Busy Wednesday

Today, we usually have our standing playdate but they are out of town visiting family so we had to find something else to do.

We did our schoolwork, went to Taekwondo and then made St. Patrick's Day cards.

Late in the afternoon, we headed to Roxborough library for Slick Science.  This month was Lights.  They made a kaleidoscope, and sun prints.  

 I got to sit and read some magazines that I won't purchase.  I just read them while at the library.  I took a picture of this page because the numbers were fascinating.

After the class, I hurried the kids home to eat before we headed to Taekwondo.  Then it was home to bed.  I love Taekwondo nights.  The kids fall asleep so quickly and easily.

More cleaning and then fun

Today, we cleaned the dining room which ended up being a bigger chore because Andrew and I had to take the vacuum apart 2 times to get it to work.  First, Andrew found a clog in the hose.  So we tried to get it out by trying to get our fingers to the clog but finally we took it to the garage and blew some air from the compressor into it.  We finally got it out.

We went back inside to vacuum again and then the bottom wasn't picking up anything so we took it apart and found another big clog.  What a mess.

Finally, we were finished, ate our lunch and headed out to pick up a friend to take to Presentation Club.  Skylar was at a friends house for a playdate.

This was another attempt at a new group to check it out.  We were a little disappointed but learned some things and got to play freeze tag and statues with a large group of kids (like 35).  We watched some incredible speeches that were memorized and the kids looked at the audience and spoke clearly.  Then there was the other extreme.  We couldn't hear a thing even with a microphone, mumbling and unprepared.  I was disappointed because no one spoke to us.  No one came to introduce themselves or ask if we were new.

After the meeting, we raced home to get a quick bite of dinner before heading to the library for a science class event.  I thought it was going to be our typical 4 tables set up with experiments for the kids to delve into but they switched it up tonight.

The presentation was by Mad Science,  He started with some MOVEMENT to introduce the topic.  They all danced.  Very cute!

Then the show started.  This was Pom pom Sally with short arms and long legs.  He would turn it over to make her arms long but the legs would stay long.  It cracked everyone up.

Then he talked about balanced meals.  He tried to balance different types of cereals on a table.  One box fell completely off.  The box of Wheaties stayed on by an edge and then this box stayed well balanced on this tray.  The kids figured out how he did it.  Magnets.

Then he started talking about Newton's Laws of Motion.  Here he is telling them about equal and opposite reactions - Newton's Third Law of Motion.

Andrew loved this.  I could hear his laugh above all the other kids.

Then he used this contraption to demonstrate Newton's Second Law of Motion

Andrew got to help demonstrate this thing but I can't get the video to load tonight.  I will try again tomorrow and let everyone know if I get to add it here.

Finally, he demonstrated this crazy thing.  It was loud but cool.

Again, I can't get the video to load - I will try again.

We went home after the presentation and went to bed.  It was another full day.  Tomorrow we are going to the Post Office for a tour.

Girl Scout Cool Science

Today, Cairn and I headed to Colorado Springs to the Air Force Academy for the Junior level of Cool Science.  Remember, Skylar did her level on this day.

We almost missed it though - we were the last people to show up for the walk over to the labs.  We are also the only girls from her troop.  No one else goes - they just don't know what they are missing.

First, Cairn worked on learning about circuits, electricity and batteries.

Cairn quickly found a partner and they got right to work.  They had to figure out how to connect the wires and the battery and the bulb.  A lot of trial and error but they had fun.

Then they had to get electricity from a potato.  A potato doesn't really conduct electricity it is only a carrier - they put a piece of copper and magnesium into the potato, hooked up the wires and made a diode light up.

Next they headed off to make Barbie bungee jump.  They used rubber bands, a scatterplot graphing to determine the number of rubber bands needed to let Barbie fall but not hit her head.  First, was three feet - only 5 rubber bands.

 Then 5 feet and they needed 12 rubber bands.

Finally, it was the big test - how many rubber bands for a 14 feet, 8 inches drop?

The first few groups went and poor Barbie headed off to the emergency room with a traumatic head injury.  Cairn and her partner were right on with 40 rubber bands.

