But WHY Shouldn't We Look at the Sun?

I'm a 'why' person.  That is probably one of the main reasons why I ended up studying biology in college.  It is why I ended up with my research and teaching position while an undergrad.  Ha, ask enough questions and they'll invite you in to ask even more... I love to ask 'why'. 

Now in the midst of mothering and teaching my children, I get to be on the receiving end of the 'why'.  It is challenging for sure and yet something about it is so exciting.  I know how important it is to foster that curiosity and desire to know why.  Once stoked, the fires of curiosity will fuel life-long learning.

As we embarked on our astronomy explorations, I embraced the barrage of questions, asking a few of my own.  This week we've been reading about the sun.  It is one thing to read about how powerful the sun is, it is quite another thing to actually SEE it.

A few days ago, we read of how damaging it can be for us to look at the sun.  I could see my almost 5 year old get that look in his eyes as I read.  He wanted to go try and see for himself.  The 8 year old, my cautious one, was wise enough to ask why.  Instead of relying on 'because the book said so', I grabbed a magnifying glass while the boys found a few leaves that hadn't been hit by our big freeze earlier this month and we proceeded to head outdoors to test the powers of focused sunlight.

I reminded them that we have a lens in our eyes, much like this magnifying glass that it focuses light and images for us.

{photo credit: wikipedia}

 So what happens when we focus sunlight into one small spot?  FIRE!  For real.  Do I know how to make boys happy or what?  Of course now I need to make sure and hide the magnifying glass from the preschooler.

Greta wasn't too into making fire, but she sure loved playing with acorns and hanging out with us during our experiments...

While the older two certainly understood the lesson here {don't look at the sun}, I wasn't entirely convinced that the youngest understood the ramifications.  We we embarked the next day to make 'eyeball' cookies.  In this case, they made snickerdoodles and we plopped chocolate kisses {that are who knows how old} into the middle upside down.

Once our cookies were finished, we popped them in the freezer to chill before taking them outside to see what would happen to our eyes when the magnifying lens concentrated sunlight.  They understood and were begging me to stop the experiment before we totally ruined their rare cookie treat!

It's days like this when I am reminded how special it is to stay home with my kids and learn along side them!

Our Daily Dose of Science!

Monsoon season has a way of luring us outdoors...  The smell of the creosote, the dip in temperature and puddles, puddles everywhere!

I think the boys couldn't be more pleased with the 'daily outdoors challenge'.  They know that if I'm feeling iffy on going outside that they can just bring this up and hold me accountable! :)

We had fun walking the neighborhood, inspecting the retention basins which had a couple of feet of water and we collectively mourned the loss of one of our trees out front in the aftermath of recent storms.

Monsoon season is also when some of our desert wildlife that has been safely hiding underground comes out to play.  A fascinating croaking sound met our ears as we embarked to explore our flooded neighborhood.  While building dams with river rock, we discovered these little toads out and about.  I believe they are Colorado River Toads, sometimes also called Sonoran Desert Toads.  But after listening to the call of the American Bullfrog, I'm not sure.  They were quite busy that night and within two days when we were outside again, exploring the water that was left, the boys discovered TADPOLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh this is one of the beauties of childhood. Memories came flooding back from my childhood and the many instances of wading in the lake behind my home capturing tadpoles and then taking them home for the remainder of their metamorphosis.

There is something so special, so powerful about tangible, impromptu science lessons like this.  We studied frogs last year, but even reading about it in books or doing some fun activity doesn't even begin to compare with the real thing.  Watching the transformation take place before our very eyes is simply amazing.  This morning our little tadpoles merely had two tiny legs. By dinner time, they are sporting tiny arms too.

It is a timely reminder to seize the 'real-life' learning opportunities that come our way because context and experience are potent allies in the learning process.

So we continue our daily outdoor challenge.  I haven't been doing it perfectly, but life is settling back into routine and with it the daily habit of time spent outdoors WITH my children.

Nature's Gift...

When nature hands us the gift of opportunity, we take advantage and go exploring.  Yesterday, we pulled out the balls and had an impromptu lesson on lunar eclipses.

 

Natural learning opportunities abound everywhere.  With the help of the internet and a few balls, we were able to prepare for our 'quasi' early rise the next morning.

 

With hubby tucked warmly in bed and keeping Greta company, the boys and I ventured outdoors early this morning to take in what we could of the eclipse.

Dull to Shiny - A Lesson in Opposites

My energy levels have been abysmally low.  But then that is to be expected, I guess when you are just days away from that magical "due date".  But we did manage to do this fun Montessori inspired activity that correlated with our discussion of opposites.

I've had fun revisiting a preschool curriculum that I wrote for Xander.  And it is so nice to do something specially geared for my 3.5 year old every once in a while.  Since we were discussing opposites and Xander has been doing a lot with money in his math lately it seemed fitting to have a science day and learn about oxidation and clean up some of our oxidized pennies.  It is also a great activity that encourages the pincer grasp when picking up pennies as well as work on fine motor skills in general for the two younger ones.

