Today, I did a science experiment all about salt and lettuce!  What a strange combination!

I began by putting some water into two bowls and adding quite a bit of salt to one of them -

As you can see, the Olympic Games was on TV in the background, but it didn't distract me at all!

I then took some lettuce and put one leaf into each bowl -

This is the lettuce in the bowl of salty water, and this is the lettuce in plain water -

We then left the lettuce in the water for 30 minutes (during which time we actually did watch the Olympics more carefully!).

After the 30 minutes was up, I lifted each lettuce leaf out of its bowl to see if they had changed at all.  The lettuce leaf that had been in the salty water had wilted (become limp).

Whereas, the lettuce leaf that had been soaking in the clear water had not changed - it was still as crisp as it was when it went into the bowl.

Why was this?  Lettuce is crisp because of water in its cells.  Cells in lettuce (like the cells in our bodies) are surrounded by a selectively permeable membrane - a barrier that lets some, but not all, materials to pass through.  Water moves through this barrier in the direction of lower water concentration.  When I added salt to the water, the water concentration went down and water from inside the lettuce cells moved out of the cells through the membranes into the salty water.  This is what made the lettuce wilt!

I think my friend, Joanna (who was not allowed to canoe on the lake because she was too young), had the right idea! She kept to dry ground the whole time!

It has been so hot here lately that I was really happy to do my Science "lesson" last Thursday.  I was looking at what happened when different liquids were frozen - boy, was it fun!  I started off by freezing some water in an ice lolly (popsicle)  mould over night.  Then, I mixed up a soft drink and added some sugar to the mixture - then that was also frozen over night.

The next morning, I took the frozen lollies out of the freezer and had a good look at them - the frozen water looked like a giant ice cube with white lines running through it; the frozen drink looked totally different.

Than came the fun part - I got to bite into the lollies.  The frozen water was very difficult to bite into, I almost broke my teeth!

The frozen drink was much easier to bite and it also tasted much more refreshing on a hot day.

The reason?  The sugar I added to the drink made the molecules less easy to bind together - so the lolly was easier to bite into!

There are a few bits of news that I have to share with you all.

1. I had a hair-cut (I was starting to look like Samson in the Bible!).

2. I got my 200metres swimming badge at my swimming club.

3. I won a photo scavenger hunt run by a HomeSchool group (I got 19 out of the 30 items).  My prize arrived today - a game, a jigsaw and a "Countries of the World" Info-disc.

4. I went to a Sports Day yesterday afternoon and got a certificate, a small trophy and a bookmark.  I also made two new friends (John and Barnabas).

5. Yesterday evening, I took my Radio Amateur's Foundation exam and passed!  Hurray!  I got 22 questions out of 25 right.  Now all I need is a radio set!!

Lots of great things to celebrate.

This will be the last project I do on my MSPaint Art course.  It was fun to do, but I did struggle when trying to draw the Curves.  Even Mum found it difficult to do!  Otherwise, I think I did pretty well.

My Mum's friend, deedeeuk has a competition running at her blog at the moment - and it's only for people in Europe!  Here are the details from her blog -

So, the question is…….is there anyone out there who’d be interested in winning a one year, level one language course in one of 14 languages??? (They actually do programs in 31 languages, but only 14 are available yet in version 3) 

Here is a bit more about the program in case you aren’t familiar with it.

‘In case you've not heard, Rosetta Stone has just launched the first 14 languages of its new Homeschool foreign language curriculum in the UK.  The new curriculum is available in three levels for each of the 14 languages released.  This is not just the same Rosetta Stone program redone, it's an all new curriculum.  Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3 includes a headset with microphone, and students must participate in lifelike conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program.  Of course Rosetta Stone still incorporates listening, reading and writing as well in addition to speaking.  Many homeschoolers requested grammar and vocabulary exercises, and with Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3, they're included!  For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program and allow parents to easily enroll students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, and view and print reports.  Rosetta Stone has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers, and it doesn't look like that's going to change any time soon.’ 

