Through the combined effects of the Magic School Bus, Comic Books, and an existing interest in science, Bluey recently has been asking a lot of questions about molecules and atoms. So we’ve been helping him out with a homeschool unit on particle physics.
We are not physicists by trade, so how can we teach our young son about molecules? We followed a multi-pronged path including books, videos, field trips and experiments.
We pulled some of our science books off the shelf, and picked some more up at the library to read up on molecules with our son. Surprisingly few books geared for five year olds deal with topics of molecular and sub-atomic physics. But we worked with what we could find- mostly encyclopedia-style books, and science books aimed at much older readers.
Videos were an easier hit. Punching ‘kid science’ and molecules into a search bar reveals a number of educational videos. Some were cute animated films showing the structure of matter, others were short clips from professors explaining complicated topics in a few minutes.
Our trips to science museums and the US Department of Energy projects at the FermiLab helped put a real world spin on this sometimes esoteric subject. Through hands-on play, and seeing giant high-energy projects up close, our Bluey was able to experience the science he has learned at home in practice. 
A day after our trip to the FermiLab, Bluey said “We could make our own particle accelerator, but it would take a lot of time.” Yes. Yes it would.
Instead, following a cue from one of the videos we watched, Bluey recreated a tabletop experiment showing that warm molecules move faster than cold ones. In true scientist form, he did the experiment twice. In the first round, the two waters were too close to each other in temperature out of the tap. So he tried it again with boiling water and near frozen water.
His first molecule experiment was a great success! We’re sure there will be follow up on this topic. And that’s what homeschool is about for us- following your bliss in whatever direction it takes you and learning along the way.