My parents brought us up to wonder, explore and discover and that is how we are trying to raise our children too. So far, things are going well. All three boys are curious, questioning and interested in how the world works.

Number Two in particular is mad about experimenting at the moment. For months now we have been doing all manner of trials and experiments, sometimes following instructions, sometimes making it up as we go along, just to see what happens.

To make it easier to be spontaneous, we’ve gathered together the bits and bobs we use for our experiements and keep them in the kitchen, where they are within easy reach and can be taken out at any time and put to use.

Other useful household items include small bowls, tap water, sparking mineral water, plain flour, food colouring, milk and vegetable oil.

We have been having a lot of fun with our projects, as well as learning about chemical reactions. Number Two is bursting with interest and keeps coming up with questions and ideas of his own. Rather than saying “we can look it up later”, I have started to react to his suggestions and “What would happen if…” scenarios by saying “Let’s try it and see”.

For more concrete examples of chemical reactions, we have been following Dr. How’s Science Wows on Facebook. Naomi is an experienced scientist with a wonderful knack of making science easy for children to understand. Pop over to her website or Facebook page and check out her experiments.

Encouraged by the ease with which experiments can be conducted in your own home, we have tried out an experiment of two of our own creation – of course only experiments  I know to be safe. I am not a fool. Even with household items and ingredients, it is best to err on the side of caution and check with a reputable source.

We are editing a vlog and hope to have it online for you soon so you can see one of our experiements in action.

Do you do any experiments at home? Are your children interested in science and discovery? How do you encourage them?

[This is not a sponsored post. We have genuinely been enjoying Naomi’s website and Facebook page and want to share the fun with you.]