Once Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 We just started an ant farm this week. WOW! All my kids *love* this. I mean they check it avery few minutes when they are in the kitchen. Truthfully, I think it is a little boring. These ants just work all day long, kwim? :001_huh: So I was wondering if anyone else has had this experience. What odd things (that you thought would be a little boring) worked for you? I'm just wondering as we have a whole summer to fill with fun educational activites. Anything odd ball is welcome! :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 We did our own Leonardo da Vinci camp last summer. It was a lot of fun (and a lot of work for me). But, you could modify it by just picking up one of the books & choosing some projects to do. I just wrote about it yesterday, lol: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showpost.php?p=299988&postcount=7 The coolest project during our Leonardo camp was making a mask. We used half of a plastic gallon milk container as a base, then added any other shapes to it using cardboard, tape, aluminum foil, etc.... They covered it all w/ rigid wrap (like what casts for broken bones used to be made out of) & decorated (paint, sequins, feathers, ...). The masks turned out so incredibly well. It was a multi-day project & I was amazed & impressed at the variety & skill of the kids when designing/making the masks. Our group ended up with: a unicorn, a hippogriff, an alien, a cat, and two dogs. Definitely a fun project that I would have otherwise never considered. We also spend quite a bit of time observing critters in our backyard. We have quite a few bird feeders, so we see a variety of birds, plus chipmunks, squirrels, and rabbits on a regular basis. Hmm, I'm sure there are other ideas, but my mind is blank right now. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Once Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 Oh Thank-you. This looked like alot of fun. How did you make the webbed gloves? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Oh Thank-you. This looked like alot of fun. How did you make the webbed gloves? It was one of the projects in the "Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions" book. I remember we used latex gloves (like folks at the dr. office wear), chopsticks, and duct tape. LOL -- because, as you know, those are the exact type of materials that Leonardo had lying around too. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaneGrey Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 I love that book! In fact, I much prefer that series (at least as far as crafts go) to the [XYZ] for Kids series. The crafts in the Civil War and colonial period books were great, too. To answer the question: this summer, a friend convinced me to get a bird feeder. I really thought it would be boring and hesitated to do it, especially after I went (at her recommendation) to the specialty bird shop to get started. ($$! Do I really need to pay this much monthly for bird food??? It was so much cheaper at Walmart!) However, this (nature study) is a weak area for me, so I knew I needed to do something. I prefer the chemistry and physics experiments where you can stay at home. At least with this, we could stay inside the house and watch the birds. Anyway, we have very much enjoyed the bird feeder, and it has only been a few weeks. My husband, children, and even I rush over when someone sights one. We've taken photos of them and are learning about them, just as I'd dreamed (but not really thought would happen). :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaneGrey Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Ok, maybe the bird feeder wasn't all that odd...for anyone else but nature-challenged me. :tongue_smilie: It's not that I don't enjoy the outdoors! I just don't need to know the types of trees, grasses, and critters around me (especially the critters) for me to enjoy a hike. Plus, it has seemed too hard to try to find out what type they are. You can't really google "three-pointed leaf from brown tree" and expect to find a good answer. And I've got too weak a stomach to pick up a dead critter (or any critter's droppings) to take it home to identify. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happygrrl Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 We just made our own litmus paper out of cabbage juice! It actually worked, and has kept the kids fascinated for over a week now. Who knew? The instructions are in RS4K Chemistry, Van Cleave's "Chem. For Every Kid", "How Nature Works", and countless other places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 I picked up an owl pellet and book at books a million earlier this year. It got stuck on a shelf and I pulled it down a few weeks ago. My oldest dd is enthralled with it. She has spend hours trying to figure out how many animals were in that little clump of yuck. Middle dd - not so much. She looked at it, said "That's gross" and went to find a book. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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