Cool Chemical Reactions for Science

If you love science, you have to go to this site! These are all chemical reactions that are amazing to watch, but not sure we want to try them at home. We couldn't get any audio, so don't be surprised if there's no sound.



Go to https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201369851507559

Interesting Background Information on 10 Dr. Seuss Books

 

http://www.mentalfloss.com/article/28843/10-stories-behind-dr-seuss-stories

The above link takes to an interesting background info on 10 of Dr. Seuss' books. Interesting reading. Especially about how some of the logging industry wasn't very happy about the book, The Lorax and later sponsored The Truax, a similar book—but from the logging point of view.

No Snow Days For Us!

While the district public school let out early last Thursday, and has had no school Friday or today, we had our homeschooling experience as usual. Our days are never without some fun, though. The girls got their letters written to Santa. During our mid-day recess, we bundled up and went out to play in the snow, taking with us all the necessary accessories for snowman building...the snow was too dry for that. Instead of building snowmen, we "rescued" the riding caterpillar from the "avalanche" that covered him over by digging him out (we got 12" last Thursday through Friday), they went slip-sliding down the slide, and made snow angels. We did pile up two mounds of snow hoping that with some warmth, enough will melt to "bind" it together so that we can eventually get a couple of snowmen completed.

We also tried to blow some bubbles and watching them freeze, but it was too warm. Which sounds very odd to say considering after only about 30 minutes, Kenna's mittens were wet, and her hands and face was red and cold. When little hands get wet and cold, it's definitely time to go in.

As we went in the front door, we noticed that there was actually some dripping going on down the side of the trailer. Maybe tomorrow our snow piles will be wet enough to shape into a giant snowball for the bottom of our snowmen!

          

Starting A Fire With Water?

I knew that you could start a fire with a magnifying glass, or even a piece of broken glass...but to use a bottle of water? It can be done! You can start a fire with a bottle of water, and the guy in this video does a wonderful job of explaining the process.

Here's a really great website that not only teaches your children a good survival skill but also makes a great science experiment. This would be for older children, and definitely needs adult supervision.

http://www.realfarmacy.com/how-to-start-a-fire-with-water/

Periodic Table Videos

When we get to the point where we are studying the Periodic Table, we are definitely going to go to this website: http://www.periodicvideos.com/. At this site, you can click on any element in the Periodic Table and see a video all about that particular element. Definitely want to bookmark this one!

Learning About "Bee Spit" (Honey)

Today we studied about honey bees and how they make honey. Maddy and Kenna love honey and they were all into the process...until they learned that honey was "bee spit". They were a little grossed out, but love honey so much decided that they'd still keep eating it!

There are 3 kinds of honeybees in the hive:  the female worker bees, the male drones, and the queen.

First, a worker bee finds a nectar source then goes back to the hive to tell the other bees where the flowers are. To communicate this information, the little bee will do a dance. The worker bees join in, learning where to fly to find the nectar source.

When the bees find the flowers, they go to work drinking in the nectar. They carry the nectar back to the hive, where they spit it back out into the honeycomb sections. Then they cover it with a special substance to keep it clean.

For the honey for form, 2 things happen:  A bee produces an enzyme that turns the sucrose (a sugar) in the nectar into glucose (an energy source sugar and carbohydrate component) and fructose (another type of simple sugar). Another enzyme produced by the bee turns some of the glucose into an acid and hydrogen peroxide, which kills any bacteria that might get into the honey. The second thing is to get rid of the extra water. Most of the moisture has to be evaporated, then fanning it with their wings.

Honey is a very stable food. One of nature's perfect foods. It naturally resists molds, fungi, and other bacteria. Honey can be stored for years without refrigeration.


Learn more about bees at these websites:

Amazing Bees

Big Oven: A Kid's Guide To Honey

Facts About Holiday Plants

With the holidays fast approaching, and a facebook post from my cousin who owns a huge plant nursery, I thought I'd look up the truth about holiday plants. After doing my research, this is what I came up with.

My home is now, sadly plant-free because those I had were poisonous if ingested and Kenna would not leave them alone. The plants we had that were not a risk, I managed to kill off one-by-one.

