Getting Science-y for WhyMommy

PhotobucketI lay in bed yesterday morning pondering what science experiment we would do later in the day. The kids are on Spring Break. I have to admit that my pondering did not get very far before I fell back to sleep. I was woken a few minutes later by my son asking me if he could open one of his birthday gifts. I was conscious enough to tell him to open it on a tray.

To back up, my son is the youngest. His toys and crafts are either brand new or quite old. No in between. He loves a partially dry lump of Silly Putty. He regularly uses PlayDoh that is more brown than any other color. His Moon Sand has seen better days.

For his birthday, I shopped for things that were new to him. He’s 7 and in first grade. Science is king for him. If it moves…grows…shines…he wants to know about it. He loves Science class at school. His gifts were:

  • Glow-in-the-dark Silly Putty.
  • Modeling Clay…multicolored.
  • Dinosaur Dig Kit.
  • A book about dinosaurs.
  • A book about flags.

I also bought him G.I. Joe Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, and Pirates Lego.

PhotobucketThis morning my son asked if he could do the Dinosaur Dig Kit. I told him to use a tray. I walked in to his bedroom to see him lying on the floor chipping away at a lump of tiny sand pellets glued together. He painstakingly chipped away at the lump for quite some time. He and I chatted as he scraped and carved.

PhotobucketHe speculated on what his dinosaur would be. Would it be a Stegosaurus? Or would it be a Tyrannosaurus Rex? Pterodactyl? He was intrigued.

PhotobucketWhile he chipped away more and more sand, I rearranged his book case. I found a pile of Dinosaur books that we consulted to check our findings. I also found a pile of Stage 1 Readers that he has outgrown. We’ll send them to his cousin in England.

PhotobucketHe proudly held up the Dinosaur. It looked like a TRex. So we called it TRex. He found another dinosaur on his floor that was like  TRex with a crest on its head…Carnitosaurus…I think.

He wants to reuse the kit. I think we might glue all the pellets together and hide the dinosaur. Nothing better than recycling a science kit, right?

I dedicate this post to my friend, WhyMommy. She is a planetary scientist who blogs at Toddler Planet. All the best to you and your family tomorrow and on.

8 comments for “Getting Science-y for WhyMommy

  1. April 7, 2010 at 10:54 am

    Wow! I love the dinosaur dig kit. My boys would love that!

  2. April 7, 2010 at 1:15 pm

    I love these dino dig kits – Indiana Jones in a box! What a fun post and activity that you introduced to your son!

  3. April 7, 2010 at 2:27 pm

    I had a dino dig kit when I was a kid. It means so much more when you discover it yourslef! Something I will keep in mind for the future!

  4. April 7, 2010 at 4:49 pm

    I want one of these!

  5. amy @teachmama
    April 7, 2010 at 1:06 pm

    Wow–this kit seems awesome–I’ve never seen one, but I’m betting that my Owen would love one come his summertime birthday. I’ll have to search around!

    Thanks for a great post, Jill!

  6. jodifur
    April 7, 2010 at 5:00 pm

    funny, we did kits too, but I totally forgot to take pictures!

  7. April 7, 2010 at 11:10 pm

    Oh my – looks like he worked really hard to get to that dinosaur!

  8. Stimey
    April 7, 2010 at 11:54 pm

    What a great idea for a gift! I think my kids would LOVE to unearth a dinosaur like this. And I love that you did research to figure out what kind of dinosaur it was!

    Thanks so much for taking part in the science fair!

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