Plant Science

Look at me! I'm blogging something that is a current activity! lol :)

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Over the course of the last month we have been studying plants and how they grow. We have done numerous science experiments to help us understand the process. We have checked out several great books from the library to help us understand how plants grow but the book "Plants" by Sally Hewitt had numerous great recommendations for experiments. The explanations were also at a good level for the kids to understand and maintain their interest.

 Jackson putting adding red dye to water where we placed celery to see how water travels up the stalk/stem of a plant. This was a great experiment because it worked very quickly (within a couple of hours) and you could so clearly see the red traveling up/in the stalk. I highly recommend this experiment!

 We also tested how water is absorbed by plants by placing the flowers in colored water. For some reason this didn't work out great for us this time (we've done it before with varied success). The biggest downside (especially compared to the celery) was it took days for the kids to see the result(s).

 Water dyed and plants placed - all ready to watch and observe the results! :)

 This was a side experiment we had going on. When we planted everything with Grand-Dad, Jackson wanted to dump all the pea seeds in one container. After we planted as many as I wanted the way I wanted I decided to let Jackson have his way so we could see if the peas would grow. Sure enough they did! What really cracked me up is that there are so many plants that it just pushed the dirt up vs pushing up thru the dirt.

 This day we began by prepping a couple of future experiments by soaking bean seeds

 Next we gathered some dandelions from the yard for a couple of experiments and observations. In our various books we have been learning the various parts and purposes to a plant. In the next couple of pictures you can see them discussing the plant and why each part is important.

 We also picked a couple of dandelions and allowed them to wilt and then placed them in water to watch how the rehydrated. We compared how they looked before and after the process. This was another easy experiment that worked pretty well. It would have worked even better if we had paid more attention to the directions and placed a couple in a cup with water and a couple without water to have a ture comparison vs. doing one step and then the other with all of them. 

We took clippings of some ivy and placed them in water to watch how roots develop

 By letting the beans soak in water (picture above) for 24 hours we could more easily but still carefully take the seeds apart to identify all the parts of the seed.

 We have learned that growing roots from clippings is a pretty slow process! Nearly two weeks later you can just barely see some roots developing at the end of one of our clippings. We'll try to keep you posted on our ivy's progress! :)

 The other experiment the kids did with the beans they soaked was to place bean seeds in a glass container with paper towel so we could watch them sprout. I think this will become more interesting, but is also a very slow process. It has again been nearly two weeks and the beans are just now beginning to sprout. I guess we've learned that dirt really makes a difference in plant growth too! We'll try and keep you updated on how this experiment is progressing as well.

I also wanted to mention the book Janice VanCleave's "201 Awesome, Magical, Bizarre
& Incredible Experiments." This book is recommended by Classical Conversations. Some of these experiments came from that book. Everything we've done so far using that book are relatively easy and straightforward and clearly identify the process you are experimenting with to understand. I have purchased lots of science experiment books over the years, but I would definitely rank this one near the top!

Density Science Experiments With Water

We have done science experiments throughout the year and while I can't get to everything I thought I would once again share a couple of the year's highlights. 

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While I would say I'm pretty consistent with most of our schoolwork I'm a little more hit and miss with science experiments. The kids naturally enjoy them and Jackson especially likes to participate in these types of school activities. It's nice to know we'll be doing science experiments consistently next year through the Classical Conversations Co-op. Having said that, it is an area I want to improve on going forward.

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 In January we spent several days exploring the concept of density. Sure wish I could remember the book we used from the library because I would highly recommend it (that's why it's important to stay on top of my blogging! My memory just can't keep up with the details after 3 months! lol :)The first experiment we tried tested cold and hot water. We began by freezing ice cubes of different colors. We then dropped the ice cubes in the hot water to see which water rose to the top.

 Another day we tested the density of different types of liquid. We put syrup, oil and water in a container and learned they do not mix.

No  matter how much we stirred, the liquids would not mix and would completely separate as soon as we stopped stirring.

