Builder Boy and Mama's Snap Circuit Adventure, Part 2

Hey, remember how in December I was going to blog about teaching electricity to a 1st grader and using Snap Circuits? Yeah, I didn't remember either. Because around Christmas time is when the "morning" sickness hit full force and I was hovering over a bowl for the entire month... and the month after that....and then we moved to another state....I was on virtual bed rest for two months...and the Snap Circuits didn't get unpacked. But today another homeschooling mom was asking about teaching electricity and using Snap Circuits with her young son and I remembered that I had a list of resources I could share and if I'd had it in a blog post instead of random links all over the place it would have been easier. So I'm posting it now, even though it's been a while since we actually did anything with it.

Back in December I found this wonderful book Switch On, Switch Off at our local library. It explained electricity in a simple enough way that my 6 year old could understand, yet had things in it that I had never learned before. It was a great introduction to the subject and Builder Boy liked it so much that we read it together many times before returning it. I highly recommend it.

Once we'd been introduced to the topic we tried out some sites that I can't remember how I found. Here are the links:

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Interactive.aspx?cat=66

http://www.eon-uk.com/EnergyExperience/85.htm

http://www.switchedonkids.org.uk/

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/using_electricity/eng/Introduction/default.htm


These are all games that teach about electricity in the home, where it comes from, and electricity safety. The top three are UK sites, so there is some British terminology that might need to be explained to your kids.

Since we've moved the boys have also watched a great Magic School Bus episode on electrical circuits and a Bill Nye episode on electricity. The Magic School Bus episode is "Get Charged." The one we watched on youtube disappeared, but I found another channel hosting it. The Magic School Bus episode "Gets Energized" is a great one to watch afterwards. It explores sources of energy generation, like gravity and water wheels.

I haven't read The Magic School Bus And The Electric Field Trip, but after looking at the preview on Amazon, I really want to now.

For some more ideas, check out: How to Teach Young Children About the Simple Electrical Circuit at eHow.com. I also started a Pinterest board on Electricity, but I don't have many pins yet.

_________________________________________________________________________
I don't get paid for reviews; I do get a small percentage if you purchase something on Amazon.com after clicking on one of my links.

Pin It