helena Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 We are hanging up root veggies to see if they sprout. Not the most challenging experiment.. :D, but I like to keep something going at all times. Anyone else growing something, molding something, exploding something?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleWMN Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 My 6 year old has a sweet potato plant growing in a jar full of water and my 9 year old has an egg in a container of vinegar. Nothing too exciting here either :tongue_smilie:, but I too like to keep something going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 We did a bunch of awesome games with mirrors and lights last week. It was phenomenal. Next week we're supposed to build a working generator. I'm kind of psyched for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrissySC Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 (edited) Well, we are watching a cup sit in the window. It has a layer of wet dirt, planted seeds, and a layer of plaster (homemade plaster of course). We take bets on what it will do - it has caused some controversy in our house. We argue over the purpose and relevance of having soaked the seed first for a day. We argue over the reasonableness for the project. We argue over how in the world this could even remotely relate to erosion. We argue over our own individual hypothesis. We shall see. LOL - it may not be the actual literal most exciting and fun experiment, but the dialogue as a result sure has been a blast. Edited April 23, 2011 by ChrissySC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted April 23, 2011 Author Share Posted April 23, 2011 Well, we are watching a cup sit in the window. It has a layer of wet dirt, planted seeds, and a layer of plaster (homemade plaster of course). We take bets on what it will do - it has caused some controversy in our house. We argue over the purpose and relevance of having soaked the seed first for a day. We argue over the reasonableness for the project. We argue over how in the world this could even remotely relate to erosion. We argue over our own individual hypothesis. We shall see. LOL - it may not be the actual literal most exciting and fun experiment, but the dialogue as a result sure has been a blast. Do you have instructions? Photos? What's going to happen?? :willy_nilly: How did you make the plaster? What kind of cup? What kind of seeds? This sounds like something I'd like to try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 We are vegetable gardening for the first time, which has resulted in TONS of conversations and learning for the kids. I have my first blog post with pics HERE And the second HERE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Well, over the last few months we've been building a space shuttle in our back yard and plan to send one of the cats to the moon in it after Easter. The kitty cam is ready and launch date is in T-minus 86 hours 43.8 minutes...if the weather permits. If anyone is in the Washington DC area you might like to stop by and see. Otherwise you can watch from the web. I'll be live-blogging the event too, of course. Other than that, we have been studying the various life forms that have taken residence in our compost bin, and have discovered at least 6 new species of mold. Last but not least we have dissected the neighbor's chinchilla which died from from running a bit too far off of the edge of their deck. In so doing, we found the thing had a tumor which we submitted to Johns Hopkins oncology lab. Turns out, it is a form of cancer more typically found in human spleen and they have begun working on a cure. We have been to the lab several times to look at cells through their electron microscope. DD5 has become quite proficient at identifying the cancerous cells vs. the healthy. As a result of this strange coincidence, my son is learning about writing research grants. I suppose it's a valuable skill to have... It's not much compared to what some people do, but the kids do need a little science in their lives, don't they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted April 23, 2011 Author Share Posted April 23, 2011 Well, over the last few months we've been building a space shuttle in our back yard and plan to send one of the cats to the moon in it after Easter. The kitty cam is ready and launch date is in T-minus 86 hours 43.8 minutes...if the weather permits. If anyone is in the Washington DC area you might like to stop by and see. Otherwise you can watch from the web. I'll be live-blogging the event too, of course. Other than that, we have been studying the various life forms that have taken residence in our compost bin, and have discovered at least 6 new species of mold. Last but not least we have dissected the neighbor's chinchilla which died from from running a bit too far off of the edge of their deck. In so doing, we found the thing had a tumor which we submitted to Johns Hopkins oncology lab. Turns out, it is a form of cancer more typically found in human spleen and they have begun working on a cure. We have been to the lab several times to look at cells through their electron microscope. DD5 has become quite proficient at identifying the cancerous cells vs. the healthy. As a result of this strange coincidence, my son is learning about writing research grants. I suppose it's a valuable skill to have... It's not much compared to what some people do, but the kids do need a little science in their lives, don't they? That sounds nice... but are those things even going to be covered in state testing?? