TIP - Real Science 4 Kids - Physics Level 1 Chapter 5 Experiment

Another great experiment, very fun and the kids really thought it was cool. The first time we ran the experiment it didn't work. No conductivity! But in the end we made it work.

The first tip to running this experiment successfully is to know your pennies. In 1983 our mint started making zinc pennies with a thin copper coating. Pennies prior to 1982 were made of 95% copper, these are the pennies you want! Also, keep in mind that in 1982 both types of pennies were made, 95% copper and 97.5% zinc. You can tell the difference by weighing them, zinc pennies weigh 2.5 grams were copper pennies weigh 3 grams.

The second part of this tip is to clean the copper pennies. The simplest way to this is to add 1 T. salt to 1/2 cup of vinegar, they clean almost instantly.

Hope this tip helps make your exploration into making voltaic cells successful the first time. Happy Homeschooling!

First Day of School for My Son

My organization has seemed to pay off, okay for my oldest at least. As I type this I am waiting on my 10 year old to have his breakfast to start his first day of school. Why are my kids starting school on different days you ask? We trying to have a four day school week and each of the kids get to choose what day off they will have off (as long as they get all their work done in four days). My son chose Mondays as his day off, "Mondays are my bad days," was his reasoning and my daughter chose Fridays as her day off. This arrangement is going to make my life easier. I'll have one day for each of my kids a week to focus on just them and their projects.

Allowing my kids to be a part of the scheduling of their school days is one way I give my kids some control over their day, which seems to be an important part of the flow for them. They can choose to work hard and get their work done in four days or they can decide to stretch out their school week and go a bit slower. My hope is that they will feel motivated to have a three day weekend and if not they will know that the decision was theirs.

I also allow my kids to plan what days they will do each subject. I give them the guideline that math needs to be done three times per week, art two times per week, etc. and they choose which day they'll do math. I am usually pleasantly surprised by the thought process the kids take in planning their week, my son for instance was happy to do math on a Math Games class day, he thought it would be good to be warmed up for class.

So with breakfast done and the deadline for planning, organizing and decision making upon us, weither we're ready or not, we're off to our second first day of school. Wish me luck!

Homeschooler's Dreaded O-Word

Organization. Yep, organization. This word has become my mantra. Each year about this time this dreaded word hangs over my head, it follows me around, it calls my name. But this year I have embraced the homeschoolers o-word. It has taken some time to get here but I'm here. I have shrugged my shoulders at the voice telling me there are so many other things I could be doing besides going through my stuff and sorting and putting things were they should have put to begin with, donating the things I haven't touched in a year and packing away the curriculum I know I won't be using - - all this takes a lot of time and hey it's still summer!

But here's the deal, when I do all this my school year is 10 times better. I have more focus, all the books on my homeschool shelf support all the subjects we intend to learn this year. I save money; this year I located seven pairs of scissors, four composition notebooks, paper, pencils, working markers, drawing pencils the list goes on and on. And I return all those materials my fellow homeschoolers have generously shared with me over the previous year.

We are counting down to the school year here and each day embracing the o-word and I can honestly say that homeschooling gets easier each year. Okay, the organizing part at least . . . .

Gourmet Chips

My son loves to cook but he likes to be very creative when cooking so a detailed recipe isn't what he's up for. One of the things he loves to make are Gourmet Chips and I love them too because he can be creative and we still have something guaranteed to be yummy when he's done.

The first step in making Gourmet Chips is having the "sniff test" of the spice cabinet. My son smells all of the spices we own and picks out the ones he likes the best.

Next we heat about a 1/2 inch of oil in a frying pan, the oil is ready for frying when a drop of water sizzles when added to the pan.

He cuts the corn tortillas using a pizza cutter in to 4 or 6 pieces depending on how big he wants the chips. I supervise the frying of the tortillas and usually end up finishing the last batches myself.



When the chips are done, remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon to paper towels and let the seasoning begin. It's best to season when they are still hot, the spices attach better to the chip.

