The scientific method consists of the following steps:



Step one:

Write a research question. This is the question you are going to try to answer while doing your project.

Step two:

Research the topic. This will provide you with all of the information that is already available on your topic, you will get better results if you do a broad search on the topic, but you can also do a focused search.

Step three:

Write a hypothesis. This is what you think the answer to your question will be. You will be proving or disproving this statement in the next few steps.

Step four:

Develop an experimental procedure. This is where you are going to state how you are going to try and prove that what you think is the correct answer and you will also perform any experiments at this stage.

Step five:

Collect and state results. Here you will take all of the information you have obtained and the results of your experiments and record them in a notebook.

Step six:

Form valid conclusions. This step is the last step because here you are going to state if your answer was correct or incorrect based on all of the information and experiments that you have completed.

By basing each science project on the scientific method you are providing your child with an organized project that will help them develop important skills later in life. Depending on the exact project you are doing you might not have to use all of the steps in the scientific method and also depending on the age of the child you will want to gear the steps to their levels.

Here are three great reasons why you should do a science project with your kids today.

Reason one:

Doing a science project with your child means that you can spend quality time with them. Most parents do not have the opportunity to be stay at home parents so they are always trying to find more ways to spend time with their kids and a science project is a great opportunity. If you like plants you and your child can plant a garden and tend to it together, science projects like these require a lot of time and nurturing so it is not just an afternoon spent together. You can also involve your child in home improvement projects or you can spend the afternoon baking cookies or you can get on the internet to get a list of ideas and use stuff you have around the house or you can go to the store and buy a science kit.

Reason two:

Another great reason to do science projects with your kids are that you are teaching them how to make decisions based on the information that they find. This will help to promote your child's critical thinking skills which will be relied upon more and more as they grow older. By doing this you are giving them the tools that they need to succeed in life.

Reason three:

By spending time with your child doing science projects you are sending them a silent message that is telling them that science is fun. The advantage to this is you might encourage an interest that your child was unaware that they had. And by picking a project that you are both interested in you can have fun while learning about something new. And kids have an endless thirst for knowledge, so giving them all of these opportunities to learn is a great way to quench that thirst.