Eggs! Sounds delicious, right!? But eggs are not only used to show our culinary skills in the kitchen or to satisfy our taste buds but to our surprise, they work great to do science experiments that every young and little scientists in your home needs to try. Many simple, easy, and fun experiments are possible to do with eggs.
Angela
4 Fun Ways To Introduce the Planets To Toddlers
The planets, solar system, and the universe are a pretty big concept to explain to toddlers and it can be difficult for them to comprehend. But finding fun ways to learn about the planets from an early age can really inspire their imagination, and spark an interest in space for years to come.
Introducing the planets to toddlers
Before you get started it’s worth brushing up on your own solar system knowledge — it’s really important to share the correct information with toddlers from the very start.
Earth is part of a solar system, called the Milky Way, with seven other planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. These planets are in orbit around the Sun, which is a star. There are also dwarf planets (such as Pluto), moons, comets, and asteroids in the Milky Way solar system.
Our solar system is one of approximately 30 billion solar systems within the Milkyway, and then billions more other galaxies. These kinds of numbers can be hard for toddlers to understand, so begin by focusing on the 8 planets in our solar system and the sun.
Show them the planets
The best way to start talking about space and the planets to toddlers is to show them the moon and stars in the sky at night. Take them outside on a clear night and point out the stars, and talk about how far away they are from Earth.
There are many websites such as EarthSky, which give daily information about what planets are visible. For a better look buy a telescope and look at the sky from an upstairs window. Ask the kids to find different stars, such as the brightest or the smallest.
If you’re in the city or can’t get a good view of the night sky, you could also take your toddler to a planetarium. While they probably won’t understand the whole concept just yet, it’s a good visual and interactive way to introduce them to the idea of space and planets. There are also planetarium kits you can buy that will project constellations on to your ceiling and show kids how the planets and stars move across the sky at night.
Create a solar system
With a bit of simple crafting, you can make your own planets. You could cut out and sew together felt circles and stuff them to create soft planets — these can be used to teach your toddler the names for each planet and the order that they’re in.
Alternatively, grab some large pieces of card and some paints – ask your kids to paint each sheet in the right color for the different planets. You can then cut them out to the right proportions and either hang them from the ceiling or attach them to a wall in the correct order. Toddlers can add in stars and attach name labels to the planets.
Getting involved with making will help them to remember the different planets, their sizes, and names. And try making the planets to scale — Jupiter is so big you could fit all the other planets in the Milky Way inside of it — these are important concepts for kids to understand.
If you’re not feeling too crafty you could try a kids subscription box such as the SagoMini Box, which includes a Space Explorer pack that comes with everything ready for make-and-play activities. Boxes like these teach them about the planets through play, and also help with other skills such as problem-solving.
You could also talk about the differences between the planets in our solar system; from their rings and moons to the temperature and surfaces of the planets. Then get them thinking about making their own planet — for example, you could ask them to describe what they would have on their planet, or use Play-Doh to create their own planet
Build a rocket ship
Space travel is a pretty cool idea, especially for kids. Give your toddler the opportunity to build their own rocket ship using cardboard toilet rolls, paper, paints, glue and their imagination. They can choose the design of their ship, or you can find some templates online for inspiration, and they can pick the colors they want to paint it.
While they’re building the ship you can tell them about why rocket ships are needed, how far away the planets are, and how long it would take to get there. This will help kids to understand the concept of the solar system and its size. You can then try building a catapult and launching their finished rocket ships to see how far they can travel.
Alternatively, there are lots of rocket ship kits available that provide a fun way for toddlers to learn about space travel and the planets such as the Hape Four-Stage Rocket Ship.
Sing about the planets
Nursery rhymes are always a great way for toddlers to learn. When children learn information associated with a specific tune they remember it a lot quicker. And there are several children’s songs about the planets — try showing your kids this video and teach them the Planets Song to introduce them to the different planets.
Using a combination of crafts, models, toys, and visual experiences you can introduce the planets to toddlers in a really fun and engaging way that will help them to get to grips with some pretty big concepts.
Disclaimer : This post contains affiliate links from Amazon. An affiliate link means that when you purchase using the link provided in this page, I would get a small referral fees WITHOUT any extra cost to you. I highly appreciate your understanding and support.
Easy Experiments to Introduce Magnetism to Kids
In this experiment, you can make kids learn about the items that get attracted to magnets. It is the best physics experiment for small kids.
Magnets are amazing things for kids to create interest in science. You can do wonders with magnets. They also play a very critical role in wide areas of practical scientific applications.
On last Sunday, we were discussing about possible other experiments to do at home. At first, the magnet experiment caught Prithika’s attention. She wanted to do it and I thought I can teach her about magnetism and magnetic force. This is nothing but just using a magnet to check which items at home gets attracted to it.
Suitable For
Kids from age 3 to 9 can try this. Different aged kids will infer different information per their age. Therefore try this with preschool, kindergarten, and primary school kids. I did this with my elder daughter 8 years old and younger one 6 years.
Things required
- Magnet – We used a big ring magnet and a stick magnet. You can use the same size or a bigger one.
- Items for testing magnetism. These included metals, plastic, wood, chalk, vessels, nails, keys, etc.
- Paper/Notebook
- Water & Oil
- Glass Jar
- Bowls
Magnetic Experiments
1. Classification of Materials
We spread across the following items in a mat and asked my daughter to start testing them for attraction with a magnet.
- Keys
- Plastic playing coins
- Screws
- Few Pennies
- Safety Pins
- Paper Pins
- Mouse Ball (yeah the old one)
- Blue stones
- Seeds
- Few more items that we could find from scraps.
Then she started the experiment. She checked with the magnet and segregated things that were attracted by the magnet in one side and not attracted in another side.
Oh, I missed it. She actually first wrote the list of items which she thought will get attracted and the others. Then tested whether her understanding is correct.
After sorting the items upon checking with the magnet she checked her list and understood that metals get attracted to a magnet. However, wood, plastic, and chalk do not.
She listed key, fork in the attracted to list. But in reality, it was not so, they landed in the not attracted to list. When she curiously asked me I explained to her that metals that contain iron will get attracted and not others. I told her about silver and gold metals and they do not get attracted to a magnet.
She also played by keeping the magnet above the “attracted place” and felt glad that all items stuck to the magnet. I now explained to her about magnetism. The items got attracted are not magnetic items but they got attracted due to their property that was pulled by the magnetic force.
We were amazed to see Blue stone gravels stuck to magnet and we learned that some of the stones have ingrained materials that are attracted to magnets.
Now, it’s time to learn spellings. She verified with me about the names of the items which she did not know and spelled them phonetically. Best way to learn the spelling of many new words. I was glad.
She listed key, fork in the attracted to list. But in reality, it was not so, they landed in the not attracted to list. When she curiously asked me I explained to her that metals that contain iron will get attracted and not others. I told her about silver and gold metals and they do not get attracted to a magnet.
2. Measuring Strength of Magnet
It was time for us to take the next step in the experiment. After classifying the things, I wanted my daughter to learn about the strength of the magnet.
Not all magnets have equal magnetic strength. It varies based on the size, shape and of course on the materials in which the magnet is made.
How can we simply showcase strength of the magnet? We took a simple approach. I asked my daughter to keep attaching coins to the magnet but not directly. Each of the next coin would be attached to the previous coin and we tested how much can the magnet hold.
Our Bar magnet was able to hold 2 to 3 coins while our ring magnet could hold more than 4. We even tested with couple of screws and bolts.
We didn’t have a Gauss Meter to measure the strength but this experiment was good enough to prove that each magnet has difference in their magnetic strength.
3. Separating Iron Fillings from Sand
Prithika was impressed after seeing the blustones sticking to the magnet and asked us how does a stone stick to a magnet?
I thought it would be fun to make her understand by separating iron filings from sand. Though I wasn’t sure how much iron fillings I would be able to separate, we thought it is worth to test it.
I gave my daughter a big ring magnet and asked her to play with in the sand and observe. She did all possible things with magnet and sand. Initially she dragged the magnet across the sand and started pouring sand on top of the magnet. Finally, when she was done with her play. I showed her the small particles that was stuck to the magnet.
We finally found enough iron fillings from the sand. I asked Prithika to carefully separate them out and store them in a bowl.
It took her about 10 minutes to save the iron fillings in the bowl. Now I showed her that even sand has iron fillings. Similarly some of the rocks have high iron or metal content which can work as magnetic material and gets attracted by magnet.
I am sure , she understood the lesson through this fun activity.
To make things even more fun, we poured the separated iron fillings into a plastic box and I started circling the magnet underneath the box. The particles started dancing in line with the magnet’ movement. Both my daughters were jumped on joy seeing this. I let them play for a while before starting our next experiment.
