The secret to giving your kids a really great homeschool science education...even if you don't know much science yourself, or don't have the time to teach it.
Whether you need help with high school biology, need to review
for a college biology class, or you're studying for the AP Biology
Exam, the Standard Deviants can help! Put away your microscope
and dissecting kit - this clean and easy biology tutorial covers
everything you'll need to know: cell structures, DNA, photsynthesis,
endocytosis, mitosis and meiosis, and much more!
Great Plant
Escape
An elementary plant science program for 4th and 5th grade students.
Each of the lessons in this program is interdisciplinary, designed
to introduce students to plant science and increase their understanding
of how food grows.
Dress-for-Success Mulch
Tomatoes are partial to red, potatoes favor pale blue or white, and turnips don't think orange is too bad.
Gardening Tips : Does Music Affect Plant Growth?
While there is no evidence that music affects plant growth, playing a favorite type of music may make gardening more fun and effective. Give attention to plants by playing music when gardening using tips from a sustainable gardener in this free video on plant care.
The Effect of Music on Plants
In 1973, a woman named Dorothy Retallack published a small book
called The Sound of Music and Plants. Mrs. Retallack placed
plants in each chamber and speakers through which she played
sounds and particular styles of music. She watched the plants
and recorded their progress daily. She was astounded at what
she discovered.
Fun
Science Fair Projects
Some ideas and methods to help make it easier for you to have
a prize winning botany science project. From Janice Van Cleve.
Happy,
dancing raisins
Remember the dancing raisins commercial on TV? No? Well it doesn't
matter anyway, they have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do
with this experiment. Now, let's make some raisins boogie!
Mummified Apple Recipe
Science is used in the study of how ancient Egyptians created
mummies. Create a mummified apple. Does it last as long or longer
than a fresh apple?
Plant
Growth Experiments
The instructions here outline a protocol for conducting plant
growth experiments in the laboratory. You may want to make adaptations
for use in a greenhouse or outdoors.
Cell Structure
3D Plant Cell Project
All you need for your own 3D plant cell model is a few ordinary household objects. Additionally a few food items will be needed to illustrate the parts of the cell. We like to use Jell-O in our 3D cell model. Use the "Jigglers" recipe to make the cell stiff.
Plant Cell Science Project
The following sample plant cell science project experiment is meant to give you ideas on how to perform experiments and arrange your project. Use this project to come up with ideas for your own experiments.
Plant
Cell Structure
Plants are unique amongst the eukaryotes, organisms whose cells
have membrane-enclosed nuclei and organelles, because they can
manufacture their own food.
Classifications
Interviews with Plant Groups - Lesson starter
Great teaching resource I made using CrazyTalk software. A moss, conifer, flower, grass and fern all tel you about their features. Great for plant classification.
Classification
of Plants & Animals
At any one time in history, there are millions of different kinds
of plants and animals in the world. In 1753, a scientist in Sweden
named Carolus Linnaeus thought of an orderly system for classifying
plants and animals.
Fun
Facts about Fungi
Penicillin can save lives. Truffles, found by pigs, are a delicacy.
Did you know that ants farm fungi? These and other amazing facts.
Lichenland
Know that flat green stuff found on rocks? That's lichen. Why
should you care about learning about lichen? Check out this page
for kids to find out.
Mold
Terrarium
I mean really! Do you really have to PLAN to grow mold in a jar
of old food? Just grab something that's been in your fridg too
long and make the observations.
Chaparral and Fire
When we say that plants are adapted to fire, we mean that the
plants actually need fire as part of their lives, and that the
plant species could die out if fire didn't occur. Sounds a little
strange, doesn't it? Why would plants have anything to do with
fire?
The
Dirt on Soil
This is a world where fungi lay traps for thread-like worms.
Bacteria dine on toxic chemicals. The smaller the creature, the
stranger are its habits. Take an interactive journey into the
dirt beneath your feet.
Natural History for
Bell County Texas
Presented here are some of the things in nature that I have observed
and captured as images. Hopefully this will help motivate others
to make their own observations. Most of the material presented
is from Central Texas in the vicinity of Bell County, but much
of the material applies world wide.
Flowers
Gardening Tips : Collecting Seeds From Flowers
Collect seeds from flowers by waiting until the plant is done blooming and then gather the seed pods before it starts to rain and freeze at night. Hold on to seeds until they can be planted in the spring and save money on expensive seeds with gardening tips from a sustainable gardener in this free video on plant care.
The Structure of Flowers
Some flowers are tiny and hard to see: others are showy and flamboyant,
like orchids and roses. Some flowers grow in clusters, some bloom
alone. All flowers, however, have a protected ovary to contain
the seeds, and stamens to produce the pollen.
Why Do Plants Have Flowers?
Flowers are used by a plant to have kids....er.....seeds, and
new baby plants. Simple, yet lovely illustrations to show flower
parts and how insects help pollenate flowers. Delightfully written.
How Plants "Drink"
Water
Celery
Stalks at Midnight
Did you ever wonder how a paper towel can soak up a spill, or
how water gets from a plant's roots to its leaves? The name for
this is "capillary action."
Extracting
life from a plant
OK Reeko, so how do plants take in water, I've never seen them
slurping it up with a straw? This experiment should shed some
light on this question.
Spineless
Potatoes
In this experiment we will introduce you to a principle called
osmosis. Using simple household items we will demonstrate what
osmosis (the natural passage or diffusion of water -- or other
liquids -- through a semi permeable membrane,) is and how it
works.
Trees
Trees
All about trees. Games and puzzles. Why leaves change color.
How to plant trees. Projects and uses for trees.
My Nature Journal A Personal Nature Guide for Young People
Adrienne Olmstead
For kids ages 8-14. It is packed with suggestions for nature
activities which encourage observation and note-taking skills.
Botany in a Day
The Patterns Method of Plant Identification
by Thomas J. Elpel
Advanced. Instead of trying to identify plants one-at-a-time, Botany in a Day give you a way to learn them by the hundreds, based on the principle that related plants have similar patterns for indentification, and they often have similar uses.
Botany
An Introduction to Plant Biology
by James D. Mauseth
Believing that a knowledge of evolution by natural selection is essential for understanding biological structure and processes, the author works throughout the text to convey how powerful a concept natural selection is.
In a mythical world where time is a liquid that falls as
rain upon the land, young Shanleya paddles her canoe out to the
tree islands to learn the plant traditions of her people. Each
island is home to a separate family of plants and an unforgettable
Guardian with lessons to teach about the identification and uses
of those plants.
