Coke is a simple and fun exploding science experiment! There is almost no prep involved, and it’s great for kids with a short attention span.

Dirt Battery Experiment – Teach Beside Me

Grab a copper wire and create a battery to light up an LED light..out of dirt! You can also try this lemon battery experiment.

Color Changing Flowers Experiment – Go Science Girls

Grab some food coloring to change the color of flowers, with this fun experiment. This experiment takes a few days of mostly waiting, but the results are so pretty!

Balloon Rocket Experiment – What Do We Do All Day?

With a balloon and some basic household experiments, create a balloon rocket! This experiment is for younger children, but has some easy variations for older kids.

Human Sundial Shadow Science Experiment – Rhythms Of Play

Before clocks were invented, people could tell the time from the sun. On a sunny day, go outside and create a human sundial! All you’ll need is some sidewalk chalk and a tape measure

Leak Proof Bag Experiment – Paging Fun Mums!

For a hot day, try this fun leak proof bag experiment, with pencils!

Earth Day Science: How to Make a Butterfly Feeder – True Aim Education

With a simple plastic container, create a butterfly feeder!

Ice Volcanoes – Reading Confetti

Create ice volcanoes with only four simple ingredients for a bright and colorful outdoor science experiment!

Rocks & Minerals: A Fun Testing Experiment For Kids – EDventures With Kids

Test rocks to see if they are limestone with this fun experiment! Limestone rocks are typically found around creek beds, beaches, or other wet areas.

Landscaping With A Green Thumb: Composting – Family Education

Combine science with homemaking, and learn how to compost with this guide, that walks you through why certain things can be composted, and why certain things can not be.

Baking Soda & Vinegar Powered Boat – Sugar Aunts

Baking soda and vinegar can be used for just about everything. Now, power a boat with baking soda and vinegar! As an extra bonus, it doesn’t cost much to make.

Pop Rock Science Experiment For Kids – 123 Homeschool 4 Me

Combine Pop Rocks and soda in this fun science experiment for kids! Kids will love their bright colors!

How To Make Bubble Snakes – One Little Project

Bubbles are a no fail experiment for all ages. Try these bubble snakes, made with a sock and a water bottle!

The post Top Outdoor Science Activities first appeared on True Aim.

What’s great about these activities are that they require minimal supplies. All I had to get from the store was some balloons. Everything else I just gathered from the recycle bin or utility drawer.

STEM with Balloons: Hovercraft Engineering Challenge

The first activity we tried was to make a hovercraft. I’ve always wanted to try this! I used regular party balloons for this challenge and collected some recyclables and tools like scissors and tape. First I talked about what a hovercraft was and how it moved with air pushing underneath of it to let it travel above the ground. I let my daughter choose what materials we used to create our first hovercraft.

This challenge would definitely work well as an independent activity for older children. I had to be very hands-on to help my daughter with her concept (she’s 6yrs old).

The first hovercraft we tried was with a coffee filter. My daughter cut a hole in the middle and we put the blown up balloon through so that the coffee filter made a dome on the bottom v.s. a bowl. FAILED! We discovered that the coffee filter was too light and just flew around every which way when my daughter let the balloon go. That got lots of giggles, but not what we were going for.

Next we tried half of a plastic egg. We popped a lot of balloons because the egg was sharp where we cut so we had to put tape around the edges to prevent the balloons from popping. This hovercraft also FAILED! It didn’t stand up so it just fell over and so the air could not get underneath of it to push it up.

Finally my daughter cut some plastic from a strawberry container. We used the short lid that made a little space underneath with you put it on the ground where the air could go and lift it up. It was wider than the egg so that it wouldn’t fall over. That worked! It didn’t go very far, but it was fun to find what a hovercraft would need to be able to fly right. We also tried the larger part of the strawberry container so that there was more space underneath and that worked too. We were so happy we found something that flew! lol (Make sure you check out the video below!)

STEM with Balloons: Submarines

Next we tried a simple experiment with water balloons! We filled a container with water to experiment. I just let the kids play and fill their own water balloons because I didn’t want this activity to be so hands on. They quickly found out how fun it was to fill them and let them go in the bin under the water. I sparked up conversation by asking them simple questions like, “Are the balloons sinking or floating?”, “Why are they moving around?”, “Which balloon moves the most?”.

My daughter experimented by putting some plastic eggs on the balloons like we did with the hovercrafts. She put them on differently and then tested to see which one was faster.

