Muggle Magic (AKA. Science)

Malia’s second day at Hogwarts began with porridge for breakfast (AKA oatmeal) for breakfast.  She requested the overnight variety since she’s not a fan of traditional cooked oatmeal and I was happy to oblige since I also think the pasty version of oatmeal is loathsome. We tossed some strawberries and milk in with the oats last night and had a cool, creamy breakfast. After she ate and completed her reading minutes, she attacked her muggle studies with gusto so she could move on to her magical education.

During her house orientation, she created a tie in her house colors so everyone would know that she’s a Gryffindor through and through. Then she moved on to Potions, which was easily her favorite subject of the day. She made some exploding elixir by mixing mandrake root (baking soda), dragon spit (dish soap) and volatile solution (vinegar) in her cauldron. She learned how to use basilisk venom (dish soap) to send spiders (ground pepper) running. She also created some dancing unicorn milk by injecting it with leprechaun elixir (food coloring) and more dragon spit (dish soap). She ended her school day by learning to make a balloon and a feather levitate (assisted by the magnet on the end of her wand). We couldn’t cover all the potions in her book in one class period, so she is excited about having another lesson later in the week.

As a random, yet related, comment, science is one of the subjects that is getting glossed over with the switch to online learning. She is learning the basic concepts in the 3rd grade core, but there won’t be time to go into as much depth as there would be in a traditional classroom learning environment. As such, we are working to enrich her learning outside of what is assigned online. We got several books that dig deeper into the concepts of force and gravity, heat, and energy and she is completely engrossed. She loves that she is learning the basics of physics since all the boys talk about it so much. 😊

Because Science is Cool!

As we work our way home, it occurs to me that we talked a lot about science on this trip. To Sum up our vacation, here are a few things we learned:

-Huckleberries are delicious. In ice cream, jam, syrup, lemonade, chocolate, soda, pretty much anything. We came home with four jars of jam, two of syrup, huckleberry licorice and some huckleberry lemonade mix. (Nutrition)
-Yellowstone is a particularly unique national park that draws travelers from all over. We spotted license plates from all the states except Rhode Island, Mississippi, Delaware. We also spotted visitors from Ontario, Alberta, Quebec, British Columbia and Saskatchewan provinces in Canada. (Geography)
-We also saw a lot (and I do mean A LOT) of Asian tourists, many of them quite rude, which is a cultural thing. They don’t think they are doing anything particularly offensive. (Cultural Anthropology)
-We crossed the continental divide in three different places which provided us with an opportunity to teach our younguns what that is all about. The crossing with the highest altitude was at 8300 ft. (Physical Geography)
-Our time in Yellowstone and the information we found in the various visitors’ centers provided us the opportunity to learn about what creates some of the different geothermal elements we saw there including fumaroles, geysers, hot springs, and my personal favorite, mud pots. (Geothermal Science)
-Yellowstone is, in fact, a huge super volcano which is why it is home to so many geothermal elements. (Volcanology)
-Bison can jump 6 feet straight up. They can weigh 2000 pounds or more and are 6 feet tall. Their heads alone weigh 200 pounds and they use that weight to push aside the snow in the winter so they can eat the plant growth beneath it. The humps they have on their backs are huge muscles that support the weight of their heads while they graze. They have dewclaws which they use the grip the ground in snowy weather as well as weapons when attacked. (Zoology)
-Breathing becomes increasingly difficult at high altitudes as the oxygen and air pressure levels decrease. (Physiology)
-Fire is an important part of the wellness of an ecosystem. Some pinecones only release their seeds when the heat of a fire causes them to open. This self-seeding is dependent on the heat of the fire. Fires that are too cool won’t trigger the self-seeding and it the fire is too hot the pinecones can’t withstand the heat. (Botany)
-Lodgepole pines, the most common trees in Yellowstone, are self-pruning. The lower branches die and eventually drop off the trunk. (Botony)
-A long, wet spring meant the early June weather was perfect, cool and sunny. There was only one afternoon when it was warm enough that I was starting to feel the ill effects of the heat. It rained around 2 pm on several days, but not our full days in the park. When they did occur, the thunderstorms were spectacular, and we enjoyed the show. I did snow, but not until last night. As we had reached the end of our vacation, it gave us no worries. (Meteorology)

I’ve asked each of the kids to tell me which part of our vacation was their favorite. This is what they decided:
-Daniel’s favorite bit was seeing the “Grand Canyon” of Yellowstone and Yellowstone Falls.
-Nathan says horseback riding was pretty awesome. He enjoyed the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and his overall opinion of Yellowstone was that “it was all pretty epic.”
-Matthew loved all three of our days in Yellowstone. He couldn’t narrow it down further than that. He thought it was all amazing.
-And it will come as no surprise that Malia’s favorite part was horseback riding.

As for me, I really enjoyed all our time in the park (minus the sunburn and the mosquitos) but my favorite part was probably Fountain Paint Pot. The bubbling mud pots made an incredibly satisfying splurching sound. Nathan’s word for the sound was “Glop-Splosh-oling.” And, of course, being able to spend that time together as a family was wonderful. Our regular schedules frequently get so crazy that we are all coming and going, occasionally crossing paths as we rush to get where we need to be. As a result, having an entire week to be together at an easy pace with no demands from the clock was amazing.

Messy Science is the Best Because…

…playing with this Non-Newtonian liquid (a.k.a. cornstarch + water) that is sometimes chunky and sometimes drippy is super fun!

Science is Cool!

Several months ago I saw a pin on pinterest about reusable bubbles. Now that all the boys are out of school for a few weeks, we decided to give them a try. This recipe is basically slime (or gak) but made stiffer so it will hold its shape a while longer. We’ve made slime before, but this was a whole new twist on the slime thing. And we had some very serious fun. Even Malia got into the whole bubble blowing bonanza.

(synchronized bubble blowing is harder than it looks)

Back to school sales are starting and white glue is super cheap so go get yourself a bottle or two (or as many bottles as you have children to eliminate the bickering) and try the reusable bubbles. It’s a totally fun way to spend an afternoon. And I only feel a little high from breathing in glue fumes…

Here’s how we did it: mix one bottle of white glue (ours were 4 oz.) with food coloring (or liquid water colors). You can add some glitter as well, but we didn’t have any because I’m not a fan of the mess glitter makes. And once the fun got started, nobody missed it. Add StaFlo liquid starch a little at a time, stirring after each addition. When the slime is too solid to stir, start kneading it instead. Continue to add starch a bit at a time until the slime breaks when pulled straight up instead of stretching. Use straws to blow some pretty awesome bubbles. And be prepared to play with it much longer than you think you will. Seriously. Even if you are a grown up like me. Unless you’re a boring grown up in which case you’ll be folding laundry like a good girl while the kids are playing. (FYI: my laundry is still not folded)

Living in a House Full of Science Dorks is Fun

It’s cold outside.  Guess how I know?  I just came in from outside where all of us were able to see Jupiter and all four of its moons through Daniel’s telescope.  It was pretty cool!  Daniel was able to see individual craters on the moon as well.  Santa brought this $35 telescope to Daniel last year and Kev and I added some lenses and a finder scope for Daniel’s birthday last year.  It has worked better than I expected it to for the price and it has been totally fun.  This would be one of the few perks about it getting dark so freakin’ early.  Daniel can go out and stargaze and still get to bed on time.