Next, we experimented with different items to see what would sink or float based on their density. This was pretty cool as we learned some objects float in all three liquids, some things sink thru all three liquids, and what was the most interesting (and entertaining) were the objects that sank through one or two liquids but floated on the other(s) giving the illusion of suspension. I think this experiment was the one that most clearly demonstrated density and the girls really understood what we were discussing and learning about after this experiment. 

Another day we did an experiment involving eggs floating in water. We used salt water, sugar water and just water to learn what the eggs would float in.

After discovering the egg floated the best in salt water and not at all in plain water, the kids insisted on trying out the water. I told them the salt water would not tasted good but as I said they were determined to try it out. Here's Jackson as he discovers listening to Mom sometimes has its' merits...

Our homeschooling friend, Ms. Mo'mina, both encouraged and inspired us to really begin utilizing our local libraries. I'm not sure what took us so long to take advantage of the libraries, but we've been using them for less than a year and a half and I can't imagine how we ever survived without them! These experiments were all in a book one of the girls wanted to check out as well as all of the books in my previous post. Sure wish I had been more on top of blogging so I had recorded what book all these experiments came from! Bummer! 

Story of the World - Book Recommendations

In my humble opinion the booklist alone in the Story of the World Activity Guide makes it a worth while investment.When I began recording our homeschool journey on this blog nearly a year ago I was including our favorite books from each week as we went. I'm not going to provide a complete list of books we've enjoyed, but for both my own future reference as well as any of our homeschool friends who look at this blog, I did want to include our favorites from the SOTW recommendations. The books I've chosen to share are those the kids enjoyed the most, did the best job of presenting or demonstrating a concept or culture, and were not books I would have likely come across on my own. I have provided this list in order of preference not subject matter.

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If I had to recommend one book from this year above all others it would be Solomon and the Ant: And Other Jewish Folktales, by Sheldon Oberman (Boyds Mill Press, 2006). There are 43 short stories in this collection and each one is entertaining as well as teaching a lesson. It's hard to say if the kids or adults enjoyed these folktales more. This is a book we have purchased for our own home library and I've also purchased copies to give to family and friends. Everyone should check this book out (literally) today!

This version of Homer's Illiad is another must have; Black Ships Before Troy: The story of the Illiad, by Rosemary Sutcliff (Laurel Leaf, 2005). Reagan especially loved this book!  While it is a simplified version of the Illiad it is still a longer book. We enjoyed reading this as a family one story/chapter at a time during our nightly storytime before bed. It does a great job of introducing kids to the story of the Illiad, and all its' epic heros. Make sure to get the illustrated version when checking out or purchasing this book.

Another great book that Reagan especially enjoyed is a funny story by the name of Archimedes Takes a Bath, by Joan M. Lexau (Crowell, 1969). The story is about a young boy who is given the task of making sure the great, but absentminded, Archimedes eats and bathes on a semi-regular basis. It is during one of his baths the "Archimedes' principle" is discovered.

Hannibal and His 37 Elephants, by Marilyn Hirseh (Holiday House, 1977) is according to SOTW the only children's picture-book available related to the Punic-Wars. We had to work a little harder to get this book (first and only time I've used interlibrary loans where the book came from out-of-state), but it was well worth it. It was a so interesting reading about Hannibal's journey from Carthage to Rome across the Medditeranean Sea as well as the Alps. Can you imagine that journey with 37 elephants? Can you imagine being a Roman and watching a herd of war elephants descend upon ou in Italy? If this book weren't out of print it would be in our home library too!

The Monkey and the Crocodile: A Jataka Tale from India, by Paul Galdone (Clarion, 1987) would probably be Jackson's top pick and recommendation of the year. We've had to renew this book several times and it is a frequent bedtime favorite. The story is about a tricky crocodile and an even trickier little monkey!

 

Jabuti the Tortoise, by Gerald McDermott (Voyager, 2005) is a South American tale that focuses on how the tortoise's shell came to be cracked. It also discusses the colors and special features of several other animals. Both girls loved this book but this was probably Kennedy's favorite book of the year. Many of the books I've recommended were too long to use in our co-op class, this is one we could use and the other co-op kids requested it in subsequent weeks.