We will definitely be doing the water balloons again soon because the kids could do it all on their own and they had tons of fun; all while experimenting and learning through play! Which one will you try with your kids?

Join us for amazing outdoor STEM activities all month long!

You can find a list of 31 activities & experiments we’re doing each day during the 31 Days of Outdoor STEM hosted by Little Bins for Little Hands.

Want more ideas for teaching STEM? You might like 10 Ways to Teach STEM!

The post Outdoor STEM with Balloons first appeared on True Aim.

10 Ways to Teach STEM

1. Join a 4-H Club

The 4-H science program offers youth to experience STEM through fun hands on activities and projects. Focus areas include robotics, biotechnology, veterinary science and more! 4-H inspires leadership by allowing young adults to take charge of their STEM projects, meet deadlines, and work with their peers. It’s the perfect club to join to encourage these traits in your children!

2. Learn about distance and mathematical equations with a life sized Angry Birds game

No doubt your kids have played or at least heard of Angry Birds sometime in their life. Learn how this school teaches velocity and distance with a real life version of Angry Birds! For a smaller project, you can also create a mini version.

3. Learn about binary codes with bracelets

Create these birthday bracelets inspired by binary codes. Binary codes are how computers transmit information ­ all with the numbers 0 and 1. Complete with a free printable, this activity was designed for ages 6 and 4, but can easily be used with older grades, as a basic introduction to binary numbers ­ with their birthdays.

4. Study weather

Study the weather with these 50 science/STEM weather activities. From how ice grows to how rainbows appear; use these hands­ on tutorials as guides for student ­led learning.

5. Get coding!

The best way to practice coding is well, start coding! Code Academy is a fantastic free and easy program that offers courses in multiple coding languages; and relies more on actually coding than reading endless tutorials.

6. Involve their favorite films

Explore chemistry with these Big Hero 6 inspired activities, or make artificial snow inspired by Disney’s Frozen, or create Star Wars inspired light sabers with homemade glow in the dark slime!

7. Read books and movies involving STEM

Anyone interested in STEM knows the road to success is often incredibly rough and full of challenges. One of my all time favorite movies is Disney’s Meet the Robinsons. Not only is it an entertaining kids movie full of STEM, but it’s packed full of valuable lessons ­ keep moving forward ­ an important lesson in STEM and in life. Other movies, such as Big Hero 6 and The LEGO Movie, can also create an interest in STEM.

Biographies of inventors, such as Who Was Albert Einstein? and the gorgeously illustrated Young Thomas Edison, show the limitless possibilities of STEM in real life situations.

4-H Also has STEM Curriculum backed by more that 110 top tier universities!

8. Create a lemonade stand

Help kids understand the more practical points of mathematics ­ financials ­ by creating a lemonade stand! With this free printable pack, learn about profit and loss, while growing entrepreneurship skills.

9. Explore

With STEM, education is limitless. Here are 30+ ways to teach science without a textbook. Shows like How It’s Made, and the limitless number of museums, aquariums, and zoos make science painless. More often than not, resources for an intense science project can be found in your kitchen or backyard!

10. Involve technology

Often, technology is looked upon as a negative in our society. For me; the opposite couldn’t be more true. I’ve learned more about history from Pinterest and mathematics from Google than strictly non­Internet learning could ever offer. Don’t be afraid of using apps or YouTube channels to encourage STEM learning! STEM can encourage educational technology use; plus encourages a healthy balance and moderation.

School­ based learning can often be viewed as useless ­but STEM proves just the opposite. As kids explore STEM; they begin to learn practical life skills; curiosity, creativity, communication, problem solving, and leadership. They learn how to learn, and teach themselves; a vital skill in college. They gain valuable skills as they become computer savvy; a must in today’s world.

Kids and Teens Using STEM to change the world:

• Fourteen year old Robert Nay from Utah, who created his first website in third grade. By fourteen, he created the app Bubble Ball; which was downloaded over two million times in two weeks, and even knocked Angry Birds out of Apple’s coveted first place spot in the Free Apps section.
• Brandon Boynton, a seventeen year old from Indiana, used his self coding knowledge to create the BullyBox App, an app that allows students to anonymously report bullying.
• Indian teen Shubham Banerjee recently made national headlines for creating a Braille printer out of LEGOs at age thirteen.
• A trio of ninth grade girls from Ireland won Google’s Science Fair in 2014. With homemade equipment; they conducted germination and growth experiments for eleven months. Their ultimate goal? Help the global food crisis.
• Through talks, demonstrations, workshops and interviews, Thaddeus Hughes, 2016 STEM Pillar Winner, has engaged more than 6,000 youth in the wonders of science. He has been a mentor for FIRST Lego League and the Illinois State Robotics Competition for four years. Simultaneously, he developed an afterschool program through the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension called Spinning Robots in which he taught 50 middle schoolers basic circuitry and how to build simple robots.