Here are some of our favorite combinations: Salt, pepper and garlic; Chili powder and lime juice; Basil, oregano and garlic; Curry, cummin and tumuric; and Garlic and salt. The combinations are endless!

Sidewalk Chalk

First things first, start saving those toilet paper rolls. Candy or soap molds work great and require no prep time to make the molds.

To Make the Molds: Line each toilet paper roll with wax paper. Tape one end of the toilet paper roll closed.

To Make the Sidewalk Chalk Mixture: Combine approximately 1 cup of plaster of paris with water until it will pour easily. Just before pouring your molds add approximately 1 tablespoon of tempura paint either dry or wet it doesn't matter.

Allow the sidwalk chalk mixture to set in the molds overnight or until dry.

Pop or peel the chalk out of the molds and let the creativity begin!

(This activity is flexible on the measurements, perfect for younger kids.)

Celebrating Memorial Day with your kids

Happy Memorial Day!

Memorial Day is often celebrated with friends, family, barbecues and time away from work or school but what is Memorial Day really about? When did it start? And why do we celebrate it every year?

Most people know that Memorial Day is a day which we give 'thanks' to the service men and women who have serviced for the armed forces. Flags are flown high and gravestones are decorated with the red, white and blue but why?

According to the History Channel website, the first widely observed Memorial Day, which was called 'Decoration Day' at the time, was observed on May 5th, 1868. Decoration Day was a day set aside to honor the fallen soldiers of the Civil War. Folks would place flowers and other decorations on the grave sites of Confederate and Union soldiers who perished in battle.

Memorial Day was made a federal holiday in 1971.

Celebrating Memorial Day with children can be very simple and easy to fit into your holiday plans, below are a few ideas:

* Visit a local cemetery
    While Memorial Day started to honor the fallen soldiers of the Civil War,  we now use this day to honor all men and women who have serviced. Bring flowers from your garden and a few small flags to a local cemetery and decorate the graves of those who have serviced. You will find that gravestones will often have the branch of the military they serviced in and if they fought in any wars. Depending on the age of your children, this may give you a moment to example the details of both.

* Attend a local Memorial Day Event
Most places have some form of ceremony on Memorial Day, whether it be a simple flag ceremony or something bigger, it's a great event to share with children. Remember, Memorial Day is not only a day of remembering those who have passed, but also those who are still with us. The best way to show appreciation for those who have enlisted, is to walk up to them, shake their hand and say "thank you". That simple action goes a long way.

*Send Letters to Soldiers 
There are soldiers currently serving far from home. A great way to show you are thinking of them is to write letters. Children can make cards, draw pictures or write letters depending on their age. There are a number of agencies that will help get your letters to where they need to go.

*Read 
Before your bbq, read aloud to your kids. There are a number of books about the Civil War. Find one that is age appropriate for all. After the story is over, talk about what the kids learned, what did they take from the story.


Just remember that while most folks get a day off from work, kids from school and a lot of families mark Memorial Day as the official start to summer, there is a lot more to it then that. Reminding kids (and adults) of why we celebrate this day will make it even more special.
 

TIP - Real Science 4 Kids - Chemistry II Chapter 7

This experiment is very fun, the kids get to go and collect some flowers and leaves, grind them up with a bit of sand using a mortar and pestle and then add a solution of alcohol to extract the pigment from the plants.  The next step is the step that didn't produce the sought after results, and of course this is where science really begins.

Flower pigment separated

The curriculum advises you to then take a dropper once you've collected the plant pigment and apply a few drops to the one end of the absorbent paper and dangle it with end of the paper touching a quarter cup of alcohol that is in a jar.  We have found that this doesn't work.  The concentration of the pigments appears to be too minimal when applied by the drop.  After waiting the allotted time (24 hours) we still can only see a small amount of coloration on one paper.

Leave pigment separated

Here comes the tip:  At the point you have collected the pigment in the alcohol just dangle the absorbent paper over that solution.  We see results pretty quickly and after the allotted time we see the sought after results.

Happy Experimenting!