4. Magnetic Property Under Liquids
Tisha asked me on whether she can play with magnet in water? That’s when I thought why don’t we teach how magnets work under liquids.
I took a plastic container and filled water. I asked Prithika to pour the iron fillings in the water. Now I asked her to use the magnet to move the iron fillings across the container. She was happy to see the iron fillings stuck to the surface of the container where the magnet was placed. She tried to drag the magnet across the container and saw the iron fillings followed her.
Similarly, we tried this with paper clips in the water. They also followed the magnets.
This helped my kids to understand magnets do work under water.
Science Behind Magnets
The magnet produces a magnetic field and that will attract things that contain magnetic property. For instance, iron or any metal that contains iron is pulled by the magnetic force. Fridge magnets are the classic example which gets stuck to the refrigerator door as they are made of steel. Two magnets will get either attracted or repelled based on the poles. Like poles repel and unlike poles attract each other.
Check for more physics activities on physics activities for kids.
Few best ones for your reference
- Playing around with Refraction of Light – STEAM activity
- Easy Catapult
- 3D challenge
- DIY Balance Scale
- Heart-shaped bubble wands
Word of Caution
Make use of big magnets so that there is no choking hazard of children swallowing it. Apart from that, even magnet can get attracted inside the gut leading to severe health problems. Ensure kids safety and then provide them with magnets. Also, closely monitor them to avoid any accidents.
Disclaimer : This post contains affiliate links from Amazon. An affiliate link means that when you purchase using the link provided in this page, I would get a small referral fees WITHOUT any extra cost to you. I highly appreciate your understanding and support.
Meet the Teacher Template – Beautiful Designs
When you become a teacher, then you keep learning throughout your life. Yes, you heard me right. A teacher not just teaches but learns constantly. I am sure every teacher feels glad about learning as part of their journey. To teach, you must learn and only then you can get along with kids and parents of every generation. Yes, kids and parents have a generation gap themselves and a teacher who always does the job of bridging this gap.
Well! Let me come to the point now. You got it right and I am going to provide you with free templates related to teachers. All the teachers who read this post have a double bonanza. I usually offer this as I provide details along with the free templates. Every one of you can gain some idea about why this template, how to use and what to write in the templates. Teachers can copy too! At times you need to steal some ideas and impress kids and parents.
That’s exactly why you came here. We will offer you with free “meet the teacher templates” sample letters and great ideas too. Get inspired with the ideas we suggested here and make a great meet the teacher letter to win the teacher of the year award 2020.
Jokes apart, we shall now move into the actual topic.
What is it
Ok, for those who know already please proceed further and others just read this to understand about a meet the teacher template. When you first time meet the kids or the parents, then you need to give them an introduction about yourself, your passion for teaching, and how will you do justice to kids in their education.
Why should you do this? Parents handover their kids to teachers as they treat you as the second parent. Therefore, every parent must gain confidence in a teacher. This first impression makes you the best. You need to take an extra step to get emotionally connected with the kids and parents. Even for kids, you become a second mom as they spend more time with you in school. So get connected with them too.
Meet the teacher letter plays the exact role of allowing you to explain yourself to the newcomers. You may talk to them when you meet them in person, but before that this written letter will talk for you.
A gate pass indeed!
Why use a meet the teacher template
- Impress the students and parents using a meet the teacher template as we have collected different formats which you can use for different occasion.
- Provide a professional touch to the parents and make them feel glad about their decision.
- Save your time in preparing a template and fill in details in this readymade template without compromising the uniqueness.
- Connect with parents using these templates and make them feel happy even before meeting you.
- Spend quality time in filling your details rather than wasting time in designing as we have done it for you already with utmost care.
Where can you use these templates?
- Use these templates when you want to meet parents for a discussion about the kids.
- Make use when you first introduce yourself to the kids.
- Whenever you meet with parents use different templates to express your thoughts better. Have a column for parents to fill their feedback as well.
- Send them emails periodically to update about their wards.
- Use them when you want to discuss any issues about kids to parents. Elaborate the details in the letter to give parents a heads-up about the meeting.
How does meet the teacher editable template PDF look like
Now, let us explain how this template looks like. You can download word documents and editable PDF templates. PDF templates add more professional touch when compared to the word document. No worries, as editing PDF these days have become simpler than editing a word document.
The PDF template will look like an invitation, colorfully designed and providing space to fill as many details possible. So you can imagine that a PDF meet the teacher template becomes your invite for calling parents for a meeting to meet with you. At the same time, it will have different sections to let you introduce yourself, and much more. W
What components you must add to meet the teacher blank template and make it look unique
We shall now analyze the components that will make your meet the teacher letter look great. We call it a blank template because this will contain all the elements as mentioned below. However, we leave it to you to fill the details. But, read this section to understand rightly about what you can fill in those sections.
• Title – Meet the teacher – Here you can write meet with your name. Additionally, provide the reason for the meeting. “Meeting with Clara – First Day to Grade 1.” Simply write as meet the teacher and leave it. The choice we let you decide on it.
• Date and Venue – Under this section mention the date when you will meet with the parents or the students. The timing and venue details. In the coming sections, I will provide a sample from where you can get precise details about this section.
• Introduction – Write about yourself that includes your name, education, experience. Let this section contain more standard details apart from the specific like name etc. Mention your achievements as a teacher. Provide some samples about how you manage kids etc. this will instill confidence in the parents.
• Purpose of the meeting – Soon after you brief about you, make a point to quickly let know the agenda of the meeting. The first day to school, the first day to class, parents meeting to discuss their ward, and many more. Tell the reason briefly about why the meeting? Give a few details about the student in particular if you have called parents for specific meeting if any.
• Hobbies, favorites – You may wonder how mentioning your hobbies will help in a meet the teacher’s letter. But, this will give a detailed idea about the teacher to the parents and students. You can connect easily with them by mentioning your hobbies and favorites.
• Teaching Methodology – Brief about what strategy you use for teaching. How does that benefit kids of that particular generation? How do you plan for educating students on a particular curriculum etc? This section does explain your experience and successes. This will lure parents to meet you for the well being of their kids.
• Support expected – Then directly let know parents about your expectations from them. Even to students, you can let this know. Like what do you expect from them to make your plan work productively? Do parents need to help kids at home, do kids need to know how to use computers, etc? I am just giving you an example and based on your need list down the expectations. Keep it short and don’t make it look burdening.
• Feedback – Provide room for parents to fill their thoughts. They can either do it before or after the meeting. You can discuss and ask them to fill it. However, the existence of this section depends on the purpose of the meeting. If you meet kids for first-day class, this section might prove irrelevant. In the event of meeting parents, then this might help.
• Signature and contact details – Your name, email id, contact number and signature
Meet the teacher template ideas
This one I will categorize based on the following criteria and give you an idea about which one you can use at what occasion.
- Meeting with kids of primary grade
When you first meet kids of Kindergarten, 1st grade or up to 5th grade you can design templates with posters and make it more colorful. Kids of that age will enjoy pictures than wordings. They can also quickly interpret images of fruits, animals, flowers, etc. For example, you can include pictures of your favorite food and so on. On the whole, limit your writing and play around with photos to add a colorful start in kids’ school life.
- Meeting with students in middle school – Meet the student teacher template
However, for a middle school child meet with a teacher template you can use simple English and connect with them better. You can say that you love puzzles and give some questions so that they brainstorm to find answers. This way they will feel a little relaxed to meet with the teacher and at this age, they seem to have several perplexing thoughts about life.
- Meeting with parents
This one you must keep it professional and follow steps given in the blank template making section and provide all necessary details. Give a detailed write up about you, your family, your hobby, passion. Make it more explanatory to let the parents gather confidence in you to handover their kid’s future to you.
- Meeting with students and parents in high school
High school students need more support than anyone else. These students will have to study hard to choose the right career path. They need emotional support as well. Thus make these templates with more psychological points. Mention how you have handled students in the past, provide suggestions to cope up with such students at home. Apart from the usual details, here you need to include details that will act as a breather to parents bringing up tough kids.
Meet the teacher letter template free
Ok, in this section I would like to pen down a few sample letters for you. Feel free to copy them and make your teacher letter sensible. Let me give example under three headings namely, meet the teacher letter for parents, meet the teacher letter on the first day to high school, and meet the teacher letter for meeting with a parent and student together to handle a situation.
Note: I will not mention the usual stuff like name, personal details, and hobby, etc. You can fill them in the respective space given in the template with your details. My samples will contain the write-up part that you need to give importance while inviting a parent or a student for a meeting.