You can also check out the Rosetta Stone website at http://www.rosettastone.co.uk/home_education/ to read all about the program and to see the full list of languages available. To mention a few though, you can get a course in Irish, or if you are interested in a course in English you can choose if you want ‘American’ or ‘British’ English! LOL!  Maybe I should get the course in British English!  Also the traditional languages studied in schools like French, German and Spanish.

This course usually costs £145, but to the winner of my contest a level one course in the language of their choice will be absolutely *FREE*! (And you all know how much I love that word!)

So, what do you have to do to have a chance of winning the fabulously amazing prize? First of all you have to leave me a comment on this post(www.homeschoolblogger.com/deeedeeuk/549007/), and just to make it more fun tell me what languages you have studied or can speak (or not as the case may be!) Be sure to include your blog address where you can be reached or if you don’t have a blog, an email address so I can notify you if you are the winner! AND if you enter and leave an email address and you don’t win you will receive a special offer from Rosetta Stone! How cool is that?  So everyone who enters and leaves an email addy wins!! Whoo Hoo!!

You can double your chances of winning the full program and get two entries to the contest if you leave me a comment AND copy all of the highlighted (green) information and post it to your own blog, then post a link back to my blog at (www.homeschoolblogger.com/deedeeuk/549007/) to show where you blogged about it and to complete your entry.The contest will close at midnight on the 28th of June. The winner will be chosen at random (out of a hat!) on Sunday the 29th. Hurry up and enter everyone and be sure to spread the word!

I decided to give this creation the name of "ImpossiTower". 

This was a fun activity!

We had our Green Kids meeting yesterday at Chorlton Water Park.  This time we went pond-dipping.  We started off with a quick lesson from one of the rangers, Andy, who told us how to scoop things out of the pond and how to stay safe near the water.

I have my back to the camera, but you can still tell that I'm the biggest (and oldest) in the group!

We then split up into small groups and put whatever we had collected into trays.  We were able to take a closer look through a magnifier and made an attempt to identify each creature.  I caught a water-boatman and a ram's-horn water snail!

After we had had our fill of dipping in the pond, we went for a short walk along one of the forest trails to hunt for minibeasts (or bugs).

While I had lunch with the grown-ups, the younger children had a play-time on the playground equipment.

I am still having fun making pictures on MSPaint.  My latest masterpiece is a picture of a Chunky Robot.

I used the rectangle tool mostly. The only parts I needed help with were the hands because they had to be curved.  Once I'd drawn one arm, I just had to copy and paste another one and rotate it so that it was the other way round.  This was great, as I wouldn't have wanted to have to try and get both arms the same size!  I did the same with the legs and the antennae.

If I were to do this picture again, I'd like to be able to add some text on his front panel.

Today was my Dad's **st birthday, so Mum and me decided to take him out for lunch at one of his favourite restaurants.  Actually, he took us because Mum can't drive - but she and I shared the bill between us!

Here is Dad with his meal -

As you can see, he had a great big plate full of grilled meat - but he did go for the healthy option of adding a jacket potato instead of fries!

He had grilled gammon, grilled pork, grilled steak and a grilled lamb chop, a sausage, a grilled tomato, a grilled mushroom, peas and a jacket potato.  He also had a cup of coffee to go with his meal.

Here is Mum's meal -

She had a gammon steak with fries, two fried eggs and a slice of grilled pineapple. Her drink was very healthy - water!

I decided to go for my favourite - a chicken breast burger with fries (and definitely without any dressings!). I had a glass of orange "squash" with my meal.

We had a great time - we were there for over two hours!  As they say, "Time flies when you're having fun!".

I spent this morning at the Water Park on an introductory course - "Have a try at Canoeing!".  Some of our homeschool group went to a pre-booked session and it was FREE!!!

I really enjoyed myself - I was shown how to get in and out of the canoe, how to use the paddles and also how to turn in a circle, etc.  One lesson I got that the others didn't was - what to do if you fall in!!  That lesson was so good that I did it THREE times.  Boy, did I get wet!!

