A Little Science and Some Snakes

Eli and I have thoroughly enjoyed our summer. We've done so many fun things together and have made so many great memories. One lazy Saturday morning, Eli came to me and said he wanted to do the "fizz activity". He wanted to do the colored vinegar and baking soda activity that we did a few weeks ago. I let him and Josh do that for a few minutes and then remembered another activity using baking soda that I had seen on Pinterest. We did the balloon experiment with Eli and he loved it! We had to do it two times and if we'd had enough baking soda, we would have done it some more! If you've never done it before, it's super easy. 

First, gather an empty bottle, some vinegar, a balloon and baking soda. Pour a some vinegar in the empty bottle until it's about 1/3 full. Pour some baking soda into the empty ballon until the bottom of it is full but don't fill it up the entire way. Carefully attach the balloon to the top of the bottle, but don't let the baking soda fall in just yet. When you're ready, hold the balloon straight up and let the baking soda fall into the vinegar. The baking soda and vinegar will make a gas that blows up your balloon. It's pretty cool, super cheap, and fun for the kids! 

The next week at the library we were able to participate in some more fun science. The library had a special guest come to talk to the kids about snakes. They call him the Snake Man! The presentation was really great. We got to see some snakes that are common to our area, but I'll be honest, they still give me the heebie jeebies.

The first snake he brought out was a garter snake. 

I had one of these in my classroom one time...EEK! 

He slithered right past my foot when I was teaching a reading group at my table. 

The second snake he brought out was a corn snake.

I forget the name of this one...it had a nose that looked like a pig snout though.

Then he brought out a King Snake. 

The experience was great, but the stories were really long. Eli really just wanted to see the snakes, but each snake came with about a 10 minute story about the snake. It was definitely perfect for the school age children, but for toddlers like Eli, it was more than his attention span could handle. After the King Snake, I asked him if he was ready to go and he said he was. Maybe next year when the Snake Man comes we can stay for more snakes! We've really enjoyed all the special events that the local library sponsored this summer. That's probably been one of our favorites things this summer!