A BUGGY AFTERNOON

 This afternoon we had some fun with our Flying Creatures studies.  This is a science book from Apologia.  It's full of interesting facts and best of all focuses on our Creator.  Today we took a break from reading and dove into some hands-on activities.

 First we made hand print birds.

 Boo is a big help to me.  And yes, she is making that face on purpose.  Lol.

 First pink, then purple.

 Last was blue.  After they dry we will add googly eyes & beaks.

 Next were dragonflies.

 Pipe cleaners and beads for our creations.

 Ta dah!

 And lastly Princess wanted to make butterflies.  We haven't reached them in our book yet but that's okay.  Butterflies are always welcome.  =)

 Beautiful!

I made one too.  It was fun.  I think I'm going to hang them in the windows.  I am feeling the need for spring.

LUNG & DIAPHRAGM EXPERIMENT

We finished out unit on the respiratory system today.  That means it was experiment time.  Yay!  This experiment showed us how the lung & diaphragm work together to both take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide.  The boys really enjoyed seeing our experiment work.  

 I cut the bottom off of the bottle and then Bugs put the balloon on the top opening.

 Elvis cut the bottom off of another balloon and stretched it tightly over the bottom opening.

Then it was time to make it work.  And it did!  Very cool!

An up close look.

APPLES, BANANAS & VITAMINS.....OH MY! ~ NUTRITION CHAPTER

We stayed home with colds today.  Well, the girls & I did.  The boys were still full of energy.  I was determined not to lose another complete day of school as we did on Tuesday.  The boys & I managed to finish our science module and even had fun doing it.  Win-win.  They always love hands on learning and we inserted as much as possible into our reading today.

 First we read about proteins, bad fats, good fats, calories and energy.  Then we learned what that means in our every day lives.  The boys selected cans from the pantry and we talked about the nutrition labels.  They learned their importance and how to accurately read and understand them.  The second time around they went back to the pantry to select two new cans.  They had to guess which can had the most or least of specific categories without looking at the labels.  It was neat seeing how close they were in their guesses.

 We then went on to learn about different vitamins.  They have been taking extra Vitamin C lately and were curious about it.  This experiment caught their attention.  To illustrate the "powers" of Vitamin C we did these two experiments.  First we cut up and apple.  On one slice we poured lemon juice which was our Vitamin C.  The other apple we left alone.

 Here is Bugsy writing up the labels.

Next we sliced up part of a banana.  On 3 slices we sprinkled a crushed Vitamin C tablet.  The other slices were left plain.  We then waited to see what would happen to both our apples and our bananas.

 We noticed that right away the apple with no lemon juice started to turn brown.  We learned that it is because of the oxygen.  The lemon juice is an antioxidant.  It stops the oxidation process and helps to keep the cell walls from breaking down.  

The bananas did the same thing.  It was neat to see that the Vitamin C in both experiments, though in different forms, worked the same.  

Our next experiment will be to test foods for Vitamin C.  We will do that one as soon as I buy some Iodine.  We're all looking forward to it.  =)  What experiments have you enjoyed and learned from lately?

Chemistry, Astronomy & A Little Sunshine

Yesterday we had our full day at home. We have one day each week that we don't have an activity or class to run to. On this day the boys & I do a concentrated amount of science and history. It's always a fun day because it's full of hands on learning.  The girls hit the books hard too & get a lot accomplished.  It's a day we all look forward to.

Sweet Pea was busy with Chemistry experiments.

Deep concentration.

The boys & I read our entire lesson on the moon.  Then it was time for our project.

Princess wanted to color too & joined us at the table.

It wouldn't be us if there wasn't a little clowning around.  Lol!

Coloring one of the moons.

Writing up her labs while I take a sneak picture.  Hee, hee.

"Look, Mommy!  I, the sun!"

He said he was a Roman soldier.  =)

It makes me smile when they work together.

She sure does bring joy & sunshine to our lives!

                            Such a sweetie!

The boys made the phases of the moon.  This activity was in our Christian Kids Explore Earth & Space science book.  We are using this as a supplement to our Apologia text and journals.

Up on the wall!

They are all colored AND labeled in order.

They did a great job!

Another Fabulous Contest!

Apologia is having another amazing contest! It's one day only so hurry, hurry, hurry! It is their First Day of Spring Contest. Here is the prize:

"One family will be randomly selected to win Exploring Creation with Botany textbook and Notebooking Journal or Junior Notebooking Journal (your choice of one of the Notebooking Journals.)"

Go here for the details & to enter! And happy First Day of Spring, everyone!

Big Brother, Little Brother

Elvis asked me if he could read their Zoology lesson to Bugsy. Who am I to say no? There are SO many benefits to this including giving Mama some time. Hooray to Apologia for making science so interesting & easy to read! And hooray to Elvis my science guy for sharing his love of God's Creation!

Elvis reads aloud as Bugsy listens & occupies his hands with Legos.

Attention is captured!

I wish you could have heard the awe in his voice as he explained & illustrated snake facts to his brother. I thought Bugsy's eyes were going to pop out of his head! Lol!

MOLD!

Sweet Pea is studying Apologia Biology this year. Those of you who have studied with this curriculum know how intense it is. It is listed as a college prep course but in my opinion it is even a notch above that.
Sweet Pea is doing most of her labs & discussions with a friend in our co-op/family group. She enjoys this interaction & sharing of information. Today after the class was done she & I decided to keep learning & exploring on our own. She had never guessed mold could be so fascinating!

THIS is OUR pantry?

Sweet Pea had set aside a blueberry muffin & allowed it to grow mold. This is a sample from it that she put on a slide.

Studying hard!

Writing up her labs

Yummers!

My future scientist.

A figure of what we were observing.

It was really cool because we could see exactly what was drawn in the figure. Wow!

I love learning with my kids!

It really was fascinating. I'm very grateful to my Mom for purchasing this amazing microscope for our family. It is a treasure, a blessing & a valuable learning tool. Thank you, Mom/Grannie for investing in Sweet Pea's, Boo Bear's, Elvis', Bugsy's & Princess' educations! We love you! And a thank you to Jody too for lending us her Apologia books! Another big blessing! Thank you, friend!