However, I was not put off at all - I just climbed back into my canoe and carried on!  The instructor thought that I'd been canoeing before as I didn't say, "That's it, I'm going!".  What I did say was, "Well, it's all part of the experience.  Where's my paddle?"  Our group leader thought that that showed a great strength of character - and my Mum and Dad were really proud, too!

Thankfully, we had remembered to bring a change of clothing and a towel.  My best friend, Declan had dry clothes, but no towel, so I let him use mine.  Another friend, Matt, had no dry clothes at all, but someone let him wear a pair of her son's trousers so he could get home in comfort.  When I got home, I had a hot bath and got rid of any "bugs" that might have been in the water!  Despite falling in, I wouldn't mind trying this out again!

Last Monday was our "Green Kids" Club day.  This time we had a visit from the Mobile Zoo - a man who brings animals around for children to see.  We had a wonderful time!

Here is a photo of me holding a blue-tongued skink:

It felt really strange in my hands, especially as it kept on moving!  Blue-tongued skinks come from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.  They are omnivores, but particularly like to eat fruit, molluscs and insects. 

The next creature I held was a snake.  It was a small snake and kept on rolling itself up into a ball!

Unfortunately, I have forgotten what type of snake this was.  As you can tell from my face, snakes are not my favourite creature (perhaps I could get the part of "Young Indiana Jones"?)

This snake was much bigger than the last one I held, it was also very heavy!

I couldn't even bear to look at it! I'm not much better in this photo:

Do you think I look scared, or what?

The final creature I held was much more my "cup of tea"! The Mobile Zoo man had brought a beautiful barn owl with him. I had to wear a special glove so that its talons wouldn't hurt my hand and the owl had a string attached to its leg so that it would always go back to its owner.

I loved the feel of the owl's feathers when I was stroking it, they were so soft! All in all, this was a very enjoyable day - everyone got to hold the creatures and everyone had fun!

I am going to write about how these two great generals of the American Civil War were alike and different.

Both General Grant and General Lee went to West Point during their military training.  Also, they both fought in the Mexican War as well as the American Civil War.  They were regarded as heroes because of their bravery on the battlefield.  After the Civil War, they both encouraged their men to go back home and rebuild their lives.  So, both men were brave soldiers, had been trained at a Military Academy and, best of all, cared for their men.

However, as much as they were alike, they were also very different.  At West Point, Lee came second in his class, on the other hand, Grant was a very average student.  During the Civil War, Grant was a member of the Union Army, however, Lee was a member of the Confederate Army.  After the Civil War, Lee became President of a University and died (of a stroke) when he was just 63 years old.  On the other hand, Grant went on to become President of the United States!

Having studied both these men very closely, I have found that they were a lot more alike than I first thought.  I would really like to learn more about them.

There are all sorts of wildlife in England, so I'm not going to even try to list them all!  I'll list a few in each category so that this assignment won't be miles long!

1. List the vertebrates in your country (amphibians, mammals, birds, fish and reptiles)

Amphibians - common frog, common toad, Natterjack toad, palmate newt, smoothe newt, great crested newt.

Mammals - European hedgehog, red deer, roe deer, red squirrel, Eurasian otter, polecat, hazel dormouse, red fox.

Birds - swan, sparrow, tawny owl, barn owl, robin, crow, coot, blackbird, thrush, pigeon.

Fish - carp, cod, eel, haddock, mackerel, pike, salmon, stickleback, trout, whiting, minnow.

Reptiles - common lizard, sand lizard, slow-worm, adder (or viper), grass snake, smooth snake.

2. List the invertebrates found in England

earthworms, snails, woodlice, spiders, centipedes, dragonflies, earwigs, grasshoppers, bumblebees, wasps, crane flies, butterflies, moths.

3. Post some pictures -

The adder or viper

 

The barn owl

 

The Roe Deer

 

The Dragonfly

 

The Earthworm

 

The Common Frog

 

The Eurasian Otter

 

The Salmon
The Sparrow

4. Which of the above animals is your favourite?

My favourite is the European hedgehog.

5. Why?

The hedgehog is my favourite because it has prickles and, when it is in danger, it will roll itself up into a tight ball.  I also think it is cute!