1st Sample – Meet the teacher letter – parents meeting one to one
Dear Ms.Jenny,
I am glad to invite you for a personal meeting with me to discuss admission to preschool for your kid. I am having 15 years of experience in handling preschool kids and have moved seeing two-generation kids. I am an easy-going person as well as know how to deal with little lads. I am passionate about bringing up kids right from the age of 5. This age kid will have a sharp grasping skill and hence tuning their brain requires real smartness. I have trained more than 5000 kids and proud to see them doing great even in their high school education.
Looking forward to meeting you with your kid on the coming Monday for a discussion to provide admission for your kid in my school. Keep it casual and let us meet to understand better to shape your kid for a bright future.
2nd Sample – Meet the student teacher template high school
Dear Students
Welcome to your first day class in high school. I am sure you have mixed emotions of excitement and anxiety about high school education. Stay assured that we can travel together and make a great future. I will walk you through all the experiences required to learn and grow as an adult. I have helped 7 batches walking out with flying colors till now. I am learning new things every day and can share my experience with you.
I would like to meet you all in person on the first day of school to know your strengths and aspirations. Come with an open mind to explore the world through education.
3rd Sample – Meet with parent and students to discuss an issue
Dear Sam,
I would like to meet with you along with your ward to discuss his non-performance in the examination. In the last two tests, he has not performed well. However, do not worry as this meeting will only throw light on how both of us together can help him study. With my 10 years of experience in training students of class 10, I am confident in helping you. I require your wholehearted support to monitor your child’s activity at home. His distractions at home cause all dip in his studies I guess. I am initiating this meeting to formulate a strategy and take things forward. Do not disclose this to your child and panic him as I have seen this occurrence very common among teenage children.
Please bring Bean along with you to the meeting to transparently deal with this challenge. Let all three of us take an oath to improve Bean’s education.
Meet the teacher newsletter templates
You send the newsletter to parents as a regular practice to discuss their wards activity in school. You can send this via email or post. Edit and use this template to print and send it to parents. Alternatively, you can edit save as an email.
Follow these steps to edit the newsletter template
- Click and download the template to your PC.
- Open the newsletter template in your PC and you can edit in the following order.
- First change your name, contact details. Find them in the template and each unique template will contain these details differently.
- Then edit your basic details like your family, childhood, education, and experience
- Next look into the hobby, passion or favorites section. Edit them based on your experience. You may leave a few wordings in case you find them good to go with.
- Then save the template to print or email.
- Additionally, you must remember that once you design the newsletter, the agenda alone will change during every letter and the remaining details will remain the same.
- Therefore highlight the agenda and make it more visible to catch the parent’s attention.
Meet the teacher invitation template
When we say an invitation, then you can imagine that it will look like a card. It need not contain more details as a letter but will include only basic details like name, meeting date, meeting purpose, and venue details.
These templates contain many varieties across classes and you can choose them based on the purpose of your meeting with the parents, students or both.
Meet the teacher event
In general, a very informal meeting with the teacher becomes an event in many schools. This meeting will ease both parents and teachers to know each other. Parents will come along with their wards and move around the school to know the amenities offered there. Also, they will get a chance to meet with the teachers to understand better. Both parties talk freely exchanging their past and even sometimes parents and teachers get to know that they shared common schooling. This event provides an opportunity for parents to know about their kid’s teachers better. In some schools, this event follows lunch or dinner.
Add fun but how?
Now, I would like to add some fun to a teacher’s life. Yes, you can make the teacher meeting event fun too.
Do not keep it formal by just meeting and talking to them. Instead, you can arrange for some events to involve parents. Allow them to become students for a day. Make some games and let them participate. Have some activities where parents and children can work together to understand their connectively. This will also help you to assess their engagement with kids. You can observe this before meeting with them and then guide them. Trust me, you add fun to parents but learn serious things from them about them, their kids and their association with kids.
Tips to make the meet the teacher occasion successful
Finally, I would like to give you pointers to host the meet the teacher program successfully. You have got all the templates intact on this site. Also, we shared how to use them and even some inputs about what to write, etc. Now, assume that you have called parents for the meeting with the invitation. Understand your next action to make a strong bond between parents, kids, and yourself.
- Use the free invite template and call parents for a meeting
- Soon after they arrive, give them the meet with the teacher letter and yes you need to personalize letters for each parent. Allow them to read that to get to know you better. Explain the purpose of the meeting. Provide space for their feedback and ask them to write before meeting with you.
- Then you can address the gathering commonly and even arrange for some cultural activities. All these make the parent feel comfortable and purely optional.
- Now, offer some snacks or food before you meet them personally.
- Finally, meet with each parent individually with their kids. All your effort will reap benefits as parents will now have an impression about your school and you.
- Explain to them what you wrote in the invite and ask the views of parents about their kids.
- Make a note of the discussion to check if the kid progress before the next meeting. This will add more value to the meeting and parents will feel glad about handing over their child to the right teacher.
Turkey Hat Template For Kids (Print, Cut & Play)
If you are looking for Turkey Hat Template for kids, you have come to the right place. We have provided free to print, cut and play templates. Download and use it for your kids.
The Close Association of Thanksgiving and Turkeys
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You might often have wondered about the significance of turkeys during Thanksgiving. After all, such a revered dish is bound to have some connection with the holiday. If you think so, you’re absolutely right. There is a simple albeit great story that beautifully explains the bond that turkeys share with Thanksgiving. And it goes something like this.
The earliest celebration of Thanksgiving dates back to the 17th century. More specifically to the year 1621. Pilgrims and Indians, happy with their successful harvest, wanted to express their gratitude towards the almighty. To do the same, they set out to prepare a feast where they could show their thankfulness while enjoying the festivities of the celebration.
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The turkey is a native bird of North America. Hence, it was readily found and in abundance. This made it an easy game for colonists. This simple reason slowly molded into the primary reason why Turkey is the official bird cooked during Thanksgiving. Over time, the bird was idolized and it became the perfect choice of food for the holiday.
However, turkeys aren’t popular in Thanksgiving only as a desired cuisine. There is another reason why they are so revered on this glorious holiday. This reason is turkey hats. A turkey hat is a popular headgear that everyone loves to wear during this time. So, what are these turkey hats, you might ask. Let’s find out.
Turkey Hats
Countless people across the world celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. However, not everyone is matured enough to learn about the origins of the holiday. In fact, they might not even know about the festival that they’re celebrating. Yes! We are talking about children. However, this doesn’t mean that cannot participate in the enthusiasm of the holiday.
With turkey hats, you can ensure the same. Turkey hats are traditional headgears worn by people during the season of Thanksgiving. These hats ensure that kids and elders alike can dive deep into the festivities without needing to understand the reason why they’re doing so. As a result, they are the best way that you could invest your time in for your kids’ joy.
You already know everything there is, to know about Thanksgiving. Now, let’s get deep into the crux of why you’re really here. It is time that we learned how to create one of these goofy, little turkey hats.
Preparation The Materials
Making a turkey hat is quite as difficult as you might presume. In fact, you can find all the materials that you require within your home. Let’s catalog and see if you might have some of the tools required for creating that perfect turkey hat template. Few of these materials include:
- Construction papers of various colors – preferably brown, red, and orange
- Black marker
- A stapler
Go on now. Check if you have all these materials. And once you do, return and we’ll get the materials ready for use. Don’t worry, we’ll still be here to assist you with the process.
What, you already procured them? Fantastic! Let’s prepare them and hasten the process of making the headband. Here’s what you need to do:
- Get that brown construction paper and cut a long strip of it. In our process, we made the strips three-by-eighteen inches each. If you want, you can follow the same.
- Repeat the same process for the construction papers as well as the other colors as well. If you want, you can make these strips super-long, irrespective of the sizes that we mentioned above. Just use some longer construction paper, and you’re good to go.
- From the remaining construction paper, cut a large circle. This circle will serve as the turkey’s head. If you want, you can use the templates that are consequently provided within this article.
- Finally, you need to cut out small orange and red circles. These orange circles will be used for the turkey beaks. The red circles will be used as red teardrops for the snood. If you face difficulties while making the snoods, don’t worry. Templates have been provided for them as well.
And there it is. You have all the pre-requisites for making the turkey hat. Now, it is time to start working on the same.
Steps For Making The DIY Turkey Headband
If you liked our templates … check out the below free printables:
Crown Template for Kids
Turkey Feather Template for Kids
Let’s go on then. No time to waste. Let’s get into the essential part and start making the turkey hat as well. Preferably, invite your children into this activity as well. They are sure to enjoy the process equally as much as the final turkey hat as well. Alright then! That’s enough talk. Let’s dig in and get familiarized with the steps for creating the turkey headband:
- Start by measuring the brown headband strips around the heads of your children. If they fit right, perfect! If they don’t cut down the headband according to their head size.