From our study of India I would recommend the book One Grain of Rice by Demi (Scholastic, 1997). The library description is good for this book "A reward of one grain of rice doubles day by day into millions of grains of rice when a selfish raja is outwitted by a clever village girl." Besides being a good story it's a great math story since it shows how quickly numbers multiply!

Roman Myths, by Geraldine McCaughrean, illus Emma Chichester Clark (Margaret K. McElderry, 2000) is a wonderful collection of the most well known Roman Myths. It is a great way to introduce and share Roman Mytholgy with children.

D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths, by Edgar Parin d'Aulaire (Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1962) is a wonderful collection of all the best loved Greek Myths. Much like the Roman Myth book, it is a great way to introduce Greek Mytholgy to children as well as share these incredible stories as a family.

The Lost Horse: A Chinese Folktale, by Ed Young (Silver Whistle, 1998). This is an interesting story showing how things we think are unlucky can infact be lucky and vice versa.

Anyone who has looked can tell you there are many books to choose from on Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. We found Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, by Henry Barker (Grossett & Dunlap, 1999) was a clear and concise book that kept the kids attention while still being informative.

"Julius Caesar," from Tales from Shakespeare, by Marcia Williams (Candlewick Press, 2004) is a nice way to begin exploring Shakespeare. The book is laid out in a comic book style. The story is told in modern English while the characters have bubbles above their heads using direct quotes from the play. The stories are also significantly condensed with each only being a few pages long. Like I said, I thought this was a really nice way to begin introducing kids to Shakespeare and his works.

There you have it, our list of favorite books from the year. We hope you enjoy sharing these books with your children and families! We would also be interested in hearing any book recommendations you might have for us. We are a family of readers and we're always looking for a great book to enjoy together!

Roman Aqueducts and Roads

As we have studied ancient civilizations of the Fertile Crescent, Egypt, Europe and Asia this school year we have done various projects recommended by our Story of the World Activity guide. Most of the projects aren't quite as big or time consuming as the Chicken Mummy, but they have been great for providing a bit of insight into the ancient world. Many projects have involved recipes, stories, games, clothing, writing and art of ancient civilizations.

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This spring we have spent a good deal of time studying the Romans. We took advantage of having Daddy home and Grammy and Grand-Dad here for Good Friday to complete a project on how to build a Roman aqueduct and road. We had a good time with these two projects, but I am glad we tackled them with all the extra adult hands!

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The Romans were the first people to use cement in their building projects and roads. As such, we began by mixing sand dough which served as a homemade cement.  We were able to use it for our "Roman Archway and Aqueduct" as well as our "Roman Road." We began by mixing the ingredients outdoors and then heated it over the stove indoors to complete the mixture.

 

 The Romans built archways as water-conduits to bring water from river and mountain resources into their cities. So once we had mixed the cement we flattened it out and used our archway pattern (provided in the SOTW activity guide) to cut out the arches we needed for our aqueduct system.

  After cutting the arches out, we stood them up and stabalized them before baking and hardening them.

 The archways deposited the water into holding tanks (yogurt cup) and the water was then distrubuted throughout the city in a piping network (straws). Not surprisingly the kids had a great time pouring water in at the top of our aqueduct and watching it flow down into our holding tank and out the straws. This project really brought home to the girls how difficult it would have been to build full scale archways and aqueducts as much time as it took as to build this mini one! 

 

 While the end product doesn't look quite as cool, I actually thought building the Roman road was an even better demonstration of ancient engineering at work. Roman roads were know for their quality especially in comparison to the roads built by other ancient civilizations. We began building our Roman road by using a styrofoam container which represented a ditch the Romans would have dug to begin their road(s).

 Next the Romans placed a layer of sand in the bottom of the ditch

 Next they placed small rocks, cement and finally large rocks to provide a smooth surface to travel over.

 What was especially interesting about this project was the recommendation to do each layer half as long as the previous one so that at the end you could see all four levels of the road at the same time. This project again really helped the girls understand and remember the process ancient people used to build something we think of as commonplace today. When we discussed Rome several weeks later in our co-op class we took this project in with us and Reagan was easily able to explain the process used by the Romans to build roads to her classmates.

Thank you Grammy, Grand-Dad and Daddy for all your engineering assistance!