What are your favorite PHYSICS and CHEMISTRY resources for elementary?

[Sahamamama]

We're starting from scratch with these, so recommend away! :) 

 

It's time to accumulate something besides Biology, Nature Study, Earth Science, and Astronomy resources. With those we are amply supplied.

[Rachel TX]

For chemistry: lab equipment and element cards.

 

The lab equipment includes a mix of plastic and glassware, and my kids loved using real tools. It made them feel like they were doing real science. They also learned the names of all the equipment.

 

The cards are an appealing, tangible way to present the different elements. (At the elementary level we learn just the first 25.)

 

Everything else I used was from pinterest, youtube, and the library.

[RebeccaMary]

Here are my favorites.

 

Physics:

MinutePhysics videos (YouTube)

Eureka videos (www.animatedscience.co.uk/flv/animated_science_player.swf)

The New Way Things Work by Macauley

Let's Read and Find Out Books ("Gravity is a Mystery", "Forces Make Things Move", "Energy Makes Things Happen", "What Makes a Magnet")

Magic School Bus Books ("MSB and the Electric Field Trip")

Snap Circuit Physics kit

OK Go videos with those crazy Rube Goldberg contraptions

Simple Machines by Horvatic (out of print but good, check your library)

 

Chemistry:

The Elements by Ellen McHenry

The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe by Grey

Interactive, Online Periodic Tables of the Elements (try: www.periodicvideos.com and www.periodictable.com/index.html)

NOVA: Hunting the Elements

Global Warming: It's All About Carbon - a series of short NPR videos (www.npr.org/news/specials/climate/video/)

They Might Be Giants song "Meet the Elements" from Here Comes Science (no actual instructional value, but fun)

[Curlymom]

For chemistry, we are loving REAL Science Odyssey Chemistry. For us it is just the right amount of explanation balanced with experiments and is written at an elementary level. We are half way through and my 2nd grader knows about the periodic table, can name elements, knows about chemical reactions and knows the parts of an atom. It is a great hands-on curriculum. We supplement with library books if we need more information.

[kwg]

  I have not used but have ordered Gizmos and Gadgets and Teaching Physics With Toys.  I am hoping to get a couple of  little ones together for physics this year.

[redsquirrel]

I like BFSU. Thread A is chemistry and thread C is the physical world. Thread B is life science and thread D is earth science.

 

You could easily go through all of thread A in books 1 and 2 in one school year and then thread C in books 1 and 2 the next. Or you could go through A and C in Book 1 in one school year and then use book 2 the following year. It is very flexible that way.

 

I have already done all of BFSU book 1 with my younger son. This year, fourth grade, we are going to go through threads A and C in Book 2.

[SilverMoon]

Science Jim's Bite-size Physics looks promising. I've only read throughsome of it so far.

[Kerileanne99]

Peter Weatherall songs and videos:

http://www.kidsinglish.com/

[Sherry in OH]

I like many of the works previously mentioned. Other resources we have used include:

 

Adrienne Mason’s Primary Physical Science series (Change It! Solids, Liquids, Gases, and You; Move It! Motion Forces and You; Build It! Structures, Systems and You; Touch It! Materials, Matter and You) offers a fun introduction for early elementary.

 

How Do You Lift A Lion and other books by Robert E. Wells

Science Experiments with Simple Machines by Sally Nankivell-Aston

The Way Things Work DVDs 

 

LEGO Simple and Motorized Mechanisms

Tom Lehrer's The Elements song

[kolamum]

Noeo has some lovely books for Physics & Chemistry depending on the age level. I find a gap between level II & III, but the books are still lovely. There's also Christian Kids Explore if you're not opposed to a Christian spin, each book also has a lot of suggestions for other books inside.

WP also has Jiggle Jostle Jolt which is Physics, all though if you're not YE then you might want to replace the spine.. :)

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Our primary spine is Real Science 4 Kids.  They have 10 lesson courses for Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Astronomy, and Geology.  Each course includes a full color text book, a student lab manual, and a teacher manual, as well as optional supplements like writing lessons that go along with the chapters.  There are three levels of each subject.  The topics line up between levels so that you can teach multiple kids at the same time, but have each at their own level.  There is an experiment to go along with each chapter.  The series is written by a PhD scientist, who also happens to be a homeschool mom, Dr. Rebecca Keller.  

 

We spend two weeks on each chapter, and supplement with books from the library, or Magic School Bus, or others that I have collected.

 

[Staceyshoe]

For chemistry, we *love* Ellen McHenry's programs.

[Korrale]

Peter Weatherall DVDs.

Eureka.

BFSU

Real World Science episodes. I don't know where else these can be found, but we use Discovery Streaming.

[ScoutTN]

Can't say these are favorites yet, because we will use them this year for the first time, but we are going with

Ellen McHenry's The Elements along with the book by Gray for chemistry and The New Way Things Work with the videos for physics. We do have snap circuits and I expect we will find some other hands on things too.