- Now, lay the brown headbands on a table. Make turkey faces on the headband the brown circles. If you want, you can use the marker to add the eye and other such delicate features. Add beaks using the orange construction paper and the snoods with the red paper.
- Its time for the feathers now. Use the remaining colorful paper strips for the task. Fold the strips in half gently. Take care not to make a crease in the middle as you’re folding the strips. Attach these folded strips around the brown headband.
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- Use the stapler to make sure that these feathers are now attached to the place.
- By now, most of your turkey headband should already be in place. Finish the hat by stapling the ends of the hat to form it into a hat. Use the measurements that you took earlier for this.
And that’s all. Your DIY headband is in place now. Let your children dress up with it and goof around your home while you prepare for the holiday. In fact, let the grandparents wear these and goof around with the children as well. If they are like the other grandparent-grandchild duos that we know of, they are bound to wear those hats for the entire day.
Printable Turkey Craft Template
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We promised before that we would provide the printable turkey hat templates. Here they are. With these templates, you will be able to ease the entire process and make it slightly easier for you as well as for your kids.
Uses Of Turkey Hats
So, we have covered most of the aspects associated with turkey hats. However, there is still one aspect that we are yet to cover. That is the various other ways of using these turkey hats. Our guidelines above are universal. They will help you to design all types of turkey hats that you want.
Now, it is time to see the ways in which you can use these turkey hats. There are innumerous ways in which you can use these hats. Here are some of those ways:
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- Turkey Hat With Wings – With the Turkey Hat With Wings form, you could use the turkey hat to show as if it were flying. This can be easily done with the help of gigantic wings.
- Handprint Turkey Wings – Handprint turkey wings are one of the ingenious ways of designing a turkey hat. In this method, you use the hand impression of your little one to design a beautiful turkey wing. This process makes the entire activity even more exciting.
- Sponge-Painted Turkey Hats – The name of these turkey hats accurately describe them. They are created with the help of a sponge and a combination of bright colors. In this way, you can create a turkey that really enhances your turkey hat and makes it even more vibrant.
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- Turkey Pop-Up Hats – In our opinion, the turkey pop-up hats are one of the cutest hats that you can get your hands on. Created on a paper plate, the turkey headband stands upon your plate. And instead of using a headband, you create a hole within this plate and place it upon your child’s head.
- Turkey Cone Party Hats – Remember those cone party hats that your child was gleefully wearing at his/her birthday. What if we told you that you could give him/her that experience again? The procedure of making the turkey hat still remains the same. The only difference lies in the fact that instead of creating a headband, your child will be using a cone party hat.
30+ Stunning Turkey Feather Templates (Free Download)
Introduction
Wild turkey feathers are one of the most sought-out commodities around the world. Usually, these features are used for decorative purposes. And their demand increases especially during the time of the Thanksgiving holidays. However, you need to keep in mind that procuring these wild turkey feathers isn’t easy. In fact, you might often encounter periods wherein you need to pay extravagant prices just to procure them.
However, what if we told you that there was an easy way to procure these turkey feathers. To help ease your pain, we have brought forward numerous turkey feather templates that you can use to implement for creating such feathers on your own. Keep reading on as we divulge information regarding how you can create such a template.
What Are The Uses Of A Turkey Feathers?
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Turkey feathers can be used in various ways for your home when you are celebrating the holiday of Thanksgiving. Here are a few ways in which you can accomplish so:
- As a full-body mount – Using turkey feathers as a full-body mount is one of the rather obvious uses of turkey feathers. In order to do this, you need to have your turkey caped for hanging on the wall or you can use a flat wall mount to utilize most of the feathers.
- For fletching arrows – The second way by which you can utilize your turkey feathers is to use them for fletching arrows. This is one of the easiest ways in which you can utilize your turkey feathers for decorations. All you need to do is to split your feathers with a razor-sharp blade. After splitting the feather, trim it and lightly sand it. However, the catch of this method is that you will only be able to use only the wing feathers for your purpose.
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- As feather wreaths – To create a feather wreath, you will need to procure a styrofoam wreath from a craft store and trim certain turkey feathers to about 4″ in length. With the help of glue, you can overlap them to create a waterfall effect.
DIY Process For Making A Turkey Feather From Paper
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Remember how we were talking about the difficulty in procuring turkey feathers? Well, this is one of the easiest solutions that you can use for creating a turkey feather without spending a huge amount of money for the same. Simply with the help of a few steps, here’s how you can create a turkey feather from paper.
First, you will need to procure certain prerequisites. These include:
- Scissors
- Glue
- Paint
- Paper
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Step 1: Start by drawing the outlines of the various shapes that will be involved in creating the turkey feathers. The most primary shapes that you will be using include triangles, ovals, and circles.
Step 2: Once you’re done with this, ask your children to paint this outline with the colors of their choices. In this step, allow your children to tap into their creativity and develop a template that is out-of-the-ordinary. Allow the paint to dry before you move on to the next step.
Step 3: Once the paint has dried, start to cut out the outlines that you drew on the paper. If you are allowing your child to use the scissors ensure that they are well-placed and are cut properly with the help of scissors.
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Step 4: Now, it is time to start gluing each of these shapes into one another to create art that is decorative in every sense of the world. Start by gluing a larger circle on the paper. On top of it glue a smaller circle. These two circles serve as the body and the head of the turkey respectively.
Step 5: Once this is over, cut out a red oval which will serve as the distinct, fleshy protuberance that the males are known for. Once you’re done with this, glue the circle eyes on the smaller circle which is serving as the head of the bird.
Step 6: Now it is time to attach the beak of the bird. Attach the beak of the bird on the smaller circle serving as the head. Now, you need to be careful while doing this. Ensuring that you attach the beak in such a way that it slightly overlaps the yellowish, fleshy protuberance.
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Step 7: Now, you need to start gluing the wings of the turkey into place. Glue all the large oval feathers in such a way that it appears to be stuck at the end of the body. Now that you’re done with this, you need to move on to the final step of the process.
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Step 8: Finally, when you’re done with this, glue the oval wings to the side of the body and the two triangled-shaped figures at the bottom of the body. these triangle-shaped figures will be serving as the feet of the turkey.
Templates for Turkey Feather
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Now, you might be thinking that drawing each of the shapes for the turkey feather might be quite complicated and time-taking. And in reality, it is. Therefore, to help you ease up this process, we have provided some of these shapes in the form of a template below.
How Can Kids Use Turkey Feather Template?
The turkey feather template can be highly beneficial in improving the creative thinking process of a child. Owing to the upcoming Thanksgiving festivals, parents will soon require turkey feathers for decorating their homes. By enabling children to work on creating these turkey feather templates, people can enable their children to become more creative.
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Moreover, if you organize a competition between your children, you will get access to innumerous turkey feather templates, all of which are bound to be unique. There will never be two turkey feather templates that are the same.
Respiration in Plants – Live Proof
Do Plants Breathe? Do a simple science experiment with your kids to show respiration in plants.
On a winter Sunday afternoon, my daughters and I were taking a stroll in our garden, enjoying the sun. Always ready to pounce on opportunities to make my girls learn something new or be curious about something, I keep myself armed with some questions, interesting trivia or experiment ideas.
That day we were looking at our plants and I was showing them how different each one is. My younger one plucked a Hibiscus flower, and the conscientious older one was upset about Tisha picking flowers! Agreeing that it was wrong to pick flowers, I said, however, “Lets put this flower to good use and do an experiment with it! Let me pluck few leaves as well!” This is how we embarked on learning about whether plants breathe.
The Question – Do Plants Breathe?
(The answer – Yes, they ‘respire’ through pores on their surface of leaves, petals, etc., and called stomata).
Both the girls knew, in their own ways, that plants are living things. So I remarked to them, “If they are alive, they also probably breathe!” The older one immediately piped in, “Teacher told us that we breathe in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide when we breathe out. The teacher also said that we get oxygen from plants, so we should save them.” The younger one got interested but could not catch on with what the older one said. So all three of us did a couple of deep-breathing exercises right then! (Remember – You need to keep kids interested and engaged and hence try different things, especially if there are two or more age-groups involved).
Now we had established that breathing (we did not venture into ‘respiration vs. breathing’) involved taking in some ‘air’ and then giving out some ‘air’.
I had to now show my children that plants too did this, not through any nose, but through their surface.
The Experiment – How we Explored the Question in detailed steps
So this is what we did.
I requested Pritika to bring a glass bowl from inside the house, reminding her to be careful with the glass. (Although any bowl would do, glass makes it easier to observe things).
