Engage your kindergartner (ages 5-6) with this fun science activity about leafcutter ants. Did you know? These ants actually don’t eat leaves! They use the leaves to grow food like farmers and then eat the fungi that grows on their garden. Amazing, right? 

Learn about the process of fermentation, and see it happen right before your eyes! Then apply this understanding to the insect world. After you work through this free hands-on science lesson with your children, they will understand why leafcutter ants collect leaves and how they use the natural process of fermentation to farm their own food. Then watch your kids glow with pride as they explain to the adults in their lives that leafcutter ants don’t even eat the leaves they cut!

Because the lesson is accompanied by a tangible activity where the kids actually stimulate fermentation with yeast, the learning will stick! They will start thinking—and acting—like scientists!

Activity: WHY DO LEAFCUTTER ANTS NEED LEAVES?

A HANDS-ON ACTIVITY ABOUT FERMENTATION

You get

• a video demonstration of the activity (watch below or on YouTube)
• full-color, step-by-step directions for the project (PDF)
• teaching notes to explain the science behind the activity (PDF)

→ DOWNLOAD THE PDF HERE ← 

No sign-ups required! Just click to download directly to your device. No strings attached. Enjoy it with your kids today. All you need are the following supplies:

• 1 cup of warm water
• 1 small clear glass or plastic bottle with a narrow mouth
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 package of yeast
• 1 balloon

Liked this Fermentation Science Activity?

Continue learning and making science fun with 34 more experiments in Sonlight’s NEW Hands-On Kindergarten Science Curriculum. You’ll find the same great format as in this sample: step-by-step directions, science facts and discussion questions, and a video (DVD format). Plus you’ll get a selection of amazing books that your kids will read for years to come.

Head to the Sonlight website to see this Hands-On Kindergarten Science program, new for 2020. 

SEE SCIENCE K

Ecosystems, Meteorology, Physics, and Engineering Design

CLICK THE IMAGE TO LEARN MORE

Brand new philosophy, brand new books, brand new experiments, brand new worksheets! Teach your children to think like a scientist, to use the skills and practices that real scientists use. All experiments tie directly to the content each week. Sonlight’s great books provide the context, while the experiments allow your children to experience scientific practice for themselves.

From the heat of the sun to the eyes of an insect, Sonlight Science K teaches your children to think like a scientist. They will use real scientific skills and practices as they explore rainforests and encounter reptiles, insects, plants, and more. Science K builds on children’s natural curiosity. It also includes a high-level introduction to forces, matter, and other STEM topics that will set them up for a lifetime of learning and application.

And whereas with this sample you had to provide yeast and a balloon, those materials are provided in the Science Kit with the full curriculum. It’s never been easier to teach homeschool science to your kindergartner! 

CLICK THE IMAGE TO GET YOUR FREE LESSON