Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Release of RSO Physics!

Quick post today! Pandia Press just released Real Science Odyssey PHYSICS! I'm very excited about this book! I can't wait to catch a peek at it and see how they present the material!

BTW, they are doing a giveaway for this text. You can go to http://www.pandiapress.com/rsophysics1/ to enter!

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Edible Geodes!

The two crazy little people and I have been exploring some earth science lately. Well, actually, according to the lovely plans I set up at the beginning of the year, we should be exploring the world of plants. However, since there's about 3 feet of snow on the ground, that didn't seem like a good idea (what was I thinking!?!)! So, we're on to earth science, and specifically, minerals and rocks.

During our exploration, we've learned a lot about minerals and how they have an inner crystalline structure. I decided it would be fun to run with the crystal idea, and more specifically, to spend some time exploring geodes.

Geodes are made when little gas pockets in molten lava cool and harden. Water rushes into little cracks and crevices of the pocket, depositing minerals which crystallize. We had lots of fun opening up some geodes (you can get them on Amazon) with a hammer to see what the inside looked like.


This was great fun, and I strongly suggest you try it at least once in your lifetime. Amazingly therapeutic! But I wanted to show the crazy little people a bit more about how that crystal was formed inside. They've used borax to make crystals, so we discussed that, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. And then I found this on Pinterest: http://makezine.com/2013/11/01/how-to-rock-candy-geode/

(By the way, have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest!?!)

Directions on how to make rock candy geodes! Yum! In the video, two ways to form the geodes are shown, one using fondant and one using melted chocolate. We decided that the one using fondant was most similar to how an actual geode was formed, so that's what we worked with. It turned out to be a fun and yummy project!

Basically, all we did was roll out our colored fondant, putting a dark layer on the bottom and a light layer on top. Then we laid out a large piece of tinfoil, placed a dishtowel on top, and then put a small bowl on top of that like this:

We put another layer of tin foil in the bowl, making sure to keep it bumpy like a rock. Then we laid the fondant inside. When that was done, I cooked up some simple syrup, using one cup water to 3 cups sugar. I heated that over the stove until all the sugar was dissolved and the syrup was clear. The crazy little people picked some food coloring and dyed the syrup, and then I poured it into the fondant shells. We wrapped the entire thing up in the tin foil and let it sit until the next day. The crazy little people were so excited to unwrap their little geode presents!

A Nice Shiny Package!

After they were unwrapped, we poured out the extra liquid and any crystals that were lying on top of that liquid. And there was our geode!


This led to a wonderful discussion about how these yummy geodes are different from regular geodes. We decided they should write a bit about how we made these geodes in their journals, and then it was time to eat! Who doesn't like candy geodes for a snack!

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Create an Animal!

With the holiday season fast approaching, I thought it should be time for us to finish up with our study of animals so that we could concentrate on Christmas. We've been looking at a variety of different animals, as well as the classification system, and we've really enjoyed it. But I didn't have the slightest idea how to end the unit!

After spending some time on Pinterest (one of my favorite sites!), I found an idea from ilove2teach. Instead of looking at animals that already exist, the crazy little kids could come up with their own make believe animals. There was some writing involved, so I was a bit worried. CLG is a bit young to write, and CLB is just not a happy writer. I was pleasantly surprised when they both greeted the project with enthusiasm!

I decided to make a sheet that each kiddo would fill out to help them decide what their animals would look like. I didn't make it too complicated, just made sure they would have something to refer to to help them remember all the things we learned about animals:

From this, both crazy kids were able to think up interesting ideas for new creatures. And to draw them, too!

CLG came up with an "amnite fish". This little guy apparently enjoys living in the "middle" and "bottom" layers of the ocean. It was fun taking time to figure out what the technical name of those ocean layers are called, and it's still amusing listening to her try to say abyssal! This fish apparently does wander up to the top layer of the ocean to eat jellyfish, but usually stays below. The unique bit about this fish is that it's fin can change to wings! When it's threatened while having it's dinner, it will switch up its fin, fly out of the water, and hang out on the beach for a few hours (she wanted the fish to head over to the subway, but I talked her out  of that one).

See the little fish in the wave?

Doesn't it look so happy on the beach?