6. Name a few unusual and special characteristics of your favourite animal above

Hedgehogs are quite noisy and can be heard grunting and snuffling around when they are looking for food.  They eat slugs, snails, beetles and earthworms. They also sometimes feed on eggs and chicks of ground-nesting birds. 

In summer, hedgehogs shelter during the day in temporary nests of leaves, moss and grass. By autumn, hedgehogs have dramatically put on weight in preparation for their hibernation. Their hibernation nests are typically situated under hedgerows.

They hibernate until the following March or April, during which time their body temperature and heart beat fall dramatically, from 190 to about 20 beats per minute. Most hedgehog deaths occur during this hibernation period.

Their eyesight is poor, but their sense of smell and hearing are very good, and they can swim and climb well. Their dense covering of spines offers protection when the animal is disturbed, rolling up in a tight ball covering the head and soft underside.

Hedgehogs are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and may not be trapped without a licence. They are not considered to be endangered, although numbers are in decline due to habitat loss.

Hedgehogs are often killed by manmade influences, such as in ponds, bonfires, on roads, by strimmers and lawnmowers, pesticides, garden netting and litter. They are also killed by foxes, pine martens, stoats and badgers.

7. What kind of land does this animal need?

Their preferred habitat is forest, hedgerows, scrub and cultivated land, and they are commonly found in gardens.

8. Post a photo of your favourite animal or pet.

What can I say, my little boy is suddenly a teenager!  I can't remember very clearly what it was like to be thirteen - just that it was a time when lots of changes were going on in my life.  I didn't know whether I was an adult or a child - I wonder if you feel the same?

Anyway, here are some things to make your birthday extra special - a sort of "virtual" birthday party!

 

No party is complete without a cake!  Yours would have to be a plain sponge cake (no chocolate for you my lad!) and we'd also have to make sure that the sprinklies didn't have too many additives - typical Mum thinking, eh?

Then there would have to be balloons - personalised ones of course! 

Decorating the party room would be a large banner in the form of a Scroll -

As well as shields placed at the end of each table - very medieval looking!

Each guest would have received their invitation in the form of a scroll as well. Like you, they would all be great fans of the past!

Do you know the reason I've been asking you rather strange questions over the past week?  Well, I thought you might like to see some rather interesting things I found out about you -

 

Which Star Wars character would you be? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Yoda One of the last jedi masters. You are very wise and think much on every decision that you make. You believe that tradition and values are important to follow. Now if only your swamp hut had a de-odorizer.

 

What Stargate SG-1 Character Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Daniel Jackson

I hope that your party goes well, young man, and that you receive gifts that you will enjoy using over the coming months and years!

Lots of Love,

Your Mum ( and Dad as well, of course!)

On Saturday, I went to my first meeting of Manchester Museum's Young Archaeologists' Club.  The first meeting was all about Egyptian Mummies and Modern Medicine.  This meeting was held, not in the Museum itself, but in part of Manchester University.

When we first got there, we were taken into the Students' Lounge and slit into two groups.  My group started off by going on a tour of the top floor of the building.  We saw lots of interesting machines that are used to look inside the mummies that are brought to the University.  We also saw some of the tools used to cut open the outside layers of the mummies.

After that, we went back to the lounge for a drink of juice and some biscuits.  Then, my group had a look at hieroglyphics and how they were used by the Ancient Egyptians as an alphabet.  We found out about Cartouches as well.

All in all, it was a very interesting day.  Whilst I was at the Club, Mum and Dad had some time for themselves.  They went to the Museum and had a drink and a snadwich in their restaurant.  They also bought me a small Mummy's Sarcophagus to put inside my model Egyptian Temple that I made a few years ago!

I am really going to enjoy being a member of this Club and I can hardly wait until next month's meeting!

1. How many countries border your country? - 2

2. Which ones? - As you can see from the map below, England is bordered by Wales to the west and by Scotland to the north.  To the east and south there is sea!

3. Have you ever been to them? - I have been to Wales a lot of times because my Mum is from Wales and her family still live there.  I have only been to Scotland once when we went to my Mum's friend's 50th birthday party.

