Periodic table

Turns out it IS possible to teach atomic structure and the periodic table to little kids!

My chemist friend Monica had been skeptical, told me to skip all of that and just teach molecules and demonstrate them with a MAGZ magnet set, in the sense that 2 hydrogens bond to 1 oxygen to make water.

But there's a science writer, Teresa, who home schools, and she has a web site PrimaryPeriodicTable.com with a downloadable ($10) e-book that you can read to your kids.

No pictures in the e-book, turns out. I was skeptical.

But all I had to do was read to them, and then when we got to the part about the number of electrons possible in each shell, and show how the "missing" electrons made for the sharing possibilities to complete the outer shells with other elements to form molecules. All I had to do was show her that Sodium has an atomic number of 11, which means 2 electrons in the first shell, a complete 8 electrons in the second shell, and only 1 electron in the third shell, which means 7 slots are "available." And then along comes Chloride, with an atomic number of 17, which means 1 slot is available in his third shell, and whammo, then they get together, share the outer-shell electrons, and make salt. We did water, then, and then I explained why the inert gases are inert (complete outer shells).

She GOT it. She really got it.

Ella kind of got it, too.