My son is always complaining that his school doesn’t do enough science. It’s the result, I believe, of the much maligned No Child Left Behind educational policy and its focus on core math and reading skills to the neglect of science, social studies, history, and other subjects. Not that the core skills aren’t important—but I firmly believe they can be taught through science, history, etc.

I’ve recently found a great resource for kid-friendly science at home, though: the “Science by E-mail” service of the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Every week you’ll get an e-mail with an experiment you can do with your kids. The latest one involves embedding seeds in homemade paper to create a fun planter. In general, I’d say the activities are most appropriate for elementary school kids, but you can always adjust them to meet your own child’s skill level.

CSIRO also offers this nicely organized Web site of various science activities.

“Science by E-mail” has actually been around for 10 years now, and has over 40,000 subscribers. I’m glad I finally discovered it.

What other interesting educational services/sites do you and your kids enjoy?

(Photo credit: Paul)