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Learn About the Periodic Table

What do you remember about the Periodic Table from your days in school? The answer for me is not much at all! But as with many, many things, homeschooling my children is allowing me to re-claim my own education. 

My homeschool philosophy has long been one of simplicity and FUN, and these resources will help you keep things easy and engaging for your children. 

I'm sharing some of the resources I've pulled together to help our family learn all about the Periodic Table. I hope you find this round up of resources helpful for your homeschool also!

Learn About the Periodic Table

Learn About the Periodic Table

Below are some resources to help you teach your family all about the Periodic Table. There are helpful videos, books, songs, notebooking pages, and more. Have fun!

TED-Ed Periodic Videos Click on any of the elements of the Periodic Table and go straight to a video lesson about that element. They have a lesson for every single element! This is so cool! This team of scientists has made it so simple for you to teach your kids about the elements. They show you experiments and explain each element.

Carbon - The Building Blocks of Life I like this short video from Answers in Genesis that shows the ingenuity of our Creator and how perfectly elements work together in the world around us. 

Periodic Table of the Elements in Pictures This awesome table shows real life examples of where the elements can be found. You can print out this table for easy reference. There is even a downloadable set of flash cards of the periodic table. This is a fabulous resource for teachers.

Dynamic Periodic Table You and your students can click around the Periodic Table and a wealth of information will pop up about each element. 

Lapbook or Notebook Your Way Through the Periodic Table

Create a Periodic Table Lapbook This lapbook found on Homeschoolshare uses the Fizz, Bubble & Flash book to reinforce teaching about elements in the Periodic Table. My kids love doing anything hands-on. This would be a fun project to do. It says it is best suited for ages 9 and up although you could let your younger children join in. 

Periodic Table Notebooking Pages We have a lifetime membership to Notebooking Pages and it has been well worth the investment. It's my go-to place for ready-to-go notebooking pages for any new topic we study. They offer a set of pages for the Periodic Table that you could easily add to your science studies. There are even blank Periodic Tables that you could use in a variety of ways as your children memorize the Periodic Table!

More Fun with the Periodic Table

How to Make Magnetic Slime and Learn About the Periodic Table  We had so much fun with this --- you'll be the best mom around if you do this with your kids!

Periodic Table Battleship This simple game of Battleship, that you can make at home, will be a great way to help your children get more familiar with the Periodic Table. 

Periodic Table Writer This is a fun website where you can plug in words and it will create it using the Periodic Table. Play around with different words and see how it writes the words using the elements of the Periodic Table. Check out this cute graphic I made for Homegrown Learners!

Books & Activities About the Periodic Table

Are you teaching your children about the Periodic Table this year? I hope these resources have been helpful to you!

Learn About the Periodic Table

Classical Astronomy in the Homeschool

Sometimes it is daunting to think about how we are going to teach our children everything they need to know when we ourselves (the parents) can't possibly know it all! 

History. Music. Literature.   I have those covered. I am familiar with those and feel comfortable with them.

Math. Science. Art.  Not so much. 

This is when it is my job as a homeschool mom to be chief researcher and find resources that can help my children learn subjects that aren't my forte. 

I consider it a victory when I find a quality resource that my kids LOVE and learn from. That happened this year in science, and I want to share that resource with you today.

Experience Astronomy has been such a great class for my son - he has learned all about Classical Astronomy in a simple, online class. This has been coupled with field observations and readings. I'm blown away by the amount of knowledge he has gained about God's vast creation.

The added bonus is that he does this class INDEPENDENTLY on me, which is good for both of us! 

 

*I have not been compensated for this review. I'm sharing it with you because we love this course and want to help others do the same. Affiliate links are included in this post.

About Experience Astronomy

(This is our experience with the Upper Level of Experience Astronomy - there is also an Elementary Level  (oh how I wish this had been around a few years ago!) and an Advanced Level where your child can receive high school credit!)

  • Each week a video lesson is made available to the student on Sunday evening for the coming week - these lessons are 20-30 minutes long and very engaging. Luke Gilkerson teaches astronomy from a Biblical worldview. My son logs into his account and watches the video.

 

  • Each time Grant completes a video lesson he takes a comprehension quiz that is automatically graded. That score is then emailed to me (I haven't told him about this feature!)... I like that I can keep track of his progress in a sneaky way (wink).

  • Each week there is also a Field Guide and Reading assignment. Students are encouraged to go outside in the evenings to observe the night sky and record their observations - and it's ok if you don't have time or the weather is bad - online tools are provided just in case. (Our entire family has enjoyed many of the observations together)

  • The textbook for the course, Signs & Seasons, is a Biblically based astronomy text and quite interesting. Many times my son and I read this aloud together, but he also did it other times on his own.

6 Reasons We Love Experience Astronomy

1.  Astronomy is presented from a Biblical worldview - this is HUGE for us!

2.  The course can be done independently (I sat with my son for the first few classes and then let him do it on his own) and builds confidence.

3.  Luke Gilkerson is HIGHLY engaging and kept my son's attention during the recorded sessions. 

4. The Field Guide makes this so much more than an "online class" - observations and drawing at night enhanced the experience. My son is now extremely familiar with the night sky!

5. If you JUST want to do the online lessons and quizzes that is fine --- you might just have time for that much. Remember, YOU are the teacher.  This is a flexible course!

6. There is an option for ALL ages - literally!    

It’s been a good experience for both of my children to take in person classes, online classes, and self-directed classes. I’d love to know if your children take advantage of these different opportunities, too. Tell me about it in the comments!