only backgroundI'm a wife, mother and grandmother. I'm opinionated. I contradict myself frequently. Most of all, I love my kids. I believe in them. I fight for them. They're weird and wonderful. If you want to know more, here's a bunch of other stuff from my old site.
I’m not going to pretend to be a chemistry genius. I won’t even tell you that I enjoyed Science in school. That’s because I didn’t. In fact, from 9th grade on, I did well enough in my science classes to not have to repeat any of the classes. That’s all that mattered.
Don’t misunderstand. I was an A student right through the 8th grade. Teachers encouraged me. I never felt like being a girl meant I couldn’t do math or science. My failure had nothing to do with stereotypes. Looking back, there were a few factors at play once I hit high school. First, I didn’t “get” the whole Lab notebook thing. The stuff we had to write in it seemed too simple to be correct. I didn’t understand why we had to write everything down when it was all so simple. If only the teacher had said, “I know this seems tedious but we’re learning the correct procedure.” I would have understood. I just kept thinking I was missing something. Second, the smell of formaldehyde in the science lab, thanks to the Juniors who were dissecting cats, gave me a headache. I was in pain and since I had no intention of every needing science, I just didn’t pay attention. After all, I wanted to be a writer. Or a guidance counselor. Or a lawyer. Or something other than a nurse, chemist, scientist.
Despite all of that, I am absolutely certain that there is one thing my teacher could have said to me to change my entire attitude about science. If one person had told me that by studying chemistry, I could create my very own soap, lotions, serums, shampoos, conditioner and other toiletries, I would have figured out the darn Lab notebook thing and invested in massive amounts of Excedrin, just so I could learn about chemistry.
That may seem shallow or stereotypical but it’s the truth. And today, I stand by the premise that if a girl is not interested in science, show her how to make a body lotion or shampoo or a heavenly scented bar of soap and she’ll be hooked on chemistry.
My own daughter is having trouble in science so I’ve been searching for a way to get her interested. That’s what brought me to www.scientificsonline.com and their fun chemistry kits. I was hoping to find something to pique my daughter’s interest; I never expected to find a complete soapmaking kit! While The Art Of Soapmaking doesn’t contain the lye needed to make soap (check your local hardware store for that) it does have everything else you need to make 15 beautifully scented bars of soap. The oils included - almond, olive, coconut and palm - should make a wonderful bar. I’ve worked with those oils and they’re perfect for a beginning soapmaker. The folks at Edmund Scientific really did their homework when they put this kit together!
Not only will this kit teach kids about the saponification process, it will also produce exfoliating bars made with the included oatmeal. Ahhh, so nice for the skin! I can’t imagine any girl who thinks science is just for guys, not being totally taken with this kit. The really great thing about the kit is that it comes with a reusable wooden mold. Once your child is successful with that first batch of soap, I know they’ll be wanting to make more. With such well written instructions, it will be a cinch to refill the kit and keep using it over and over.
Becoming a soapmaker spurred my interest in chemistry. I regret not learning about chemistry in high school, when my brain was young and able to retain so much more than it does now. With the science kits at Edmund Scientific, there is no reason that every child can’t be exposed to a side of science that fits with his or her needs. Sometimes that’s what it takes - for a parent or caring teacher to look a little deeper into a child to learn how to spur that interest. Science always plays a role in the things we love in life, whatever that may be. Just take a look around the site and you’ll find something that seems to be made for that child in your life. Go ahead, open the door to the world of science and watch the excitement and learning right before your eyes!
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It’s not shallow or stereotypical at all! It’s exactly what I
say about reading! Find a subject the kid is interested in, and
they will grow to love reading! Same thing, here!
Great post - and cool science kit! I’m going to have to remember
that for Sammie!
oooh that looks so cool. if they taught science like that in school I would have done heaps better LOL bookmarking that site for later. i think I am going to get it for me
Great science kit, I am sure kids like it.
[...] all started yesterday when I found a post on my friend, Marisa’s blog. Marisa tells us that Science is for Everyone. Oh man, have I ever learned that! I’m so glad that I’ve learned such cool stuff as an [...]