With just a few simple directions, they were set loose to explore and discover.  It was beautiful to watch their eyes light up as they witnessed the transformation from dull to shiny and play around...

Here's what you'll need if you want to do the same.

• Lemon juice (vinegar should work too)
• Salt
• Towel to rub them down after they've soaked.  A want to try a toothbrush next time for this step.
• A handful of dull pennies!

We started by squeezing lemons into our bowls. 

 Then add a scoop of salt!

 We used our pennies to mix the salt into the lemon juice.

 Wait...

...and watch.

And then scrub with our paper towels...

  

Learning in Layers

I've been thinking a lot lately about how learning occurs in layers.  As each layer is placed down, it enriches and enables the next layer to be added.

Layers is the whole reason why we embarked this summer on our study of world geography.  As we studied Native Americans and frontiersmen this last spring, I noticed that Xander was finding it difficult to relate to maps, regions and the concept of travel.  So we decided to lay down a layer of world geography and map awareness.  It's been awesome.

Another layer that we've been exploring is our own bodies!  In an impromptu kind of way!

The boys received this puzzle as a gift. 

It is 5 puzzles in one, that is put together... in layers!  Of course, this makes it too complicated for Treyton (2.5) to figure out.   But Keegan (4) and Xander (6) are loving it and we've been able to talk about the different layers in our bodies!  There is a girl version of this puzzle too!  It looks like they used my niece as the model! :)  I also love the implicit pro-life message in the 'Mother Body' puzzle. 

We loved the book, Me on the Map, and were inspired to make our own map books.  She's written a whole series of books like this.  Including this one on the human body.  There are so many wonderful directions you could go after reading this book.  We could trace our body outline on butcher paper and then draw in organs, muscles, bones...  I have fond memories of the anatomy apron I did as a kid.  For now, I think we'll just settle for the book and our puzzle!  Keeping it simple...

Germ Prevention

As you may have guessed from my recent post, we have been working towards keeping sickness at a minimum this year.  The teacher/unit study enthusiast within me, jumped at the chance to use this as an opportunity to teach the boys about germs and how to prevent their spread.

I find it ironic that just as I'm getting ready to wrap this little study up, we get waylaid with sickness.  Poor Treyton came down with a stomach bug the night I posted last...  And then 4 days later, Xander came down with the 'spits.' I guess it provided an excellent opportunity to review all we had learned about germs and put into practice what the boys have learned about stopping the spread of germs.

Xander has been walking around today telling anyone who would listen that his white blood cells were 'eating' the germs and he was feeling better!

Here is a rundown of some of our activities:

Aside from using proper techniques when using our new homemade hanky's, we also tried to make the presence of germs a little more concrete and hands-on for them we resorted to the tried and true cinnamon wash.

To do this:

• rub little hands with a bit of vegetable oil

• sprinkle with cinnamon 'germs'.  This works best with a thin dusting of cinnamon.  (As you can see in the picture at the top, it got sort of clumpy on Keegan and didn't work quite as well.) Be sure to warn them not to touch their nose or eyes while the cinnamon is on their hands. 
• have child try washing hands with only water and watch for the frustration to build as they can't get the 'germs' off.

• Here is your 'teaching moment'.  "Wow, your hands are still pretty icky.  Why don't we try adding some soap and warm water?"
• follow-up with adding soap.  Explain that the soap helps to dislodge the germs so that you can wash them down the drain.

Remind them that real germs are so small we can't see them, but like the cinnamon 'germs', they won't come off unless we wash with BOTH soap and water.

We've been working with them on washing their hands frequently and thouroughly.  It has been helpful to have them sing a song while they are scrubbing to ensure that they are washing them long enough to dislodge the germs. 

After a week of barf buckets, I think they are ready to apply proper technique!


They have loved reading the following books:

Wash Your Hands ~ This is a great entry level book about the importance of washing your hands and when to wash them.  The boys didn't seem to mind that the central character was a princess and they laughed about the various situations where she needed to wash her hands.  It doesn't get into the facts on germs, but makes them out to be fanciful, yet fearful unseen monsters called - germs and nasties.

Felicity Floo Visits the Zoo ~ This charming book about the (make-believe) 'origins' of the flu talks about how germs are spread.  The boys loved finding the gooey handprints Felicity Floo left all over the zoo.  This book blends really well with the cinnamon wash as a way to communicate how germs can be passed along.

Germs Make Me Sick ~ The boys loved this factual introduction to the world of germs.  It explains the difference between bacteria and virus', precautions we can take to keep germs out and how the body is equipped to fight off germs once they get in.  It was in a very easy to understand format and Xander loved it!

Achoo: The Most Interesting Book You'll Ever Read About Germs ~ this book is definitely for an older crowd, but the boys enjoyed it in small doses and Dad really enjoyed reading it to them!