I pour water in the bowl and asked the younger one to place leaves in the bowl. I had told her to be careful and not crumple the leaves and place it in the water gently and keeping it horizontal. I pushed it down slightly so that the leaves were submerged in the water.
We then had to leave it alone, without disturbing it, for about an hour. They were both inquisitive and impatient about what was going to happen and kept keeping a watch over the bowl. I was happy – they were gaining some observation skills and building their patience. I did not answer any of their questions because next I wanted them to make more observations and try to infer things themselves.
In less than an hour, I could see what we were meant to – bubbles on the surface of the submerged leaves, and some bubbles rising to the surface of the water. I did not point this out and waited, hoping they would notice the change themselves. They did! They both saw the bubble as they started rising to the water surface and asked if that was what was supposed to happen. Excited myself, I said, “What could the presence of bubbles mean? If that answers our question about plants breathing, then yes, this is what the experiment was about, otherwise, we have to wait for some other change.”
After a while, I did have to give them a clue – “What are inside bubbles?” “Air!” jumped the older one; grasping the answer at once after that and then she explained it to the younger one. Our day was made and we ended with several more questions? – Will the same thing happen with flowers? Will it happen with all plants? Will it happen with fruits? Will it happen at night as well (this from the older one because the teacher had told them that plants give oxygen during the day)?
So we repeated the experiment with flowers this time.
We could see air bubbles coming out of flowers as well as a proof of respiration.
Science Behind how plants breathe
The petals that were submerged, were still ‘breathing’. When they released the air (breathed out), little bubbles formed on the surface, because the plant was in another medium, water (Is this not a clever way of ‘seeing’ air?!). Since air is lighter than water, the bubbles also rose to the surface of the bowl.
Let me explain a few scientific words related to this context respiration in plants
- Cellular respiration in plants – respiration in which carbon dioxide is absent is called cellular respiration. Cells respire in this situation.
- Photosynthesis – the process through which leaves make food on their own is called photosynthesis. The plant uses sunlight, carbon dioxide, water, and minerals to prepare food.
- Stomata – pores which allow the plant to respire. Through stomata only the leaves are able to take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen.
- Diffusion – in plants the food prepared by leaves is distributed to all parts of the plant through diffusion where single-cell carries the food to all parts of the plant body.
Word of Caution
Carrying out any experiment with kids needs caution. This experiment is no different. However, let me list the few areas where you need to focus on.
Use a glass bowl for more visibility. But you need to be very careful to let kids deal with them as they may cause damage if they fall down.
Next, with plants, you need to select the right plant that will not cause any toxicity for kids. Not all plants are good hence exercise caution. Don’t let kids pick plants from the garden on their own.
Suitable For
Four-year old pre-school children are exposed to very basic ideas about living and non-living things. Some of them may be taught things like – ‘plants also have life’, ‘plants are helpful for us’, ‘you should not harm plants and flowers’, ‘they “feel pain” too’ etc. It is easier for them to relate to other humans and animals, and even birds. Plants are similar to us in some ways! is too hard a concept for them to grasp. On top of that, they then build their own notions – we breathe through our noses, animals also have noses and breathe through those, plants don’t have noses.
Leave alone four-year-olds, even older children at least up to the age of eight, may not even think of the question of whether plants breathe. Eight-year-old children, i.e. those probably in class 3, would have studied a bit more about differences between living and non-living things, but even they do not really explore this question or become curious about how they breathe if they don’t have noses.
Girls are more inclined towards playing with flowers and plants, hence this activity was thoroughly enjoyed by them. This, however, is a function of how we bring up our children and what they see around them! No stereotype here. Hence, it can be equally interesting and productive with boys.
Final thoughts
I am glad to let you know all these details and now it’s time for you to put this in action with your kids. Feel free to share your comments and also let us know if we missed any details related to this experiment.
We will come back with another experiment soon!
DIY Robotic Articulated Hand
Let’s make an articulated robotic hand that can be controlled with kid’s finger movements.
This is an activity that will describe the finger movements to kids with an easy explanation. You can also try this at home with kids. We have uploaded step by step demonstration for your easy reference.
How it all started?
My younger kid is very naughty and once she playfully closed the door when my elder one was keeping her hands in the closure. Her fingers got caught and she had pain. It was not very harsh though so I managed to keep ice cubes to relieve her from pain. At that time she was asking me about how the finger bends and why thumb finger has only two partitions while others have 3 etc. To cut the story short, these questions inspired me to teach her the anatomy of fingers with a DIY experiment.
Things required for making articulated hand
Before we talk about science, let us first see how to make this articulated hand model using simple things available at home. We bought few things from our local store. But, we have provided some links for your reference which you can refer to order online.
- Cardboard – To trace and make the hand base
- Beads – For decorating at the fingertips
- Pen – Trace the hand and fingers
- Scissors – For cutting
- Sticky tapes – To hold the joints, etc
- Straws preferably paper straw – To allow the twine to pass through and imagine straws as bones
- Yarn or twine – These allows fingers to bend and will act as tendons
- Glue gun – For pasting purposes
- Ruler – To make bends at the joints of the finger
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Steps for Making Robotic Articulated Hand
Step #1: Tracing and Cutting
Trace the hand on the cardboard by placing the hands on it in such a way that the fingers are facing you. Cut the outline and refer video to know how much tracing is required.
Step # 2: Bending the cardboard to make fingers
Use a ruler and bend places on the finger-like we bend our fingers. There are three lines in each finger and bending is complete in the portion where the fingers and the palm are connected. The next line also fingers bend thoroughly except for thumb finger. The topmost line in the finger bends partially. Make sure you check this action so give a perfect movement to your articulated fingers.
Step #3: Straw cutting and pasting
Cut the paper straw into small pieces to make fingers with bones as well as tendons. Cut them small and place them in between each bend you just made. Remember the twine will pass through this straw and make the movement of the fingers possible. So place straw pieces in equal distance.
The straw will act as bones for fingers and twine as the tendons.
Note: You must make sure to give a gap between each straw and that is the best way to let the fingers bend flexibly. Also, do not tighten too much which will make it rigid and the hand anatomy will not be reflected properly.
Step #4: Pass the twine and tie beads
Cut strings into pieces and for length refer to the video. Tie the beads to the string pieces and 5 beads are required for one finger. Connect them with the straw to the thumb and other fingers too. However, beads are optional. You can skip beads and pass through twine in the straw as we did as well.
Ensure twine length and give enough space to allow it to move.
Step #6: Make a handle
Holding will become simple with the help of this cardboard cutting. Fold them and use glue gun to fix the handle. You must cut it that way and fix your hands inside.
Finally we used pipe cleaners to create rings for each finger and attached them to the twines. You can use actual play rings if you have.
It is over and the hands are ready to make any movement. You can hold things, play with the gun and much more.
Paste straws with the glue gun and allow it to try so that it is fixed correctly.
I let the girls have fun for some time. Then we are ready for our final bit.. now that we made bones, tendons and nerves, why not we add flesh to make it look like a real hand.
My elder daughter suggested we should try inserting this hand in a glove to see whether it looked like a real hand.. Here is how we tried it..
Since we used cardboard, it was bit difficult to get it inside the glove. But we finally succeeded with few extra folds in the cardboard. That made the hand more flexible and less sturdy. But we could still use it to make finger movements.
Science Behind Articulated Hand
- Every finger has three bones whereas thumb has only 2. We call these bones as phalanges. That is why there are two lines in the thumb and three for other fingers to separate each small bone. We have straws to show them externally.
- These phalanges will connect to the five bones present in the main portion of the hand. That is named as metacarpals. (You can find 8 bones in the wrist which are called carpals, but we have not shown that in our handcraft.)
- The forearm contains the muscle which actually moves the thumb and the fingers.
- Long flexor tendons are the one that extends from the forearm muscle and passes through the wrist as well as the palm to the thumb and fingers.
- Tendon sheath is the place where the tendon slide and this passes through a snug tunnel. This is attached to the small bones of the thumb and other fingers. The tendons are held in place with the help of these sheaths. Contraction of forearm muscles will pull the tendons and thus the bones are moved.
Since the tendons are linked to the fingertip from the forearm, whenever there is minor damage in tendon it will affect the entire finger. I explained this to my kid and hence she suffered pain when the door slashed on her fingers.
The hand contains the veins and the arteries where the blood flows from and to the fingertips. The nerves present will let the feelings happen when you touch something with the fingers and hands. Indeed hands make a vital part of our body. These nerves are represented by the twine that forms the fibrous tendons.
Suitable For
It is a tricky activity but aptly suits 5+ years kids. We must provide help to them to make it work properly. However, 7+ kids can do it on their own.