CLB came up with a new amphibian called a "fran". This little guy lives in bogs, under the ground. Since it lives in a bog under the ground, and it's an amphibian, it has to leave its home periodically so it can breath. The fran likes to eat and has antenna that can help it sense worms, ants, and flies up to one mile away. It can also change color, to stay away from predators, but if it is spotted by a predator, it will use its upside down claws to quickly dig a hole for it to hide away in.

Close up of the antenna 

A fran can change from grayish green...

...to brown!

We had a lot of fun with this project. And, no, these creatures might not be scientifically possible! But the kids spent time thinking about how their animals fit in the classification system, where they live, how they protect themselves, and where they fit in the food web of their habitats. It was a wonderful way to end a fun unit!

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Letter (and Number) Bread

CLB had a friend over to play with today, so CLG and I decided to bake some bread for dinner. It's always fun having some girl time, especially since CLG enjoys baking and cooking as much as I do. We picked a bread recipe out of the book, The Alpha-Bakery Children's Cookbook by Gold Medal.
This book has a recipe for each letter of the alphabet! It's a fun little book with recipes that my two Crazy Kids can make, with help from me of course! For the letter t, the book has a recipe for turtle bread, which is basically bread in the shape of a turtle. We did this when CLG was focusing on the letter T, but this week, we're actually reviewing the letters, B, C, S, and T, along with the number three. So CLG thought it would be fun to make these letters and numbers out of bread and eat them for dinner. And that's just what we did!

CLG finishing up her "C"

Here are all our letters (and our number 3)

Getting ready to take a 20 minute rest after all that work!

Rested and risen, time for the oven!

Yum! Ready for dinner!

The bread has a wonderful taste and texture, and it went beautifully with our spaghetti dinner. Even better, CLG had fun making the bread and then practicing her letter and number making skills by playing with the dough. All in all, it was a nice way to spend an afternoon!

Letter (and Number) Bread Recipe
adapted from the Gold Medal Alpha-Bakery Children's Cookbook

2 to 4 cups of all purpose flour
1 package of rapid rise active dry yeast
1 TBSP of sugar
1 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of water
1/3 cup of milk
1 TBSP butter


1. Mix the yeast, 1 1/2 cups of the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Put water, milk and butter in a microwavable container. Microwave it for 15 seconds, and test the temperature. If it's warm (between 125 to 130 degrees) take it out. If not, microwave for another 15 seconds. Wait for the butter to melt a bit and then add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture.

2. Stir in one egg, and then stir in enough flour so that the dough is stiff enough to handle. Sprinkle a surface with flour and then knead the dough on this for about 5 minutes, adding flour to the board as needed. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

3. Spray one or two cookie sheets with baking spray. Cut the bread into six evenly divided chunks, and form them into long "worms". Form the worms into whatever letters or numbers you desire. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes. While the dough is resting, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

4. Place the cookie sheet(s) into the oven and bake the bread for 10 to 15 minutes. The bread should be a golden brown and make a hollow sound when you tap on the bottom of a piece.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013


I just realized something the other night while trying to figure out what to make the Crazy Kids for dinner. You see, we generally sit down at the table all together and have a nice dinner together. But, periodically, I enjoy feeding the kids early and then have dinner set up for my husband and myself for after the Crazy Kids are in bed asleep. Something about sitting down and actually being able to pay attention to what I'm eating is just wonderful. Don't get me wrong, I like our family dinners, but it's nice to be able to eat instead of listening to the various complaints about what is sitting on this Crazy Kid's plate or whinging about whether or not the other Crazy Kid needs to eat all his/her beans or just two of them. We all need a break from that sometimes!

On days when my Crazy Kids eat separately from the grown ups, I do make a completely different meal for them. I figure if the grown ups get a treat, why not them? The only problem is that my little kid dinner repertoire is just plain sad. They get either hot dogs (yes, hot dogs! Don't get me started on what it takes to get these two to eat protein!) and a veggie, plain pasta and a veggie, or sandwiches and a veggie. They want nothing else! I tried to change it up with a quesadilla once or twice, but I probably won't be making that mistake again. And then I saw a bunch of these homemade "lunchable" ideas on Pinterest. Who knew putting food in little containers would make eating different foods appealing for little kids! I surely didn't! But my two loved the idea! Heck, CLG even helped put them together!

A quick and easy dinner for the Crazy Little Kids!