4. Of the ones you have visited which is your favourite? - My favourite is Wales because the scenery is beautiful and because there are a lot of old castles to visit there.

This is Snowdonia in North Wales. My Mum's hometown is on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park.

This is Conwy Castle. It is one of my favourite castles in the world!

5. Of the ones you have not visited (if any) which would you like to visit? - I would like to go to Scotland again to see a different part of the country and to find out more about its past.

There are lots of places in Scotland that I'd like to see some day.

6. BONUS QUESTION: Which two states have the most bordering states? - I do not know as I have not found out about the states in the USA yet.  I have been learning more about British geography instead as it is more relevant to me.

I wasn't really sure how to set about this assignment as we have a totally different type of Government in England than you do in America.  We do not have Governors and Senators at all - we don't have a President either (we have a Prime Minister).  Our present Prime Minister is Mr. Gordon Brown.

Where is your country's seat of Government? - This is the Houses of Parliament in London.  There are two "houses" - the House of Commons and the House of Lords.  The Commons is a democratically elected body, made up of 646 Members of Parliament (MPs).  The MPs are elected through a first-past-the-post system by electoral districts known as constituencies - they hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved (a maximum of 5 years).

After talking with Mum and Dad, I decided to do this assignment about the MP who represents our constituency, which is near the city of Manchester in the NW of England.

Who is your constituency's representative in Parliament (our MP)? - Our MP is called Ms. Ann Coffey.

Here is a photograph of her -

What party is she under? - She is a member of the Labour Party (the 3 main parties in England are Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat).

How long has she served as our MP? - She has been our MP since 1992 (16 years!).

How long until her term is up? - This will depend upon when the next General Election is called - or until she resigns, dies or is sacked!  No-one knows when the next Election will be yet.  If she wins the election in our constituency again, she will carry on as our MP for at least another 5 years.

Do you know of any candidates running for the post of your constituency's MP at the next election?  - No, until it is decided when the next election will be, no-one can put their name forward as a candidate.

Well, I hope that is OK as an answer to this assignment!  I really did have to think hard about what to do in this one.

1. Name of National Bird - The national bird of England is the European Robin (Erithacus Rubecula) .

2. Bird's Habitat - The robin prefers to live in woodlands, parks, gardens and farmland with hedges.

3. Colours and markings - Robins have a distinctive red face and breast, brown wings and a brown back.  The red breast is bordered by a thin grey/blue border.  Both the males and the females look alike but, the younger birds have a spotted, scalloped plumage with no red.

4. Food of Choice - mainly insects and spiders but, robins also eat seeds, fruits and berries.

5. Enemies - The robin's main enemy is the domestic cat!

6. Protective behaviours - Robins are well-known for being very aggressive towards each other.  Both males and females are territorial (will guard their piece of land) - they fluff out their red breasts in display.  Robins have evn been known to attack their own reflections!

7. Size - a relatively small bird of about 14cm in length.

8. Type of Nest - A robin's nest is a neat, cup-shaped nest made out of moss and dead leaves, lined with hair.

9. Egg Size and Shape, as well as Incubation Time - Robins lay one small, oval, pale blue egg a day for between 3 and 6 days.  Incubation time is about 12 to 15 days.  In a good year, a pair of robins might raise three broods of chicks.

10. Migration Patterns - The robin is resident to England all year long.

11. Beak Shape and Function - A short pointed beak suitable for catching insects, etc.

12. Feet Type - Robin's feet have 3 toes at the front and one at the back - ideal for perching in trees or on fences.

13. Adaptations to Environment - None known.

14. Songs and Calls - The robin has a rich, warbling song.  It also makes thin "seee" and hard "tic-tic-tic" calls.

15. Other Interesting Behaviours - Robins will often build their nests in discarded objects like old kettles or buckets.

16. Endangered or Not - Robins are very common birds and are not globally threatened.  There are about 4.2 million pairs in Britain alone!  Numbers have increased by about 20% over the last 25 years.

17. How it Became National Bird - The robin was chosen as England's national bird by public ballot in the 1960s.