For kids above age 8 can understand the anatomy and so teach in detail about the finger science.
Word of Caution
When you make this articulated hand activity with cardboard you must be around as they need to use scissors to cut them. Cutting the cardboard can be tricky so my husband helpedme out. I would suggest you cut it for them to avoid any injury.Glue gun end point is pretty hot and avoid keeping near children. Alternatively, you can use double side tape like this one just to be safe.
Try this DIY and share your feedback for improvement. Trust the video helps you make a hand model at ease. Refer this link for better understanding in case you wish to go in-depth about hand science to kids.
Disclaimer : This post contains affiliate links from Amazon. An affiliate link means that when you purchase using the link provided in this page, I would get a small referral fees WITHOUT any extra cost to you. I highly appreciate your understanding and support.
Candle Under Glass Experiment
We did this cool candle and glass experiment last week. The experiment teaches of role of oxygen in fire and its presence in the air. This one takes less than 5 minutes to complete it.
Suitable For
Kids who are less than 5 can only understand that oxygen is required for a candle to burn and when we close with the glass tumbler oxygen goes off and hence the candle.
5 – 6-year-old kids can experiment this by noting time and they can learn how much oxygen is required to burn the candle. They can learn about smoke and wax.
8+-year-old kids can learn chemical equations, balancing them and the detailed science behind the candle and glass experiment.
How to do this candle and glass experiment
The simplest experiment to do but has a big science behind it. Don’t panic this science is easy for even kids to understand. Let us first do this experiment and study the science behind it.
Materials required for carrying out the experiment
- Candle
- Candle Lighter or Matches
- Drinking glass
- Ceramic dinner plate or wooden board (optional)
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Arrangement
Place the candle on the plate. Keep the matchbox and glass tumbler ready.
Action
Light the candle and leave it for some time and then close the candle with a glass tumbler so that you can see through the light.
Result
After a few seconds, you can see the flame comes down slowly and eventually goes off. You can try opening the glass when the flame is low to see how it picks up oxygen again and the flame goes higher.
You can also see a small sediment of moisture in the inner walls of the glass. That is a proof that fire releases H2O.
Variations
Yes, the experiment is over. Now, try these and share your experience with us.
- Now you can do this using a stopwatch and check the time taken for the light to go off after closing the candle with glass.
- Use the candle of different size and check the timing.
- Also, use bigger and smaller glass to check the timing.
Do this experiment with kids and allow them to make the observations.
Science Behind Candle Glass Experiment
Assume candle as a miniature version of a chemical factory. So much of chemical equations are involved in that small matter. The candle is made up of wax and the wick draws fuel called oxygen from air and burns when lighted with a matchbox. When the glass tumbler is kept on the candle the oxygen in the surrounding goes off in a while and then the candlelight also follows.
Therefore oxygen is required for the candle to burn for a long time.
Detailed science with terminologies
Hydrocarbons present in the wax are converted to carbon dioxide and steam and this chemical process is called combustion. The oxygen gets pulled at the bottom and the wick draws the fuel. This will provide heat at the top and that makes air hot to rise up. This is how a candle burns. The steam part gives the blue color to the fire. The unburned carbon deposit makes the walls nearby black. Better oxygen means brighter the flame. Match stick is required to ignite and that produces the activation energy to start the entire burning process.
The chemical equation for your reference
Methane (hydrocarbon) + Oxygen –> Carbon dioxide and Water
CH4 + 2 O2 –> CO2 + 2 H2O
Check scienceline for more science facts. Also, read candles.org explanation to master the science behind candle and science experiments.
FAQs
What happens when you put a candle in a jar?
When the candle is placed in the jar it limits the flow of oxygen and hence the candle flame goes off.
What will happen if a burning candle is covered with a glass jar?
Oxygen is the fuel for wax and makes the wick burn. When the candle is closed with the glass jar the oxygen supply is stopped. Initially, the candle burns by making use of the oxygen within the glass and slowly when there is no oxygen the flame goes off.
Which candle goes out first?
The candle that is the shortest will go out first. It is because the CO2 is denser than air so it will settle down at the bottom eventually putting off the fire.
Can I use any glass jar for candles?
Glass is also prone to crack and break due to heat. Check out for heat resistant glassware and use them for this experiment.
Where does candle wax go when you burn a candle?
When the candle is lighted the heat of the flame will melt the wax first near the wick that is on the top. Thus the wax will melt and that liquid wax gets drawn up again by the wick due to capillary action. The flame’s heat vaporizes the wax in the liquid state and that will initiate the hydrocarbon break down process. The hydrocarbon breaks down further into molecules of carbon and hydrogen.
Do Candles burn oxygen?
Combustion is the chemical reaction happening in the candle burning process. Wax is derived from petroleum and is a carbon chemical and it reacts with the oxygen present in the air. This process creates CO2 which is a colorless gas.
Does burning a candle clean the air?
Yes and no. Yes if it is pure beeswax. No, if it is not a pure wax. Candles made of pure beeswax will produce no smoke and cleanses the air around. It does this by releasing negative ions in the air. Such released negative ions bind with the toxins and remove them eventually from air. Also, natural pure beeswax burns slowly, when compared to paraffin candles and hence they last for long time.
Why a burning candle does gets extinguished when covered with jar? (Or)
Why does a candle stop burning when covered with a glass tumbler?
Why does a candle stop burning when covered with a glass tumbler?
Candle burning requires oxygen and that is present in the air naturally. When we close the candle with jar, then oxygen flow is limited and once all the oxygen present is exhausted the candle gets extinguished.
Word of Caution
I request parents, teachers or elders to supervise kids while they do this experiment as it involves fire. Irrespective of the age of the kids it is good to monitor them. Tell them not to touch the burnt candle as they will be hot too. Instruct them to deal with the glass tumbler and not break to poke in their legs.
Overall, stay around and explain to them to have fun.
In addition, please note that Candles are AC’s enemies. Yes, teach this to kids.
AC room lacks oxygen and hence burning candles will not get oxidized completely leading to forming carbon monoxide. It is dangerous to health which leads to serious complication including death. Beware!
What inspired me to do this experiment?
Let me share my experience in how did I arrive at doing this experiment? During one summer we had a massive power failure. My little ones had never been used to such a situation ever. But this time the situation was tough and they had to spend the whole night without power. That is when I lit a candle for light while we had dinner.
As usual, my curious elder daughter asked me how does a candle burn. Why does it not require electricity as lights and fan do? How come it gives brightness as an electric bulb does. She bombarded me with questions I was like feeling glad that she thinks all these things. At the same time, my naughty little younger one as usual in her style started doing fun things. She blew the candle and sang “happy birthday”.
We finished dinner and suddenly my little one using her empty glass covered the candle. In a few minutes the candle went off. I lighted the candle and told her not to play with fire. Again in few mins when I was away she did the same job to check if the light goes off. It did go off and my elder one was puzzled to know why it happened.
Her question was when there is more air candle goes off that’s exactly what happens when we blew the candle. But here the contradiction happens and when the candle is closed it should not go off as airflow is cut. Then why it happens. I told her that there is a science behind that action.
Now, we started doing this experiment to explain the concept to the kids.
Disclaimer : This post contains affiliate links from Amazon. An affiliate link means that when you purchase using the link provided in this page, I would get a small referral fees WITHOUT any extra cost to you. I highly appreciate your understanding and support.
Balancing Chemical Equations with Ease (100 Free Worksheets)
In this article, you will learn about how to balance chemical equations easily with simple steps. Feel free to download our free worksheets with answers for your practice.
Parts of a Balanced Chemical Equation
Before you start balancing chemical equations, it is important that you become firmly acquainted with the various part of one. Every balanced chemical equation consists of two parts: the reactant side and the product side. Both of these sides are separated by the means of an arrow.
On the left side of the arrow, you will find the reactant side. This side represents the elements which are used for initiating the experiment. On the right side of the arrow, we have the product side. This side is used to display the elements or compounds which are generated from the chemical process.
The Need for Balancing Chemical Equations
Ever since you started learning about the field of Chemistry, your teachers might often have stressed upon the importance of balancing chemical equations. But have you ever pondered on the reason behind this? Why do you need to respect the law of the conservation of mass? Quite simply, you need to balance your equations to follow the law of conservation of mass.
Law of Conservation of Mass: According to the law of conservation of mass, the mass of products that are derived from a chemical equation should mandatorily equal the mass of the reactants.
Minding the law of conservation of mass while balancing equations is quite important. Not only does it help you to prevent errors, but it also assists scientists in knowing the quantities of reactants to create a particular product that they want to make. Moreover, the law also helps chemical manufacturers to increase the efficiencies of their processes.