They were very proud.

Finally, the girls got a snack and then got to enjoy the chemistry magic show.  It was the same one as for Skylar so I had seen it but it was still a lot of fun to watch.

Cairn and I had a great day.  We listened to a book on tape (American Girl: Felicity) on the drives and learned a lot about the Boston Tea Party, and why the colonists were no longer loyalists to the King of England.  It was amazing how history seems to be repeating itself.

Cold and snow for our busy day

Today we were out the door early because I had my dance class.

After dance we went home to do some schoolwork before our Tasty Science co-op.  We made cupcakes and made pop explode and tried to write a secret message.

After the co-op we went home to finish school and rest before our big night out at the museum.  It started snowing about 3 PM just like they said it would.  By 4:30 when we left to get Dad the roads were icy and had some snow.  We drove by a rollover accident right by our house.  I tried to stop at the next light and I slide quite a ways.  I called Dad to tell him that if the highway wasn't better then we would turn around and go home.

The highway was just wet and loaded with cars.  It took us 1 hour and 20 minutes to drive to Dad's work.  Normally, a 40 minute drive.

We finally made it to the museum.  The only thing open was the Mastodon and Mammoth event for members only.  It was wonderful.  The kids took their time and enjoyed all the exhibits.  They had many 3 minute videos about different aspects of the mastodons and mammoths or about archaeology.  The kids got to touch a lot of things and manipulate exhibits too.  I didn't take a camera because we have been to enough of the special exhibits to know that they never allow cameras inside.  There were some books I would have liked to purchase.  We drove home in more snow.

Made it home by 9:15 and the kids were in bed by 10 PM.

2 days and it is working

I went to the foot doctor this morning and my foot is healed and ready for shoes again.  I took several pairs of shoes that I already own and asked if they were good enough.  None were except on occasion but not for an entire day. Since none of my shoes worked I had to leave the office in my boot.  She said not to go straight from the boot to regular shoes without some rest time.  That would be a lot for my foot to handle.

I stopped by the grocery store since I was by myself and did some shopping.  When I got home I let N and C's sister know the kids could come down.  While we waited for them, we worked on school - piano and games.

When the kids arrived I got Cairn and N playing Pay Day without cash - they had to use a check register to keep track of their money.  N didn't like that too much but he played for a bit.  I wanted them to do 3 months but N quit after 1.

While they played a game, I had the other 3 working on a science experiment - still on air.  We put a straw on a string and tied the string between 2 chairs.  Then I would blow up the balloon, attach it to the straw and it would zoom from one chair to the other.  I had the kids working on why the balloon moves and does the direction of the balloon have anything to do with what happens.  At first they thought it was the size of the balloon - how much air I put in it decided the direction.  Eventually, they got it.  The air coming out of the balloon is what is forcing the balloon to move in the opposite direction.

In the afternoon, I took the girls out to help me get my new shoes and then take them to the American Girl store for their celebration of their new doll, Saige.  I left the boys home with Dad.

First, we had to get pictures with Saige.

 Then we worked on some crafts.

 A hot air balloon.

 Then the girls did a mosiac horse.  Cairn isn't feeling well so we headed home afterwards because she was all out of energy.

When we got home, the boys came running up to me - "we did a science experiment."

What did you do?

We filled this glass with tons of ice and then we put it under the fireplace and it melted really really fast.

What did you think it was going to do?

Well, we knew it was going to melt but we thought it would take a while and feel the water - it is still cold.

Both boys were very excited about their experiment and I was really proud they used their senses to investigate more in depth.  We had talked about that during the week.  I need to add in some scientific words like hypothesis, data collection, and conclusion to build the intrigue of science even more.

When we got home everyone went off to play while Cairn read and rested by the fire with me and my foot.  Suddenly, Skylar and C come running down.  "We did a science experiment."

What did you do?

We mixed 2 colors and made gray.


So what worked today?  Science is coming out of our ears now - the kids are super excited about science they are conducting experiments and looking for science around them.  Just a little change in our school has brought this on.

When I talked to Nana and Cappy about what had happened they said, "that's good we need more kids in science."  True - so true.

