While my kiddos are still a tad too young to join the ranks of blue-ribbon winning Science Fair participants, no one’s too young to explore cause and effect, further their natural curiosity, or engage in a little problem-solving. (For my younger daughter, that’s just called Monday Morning By 9am.)
Have I mentioned my love of Netflix and their curated content for every age, stage, and er- energy level?
And I have I mentioned that I’m one of the newest members of Netflix’s Stream Team? (You guys, I’m one of the newest members of Netflix’s Stream Team!)
WELL. This month, Netflix is rolling out a list of inspiring titles for your budding scientist/explorer/beaker full o’ explosives. For the Little Littles, here’s what I’m digging:
- Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius
- The Magic School Bus
- Animal Mechanicals
- The Wild Kratts
- Peep and the Big, Wide World
Not only are these titles ridiculously cute, but they’re also pretty darned perfect for the bitty information sponge you call your child. Watching these flicks with Nora and Susannah (and then creating our own experiment zones/climbing walls), I soon recognized Jimmy’s ingenuity, the fearlessness of Ms. Frizzle’s class, and the perseverance of Peep facing that big, wide world. (You will learn to fly, little buddy!)
Here’s what else I’m digging about being a member of the Stream Team: each month there’s an activity, a recipe, and crazy fun ways to implement the ideas and lessons introduced in the featured programming. For March, the girls and I chose a (yummy) science project that we could do in our very own kitchen.
Courtesy of Always Order Dessert, our project was creating honeycomb candy. And isn’t it always the way, that the simplest ingredients provide the coolest reactions (both scientifically and in terms of kiddos’ amazement). This one uses three kinds of sugar- white, corn syrup, and honey- a little water, a little baking soda, and a teensy bit of “hands-off, Mama’s got to do this part” directions. (Namely, boiling the sugars required a seven-foot separation between child and stovetop.)
She really is this blurry in real life.
But man, once the pot was removed from the stove, the girls helped mix the baking soda into the stockpot- and ooh whee, foam city! (Related: I have zero pix of the “hands on” part. Because, while I’m good, I’m not magic.)
The girls dug spreading the mixture onto the parchment paper…and only had the slightest bit of trouble waiting for it to harden. (Half an hour is a long time, yo.)
Our findings? Science is really, really cool. And delicious.
And best finished off, solo, after the children go to bed for the evening.
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As a member of Netflix’s Stream Team, I’ll be blogging each month about Netflix’s curated content. While I was provided with a Roku and a Netflix subscription, all thoughts and opinions (not to mention jubilant TV-watchin’) are my own.
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