Great Homeschool Activity: Gold Panning

Disclaimer: I received products to review. All opinions are my own.

I spend a lot of time planning our homeschool curriculum and activities. Since Tbomb is technically in pre-school, I have to come up with most of it on my own. Part of what I try to do is work in the things that are interesting to other members of the family to give him a wide range of activities and experiences. I hope to happen upon something that really grabs his attention. Each day, we have a "Question of the day," my hope is that this will expand his interests as well. So far, his favorite things are space, bigfoot, and rocks. His daddy loves gold mining and mining for gems, so that is something they can do together. When I was asked to check out these gold panning kits, I knew the kids would have fun with their daddy (Kodabug wants to do what Tbomb is doing).

1/2 Pound Gold Rush Panning Kit

The 1/2 Pound Gold Rush Panning Kit ($24.95 available at Target and PayDirtGold.com) is an awesome kit for someone interested in panning. It contains 1/2 pound of dirt to pan, tweezers, vial, certificate of authenticity, and directions. It is guaranteed to contain gold. You can even join the Dirt Of The Month Club and pan dirt from the actual mines seen on Gold Rush.

All bags of pay dirt are salted with a base amount of gold. 1 in 250 bags are salted with $100 of gold nuggets.
My husband and Father in Law took the kids outside with these kits and some water for some fun. They had a blast and found much more gold than I expected. They have all caught the bug now. The directions made it simple and the pan is great- they are planning a trip to the river to do some more panning. My husband has made these panning kits a staple for when we go to the mountains- he has loved getting the kids excited about panning for gold.

Mini Gold Panning Kit

The Mini Gold Panning Kit ($11.95 available at Cabela's, Big 5, Gander Mountain, and PayDirtGold.com) is an awesome stocking stuffer and gift for kids that want to try something new. It includes a 4" mini pan, pay dirt, vial, tweezers, certificate of authenticity, and instructions. You can also play Pan-Off head to head. 

All bags of pay dirt are salted with a base amount of gold. 1 in 250 bags are salted with $50 of gold nuggets.

We have assigned these to the kids because they are still small. They can pan alongside daddy and papa and even find gold. They do the big ones with help, but these are perfect for them to use and get the hang of what they are doing (again, Kodabug has to do what Tbomb is doing). I love that every vial is guaranteed to contain gold- what a wonderful experience for the kids to find gold as well. The Mr actually let the kids use the mini pans held over the larger pans so that they wouldn't lose the gold while panning. 

The kids (and big kids) have really enjoyed panning and cannot wiat to head up to the river and pan there as well. I'm going to have to tell Santa how much they enjoyed it so they may get some pay dirt under the tree! 

Other available products include refill vials, Gold Rush Scale, 1lb Gold Rush Panning Kit, and bags of Pay Dirt. See all the awesome products here.