Expanding Egg/Shrinking Egg Experiment

First we soaked our raw egg in the vinegar for 72 hours.  We noted the chemical reaction of the acid with the calcium carbonate of the shell.  The bubbles we discussed were from the carbon dioxide being produced through the chemical reaction. 

Our egg expanded and became much larger then it started.  We talked about the semi-permeability of a cell.  Our egg became rubber-like outside and we discussed how it felt as we handled it.  Sarah squeezed and even bounced it in the sink several times before it finally popped!   We talked about the protective nature of cell walls and how God designed them to protect the cells.  We talked about how the membrane of this egg acted as a cell wall would and provided some protection to the egg from bursting as we tossed it around for a while.  

After it burst it had a fairly intact membrane that was very rubber like in it's feel and gave a great visual for the protective layer of a cell membrane.  

Next we took an egg we had soaked for 72 hours in vinegar as above but then we had placed that egg in corn syrup for 72 hours.  The egg shriveled and "shrunk" instead of expanding and growing big/rubbery.  We discussed semi-permeability of cells and how this egg's membrane could not pass the larger sugar molecules through it's membrane but the water could easily move out of the egg membrane - causing it to "shrink".  

Making Roman Roads and Salt Dough Map of Italy - CC Week 6

Today we went Roman!  First we got our toga's and head wreath's on!  After all, when in Rome.....

Map Drawing - Next Phase - Outline Map

So we've mastered the "blob map" and now we've moved on to the Outline Map.  "Mastered" to me was that she could tell me the 5 Great Circles, Could draw them along with the blobs in the correct places - free hand.  Here is the next step we are on...

First we are tracing the outline of the World Map from CC Connected.

I have her tape down the tracing paper to the table so the paper doesn't move on her.

 She traces her Equator Line and her Prime Meridian and label them or initial them if you want to make it easier for them.

Next she traces just a darkened outline of the larger bodies of land for the 7 Continents.  I don't worry about having her trace the little islands....

I have begun a Cycle 1 Maps Lapbook of sorts.  This is where I have the maps I want her to work on drawing this year.

I've found grid paper on CC Connected for Map Drawing as well as Maps with grid backgrounds for the World and Africa maps for Cycle 1.  I then glued them to the lapbook in a manner that makes tracing them or free handing with a dry erase marker easy.  Such as below....

Then I used the peel and stick lamination you can buy from Staples to apply a surface that she could dry erase mark over and not have to use tracing paper.  

 

 Additional maps that we will work on later this year above.....

This is the final draw and two different maps she did.  The first one pictured was her first attempt. 

This map is the one that she's now working towards which has all the full names of the Continents and Oceans written out, the Prime Meridian and Equator labeled and the direction compass.  We do some quizzing after she draws.  Questions like "Is South American East or West of Africa?" and have her start orientating herself with directions N/S/E/W.

Learning about Ancient Egypt - Egypt Party!

Today we were learning about Ancient Egypt - Week 5 for CC.  We had an Egypt Party!  First we set up stations and divided up the kids to go to various stations.

Silly Latin

So we decided to do silly Latin while working on our Classical Academic Press Song School Latin.  I got out the playdough and some pipe cleaners and pom poms and they made faces to answer the question...Quid agis?  Just gotta make Latin more interesting some days :)!

Sum pessime!  

Sum bene!  

Sum optime!

Great Wolf Lodge - CC Homeschool Event

The Leonard and Nachsin Family - Sept 2012

We traveled with another CC family (and dear friends!) this week for the Great Wolf Lodge Homeschool Days.  We had a blast and really enjoyed our friends and the Great Wolf Lodge!  I highly recommend it for a relaxing fun kid get away.  Both our sets of kids enjoyed it!    

Mason with his two favorite girls - Brittney and Erynn

Left to Right - Mason, Brittney, Kyle, Justin, Gabrielle, Erynn and Sarah

Plant Cell Model

Today for Wonderful Wednesdays we made a Plant Cell model!  I just made it up based on what seemed like it would work and what was available on sale at Michaels in the clearance racks.  I first cut rectangles out of cardboard boxes I had laying around.  I then found green "stone" spray paint on sale.  I spray painted each rectangle.  Next I cut out vacuoles from light green construction paper.  I found ribbon which made a nice cell wall, some 3-D yellow stickers that had a design looking like a mitochondria once I cut them.  I found this great purple yarn on sale that looked like a golgi body and used green pipe cleaners cut up for the chloroplasts.  Last thing I found was some small white foam balls at the dollar store and we used them for the nucleus!  They aren't pictured till the model is being made.   I originally thought I'd use playdough but they didn't have any at the dollar store so I went to plan B :)!  

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

This week we started studying the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World.  I found a great printable paper craft of the various Ancient Wonders.  This was a Daddy craft - her and Daddy did this on his day off for Labor Day.  The simplest one was the Temple of Artemis - we put it on cardboard and added information about the Temple.  The cardboard folds together to keep it safe when not being used/displayed.  Here is the website if you would like to make one of them.... 

http://www.delta7studios.com/wonders.htm

Then we did a foldable craft of the 7 Wonders.  I found a great website with historical information summaries of each Wonder and photos to print.  We used 8x11 card stock paper and folded it in half.  Then we joined each one so they would fold up zig zag fashion and we put the Wonder on the top and read the information about it's history together and she pasted it on the bottom half.  Great hands on way to remember them and fun!  

http://www.reference4kids.com/history/seven_wonders_of_the_ancient_world.html

Learning about Animal Cells

This week we were learning about animal cells.  We decided to make a few things to learn this concept.  First we made a foldable and I put the names of the Cell parts we were learning.  Then my daughter was instructed to draw a picture of that part and use one or two words to describe it's function and place them under the appropriate opening.  We then made a cell model out of playdough and made flags with labels for each part and it's function.  It was fun and she knows them well now!  :)