Jul. 1, 2008 - Crawdad Video
The title tells exactly what this post is on. I uploaded a very short video to youtube from the kids crawdad hunting a few days ago. See here for the post.
This post is really for any curious kids who want to see what a live crawdad looks like and to see how they move. It really was neat to see them moving and scuttling backwards. Hope some 9 year old boy enjoys this post!
Jun. 30, 2008 - "Sweet" Vines
We have had a science experiment going on for 5 weeks now. We saw this blog and borrowed the idea. We began with a white potato and a sweet potato immersed them both in a mason jar full of water and 
We kept watch and finally on day 10 the sweet potato began to grow roots and shoots. The white potato looked like a potato the whole time, no change. (Very boring in fact, so I tossed it out this weekend) :0
I was surprised at how much the sweet potato would change overnight. It grew many thin white, almost translucent roots that just dangled in the jar of water. Then it sent up shoots with the promise of leaves.
I had to move the "plant" to another container so it wouldn't be so crowded.
John finally had mercy on the plant and planted it in the front yard.
This was my kind of experiment, simple, clean and not so smelly!
May. 29, 2008 - An Acid and a Base
My kids love messes! It must be some inbred predisposition to create disorder from Mommy's orderly world. So today's mess was a concoction of baking soda and apple cider vinegar. It's a good thing I buy baking soda from Sam's Club in bulk because they used up lots of it. They ransacked the recycling bin for a plactic #1 bottle and preceeded to mix it up out on the back porch. This may be the first time the girls have seen this happen because they were very interested. The boys wanted to see what would happen if they corked the top with their hand or some other object. If I had had a balloon it would have ben even better.
So a liter of vinegar and several cups of baking soda later, the kids run off and leave me with a mess to clean up! :)
At least we covered our chemistry requirement for the day! 
For those of you who don't know me please read that last statement with lots of sarcasm. I fall into the homeschooling group that doesn't think elementary aged kids should be given worksheets and textbooks as their primary means of education. Hands on play, lots of reading, cool field trips, everyday life, and letting them follow their natural curiosity are all part of our homeschooling philosophy. We may be the only family who falls into this "group" but I don't care. 
We wrap all of our parenting choices in prayer to the One who knows the plan for our kids' lives.
May. 7, 2008 - Solar S'mores
I win the mother of the year award for today's fun learning. Ü
The boys made "solar ovens" at a science workshop yesterday. They took black poster board and taped aluminum foil to one side. Then they gently rolled it into a cone. This cone was put into an open shoe box, for support. They said they made nachos yesterday and today we made s'mores!
We took all our ingredients and assembled them on a foil lined plate and "baked" our smores. They had a real life application of the sun's heat and learned about the reflective qualities of foil.
My eyes are still seeing spots! It was such a sunny afternoon that the chocolate melted swiftly. As a mature and wise teacher I saw fit to sample the fare before allowing the kids a taste. I would never want them to eat something harmful.
Anyway, like I said earlier I taught my kids a little about their world and won the mommy of the year award. They will fall asleep tonight with chocolate on the lips and a sparkle in their eyes!
May. 5, 2008 - What is this?
Does anyone know what this is? I know a moth but what kind? It got into our sunroom last night and John chased it around the room with a book to swoosh it back outside. It made it back out safe and sound and gave us a great laugh.