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Well, over the last few months we've been building a space shuttle in our back yard and plan to send one of the cats to the moon in it after Easter. The kitty cam is ready and launch date is in T-minus 86 hours 43.8 minutes...if the weather permits. If anyone is in the Washington DC area you might like to stop by and see. Otherwise you can watch from the web. I'll be live-blogging the event too, of course. :lol: That's. So. Awesome. Actually, all your experiments are. I knew these homeschoolers when *I* was a kid who went everywhere with a cooler in their van so they could take things home to dissect them if they found anything dead. And I always hoped maybe I'd be that kind of homeschool parent. We do a lot of science compared to some homeschoolers, but not on that sort of level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 That sounds nice... but are those things even going to be covered in state testing?? :D :lol: :001_huh: (shoot...didn't think of that) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 :lol: That's. So. Awesome. Actually, all your experiments are. I knew these homeschoolers when *I* was a kid who went everywhere with a cooler in their van so they could take things home to dissect them if they found anything dead. ewwwwwwww. just. ewwwwwwww. My neighbor mistook me for that type of homeschooling mother (or she was just being mean, one or the other) and sent her son over to our house with a dead turtle in a ziploc bag that her dog had just killed and dismembered. The chinchilla was a little less, uh, messy. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gevs4him Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Right now we have 4 ongoing ~ Epsom salt crystals and crystals growing on Dolomite. Beans sprouting and food coloring in the water of a bamboo shoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2teach0307 Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 We rescued a garden snail who now loves our lettuce and graciously laid about 20 eggs in his container for us. We're anxiously observing the changes while taking very good care of the parent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 We rescued a garden snail who now loves our lettuce and graciously laid about 20 eggs in his container for us. We're anxiously observing the changes while taking very good care of the parent. I wonder if it stresses the snail out to figure out if he's going to be a she or if she's going to be a he? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 At the moment, we're keeping a week long log of the mileage on our family car. Every time someone uses it, my daughter has to write down why they used it and track the mileage. At the end of the week she has to total the mileage, figure out whether any of our trips could have been avoided by more careful planning or by walking instead, etc (we've been doing various types of pollution and "alternatives" such as housing, fuels, cleaning supplies and so on lately). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Researcher Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Our new project for Earth Day is a worm composting bin. Kids dig worms!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrissySC Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Absolutely the best idea ever! There was a similar movie ... who remembers the name? I laughed and thought how cool all the while reading. :lol: Well, over the last few months we've been building a space shuttle in our back yard and plan to send one of the cats to the moon in it after Easter. The kitty cam is ready and launch date is in T-minus 86 hours 43.8 minutes...if the weather permits. If anyone is in the Washington DC area you might like to stop by and see. Otherwise you can watch from the web. I'll be live-blogging the event too, of course. Other than that, we have been studying the various life forms that have taken residence in our compost bin, and have discovered at least 6 new species of mold. Last but not least we have dissected the neighbor's chinchilla which died from from running a bit too far off of the edge of their deck. In so doing, we found the thing had a tumor which we submitted to Johns Hopkins oncology lab. Turns out, it is a form of cancer more typically found in human spleen and they have begun working on a cure. We have been to the lab several times to look at cells through their electron microscope. DD5 has become quite proficient at identifying the cancerous cells vs. the healthy. As a result of this strange coincidence, my son is learning about writing research grants. I suppose it's a valuable skill to have... It's not much compared to what some people do, but the kids do need a little science in their lives, don't they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2teach0307 Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 I wonder if it stresses the snail out to figure out if he's going to be a she or if she's going to be a he? Well, being deaf and practically blind, it is a pretty stress-free life. I try to be gender unspecific, but tend to veer toward the masculine for the little guy. So far, he's been our best pet to date (we don't do well with pets). However, after laying eggs over several days, he did just hole up and not move for a few days. We thought he was gone, but he was just recuperating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Well, we have our garden started. Although that is not so much science, as lunch for later this summer :) And currently we have 2 tea cups in the warmest window in the house. We are watching the water evaporate from a cup of tea and a cup of salt water. Not too exciting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted April 24, 2011 Author Share Posted April 24, 2011 We are vegetable gardening for the first time, which has resulted in TONS of conversations and learning for the kids. I have my first blog post with pics HERE And the second HERE Okay, that's inspiring!! Super cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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