I added a couple pictures to January 2nd.

5 kid day

Today, we had N and C.  There are still on break from school so I invited them to spend the day with us.  N loves to go to the Museum of Nature and Science so we put that on the schedule plus school.  We started the day playing Wii while the kids worked individually with me until we were ready for our science experiments.  Andrew worked on learning how to tell time to the hour and reviewed his states he learned yesterday.  Cairn worked on typing and state shapes.  Skylar was still asleep.

They watched the science video from the Happy Scientist about what is science again.  I really want to get in their heads that science is about observations and experiments within the natural world and all around us. We talked about hot air and cold air.  I emphasized that cold air contracts and sinks - not just that is sinks and hot air expands and rises.

Then we did an experiment about which candle will go our first when they are place under a short glass and a tall glass.  They all predicted they would go out at the same time.

 They quickly learned that the shorter glass runs out of oxygen first and the flame goes out.

The Happy Scientist had a video about a short candle and taller candle and which one goes out first if they are inside the same container.  They all predicted the shorter candle would go out first.  They were super surprised when the taller one went out.  But the Happy Scientist did a great job of explaining why.  I wish I could link everyone to the videos but it is a member only site for many of the videos.  I think it is well worth the $20 a year for access to all these incredible videos, experiments and blogs that he writes daily.  More then we will ever be able to cover.

Finally, we did an experiment with baking soda and vinegar.  They all agreed the candle would go out but some thought it was because I would pour the vinegar on the flame - yep that would definitely put out the flame.  Others weren't sure but knew it would go out.

So after watching the flame go out with the resulting bubbles being made they realized that gas made the candle go out.  Which gas?  What gas was created?  They didn't know but they liked learning about carbon dioxide.

After our experiments we headed to the museum where it was SUPER SUPER crowded.  We won't be going back on another break again - we didn't get to enjoy our visits like we usually do.  Even N was disappointed.

We got home and I just let the kids play with each other.  They were having fun and playing nicely except the occasional argument.

Everyone went to bed early and tired.  I asked Andrew about what he learned today at bedtime.  He said he learned about oxygen.  What about oxygen?  If there isn't enough oxygen, then a fire will go out.

Bingo!

Great start!

We had a good day today.  Everyone got their schoolwork finished and most of the time they were excited to do it.  Andrew loved his Clever Dragons and he practice counting, matching lowercase and uppercase letters and naming states.  I would read the state name, tell him where it was the first time and then in the next round when it repeated he would remember where it was on the map.  I knew he learned something when tonight while watching Hotel Impossible he recognized the state they were in - Florida.  He remembered that he had that on his game today.  If I had a map in front of him he probably could have found it.

We learned about gravity, air pressure and surface tension during Science.  We also watched a video that gave us a definition of science - do you know what the kids remembered about that video?  The blooper he had at the end where the teacher hurts his finger but none of them could give me a definition of science.  Guess I need to work on what to pay attention to during videos and the purpose of the videos.  Cairn did remember what surface tension meant and she remembered the formula (PIr2) - she can't tell you what it was for but she remembered the formula.

We played Pay Day and Cairn did all of her transactions in a check register.  She did a lot of practicing of adding and subtracting large numbers.  Skylar worked on simple addition (I took off the zeroes).  Andrew worked on paying attention and rolling dice correctly.  He tends to throw them in the air so they go all over the room.  We never finished the game so there was no winner or losers.

I started reading the Adventures of Robin Hood.  It was very interesting - the girls were coloring quietly at the table, Andrew was laying on me.  Everyone was perfectly quiet and they really listened.  After reading, I asked several questions and everyone knew the answers.  Late afternoon is a good time for read aloud time because everyone needs to slow down some and this was a good activity.  I used to read at lunch and it was tough getting everyone to listen - they were so busy moving and ready to do the next activity.

We also started learning about the Orchestra.  The first piece we listened to was Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries.  We learned that it is an opera about nine fairies who collect fallen heroes.  So I found this video.  We watched most of the it.  The kids really didn't like the opera singing but they loved the orchestra music.  They asked lots of questions about what was going on in the video.

