I have genius friends. I’m so blessed. Here’s my sad attempt from earlier today. Fuzzy around the edges because there’s not enough light coming in. I think those are eggs. But I’m not sure. They could just be rocks.
Bird’s Nest Photographer’s Trick
Homeschooling
Science Observation: Bird’s Nest Day 3
Well lookie there. My kids were right. Tres eggs. There. Now you can say you incorporated a second language into your day. You are welcome.
Cherry Blossoms
Spring came early in the Pacific Northwest this year. The flowering cherry trees were all confused by the unseasonably warm, dry February we had and bloomed wicked early. As a bonus gift from this premature Spring, I received the blessing of seasonal allergies. It’s the first time in my life I’ve been stuffy, red-eyed and generally annoyed over the coming of Spring. Uncool. Beautiful trees are not a sufficient trade off. Continue reading
Science Observation: Bird’s Nest
I have never seen my kids more excited than when they came bounding in from the backyard yesterday. They were jumping up and down, giddy and full of exuberance. So much that I could barely understand their squeals of “Mommy, Mommy! Come outside quick! Hurry!”. I trekked after them, down the path that runs along the rockery and quickly understood their enthusiasm. There, hidden in a crevice between two rocks, was a bird’s nest with a single pale egg nestled inside.
Bubbler
One of my favorite things about Classical Conversations is the integration of science experiments. Ok. I’ll admit it. Pretty much everything is one of my favorite things about Classical Conversations. But I really do enjoy the science portion. We use Janice VanCleave’s 201 Awesome, Magical, Bizarre, & Incredible Experiments
Trick or Treat Math
If given a choice of location on the day after Halloween, the absolute last place I would choose would be in a classroom teaching 30 kids. I give teachers mad props all the time for wrangling that many kids, but the day after a holiday that’s all about candy must just be the absolute edge of controlled chaos. Managing my own sugar-high mini-monsters is always tricky and there’s only two of them. I don’t know how teachers accomplish anything with an entire class of over-hyper rugrats. Lucky them Halloween is on a Friday this year!
Bending A Straw With Light
One of our very first experiments was exploring one of the characteristics of light. Our Classical Conversations science memory work this week was “What are three characteristics of light?”. One of the terms we covered was refraction. Which is exactly what this super easy experiment demonstrates — you probably have all the necessary items in your house already.
You only need:
A straw (or pencil)
A clear glass
Water
Full printable instructions and simple refraction explanation: Bending a Straw With Light
or here: Pencil Refraction Continue reading
Water Filtration Experiment
Ahh The Water Cycle. Always a fun time to do a little hands on science. We decided to talk about filtration and how dirty water ends up clean. Another easy experiment that you probably have all the supplies for. At least, if you drink coffee. Which, I do now. I know. I’m really maturing nicely.
First we needed some dirty water. So we dumped some dirt from the yard into a flower vase filled 2/3 with water. Red solo cup! We’re ready to party!
Art Lesson: Just Like Michelangelo
Michelangelo spent 4 years painting an enormous masterpiece on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. My kids spent slightly shorter time on their backs drawing moderately less impressive figures during this fun art lesson.
Discovering the Library
I would not have survived my first year homeschooling without the blessed tranquility of our local library. Each Friday, I loaded up my kids and spent a couple of hours perusing new adventures found on the shelves in the pages of books. During each school week, I placed gads of books on hold, so I could waltz in and lazily grab my stacks of knowledge. The snowman books were a June selection. Clearly my kids share my affinity for winter, snow, and all things Christmas-y.
Dissonant Symphony 