Amaryllis and Daffodils - Poisonous

An amaryllis bulb is a beautiful holiday flower given often as Christmas gifts. Amaryllis, daffodil, and narcissus bulbs can be forced indoors to produce the flowers. Eating the bulbs (and leaves, though they are less toxic) can cause abdominal pain, cardiac arrhythmias, and convulsions. The plants are more likely to be eaten by pets than children, but the alkaloid poison lycorine is considered toxic to humans, too.

Christmas Trees - Depending on the Tree

Cedars, pines, and firs are very mildly toxic. The biggest concern is the possibility of puncturing part of the gastrointestinal tract from eating needles, though the tree oils may cause irritation of the mouth and skin. Toxicity might be affected by whether the tree had been sprayed with a flame retardant. People don't usually eat Christmas trees. Even a dog is unlikely to eat enough of the tree to cause a problem. ---- It's been our experience with 6 kids, that the tree isn't the problem...little hands are more interested in all the pretty lights and ornaments on the tree...and one our daughters left the whole tree alone, opting instead to take all the name tags off the packages under the tree instead. Talk about a confusing mess to fix?  :)

Cyclamen - Poisonous

Cyclamen (Primulaceae) is a flowering plant. Cyclamen tubers contain triterpinoidsaponins, which can cause nausea, vomiting, convulsions, and paralysis. This plant is more of a concern for pets than humans. In fact, some cyclamen cultivars are favored for their delicate flavor and use in tea (but, please, none in my tea).

Holly - Poisonous

A child can eat 1-2 holly berries (Ilex) without harm, but around 20 berries can cause death, so eating holly berries is a serious concern for children and pets. Though the berries are the part that is most commonly eaten, the bark, leaves, and seeds are toxic. The toxin is theobromine, an alkaloid that is related to caffeine and is also found in chocolate (toxic to dogs), but there is much more of the compound in holly berries.

Jerusalem Cherry - Poisonous

The Jerusalem cherry (Solanum pseudocapsicum) is a species of nightshade that bears poisonous fruit. The primary poison is the alkaloid solanocapsine, which can cause gastric upset and vomiting in people, but generally is not life-threatening. However, the fruits are extremely toxic to dogs and cats and some birds. The fruit resembles a cherry tomato, both in appearance and flavor, so kids and pets may eat enough to cause illness, or in the case of pets, even death.

Mistletoe - Poisonous (I Use a Fake Sprig)

Mistletoe is a name given to several plants, all of which can be dangerous. Phoradendron species contain a toxin called phoratoxin, which can cause blurred vision, nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, blood pressure changes, and even death. The Viscum species contain a different mix of chemicals, including the poisonous alkaloid tyramine, which produce similar symptoms. All parts of the mistletoe plant are poisonous, though it is the berries that may attract kids. Eating 1-2 berries probably will not cause a problem for a child, but a small pet could be endangered by eating a few leaves or berries. If your child or pet eats mistletoe, it's a good idea to immediately seek medical advice.

Poinsettia - Not as Bad as I Thought

The poinsettia is not something you want to purposely eat, but this Euphorbia is not particularly dangerous. If a few leaves are eaten, you may feel ill or even vomit. Rubbing the sap from the plant into your skin may give you an itchy rash.

20 Animals That You May Not Know Existed

We love animal science! Here's a website that will show you 20 animals that you probably didn't know existed. Although, we must admit, we have seen a Okapi at the St. Louis Zoo. The rest are interesting to say the least,.

http://www.viralnova.com/unique-animals/

"Vampire" Animals & "Costumed Bugs"

For a Halloween animal science lesson about 5 blood-thirsty animals, go to this website:

http://www.thefeaturedcreature.com/2010/11/bloodthirsty-beasts-5-animals-that-vant.html?utm_source=buffer&utm_campaign=Buffer&utm_content=buffer57a3d&utm_medium=facebook

Here's another that highlights "costumed" bugs!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=552250234840590&set=a.171333629598921.42649.108885039177114&type=1&theater

Free Homeschooling Resource List

Here you'll find an up-to-date list of free homeschooling resources:  http://www.onlypassionatecuriosity.com/free-homeschool-list/.
 

