Children enjoy blowing bubbles. Take advantage of this activity as a teaching opportunity to discuss light --- reflection and wavelengths on the surface of the bubbles --- and molecules. Create a bubble mix from 6 cups of distilled water, 3/4 cup light corn syrup and 2 cups of dish-washing liquid detergent such as Joy or Dawn. Allow the mixture to sit for four hours. Gather several plastic lids of different sizes, such as butter tub lids, and pour bubble mix into each. Dip one end of a straw into the original container of bubble mix to moisten it, then hold the end into the mix in the lid. Blow into the dry end slowly to create a giant bubble on the lid. Examine the bubbles with your children, paying attention to the movement of light on the surfaces.
Give each of your students a small notebook and ask them to label it "Nature Journal." For one or several weeks, take the children outside and ask them to spend time exploring and taking descriptive notes of all they discover. Choose to focus on different themes each day, such as plants, animals, insects or trees, or allow each child to determine his focus for the day. Have the children look up the plants and animals they discover in the library or online to try to identify what they see. Discuss their observations, paying attention to ideas like ecosystems and relationships between the various life forms they witnessed.
Begin with a discussion of the various ways in which energy is generated. Boil a pan of water with the lid on until the lid shakes to demonstrate the power of steam. Purchase inexpensive pinwheels and take the children outside on a windy day to demonstrate wind power. Closely cover the inside of a mixing bowl with tinfoil, smoothing it flush against the bowl. Angle the bowl toward the sun and place a potato inside the bowl. A few hours later, the potato should be cooked, demonstrating solar energy.
Discuss the concept of the full periodic table, then create a mini-periodic table of elements you will be able to collect from around your home and outdoors. Choose eight or nine elements, such as silver, gold, copper, aluminum, carbon, iron, sodium, potassium and helium. Divide a shoebox or wooden box into sections and mark one for each element with the element's periodic table abbreviation and number. Begin a scavenger hunt with the children to discover examples to put in each of the sections. For elements such as helium, purchase a helium-filled balloon from a store, attach a weight to the string and place the weight in the box.