It was so easy! I just put paper cupcake liners into a plastic container and filled them up with different foods. I picked whatever I had on hand that was healthy (okay, so pepperoni and salami isn't the best, but they needed protein. Again, don't get me going on trying to get them to eat proteins!). And both kids LOVED it! Scarfed it all up! We will definitely be doing this again! So I just had to share! Go check out all the neat lunchable ideas over on Pinterest! I can't wait to try it again...ummm, yeah, tonight!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Rice Mosaic

So we did a fun little activity to go along with the book A Grain of Rice by Helena Clare Pittman. Again, this activity is thanks to the book, Learn at Home Grade 4, which we absolutely love for our homeschool!

If you haven't read the book, it's basically about an extremely clever peasant and a princess who want to marry, but good old dad, the Emperor, is standing in the way. It's fun to see how the clever guy wins over the Emperor by starting with a simple grain of rice. CLB loved it! So he decided to do the accompanying rice mosaic craft that was suggested in Learn at Home.

First I had to dye rice different colors. It's really not that difficult, but you need a bit of space. I divided one bag of rice into 6 different baggies. Then added enough rubbing alcohol to cover the grains (just a couple of tablespoons will do, I think, but I did use more than that). Then I added drops of regular old food coloring into each bag, mixing colors until I had the entire rainbow:

The colors came out so vibrantly!
After soaking in the baggies for a bit, I just poured out the extra alcohol and laid the rice on piles of paper towel to dry. Once they dried up, I put them into clean baggies to keep them separated.

The next day, CLB decided on a picture to make. He wanted to make a tree, so used regular Elmer's glue to lay down the trunk and branches. He got a little carried away with the glue, so I suggested he use cotton swabs to move the glue about the page. As he completed each part, he would sprinkle the glue with colored rice, and then move onto the next piece. 

CLB has always said that he prefers making abstract art to real life pictures. I guess that's pretty obvious with this depiction!

Now I should warn you that gluing rice, although fun, is a bit messy, so have a broom and dustbin on standby! But CLB had a blast, and, although it's tough to see the tree because he decided to use some unusual coloring, he was really proud of the result. And that's all that matters, right!?!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Making Butter

Today we decided to take some heavy cream and turn it into butter. All we had to do was put cream in a container and shake it, so easy peasy lemon squeezy, right? CLB did it over the summer in a science class at the library, and it didn't seem so bad, and CLG is exploring farm animals, so why not make butter?

Well, let me tell you, making butter may sound easy, but it involves a lot of shaking! Not the kids' shaking the container, mind you. Know this in advance if you decide to do this with your kids! Those excited little people are going to give up pretty fast on the shaking, and you're going to be left with the butter. And a sore arm!

Really all it is is putting an amount of heavy cream into a container that you can seal and then putting in the time to shake the container. Non-stop! For about 15 minutes or so. Which, I know, doesn't sound long, but when the Crazy Little Kids gave up after a couple of minutes, those 15 minutes I was left with  shaking the cream seemed to take forever. Oh, and did I mention about 5 seconds into my shaking, I realized I hadn't put the lid on tightly. Cream all over me and the kids. Fun! Make sure your lid actually fits your container tightly!

After we shook for a bit, the cream turned into whipped cream. At this point, I added a bit of salt to the mix and started shaking....again! I kept at it but made the kids shake at times to give my arm a rest (they actually liked to jump with the container. To be honest, that seemed to work better than my shaking!). Eventually, we noticed that a liquid had reformed back in the container. We opened it up and there it was!

Butter! Sitting in it's very own buttermilk!

We were amazed!! To be honest, I didn't think it would work. I mean, knowing that it should work and then having it actually work are two different things. Next question, how did it taste!? So we drained the butter from the buttermilk:

Really high tech, huh!

And then plopped it onto wax paper:

This was still actually pretty wet. I ended up draining more buttermilk using a paper towel and putting the butter back onto fresh wax paper.

Then the big taste test...would it taste like butter!?!

It looks good, but how does it taste?

It does! Like fresh salted butter. It's fantastic! I can't believe we did it! We wrapped it up and put it in the fridge.

All wrapped up and ready to go!

The Crazy Kids and I have every intention of eating it with dinner tonight. It's lovely! And fun! Now, I just have to work out this cramp in my arm....