Recycling Bread Bags

If you are like our family, we go through quite a few loaves of bread. While we love homemade bread, for sandwiches, I admit, the store-bought loaves are nicely uniform in slice and so I buy sandwich bread.

When you think of recycling the plastic bags that a loaf of bread comes in, you probably think of things like using those bags to bag up other things...used them for wet diapers when my kids were babies and we used clothe diapers, good for putting wet swimsuits in to carry back home after an afternoon at the lake, good to put your extra garden produce in to give to a neighbor, etc.

Here's another, radically different way to use those plastic bread sacks. Not a new idea because I remember doing this as a kid, but I haven't seen or heard anyone talking about it in a long time, either. Making refrigerator art out of them.

To help Kenna with her motor skills, we try to have her using scissors fairly often. Now, to use bread bags for this exercise, you must have Bunny Bread wrappers. I'm not necessarily saying Bunny Bread is the best bread out there, and yes I know those loaves are a little more expensive. Bear with me.

Bunny Bread comes with all these pictures of the Bunny Bread rabbit all over them. Today, Kenna and Maddy sat and cut all those pictures of the rabbit out of the wrapper (I cut in it in two and let each of them have half). They thought it was neat to get to cut up a bread wrapper (I didn't tell them what we were going to do with it) and Kenna got in extra motor skill exercise with her scissors.

Once the rabbit designs were cut out, I wiped down the front of my refrigerator with a damp rag. The girls then took those plastic rabbits and stuck them to the fridge, and using the damp rag, carefully rubbed over their cut-out to smooth out the wrinkles. That plastic clings to the refrigerator just like stickers. And will stay until removed (will easily remove).

So, in a matter of a few minutes, the girls got to cut out rabbits, got to stick them to the refrigerator, and will enjoy their work for a few days. Simple. Inexpensive. Fun.

Oh, and there's a science lesson there that process, too. Explore the "why" of what makes the plastic cling so well to the fridge.

Here's a look at their art display:

I highly recommend this book. The girls enjoyed it and it was a great science resource! We have come to love National Geographic Kids!

Maddy read this book to me and Kenna. It had two of their favorite subjects: Disney Princesses and puppies.

Teaching Science

I am so glad that Maddy and Kenna both love science. They look around the world and consistently come up with questions regarding "how" or "why". These types of questions always lead into a science lesson. If they ask a question that I can't answer? Simple. I am honest with them and give a "You know, that's a good question. I'm not really sure, but let's investigate and find out."

As a home educator, I am not afraid to admit that I don't have all the answers. That being said, in all honesty, neither does science. And sometimes I find myself giving a "Because that's the way God planned it," answer followed by a "Someday you'll be able to ask God that question yourself,"

My girls have questions about themselves, as well as tons of questions about this world they live in. Not just in our backyard, but they are eager to learn about the world beyond their reach. Alan and I encourage them to observe closely the things around them...but to do so cautiously (you know the lecture...don't pick up snakes, don't eat things unless we have told you it's safe to eat that particular thing, please don't do an experiment without an adult's permission, etc..). We want them to get out and explore our world. That's how children learn about our world and the things in it.

Teaching our children a basic understanding of science in kindergarten and 1st grade now will help their understandng of the world around them and prepare for future science lessons.

At this young age, I organized and planned my lesson plans for the three basic concepts of science: Physical Science, Earth & Space Science, and Life Science. We go over a lot of background information for each unit we study. My girls take Assessment Tests so that I can evaluate their progress. We do activity worksheets, experiments, projects, and more.

We believe that an understanding of science is best achieved through hands-on experience. You can tell a child how to do something and you can show a child how to do something, but until you actually let them get in there and do it themselves and get a feel for how something is done, well...it's just not the same as hearing about it or watching it being done. Hands-on experience gives them the opportunity to see a project or experiment unfolding in their own hands, giving them a better understanding of the "how" and "why" and also gives them a better view, if you will, to use their thinking skills to predict what will happen next.