Andrew also had a dentist appointment today to fill his one cavity.  He was very good.  He barely moved while they worked on him and he got a lot of compliments.  He doesn't like the way his tooth feels now and tonight when I felt it it did feel really rough.  I will call the dentist tomorrow to see if they can smooth it out.  It is the sides of the tooth that are rough - not the top where they put the filling.  He talked to me tonight about not wanting to do that again.  No more candy and lots of teeth brushing is what I told him.

The only thing we didn't get to today was starting our study of Colorado.  I can easily move that to tomorrow.

School, try-outs, piano and a movie

Cairn woke up early, got dressed and came downstairs and got to work before she had even eaten her breakfast.  She did a math lesson on story problems with area and perimeter.  She took a spelling test, and a Spanish test and got ready for her piano solo.  She was finished by 10:30 again.

Skylar struggled with staying on task.  She did take a language skills test and aced it and read her phonics book.  She loves to read to us now and Andrew likes that Skylar can read to him and she wants to read to him.

Andrew worked on Reading Eggs.

After we had a snack of popcorn I got everyone working on some of our science experiments.  First, we crushed some ice and put it in a plastic bottle.  It was supposed to cave in but it didn't.  I don't know what we did wrong but we will try again tomorrow.  Then I read a chapter about atoms and molecules.  I pulled out the periodic table and we found different elements.  We found out what the numbers mean.  We acted like neutrons, electrons and protons too.  Then we started working on our buckyball.  We couldn't get it to work either so we will try that again tomorrow with Dad's help.  Finally, we created a water molecule model and talked about how different atoms attract.

Our Girl Scout troop had their flag team try-outs and Cairn made it on the team.  Skylar is an alternate.  It was so beautiful outside we held try-outs outside.  Only the roofers next door thought we were a little crazy, everyone else on the street figured it was just us.

Cairn had piano tonight and struggled through her solo - she forgot the chords -so she will try again next week.  She was pretty upset about it.

We came home and while I made dinner we turned on a holiday movie to get everyone into the giving spirit.  It was just a nice evening.

This weekend looks to be beautiful and busy.

Buckyballs

We are working on learning about atoms, molecules and matter.  We started putting together a Buckyball today (better known as buckminsterfullerene)

What is a Buckyball?  It is a carbon molecule made up of 20 hexagons and and twelve pentagons.

 First, we made our pentagons.  We make 2 red and 9 green ones.  We used gummy bears and toothpicks - the directions said to use gum drops but you could only use 2 colors.  I wasn't sure how I would get gum drops in just 2 colors so I got a large bag of gummy bears from Sam's

After we made our pentagons, we were supposed to start attaching them and making some hexagons and it was supposed to bowl up so it would start making a ball.  We grew frustrated after about 20 minutes and it wasn't making a bowl or a ball.  We decided to wait until Dad got home to see if he could help us.

For more information about the Buckyball you can go here or here.  There are even Buckyball toys but most seem to have been discontinued for some reason - it appears to be safety.

We had a lot of fun trying to make it and the kids ate some gummy bears but even though we didn't make it completely we learned a lot.

Cool Science Day at the Air Force Academy

Skylar and I headed off to the Springs to go to the Air Force Academy to do a Cool Science Day for Daisy's and Brownies.  No one else from her troop was going so it was just the 2 of us - no tagalongs allowed.

It was fairly nice when we got there so we took a group photo.

 Then we walked for about 15 minutes through a whole variety of places that you don't usually get to see when you visit the academy.

We finally made it to the Chemistry Lab and Skylar got started on her first experiment - Paper Towers.  The goal was to build it strong enough to hold several chemistry textbooks.

The final count - watch and see!

After paper towers we went to food chemistry - first we made butter.

Then we put food coloring in milk and then touched the center with dishwashing soap.  Check out the star.

 Then it was time for Skylar to get angry and stab a potato with a straw.

We all know that angry face and it worked!

 She did it!

Then we made orange juice soda by adding baking soda to orange juice.  It was disgusting!!

 Then we made ice cream by adding liquid nitrogen to milk.  Skylar got some on her finger but she still stirred and made some - she ate a little - it was good but she didn't want to get a tummy ache.

