Golden Acorn Homeschool

On Tuesday, we did one of the experiments from our book “Science Lab in a Supermarket.”  We read a section about fruits and vegetables, and then learned how water travels though capillaries in plants.

First, I demonstrated this principle for the girls using water and paper towels.

Then, we moved on to celery and food coloring.  :-)

We waited a few hours, checking on our veggie often, and finally we saw this…

EW!  Celery capillaries full of really blue water.

This lead to some interesting discussions about human veins and capillaries, and how blood flows, what it does, and why it’s so important.  The kids were excited to be making an “army against swine flu” in their bodies.  LOL!

We *heart* science.  :-)

On the 9th we had a chance to go down to DC and see the houses participating in the solar decathlon.  We got there a little late and didn’t get to see as many houses as we wanted to, but we still had a good time and learned some interesting things.

We also dipped into the American History museum and were able to participate in a great science class.  The teacher was great and the kids learned a lot about carbon dioxide, acids and bases.

Hooray for hands on learning!

We decided to make smog/fog yesterday in a spur of the moment science  project.  This ideas is from the book, “101 Cool Science Experiments” with Glen Singleton.

For this experiment you will need:
A glass jar
A piece of paper
Matches or a Lighter
Water
Tin Foil
Ice Cubes

Gather all of your supplies. Tear off a piece of foil big enough to cover the jar like a lid. Places 2-3 ice cubes on top of the foil to cool it while you prepare the rest of the experiment. Rip a strip of paper (lengthwise) and twist it into a makeshift wick. Take the jar to the sink and run some water in, making sure you wet all the sides of the jar, and then pour the water out. Light the paper wick and place it in the jar, cover with the foil lid, and place the ice cubes on the top.

It can be a little tricky keeping the paper lit as you drop it in the jar, and I actually folded in in half to the flame would not be sticking out. If it all goes well, the jar will begin to fill with smog/fog.

And here you can see our “smog” escaping.  This was pretty fun, and I decided to teach a class on smog/pollution and do this experiment with our co-op in April.  I can’t wait!

Super-boy has been asking about density lately.  We’ve talked about water being denser than air, and then I asked him about oil, and syrup.  He told me he believed oil would be heavier than water AND syrup, so we put it to the test.

Whenever he does a science experiment, I make him fill out an experiment report, and he ALWAYS complains about having to do it.  Today was no exception.  As soon as I pulled out the paper he whined about having to fill it out when all he wanted to do was pour some water and oil into a glass.  I explained why scientists use a method for experimenting, and how important it was to carefully document what you do when you carry out an experiment.  He was still balking, so I pulled out the old loaf of bread, peanut butter, and jelly and I asked him to instruct me on how to make a PB&J sandwich.  Let me tell you, we had a lot of laughs over this.  He realized very quickly how precise his instructions needed to be in order for me to make the sandwich.  I had a teacher who did that with our class once, at about the same age, and it left an impression on me.  Clearly it made one on Super-boy too, because he filled out the experiment report without any further complaints!  YAY!

It was pretty fun and we enjoyed quite a few giggles when I pretended to drink the water & oil mix.  :-D

I just ordered the book “The Fairy-Land of Science” by Arabella Buckley on the recommendation of another CM mama. She said her eight year old daughter is enthralled with it, and she posted an excerpt of the book. It’s fab! So I am anxiously awaiting that from amazon.com, and two other books I will need for Super-boy for next year. My plan to is to start getting his Year 2 books a little at a time now, so the expense won’t build up, and the only thing I will need to order this summer is his math curriculum, and Diva’s! It does not seem possible that she will be a kinder this fall. Where has the time gone?

Anyway, I am getting off track! At the homeschool estore this week, is a free excerpt of “The Fairy-Land of Science.” For those of you who might be interested in the book, it’s a nice sneak preview of the life of a primrose. Go on and snap it up while you can!

To be honest though, this book is in the public domain now and can be downloaded and printed from Project Gutenberg. I just hate reading etexts, and find the cost of printing and binding the book myself to be about the same as buying the book. Ink for my printer is NOT cheap! But for those of you who find this a good option, have at it. This book is amazing, really, really!

Our special study this week is atoms and molecules. I wanted to build an atom with Super-boy, but lacking the appropriate materials today, we opted for building molecules after a brief discussion on atoms. This subject, by the way, is totally Super-boy’s idea. While I did enjoy chemistry the most out of all the sciences, it’s not an area that I would naturally gravitate too. He, however, found several websites for children that deal with atoms and molecules on his own time, and checked out a book from the library that I am currently using. He has also recently informed me that he wants to be a scientist. I think I can handle that. :-)

We built the molecule methane, since it’s a simple carbon/hydrogen molecule, CH4. Once Super-boy had that one figured out, he moved onto ethane, C2H6. We used the book diagrams for building those two.

For the grand finale, I wrote down the chemical formula for propane on a sheet of paper, C3H8. He looked at the formula on the paper and made the molecule. Maybe I am overreacting, but that seems pretty cool. At the very least, he has a very basic idea of how atoms bond to form molecules, and that there is a certain way you write that down to represent it. This and Shakespeare all in one day!

(I should add that we do an adapted form of Shakespeare, lest you think my children are some kind of geniuses. We read the plot and act it out with paper dolls, and sometimes ourselves when the mood strikes. I was pleased that they were able to relate the main points to daddy over dinner this evening.)

I want to blog…I really, really want to! However, trying to find the time to blog right now is just not easy.

The house is mostly decorated for the holidays, and we will be getting our tree this weekend and decorating that. I am busy with the kids and running the household, trying to finish up writing exam questions, and fitting in the last two weeks of work that we got behind on, in as short a time as possible, so we can enjoy December. That means more science, PE and music. I seem to be running a little short in these areas after looking over what we have done. The Burgess Bird Book did not pan out like I wanted, and that was a large chunk of this term’s science. I am considering switching to the Burgess Animal Book for our 2nd term and trying birds again later. Or, I am considering getting a nice feeder and some black sunflower seeds and trying winter bird feeding to see if it sparks the interest of my children. They are, by far, more interested in other animals, and Super-boy is into space exploration. We have been watching a LOT of the science channel lately. Which reminds me, I need to go back and write down all of those shows for his portfolio.

We still need to wrap up Ben Franklin, and I would like to do at least two of Ben’s experiments as we finish to give a little more life to his narrative. I found a great book at the library with tons of his experiments.

I am feeling a bit panicked. I have no idea when my first review letter will come from the county. They can review me up to three times a year, but everyone I have spoken to says it’s typically twice a year. Also, last year the reviewers were completely overwhelmed with how many homeschoolers there are, and some parents were speculating that the county might only be able to cover one review each year. I dare to hope! It seems unlikely that I will get to finish the entire year before being reviewed, but you never know I guess. Today, the full weight of my child’s education is resting rather heavily on my shoulders, and although I do want to continue, those little doubts are niggling in. I hear this is normal too.