While science textbooks, worksheets, and kitchen table labs provide a wide variety of activities for kids, the also need real-life exposure to the world around them. We view the whole world as our classroom! To observe nature's forces and the changes that are constantly going on in nature, we venture outside...to our backyard, to our farm pastures, to the lake (we are fortunate enough to be one of the few locations in Illinois that still has an abundance of the endangered Cricket Frogs --- on the of the local universities spent 4 summers here studying them), to the National Forest, to local parks, anywhere the kids can get out and observe and explore. Our local Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Wildlife Refuge hosts a free monthly F.U.N. program (Families Understanding Nature).

Kids need to be given lots of concrete examples of scientific concepts. We use manipulatives (some we buy and some we make).

Teaching science, especially once your homeschool students reach high school levels, can be challenging. It's been a long time since I was in high school and studied science units! But if you take the time to study up yourself, you will have no problems teaching science during your homeschooling experience. And, if you still find it difficult, contact your local college and ask about available tutors or check to see if homeschool groups in your area have a co-op science class.

Most of all, relax and enjoy the science exploration with your kids!

Their Two Favorite Subjects: Math & Science

Maddy and Kenna love math and science. They are still playing with the kaleidoscopes they made at Maddy's birthday party.

By the way, they dressed themselves today! Kenna must be wishing for snow with her snowmen pants. Maddy just wanted to wear her print capri pants and her North Carolina shirt. At least Kenna's shirt matched her pants. Maddy's pants are pinks and purples; her shirt sleeves are red.

I've always had a hard time explaining to my daughters why there are dress rules. Out of the 6, 4 of them at a very young age have demanded to know "just who made up that dumb rule". When I didn't have an answer, I finally gave up. So don't be surprised when you see Afton and Kenna wearing a set of patterned pants with an entirely different patterned shirt...their reasoning is "See that green stripe? It's the same color green as this green polka dot." Nor should you be alarmed when you see Maddy running around in her white sparkly dress shoes all winter. 2 of our daughters, I had trouble keeping clothes on at all when they were little, so I'm just thankful they are willing to get dressed and keep their clothes on! And well, on the bare feet. What can I say? I am probably to blame there. None of us like having to wear shoes. As Maddy has said, "It's a Redneck thing and we're a Redneck family." Haven't an answer for that statement either. All I can do is smile.

 

 In math today, Kenna learned about pictographs. She graphed the number of boys and girls living in our home.

While I was helping Kenna with her pictograph, Maddy sorted a bag of change. We worked on coin values, counting the coins, and then determining the monetary value of each type of coin.Our lesson today was centered on nickels and counting by 5. She has counting by 10's down pat...we ran out of dimes when she hit 200.

Typical Sunday With The Sisney Crew

Today, Alayna and Aaron and J.J. and Afton, all came for lunch. This time we tried another new recipe called Picnic Pizza. I tweaked the recipe (yes, I know, I do this a lot of get them to fit into our lifestyle). But it was good and the boys especially thought it was great. And did you know teaching your children to cook will not only teach them to feed themselves as they get older, but is a wonderfully fun way to teach math skills.

I had bought a small beef sirloin roast, partially froze it, and had Alan slice it up into thin steaks. I then threw the steaks, 2 cans of tomato sauce, some basil, oregano, garlic powder, minced onion, about 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and some sliced olives into my Crock-Pot. I cooked it on high for about an hour while we got ready for church. Then turned the pot down to low and let it simmer while we were gone to Sunday School and church. When we arrived back home, I took some English muffins, sliced them in half to form a "bun", place a steak and some of the sauce on it, topped that with shredded Mozzarella cheese, and placed a plate of them in the microwave long enough to melt the cheese. Served them with chips.

My parents popped in for a visit, too. While the kids all hung out outside, they played with the puppies, fed the rabbits, and did an experiment. Did I mention they like science? Today was pretty simple. My son-in-law's idea, actually. They put Mentos candy into a 2-liter Diet Coke bottle (still full of soda) and watched it fizz and spew.