Nominate a young STEM leader you know in your community! Click here to find out how you can empower them to lead the next generation.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of 4-H. The opinions and text are all mine.

The post 10 Ways to Teach STEM and Inspire Leadership first appeared on True Aim.

I saw a project like this in a magazine, but it just wasn’t working the way they showed how to do it. Here’s my version.

How to Make a Butterfly Feeder

To make this simple science project, you’ll need a plastic container (I used the bottom of a plastic bottle), glue gun, fake flowers or colored plastic bag, a cotton ball, a pin or needle, a hole punch, and some string.

First, warm up your glue gun. Then glue the fake flowers in a circle on the bottom of your plastic container to make it look like a flower, leaving space in the middle for where the pollen of a real flower would be. If you don’t have a fake flower, you can cut a colored plastic bag into petal shapes and glue those on.

Next prick a hole in the bottom of your container in the middle of your flower petals with a pin or needle. The project that I saw in a magazine had you poke a cotton ball through the hole in the bottom. That was really difficult so, I ripped up the cotton ball and glued it around the hole, being sure to cover the hole with the cotton, but not the hot glue.

Finally, use the hole punch to cut out the sides of your container so you can tie your string on it and hang it in a tree or bush.

To make the butterfly food, you just mix 1 tsp of sugar or honey with 1/4 cup of water and put it in your butterfly feeder. The cotton ball will fill up with the sugar water and the butterflies can drink it. The solution is similar to the nectar that is in the flowers that butterflies like.

Our feeder attracted a lot of bees so far, and we did see a few small butterflies around it, but we didn’t see any drink from it yet. My daughters are constantly checking on it when the sun is out.

Would your kids like to make a feeder like this? Then they might also like this bug search experiment!

The post Earth Day Science: How to Make a Butterfly Feeder first appeared on True Aim.

When my kids forget to do what I’ve told them repeatedly or disobey me about something small, I don’t get angry. They get bugs! I’m not joking. It really works. Our yard gets infested with pill bugs and so my daughter gets to collect them for a punishment. She can hunt anywhere for bugs in our yard to find a certain amount and she always tries to do it as fast as she can. This helps control the bug population and helps her remember to do what is right.

This bug search experiment helped show her where she can find the most bugs.

How to do the Bug Search Experiment

You’ll need a plastic bottle cut in half for this experiment. I cut 3 bottles so that each of my children could get their own soil. I gave them the top half and left the cap on so the dirt didn’t fall through.

After they collected their dirt, I took of the lid and put the top half of their bottles in the bottom half with the lid side down. Then I put them on a tray so if they tipped the dirt wouldn’t get all over the counter.

We marked them to remember who’s was who’s and wrote down our hypothesis on our science experiment worksheet. I asked my kids where they got their dirt from and Audrey said by the strawberries, while my other two children got their dirt from the chicken coop (I made them wash their hands really well).

I balanced a flashlight on top of their dirt to represent the sun. If you have a lamp that bends and can be moved to point down, that would be a lot better light source. We left our light on for two hours and then checked the bottom of the bottles.

There were two bugs in the bottom of Audrey’s bottle, but no bugs in the other two.

If you don’t find any bugs in your bottles you can have your children try another location. Give them a hint to where they might find dirt that has lots of bugs in it.

Lessons Learned from this Experiment

This experiment shows that most bugs that live in dirt don’t like light or heat so they dig down lower to get away from it and fall into the bottom of the bottle. It also shows what kind of soil bugs like. The soil that was from the chicken coop was dryer and lighter than the soil next to the strawberries. My children made the observation that maybe the chickens had eaten a lot of the bugs so there wasn’t any left in their soil. So they decided that bugs like wet, cool, and chicken-free dirt. Now they know where to search for bugs if we give them the task for forgetting to feed the dog in the morning!

Would your child like this experiment? What kind of observations did they make?

You might like to use our Free Insect Preschool Printables with this experiment!