When Should You Start To Balance A Chemical Equation?
As soon as you derive a chemical equation stating the reactants and the products, check out if the number of atoms on either side are equal to each other or not. In the event that you detect the numbers to be uncommon, rest assured, you should start balancing the elements and compounds on either side of the chemical equation.
How Should You Balance A Chemical Equation?
The primary aspect that you need to keep in mind while balancing a chemical equation is this; the entire process is completely based on trial and error. When you start to balance a particular chemical equation, you will need to go through several processes before you stumble upon the right coefficients to balance the number of atoms.
Another aspect that you need to remember is that balancing chemical equations requires a lot of practice. Once you perfect the practice of balancing, you can become completely reliant on your intuition to lead you through the complete process.
While balancing your equations, you need to follow certain simple stems. Here’s what you need to do:
- Start by counting the number of atoms, present for each element on the side of the reactants as well as the products.
- When you find out that certain elements are not balanced, place the required coefficient that is needed to balance the elements.
- Once you are done with this, check out if the number of atoms for the other elements is also equal on both the sides.
- Repeat the process until you find out that all the elements on both the sides of the chemical equations are balanced.
As aforementioned, the process in itself is quite simple. However, it takes significant practice before can start to balance these equations completely with your intuition.
An Easy Example To Get You Started With
Now that you know the steps, you are wholly capable of balancing chemical equations. Let’s solve some of them, shall we? With the help of above-mentioned steps and a practical example, you will be better able to understand how the entire process works.
Do not feel anxious if you feel that you are still not ready to solve these problems. With our method, even your toddler sibling will be able to understand how chemical equations are balanced. And if still feel a tad bit confused after solving all these equations, try to solve a few more of such problems. Remember what we advised in a previous section: You will need significant practice before you can confidently start to balance these equations with your intuition.
Let’s start with this example. This equation represents a reaction between two Iron Oxide (Fe2O3) and Carbon (C). The products formed are Iron (Fe) and Carbon Dioxide (CO2).
Fe2O3 + C → Fe + CO2
Alright, so we have our equation. Let’s begin to balance the equation with the help of the steps mentioned above.
Step 1: Start by counting the number of atoms present, for each element on the side of the reactants as well as the products.
Fe2O3 + C → Fe + CO2
On the reactants side, we have:
- 2 atoms of Fe
- 3 atoms of O
- 1 atom of C
On the product side, we have:
- 1 atom of Fe
- 2 atoms of O
- 1 atom of C
By comparing the number of atoms present for each element on each side, you might have determined that the reaction is obviously not balanced. Therefore, let’s move on to Step 2.
Step 2: When you find out that certain elements are not balanced, place the required coefficient that is needed to balance the elements.
Let’s start by balancing the oxygen atoms. To do this, make the oxygen atoms as six on either side of the chemical equation.
2Fe2O3 + C → Fe + 3CO2
On towards the next step now.
Step 3: Once you are done with this, check out if the number of atoms for the other elements is also equal on both the sides.
Now that we have an equal number of oxygen atoms on either side of the equation, let’s check out if the other elements of the equation are equal or not.
2Fe2O3 + C → Fe + 3CO2
On the reactant side, we have:
- 4 atoms of Fe.
- 6 atoms of O.
- 1 atom of C.
On the product side, we have:
- 1 atom of Fe.
- 6 atoms of O.
- 3 atoms of C.
As you can see, the elements of iron and carbon are still not balanced. Therefore, it is time that we move on to the 4th step.
Step 4: Repeat the process until you find out that all the elements on both the sides of the chemical equations are balanced.
Alright, let’s start balancing the equation again and this time, let’s balance the number of iron atoms first. On the reactant side, we have 4 atoms of Fe while the product side has 1 atom of Fe. To balance them, we need to place 4 atoms of Fe on the product side.
2Fe2O3 + C → 4Fe + 3CO2
Now, on the reactant side we have:
- 4 atoms of Fe.
- 6 atoms of O.
- 1 atom of C.
And, on the product side, we have:
- 4 atoms of Fe.
- 6 atoms of O.
- 3 atoms of C.
The only element that remains to be balanced now is carbon. This can be easily done considering the fact that carbon exists only in a singular form on the reactant side. In order to correct this, we need to place 3 atoms of carbon on the reactant side. The chemical reaction, hence, will turn out to be:
2Fe2O3 + 3C → 4Fe + 3CO2
On the reactant side, we have:
- 4 atoms of Fe.
- 6 atoms of O.
- 3 atoms of C.
And, on the product side, we have:
- 4 atoms of Fe.
- 6 atoms of O.
- 3 atoms of C.
And there you go. Perfectly balanced as all things should be (Yes. We are Marvel fanboys as well).
Essential Tips for Beginners
As you become further acquainted with balancing chemical equations, it becomes quite easy for you to solve them. However, it still maintains a certain level of difficulty at the beginner level. As a result of this, you might find yourself shying away from the equations and procrastinating to the level where you get totally and utterly repulsed by them.
However, there are certain tips that help you during such a stage. When you are beginner, you will be solving quite easy problems compared to those you might see in your Chemistry books. During such times, you will need to keep two essential tips in your mind. These tips will help you to easily balance the equations with ease. These tips are:
- Start Balancing With Single Elements – Attempt at balancing those elements first which occur in the form of a single molecule first. Owing to their single nature, they are easily flexible and their coefficient can be easily changed as and when needed in further steps.
- Balance the Hydrogen and Oxygen Molecules at the End – At the beginning, you will come across a lot of equations involving hydrogen and oxygen molecules. Whenever you encounter these, you should interact with these at the end. This is because hydrogen and oxygen molecules often occur together in both the reactant and product side. Once you are done with balancing other elements, focus on these.
Format for Writing a Balanced Equation
Now that you have balanced the assigned chemical reaction, you might be wondering if there is a format for writing these balanced chemical equations. In actuality, there is not said format that you need to mind for arranging the balanced equation. However, it has also been noticed that people in the field of chemistry often prefer to write solid elements and other compounds first, followed by the gaseous elements and single elements. This often acts as an unwritten rule which is followed by a lot of people around the world.
The Coefficients in a Balanced Chemical Equation
Up until this point of balancing your chemical equations, you might have known about the various facets surrounding the chemical equation. But there is still one significant aspect of balancing which we haven’t discussed: The role of coefficients while balancing equations.
At some point or another, you might have certainly wondered how are these coefficients be used while balancing the equation. After all, we cannot magically create or destroy elements during a chemical reaction. The Law of Conservation of Mass prevents this. In actuality, these coefficients define the ratios. For the reactant side, the coefficients define the ratio in which the substances are being used. And for the product side, the coefficients define the ratio in which the substances are being produced.
What a Balanced Chemical Equation Does Not Tell Us
Balanced chemical equations are highly informative in nature. They divulge a lot of information which is implemented for deriving the desired results from the reactions. However, there are certain aspects which balanced chemical equations don’t make you aware of just by solving the equations. The most prominent aspects amongst these are the subscripts used.
Take, for example, the last chemical equation which we balanced.
2Fe2O3 + 3C → 4Fe + 3CO2
Now, if you notice, the element Fe has the subscript 2 beside itself, signifying the number of atoms. But if you notice on the product side, element lacks any subscript. This is quite similar to the oxygen element as well. On one hand, it has the subscript 3 while it has the subscript 2 on the other hand.
In spite of all this, the total mass of the individual atoms present on both sides of the equation is equal to each other. This is due to the Law of Conservation of Mass which ensures that matter isn’t created nor destroyed during a chemical reaction. This is also the reason why the total number of individual atoms are equal on both the reactant and product side.
Rules for Balancing Chemical Equations
By this point, you might have become nicely acquainted with balancing chemical equations on your own. Resulting, the rules associated with balancing chemical equations must also have become imprinted within your mind. It is with the help of such rules that you can easily balance the assigned chemical equations. However, it is equally important that you put these rules on paper and revise them once thoroughly.
Here are a few of the most prominent rules, include:
- Keep The Placement of Reactants and Products in Mind – In every chemical equation, there are two parts to an equation. These parts are separated by an arrow. While writing down the chemical equation, take care to list all the reactants on the left-hand side of the arrow. Similarly, you should take care to list all the products on the right side of the arrow.
- Ensure That The Right Arrow Is Placed – In most cases, the reactants and the products are separated by a single-sided arrow. This signifies a reaction which is irreversible or is unchangeable after a certain stage. However, in certain situations, the reactions occur at equilibrium. This means that reaction at any forward rate results in a reverse reaction. In such situations, the arrow used is two-sided, i.e. facing towards the reactants and the products.