Then off to church to help with a meal for the F.A.I.T.H team, Maddy had Christmas program practice, and then the first night of our fall revival. We are very blessed to have such a great family to spend Sundays with!

Learning About Stomach Acid - And Being Able To DRINK It!

Layna came over and brought an experiment kit for the girls. This cool thing teaches about how digestion works and shows acid in the stomach - and the gross stuff that comes out of the stomach. But with this particular kit, you can, if you are brave enough, DRINK the "gross stuff" that comes out of the stomach.

This experiment was done after they had made themselves a crown to wear!

Here, they are adding the ingredients so that once the two waters are pumped through to be mixed, the liquid travels to the stomach and then begins foaming in the stomach. When the stomach is full, it empties in a flask. The concoction (completely safe), is ready to taste test. Both of the girls said it had a raspberry flavor to it but a very sour taste. No one wanted more than a small sip! But they LOVE playing with the mechanics of the small stomach model!

 

Thanks to Layna's mother-in-law for sending this neat experiment over to the girls. They have definitely enjoyed it so far!

 

Ever have days when you need to be in too places at once? Saturday, September 21, 2013 was one of those days!

Maddy and I left at 7:30 a.m. to go with her GA (Girls in Action) Missions group to the Carmi Baptist Children's Home for the Home's annual Fall Festival. The GA group had make a baby blanket for the quilt auction, when they delivered to the auction stand after we arrived on the grounds. They then set up and manned from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. a Bubble Booth. The booth was a huge hit, even with teenagers and adults as they chose from the basic bubble blowing wands, some bigger multi-bubble wands, these neat "sword" wands that made giant bubbles, and some battery operated mega bubble blowers. We had people telling us that they were running into bubbles all the way across the grounds. There was a good breeze blowing and the millions of bubbles that were blown, drifting up, up, and away!

The group also got to tour one of the Home's cottages. And I'm not sure how many booths were set up, but there was a lot of games to play, a train to ride, horseback riding, and a variety of food, all of which was provided at no charge. Maddy came home with a backpack (that she won) full of other prizes she had won.

While Maddy helped her group man the booth, and taking turns going to check out all the fun with an adult, I helped at the food pavilion (all free). I helped a group of ladies "bun up" over 1,000 hamburgers and over 1,000 hot dogs to feed the crowd attending. As we were leaving at the end of the event, one of the ladies at the registration tent told me that they had registered 2, 071 visitors for the day!

It was a beautiful day for a missions project. Well done, Maddy!
 

 

Kenna, on the other hand, needed to be in a whole other town at 9:45 a.m. for her Tae Kwon Do Lil' Dragons' Graduation. So, Alan was a dear and got McKenna dressed in her official Lil' Dragon full uniform and off they went where Kenna earned her orange Lil' Dragon belt! Wish I could have been there! We'll get our CD of pictures from the photographer soon. Way to go, Kenna!

September Missions With Mini Submitted

For our second "Missions with Mini", the Scholastic/Kellogg's Mini Wheats monthly challenge where families can earn free books for their children, has been submitted! As our "Outdoor Explorer" challenge #2, we thought Maddy's birthday party was a perfect fit. Along with Kenna's "reporting" the event, here is the photo submission we sent.

Beautiful Moon

What a beautiful moon we've had the last three nights. Of course, it was bright the two previous nights, lighting up the night sky. But tonight, the Harvest Moon was a spectacular orange-red. The girls and I enjoyed it on a perfect evening for star/moon gazing. And the reflection of this moon on our lake!

Take time to enjoy the small, simple things - like a beautiful moon - with your kids. It's free. It's beyond words in beauty. It sparks their curiosity. It shows some of God's glorious Creation in a spectacular way.

At K-1 500 Page Club this week, we read Daisy Comes Home and A Chick Called Saturday. We then did the Egg-Periment about standing a raw egg up on its end from National Geographic that we did at Maddy's birthday party (the secret is salt).

Where to buy A Chick Called Saturday

http://www.amazon.com/Chick-Called-Saturday-Joyce-Dunbar/dp/0802852602#reader_0802852602

A Lesson Plan To Go Along With The Book

http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=10690