Find even more Earth Day Activities here:

Easy Earth Day Sensory Play (Natural Beach Living)

Earth Day Coffee Filter Suncatcher Craft for Kids (A Little Pinch of Perfect)

Ways to Recyle Activities for Kids Play Ideas (Little Bins for Little Hands)

Water Filtration Experiment (Teach Beside Me)

The post Earth Day Science: Bug Search Experiment first appeared on True Aim.

Popular Free Learning Sites for Kids and Adults

Blue Manor Academy – Get free character-building eBooks!

IXL – Dynamic, adaptive learning for grades K-12. Math, language arts, science, and social studies included.

Typing Club – Free typing lessons for kids.

Bible.org – Free Bible lessons, mainly learning towards adults

Learn with Essential Skills Advantage – Frugal lessons for auditory, visual, and tactile learned in K-6

Hoffman Academy – Learn to play the piano for free online!

Google Cultural Institute – Discover exhibits and collections from museums around the world.

Khan Academy – Free math and science videos for grades K-12. They have also began adding videos in other categories such as economics and history.

Livemocha – Learn any foreign language with these free online lessons.

Coursera – Hundreds of online courses for upper-level learning.

Starfall – ABC alphabet and phonetic lessons for kids for each letter of the alphabet.

Reading Bear – Learn to read with these free phonics resources; including 50 presentations and over 1,200 vocabulary items.

The Poached Egg – Free Christian Apologetics

Cool Math 4 Kids – Cool online math games for kids!

Funbrain – Math, reading, and more fun games for kids. I used to love their Math Arcade games!

LibriVox – A collection of free public domain audiobooks.

BBC Bitesize – “Bitesize” BBC news for K-8 school students, including free learning lessons for everything from foreign languages to science.

Code – For ages 8+, learn how to code for free, in these hour lessons.

BBC Skillswise – English, grammar, and math lessons for adults.

NIV Adventure Bible – Free Bible trivia and games online.

Spelling City – Practice spelling and vocabulary for free!

Adventures in Odyssey – Character-building Christian-based radio podcasts, plus videos and games.

Teach Your Monster to Read – Learn letters, sounds, and sentences with these free lessons.

TED – Free inspiring videos and stories.

Oxford Owl – Free math and language videos, plus 250 free eBooks, for ages 3-11.

Project Gutenberg – Free eBooks in the public domain; there are over 50,000 free books!

Xtra Math – Master basic math problems for elementary and middle school.

Storybird – Create artful stories and meet other self-starting artists in a similar genre.

More Free Learning Sites

Nick Jr Games – Free Nick Jr-inspired games for preschoolers. Activities range from educational to general fun, fine-motor skill building games.

Jump Start – Free educational games for K-5.

Sheppard Software – Games and lessons for grades K-12, although focusing mostly on elementary-aged children. Lessons include math, phonics, history, health, and geography.

Cookie – Learning (math, science, and language) lessons for elementary school.

PBS LearningMedia – Social studies, math, science, and language lessons for all ages.

Turtle Diary – Kids educational games in math, language, and science for K-5.

Fact Monster – A free, kid-friendly resource and reference site.

Mind Games – Free online mind games and brain puzzles – Sudoku, puzzles, memory challenges, and word games.

Worksheet Works – Hundreds of free worksheets, from math problems to Sudoku puzzles.

Lesson Pathways – Free curriculum for grades K-5.

Ambleside Online – Free homeschool curriculum designed with Charlotte Mason in mind.

Archive – Free public domain books, movies, software, and music.

Fisher Price – Free online games for toddlers and kindergarteners.

iGame Mom – Free educational apps for kids.

BBC History – History for kids, from Ancient history to WWII history.

MobyMax – Personalized learning curriculum for grades K-8.

Old Fashioned Education – An old fashioned, Christian-based curriculum.

Mensa for Kids – Educational videos for K-12, plus some games.

Discovery K-12 – Online homeschool curriculum that isn’t aligned with Common Core.

CK-12 – Free online textbooks in math and science courses.

Math Games

Fun 4 The Brain – Free math games for kids.

Math Worksheet Wizard – Thousands of free math worksheets for kids, grades K-4.

Kids Math Games – Kids math puzzles and games including Sudoku, counting, and problem solving.

Top Marks – Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division for ages 5-11.

Hooda Math – Games for grades K-12; multiplication, fractions, and more!

Science Games

Execulink – Worksheets, games, and quizzes for high school students.

Anatomy Arcade – Study the different parts of the body with these arcade games.

Birds – Bird lessons and videos for middle and high school students.

Reading and Writing

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