Putt-Putt Boats

We made some putt-putt boats while studying the Industrial Revolution and the steam engine. They were fun to make and we loved the putt-putt sound they make.


We were expecting a successful launch at a friend's neighborhood lake.  However, we didn't take into account the sprinklers going off and the wind! 

 We tried again in our bathtub and they worked!

Here's a video to hear the cool sound they make.


Go to www.sciencetoymaker.org if you are interested in making your own.  He's got great directions.

A sneak peek

at Eliana's birthday cake.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie n’ Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar

A layer of chocolate chip cookie, oreos, and brownie which will be topped off with ice cream and fudge.  Maybe we should just eat one piece.

Cliffhanger

We are enjoying watching a very good series that is 8 DVDs long.  Since it is so long, we are watching a little bit at a time.  Tonight there was a pretty suspenseful scene where the main character looked like he wasn't going to make it.  Joanna then piped up just as we were biting off the last of our fingernails and said,

"Don't worry, he'll survive.  We've got 6 DVDs left."

Homeless Polly Pockets

Joanna overheard this while Eliana and Karis were playing with some

Polly Pockets.

     E: My girl is homeless.

     K: My gurl is homewess too.
     E: Ok
     K: Can your girl come over to my house to play?

Botany Lesson

Eliana and Caleb are working on some leaf classification.

 We got a few different types of leaves and identified them by category.  They identified them by their arrangement, venation, shape and margin.

Peaches

I canned some peaches this weekend -  wonder how long they'll last (before we eat them, that is).

Finishing the salt maps

The kids donned their paint shirts and painted their salt maps.

They look pretty good don't they!

Quill pens

The kids made their own quill pens with their homeschool group. 

Joanna getting her quill ready by stripping away some of the plume.
The kids then shaped the nib which was harder than it looked. It probably would have helped to have better knives!

They got to practice writing with their pens.

This was a project the girls especially liked!

Flying along

 

Caleb got to go on a flight with dad.  He took lots of pictures and one of himself too!

Imaginary Places

The kids made salt maps of an imaginary place.  They created their maps while using various geographic terms.

Caleb's map includes, among other features, a mountain range, a precipice, a fjord, a delta, an estuary, and a canal. 

Eliana's map includes an island, a bay, a port, a river, a fall line, a tributary, an arroyo, and an isthmus.

Joanna's has a peninsula, a plateau, a summit, a cataract, a glacier, a mesa, and an archipelago. 

We'll let them dry and they'll be able to paint them next week.

New word

Karis has introduced us to a new word: "yesterweek." Whenever she wants to tell us about something that happened earlier, she says that it happened yesterweek. She's been using it for a while, so I think we need to permanently add it to our dictionary.

Chocolate

We went on a little tour of where they make chocolate for a local artisan chocolate shop.  Can you imagine the smell that greeted us as we walked in?  First thing Karis said to me was, "I'm hungry!"  and she didn't let us forget it until we got a yummy sample.

 Look at the yummy chocolate!

 We had to walk by this tray of pretty chocolates and say mmm.

 They use these big bars of chocolate from Belgium.

Fresh-made marshmallows with chocolate drizzled on top just for us.

 Karis finally got her chocolate.

 Yep, it's very, very good.

 Lots of chocolate being tempered and ready to use!

Smooth and creamy. I think this one held 60 lbs of chocolate!

Density

Here's a quick experiment Joanna did on the density of objects.

Joanna's findings:

The liquids in this cup are vegetable oil, water and syrup.  The objects are a cherry, a cork, an ice cube and a rock (which you can't really see - the rock is at the bottom of the syrup.) 

This experiment shows that objects and liquids that are less dense rise above the objects and liquids that are more dense.

Bball game

We went to a local baseball game tonight and had a fun time.  There was even a coolish breeze so we didn't melt!

Caleb

Enjoying pic, pic, pic, pic, pic, pic PiXXXXiEEE StIcKs!!!

Sugar high!

When I was a baby...

A quote from Karis:

"Daddy, Daddy! When I was a baby, Mommy put me in her tummet (stomach)... And then I drowed (grew) up in a tid. (into a kid)"

Mmm strawberries

 

Drying some strawberries for Caleb!

Outdoor fun

We headed to a park with some friends and enjoyed the playground and sprinklers today!

Eliana is getting ready to join the other kids!

Karis loves the face stick.  She gets the sunscreen on nice and thick.

 
Karis really liked this huge dog that walked by.

An Old Letter

My grandma sent this to me recently.

  It's a letter I wrote to her before I could even write my name.

Eliana's puppy

Here's Eliana's latest drawing she brought home from class.

Bakers

Eliana and Karis are getting ready for some Easy Bake baking or some mess making thanks to a neighbor's garage sale!