Microscope School

Don't miss the FREE Microscope Study Notebooking Pages I shared yesterday.

My sister, family scientist, purchased my boys a microscope and a slide making kit for Christmas. I was intimidated. They worked it no problem, but I cracked a slide. Seriously. My code name in high school chemistry was beaker-breaker. Things haven't changed much. 

My boys kept asking and asking (and asking) to do microscope school. And my sister (who doesn't crack glass) volunteered for the job. She told them she'd take over when she visited in March. And she, being the true scientist in this family, did.

The My First Lab Duo-Scope Microscope my sister purchased them was perfect! I knew she would do her research and buy the best quality-most affordable option. 

First, she taught them how to focus.

She showed them how to use science journals. They included the date, the magnification, and the experiments they did along with sketches of slides. They learned what a hypothesis is and when to write one (which is often when you're doing school with Aunt Lisa!).

They learned to prepare slides.

They looked at everything imaginable!

• yeast 
• yeast with water (after it sits for a day)
• yeast with salt (after it sits for a day)
• yeast with sugar (after it sits for a day)
• yeast with honey (after it sits for a day)
• garlic peel
• fruit fly (those compound eyes are amazing!)
• other insect parts
• housefly
• ant
• salt
• sugar
• small pieces of shells and barnacles
• pieces of rock
• leaf
• a hair
• a feather
• flower petal
• flower stem (cross-section)
• pine needle
• moss
• blade of grass
• brine shrimp
• algae from a pond (amazing stuff in there ~ protists and paramecium!)
• small piece of bark
• toilet paper or paper towel
• fingernail clipping

I am so thankful for my sister, the passion she has for science, and for her pouring into my boys for a week. Elijah and Simon are now using their science journals for all sorts of interesting experiments!

The microscope has made them more curious about science, and they want to view the entire world–under the microscope.