Now that the holiday craziness has wound down and we are back to normal around our house, we are also back to our regular theme action when it comes to our home learning with the tiny person. She got a challenging diagnosis at the end of December and we knew this year was going to be all about providing a whole lot more structure for her.

So, we started planning each month together to keep us all on track. January – by her choice – is all about science, ice and snowy cold.

The tiny person has been so bummed out about the lack of snow in the coastal forecast this year that, when we agreed that January’s theme around the house was “Winter and the effect that cold has on things” she was wondering if I had lost my mind.

“I think Winter skipped us this year,” she keeps telling me.

So, I went on a quest to get our quota of snow in without leaving the house.

Science was definitely the direction I was headed since that’s where she thrives – and there are a TON of cool science kits out there for kids ages eight and up. But, finding something that is age-appropriate for the four to eight-year-old crowd is virtually impossible. I had, literally, looked just about everywhere until Pam over at Planet Kids phoned me up and gave me the scoop on some of the coolest kid-friendly science kits out there from Be Amazing toys.

I headed on over and picked up the Blast of Color science kit that is all about making “snow” and seeing how it absorbs color, expands and does all kinds of other cool stuff. We had, indeed, found something to satisfy a snow-lovers fascination when Mother Nature wasn’t in sync with our lesson plans.

It’s fake snow, and this definitely doesn’t take any serious science skills – which means it was exactly our speed.

The projects take about 10 to 20 minutes each – the perfect amount of science action before the kiddo loses interest and starts looking for other things to dye with food coloring.

Our daughter loved it for a couple of reasons:

1. There’s a cool set of three test tubes that make her feel very official,
2. She gets to play with gooey “snow-like” substances,
3. It’s all about texture,
4. Everything changes color and she gets to make that happen, and
5. It’s sort of weird, but not toxic.

I liked it because we could use it more than once (I really get frustrated with those kits that cost $20 and you’re done with them in five minutes), and it totally inspired us to do projects like frozen fossils and more jello painting.

Also, everything in the kit had another purpose. We definitely can make good use of the test tubes and the extra cups. The eye droppers will come in handy down the road and the bag it all comes in is great to use for craft storage.

Be Amazing has a great range of science kits for kids of all ages. Our next adventure will most definitely be the Magic Crystals Lab In A Bag and the tiny person is itching to try out the Shaker Slime Lab In A Bag.

We give these Labs In A Bag a big thumbs up for science learning and fun. Your kiddo will have a great time, discover the fun of science and mom and dad won’t have to worry about crazy chemicals or combinations that could make things a bit less safe.

Photo courtesy of Be Amazing Toys