After a little food chemistry we headed over to Alka-Seltzer rockets.

After we worked in the lab we went into the stairwell to see how high the rockets actually go.  Over 15 feet!!  This is Skylar moving away from the rocket after putting it together.

After all our experiments, we headed to a chemistry classroom for a magic show.  Check out these videos.  I wish I could have recorded all of it.  I learned a lot but can't remember all the things he said.

After the magic show, we got our fun patch and another experiment to do at home and then we walked back to the car - the 15 minute walk in the frigid wind, watching the snow clouds coming over the mountain.  Skylar was so excited she talked the whole back to the car, going over every experiment she did.  She talked almost the whole way home too but finally fell asleep after about 20 minutes.

As soon as we got home she was back to talking and wanting everyone to see exactly what she did.  I got out a potato and a straw.  I got out the milk, food coloring and soap.  Now I am doing research about more experiments.  She is excited and I don't want to lose that.  She said a couple times today she wants to go to the school at the Academy.

School, piano and Slick Science

Cairn has had a complete turnaround in her behavior, attitude and sweetness.  I have been reading the book, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and it is all small stuff to her at night before bed for several days.  I read one section a night.  Sometimes we discuss and sometimes I just let her think it over.  Like tonight, we read, "Choose your battles wisely."  (Good parenting advice too.)  We were able to come up with several examples of when she makes a big deal out of something a sibling did that could have been ignored.

Anyway, she has been exceptionally kind to her brother, she has completed her schoolwork with little prompting and her attitude has just been joyful.  Even her piano teacher commented on her behavior and attitude in class today.  It was Andrew's class but she always checks in on Cairn after the weekend.  Cairn has her class on Friday so we have had 4 days to practice her homework so she asks if Cairn has any questions.  Then today, after I said we were doing good she said that she had noticed that Cairn has a great attitude in class and she can tell she has more confidence in her piano skills these days.

Speaking of Andrew's piano class - he did great again today.  He was on task, followed directions and is really starting to speak up in class.  Even when the teacher doesn't hear him answer correctly, I do and he gets 90% of the questions right.  He understands rhythm and can clap his notes very well.

In school, Cairn worked on learning about triangles (acute, obtuse, right and equilateral, scalene and isoclese.  She loved it because she is so visual that she can see all those and understand.  She completed her math assignment completely on her own after a 5 minute talk and watching a video from Khan Academy (thanks again, Cappy).  She started a new History unit on the Renaissance, read about Louis Pasteur and played a spelling game, The Great Word Race.

Everyone got to play actually.  I put the words together for Andrew and then I slowly said their sounds he had guessed the word.  This is a higher level skill for him.  You really have to phonetic awareness to hear the words.  For example,  I would say, /s/......../i/ (short i)....../t/.  He loved it.  For Skylar, I would give her a chance to find a word and if she couldn't, I would put a word together and she would read it.  Cairn had to do it all on her own and you know what?  She even found some more difficult words - suit, feet - instead of just sit or get.  Cairn even had a great attitude and didn't complain about me helping the littles, she seemed to understand I was teaching them at their level.  We had a great time playing for 30 minutes.

Skylar worked on Reading Eggs, counting to 20, vocabulary words for family and friends and handwriting.

Andrew worked on counting to 10 and recognizing that even when you move the items around it is still the same number.  For example, I laid his number line on the floor and we counted white beads.  We would put on bead on each number, then we would talk about how many we had.  Then I would take them off the board and ask how many there were now?  It took one time for him to realize that the number didn't change.  The second time, we put them on the number line, took them off and then I would put them into different shapes or organize them in different patterns and he got it - the number is still the same.  He was proud.  He also worked on cutting, tracing lines, folding and puzzles.

After school, Cairn had a Slick Science class at the local library and they learned about rocks.  I wish I could have stayed in the class with her but I had to take the other 2 out.  She made a fossil, a model of the earth out of clay with a core, mantle and crust.  She also glued different types of rocks onto a sheet of paper that was labeled.  The librarian gave everyone a geode to take home to break open too.