Science

The best part about science is the "mucking about".

Notebook (7 x 9) - 1 per term with assignments, tests & presentation cue cards all glued in

Term	Grade 4 Units	Major Assignments
1	Rocks & Minerals	Rock Collection (8 to 12 specimens) 3 Minute "Rock Talk"
2	Light & Sound Energy	Experiment Demonstration
3	Pulleys & Gears	Junk Art Sculpture & Demonstration
3	Habitat	Environmental Stewardship - Plant trees & Reflect on Experiences

Texts - no one text is relied on solely as the class text

Baking & cooking is like doing experiments. All great cooks are scientists. Students should be encouraged to learn how to cook & bake simple things independently under the supervision of an adult. This is a life skill that is not only fun, but also YUMMY! Visit the Robin Hood site Baking with Kids for kid-friendly recipes & safety tips.
Another great site for science experiment ideas is http://www.guidetoonlineschools.com/library/science-experiments It has links to science videos.

Kitchen Experiments - Making crystals
- Epson Salts - Crystal Ornaments http://www.gomilpitas.com/homeschooling/explore/crystals.htm
- How to grow a big Alum crystal : http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/alumcrystal.htm
- Crystals & Frost http://www.atozkidsstuff.com/weather.html
- Crystal Growing Recipes http://www.chemistry.co.nz/crystal_recipes.htm
Kitchen Chemistry
- Kitchen Chemistry by PBS.org http://pbskids.org/zoom/games/kitchenchemistry/
- Some Kitchen Science Experiments http://personal.cfw.com/~rollinso/SciFood.html
Wacky things to make Scientific Concepts in the Kitchen
- Superball, Slime, Mood lipstick, Making honeycomb, Ink from tea, Glue form milk, Boil water in ice

Nyelabs
Offers a variety of science demos as well as experiments that can be printed for classroom use; includes a 'Question of the Day', a schedule of upcoming Bill Nye the Science Guy TV shows and episode guides; requires Macromedia's Shockwave plugin (free download) to access many of the features
How It Is Made A TV show broadcast on the Discovery Channel that tells us how things are manufactured. Very interesting.
Discovery Channel A TV channel with many shows related to the sciences.
David Suzuki Foundation - this site has much information on the environment
Chem4Kids An illustrated discussion of matter, states of matter, changes in state, atoms, elements, and the way compounds form
Animated atomic structure
A very good animated periodic table, which explains the way electrons organize themselves into different shells around the nucleus

Weather

Weather in Canada
- What's the weather like in Canada? http://weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/canada_e.html
- What's it like in Richmond Hill (Toronto actually)? http://weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/forecast/city_e.html?yyz
Find out Today's Weather
- Canada http://weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/canada_e.html
- USA http://www.nws.noaa.gov/
Canadian Hurricane Centre
Everything you wanted to know about hurricanes, including links to other hurricane websites; includes a 'Just for Kids' section; English or French text
Watch Channel 22 Rogers TV for the local weather - see what you should wear today!