- Emphasize on The Law of Conservation of Mass – While balancing the equations, it is of a predominant nature that you keep applying the Law of Conservation of Mass. This is because matter can neither be produced nor destroyed. Keeping this law in mind greatly helps you while balancing equations. Whenever you find an element which has more or less number of molecules, you can easily place a coefficient to balance it.
- Start With Independent Elements – When you start to balance the equation, start by balancing the independent elements. These are the elements which appear in individually in the equation. If there is no such element or if these elements are already balanced, proceed with the elements that exist in conjunction with other elements. Once this particular element is balanced, you should proceed on to balance other elements until all the elements are balanced.
- Balanced Only With Coefficients – While balancing the chemical equations, balance them only by placing coefficients in front of them. By no means should you add subscripts because this will completely change the formula of the particular reactant or compound, causing a change in the entire meaning that the equation wants to render.
Balancing Chemical Equations with Matrices
Up until this point, you have been balancing chemical equations by the means of trial and error. The process was simple, you had to place a coefficient, check if the other elements were balanced or not, and repeat all the steps until you had all the elements balanced.
However, it won’t be long before you face even tougher balancing problems. And you will face innumerous problems while using the trial and error method for such tough equations. Therefore, on such occasions, you will need a more versatile method for solving the problems.
Fortunately, there is one such methodology for solving chemical equations. This method involves a matrix which you can use to easily solve even the toughest of equations. Here are the steps that you should follow while solving chemical equations:
- Start by placing an alphabet which acts as a variable coefficient for your elements.
- Arrange all the elements in a column matrix format, as per the subscript values.
- Solve each of these matrices and generate the various equations.
- Individually equate all these equations and place the values generated into the other equations that you generated in Step 4.
- Assume a particular number for each of the values, such that, neither of the values that you derive appear in the form of a fraction and use this number to find out the values of the other coefficients.
- Finally, place these values into the initial chemical reaction to derive your balance equation.
Let’s use a simple example to understand this process. Take this chemical equation for instance:
NO + O2 → NO2
Now, this is quite a simple equation. In fact, you might have even figured out how to balance this equation. In spite of this, we will use a simple methodology to help you understand how the entire process works.
Step 1: Start by placing an alphabet which acts as a variable coefficient for your elements
You can use any alphabet as a variable coefficient. For our purpose, we will be using alphabets X, Y, and Z. We will be placing them in this order:
X NO + Y O2 → Z NO2
Step 2: Arrange all the elements in a column matrix format, as per the subscript values.
You should always follow a format for arranging the elements in a column matrix format. First, start by counting the number of atoms present for every individual occurrence of each element. From our first equation, we can derive that:
No. of N atoms = 1 + No. of N atoms = 0 → No. of N atoms = 1
No. of O atoms = 1 + No. of O atoms = 2 → No. of O atoms = 2
According to this format, we will separate the values of each of the elements according to the number of atoms present. Each of these positions will display a value depending on the number of those elements at that particular location. Hence, this is how we will display the values of the elements that are separated into the form of matrices:
X + Y → Z
Notice that value signifying the elements show that each of the elements acquires a particular row. In essence, the nitrogen element acquires the first row while oxygen acquires the second row.
Step 3: Solve each of these matrices and generate the various equations
Once you have the matrices, you need to solve them and generate the required equations for them. The equations that you generate, generally, depending on the number of elements present within the equation. In this case, we have two elements. Therefore, the equations that formed are:
- X + Y0 = Z or X = Z (Equation i)
- X + 2Y = 2Z (Equation ii)
Step 4: Individually equate all these equations and place the values generated into the other equations that you generated in Step 4.
We have already generated the value of the coefficient X in Equation i. The value of X that we have generated is Z. Therefore, it is time that we focused on Equation ii.
X + 2Y = 2Z
According to Equation i, X = Z. Therefore,
- Z + 2Y = 2Z
Hence,
- 2Y = 2Z – Z
- 2Y = Z
- Y = ½Z (Equation iii)
Step 5: Assume a particular number for each of the values, such that, neither of the values that you derive appears in the form of a fraction and use this number to find out the values of the other coefficients.
Once we have generated the final equations, it is time that we used them to generate the final values for our coefficients. In order to do this, we need to assume a particular value for each of the variable coefficients, such that the result does not turn out to be a fractional value.
Let’s start by assuming that the value of Z = 1. If Z = 1, then Y = 1/2 (according to the Equation iii). However, we don’t want a fractional value as our result. Therefore, let’s assume that Z = 2. Now that Z = 2, therefore Y = 1. Resultingly, the value of X = 2, since X = Z (as per equation i).
Step 6: Finally, place these values into the initial chemical reaction to derive your balance equation.
The equation which we had at the beginning, was:
X NO + Y O2 → Z NO2
According to the results generated by, the value of the variable coefficients stand as per the following:
X = 2
Y = 1
Z = 2
Let’s place these values into the equation. Upon doing so, we get:
2NO + O2 → 2NO2
Therefore, on the reactant side, we have:
- 2 atoms of N
- 4 atoms of O
And on the product side, we have:
- 2 atoms of N.
- 4 atoms of O.
As there you have it again. A perfectly balanced chemical equation solved with the help of matrices.
Balancing Chemical Equations with Odd Number of Atoms on Elements
Another area wherein balancing becomes a tricky affair is during the presence of odd subscripts or atoms of an element. Let us take into consideration, this particular equation:
NH3 + O2 → NO + H2O
The first thing that you will want to do in such cases is to balance those elements which are present in odd numbers on one side but are present in even numbers on the other side of the chemical equation. In this case, we have hydrogen following such a suit. Let us balance this out first.
2NH3 + O2 → NO + 3H2O
Now, we need to balance nitrogen to equate the reaction.
2NH3 + O2 → 2NO + 3H2O
At this point, all the elements present in our chemical equations are balanced… except for oxygen. Hence, you will need to find out a coefficient which can effectively help you to balance the oxygen molecule present on the left-hand side of the reaction. On the reactant side, we have 2 oxygen molecules while on the product side, we have 5 oxygen molecules. Therefore, we will need to find a number which, when multiplied by 2, gives us 5 as the answer. Let this number be x.
- x . 2 = 5
- x = 5/2
Therefore, let us place this value into the equation.
2NH3 + 5/2O2 → 2NO + 3H2O
Finally, we need to eliminate the fractional part of the equation. Let’s do so by multiplying the entire chemical equation with 2.
4NH3 + 5O2 → 4NO + 6H2O
And there you have it. The equation becomes perfectly balanced.
A Few Examples worth Mentioning
Now that you have covered everything that is to be learned about the basics of balancing chemical equations, you should get yourself acquainted with certain worthwhile chemical equations.
- Chemical Reaction for Photosynthesis
6CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2
- Chemical Reaction for Cellular Respiration
C6H12O6 + 6O2 → CO2 + H2O + ATP
- Chemical Reaction for Ammonium Nitrate and Water
NH4NO3 + Water → NH4 + NO3
- Chemical Reaction for Magnesium and Hydrochloric Acid
Mg + HCl → MgCl2 + H2
- Chemical Reaction for Lithium and Water
2 Li + 2H2O → 2 LiOH + H2
- Chemical Reaction for Calcium Carbonate and Hydrochloric Acid
CaCO3 + HCl → CaCl2 + H2O
Using Games and Apps to Learn About Balancing Chemical Equations
It has not escaped our sights that a technologically-savvy world such as ours often uses technological means to better understand any newer concepts that they come across. Keeping this factor in mind, we have brought for you two of the greatest means by which you can enhance your skills at balancing chemical equations while simultaneously enjoying it via your smartphones of computers. Here are the means:
- Balancing Chemical Equations – We often encounter situations in which, whatever we do, we fail to solve the equation that has presented itself to us. And let’s be honest, all of us have been there at some point in our lives. It is in such situations that you might find the need for additional help. And this is exactly what Balancing Chemical Equations aims to do. With the help of this application, you will be easily able to balance the toughest of chemical equations. All that you need to do is to enter the unbalanced reactants and products and by clicking a button, the app displays the balanced chemical equation. You can find the Balancing Chemical Equations application on Google Play for free. Here’s a link for the same.
2. The Balancing Equations Game from PHET – Now, an application can only go so far as to keep you engaged. But this is completely contrary to what games can do at keeping you engaged. One of the most engaging games comes from PHET. At their website, you will find the Balancing Equations Game. Upon choosing the option, you are redirected towards a screen for choosing the difficulty of the game. This game is quite interesting. Having tried it out ourselves, we can assure you that not only is it engaging and entertaining, but it is quite informative as well. Therefore, it is one game that you should play if you want to get better at balancing chemical equations and get entertained for a while. Here’s a link to their website.