The Weight of It All

What is worth more, a pound of quarters or a pound of dimes?

The kids wondered if this were true. They set out to find out. Luckily, we had a dragon-coin-bank filled with coins. They separated out a pound of quarters and a pound of dimes. Then they added up the monetary worth of the coins. Their results showed that a pound of quarters and a pound of dimes equal approximately the same amount of money (about $20).

The numbers came out to be a little different, but very, very close. The kids new this would happen, but seeing it proven through their own actions was exciting for them. They came up with their own ideas as to why the two pounds of coins might not be worth exactly the same amount:

1: the scale isn't precise

2: the coins are all used, so some might be too old and thus "rubbed" to be less weight than a new coin

3: perhaps all the coins weren't made of the same materials, depending on when they were minted

It's definitely times like these when I see "it all working" the way it's supposed. They started with a question, a curiosity, or theory. They figured out how to investigate. They came to a conclusion. They accounted for margins of error. This experience was worth a lot more.

(written July 31, 2015)

My Mistake

Lead by Mistake

I think it's fun that my kids get to learn from my mistakes, not just their own. Being home with me, most of the time, they are able to see a lot more of my mistakes as I make them.

Today, I left the room while boiling eggs. I completely forgot I was cooking until I heard a loud banging noise. I thought the kids were hitting the wall with a stool or book or... I really couldn't imagine why they were making such a racket. When they yelled through the house that they weren't doing anything, I came to investigate and found my eggs like this. The banging noise I heard? Eggs exploding and popping all over the kitchen.

I am also reminded that even though we all learn through our experiences, we can forget and may need to re-learn some lessons. Things I re-learned today and hope my kids learned too:
1) Always set a timer when working in the kitchen
2) Exploding eggs are very loud and go very far (I was still finding bits and pieces hours later)
3) Forgive yourself for making a mistake you know you should have been able to avoid
4) No one's hurt? Then laugh!

Fun with Colloids

My daughter likes chemistry, so I asked her to pick out an experiment she'd like to do. She picked colloids. We whipped up a batch of Goop for both kids and played all morning. My son refused to get his hands dirty, he hates the feeling, so he played carefully with a spoon.

Recipe: Makes enough for 1 child…..

1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
small bowl, tin pie plate, etc.more water
Food coloring (if desired)

Add the water to the corn starch in a small bowl, tin pie plate, etc. Mix it together using your hands. If you need to add more water, add just a couple of drops (especially after playing with it for awhile).

Brains for Lunch

We finally began our first unit for the fall, brains. In our normal thematic unit fashion, we studied books and videos found in the library and on line. Here we are dividing the brain into their left and right hemispheres using cauliflower and food coloring. Then one brain shows the different lobes (frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital). The other brain shows the cerebellum and the brain stem. 

You Take The Summer Off, Right?

I get these questions a lot. Will you take the summer off? Will you school through the summer? Well, my answer is, "Yes!" and, "I don't know." to both. I feel that we have changed the way we live our daily lives. Slowing down, answering questions and really focusing on the process and not the product as much. Therefore, we will continue this life style through summer, and honestly, I hope for the rest of our lives.

However, I did put away the math and other curriculums and replaced it with lots of out door activities. We live in an area where it rains a lot in the winter, so I feel we must get out and enjoy every last bit of sunshine when we can.

So, when one parent in the homeschooling community said she was going to host an Egg Drop,  I decided to not participate. I didn't want to take the time to research, create, or build anything for an Egg Drop. It is summer, my brain is ready for a break. But, then I got a call from another parent saying she is doing it with another friend and would I like to drop my oldest off to create something within a few casual hours? Hmmm, this sounded good, so I dropped my daughter off and when I picked her up, she had her egg drop container all built and ready to go.

Today, we went to the Egg Drop and my daughter dropped her container from 10 feet and from 15 feet. Her egg survived both drops! Not bad for summer, right?

Crystals Stick Together

As the Easter holiday came around, I saw a lot of suggestions for egg crafts and activities. I was intrigued by one in particular, how to make your own geode in an egg shell. There were a few websites out there, and many of them pointed to Martha Stewart's Crystal Egg Geodes. I wanted to try it, mostly just for the fun of it, and besides, they are so pretty!

A few months ago, a few kids from our homeschooling community participated in a Science Fair. One of the kids did her study on crystals and we happen to be friends with her family. So, I called her mom up and asked if they'd like to make these geodes with us and would her daughter feel comfortable sharing her science fair display and knowledge with us again? She answered, "Yes!"

Her oldest daughter brought her display to our home. She then explained to us about what she learned while studying crystals. How they form. The different kinds. Where to find them.

After learning about crystals, we all got to make our own in the egg shells I had prepared the night before. A few days later, we were able to hold the beautifully colored crystals the kids had made.

Comets, Bubbles and More

Can't wait for Halley's Comet?

Then make your own! As part of our first unit study, on the solar system, we learned about asteroids and comets. We decided to end the unit by making our own comets with dry ice, sand, and salt. It was a learning experience for me as well, seeing as I had never purchased dry ice before. The store clerk wasn't too enthusiastic in figuring out how to make 5 pounds out of the small pie

ces they had, so I took a 10 pound bag and we made the most of every ounce!

Hands on experience:

We invited the cousins (yes, my brother and sister-in-law are homsechooling their children too, lucky us!) to join us to help create the comet. Having only four children in our "class", allowed each one of them to really get hands on experience instead of just watching the experiment happen. And because we had so much ice, we were able to do the experiment more than one time, make a giant bubble with soap, and more.