sci-fun & tape-tivities

school is back in session at our house and we've been delving into the girls' My First Mind Blowing Science kit that they got for christmas. it has fit in perfectly with weeks 13 and 14 of our cc (classical conversations) homeschool work! yay! i had rushed around looking for pH test strips and had no luck...and with this kit, i didn't need them!




so, last week (cycle 2 week 13) we focused on the states of matter and had fun making magic ooze. when we compressed it into our hands it was solid, but when we stopped compressing it, it turned liquidy! (all you need is 1/8 cup of water and 5 Tbsp of cornstarch, mix it together and you've got magic ooze.) the girls liked it...okay...until it turned liquidy and they got a little grossed out. it was pretty cool, though! we also made jello to demonstrate solid (J-E-L-L-O), liquid (watch out, girls, this liquid is HOT), and gas (water vapor above the boiling pan) states. they liked eating that experiment.




this week (cycle 2 week 14) we're learning about acids and bases. citric acid crystals + baking soda + red cabbage powder = fun fizzing and color-changing observations. i had warned the girls that acids and bases could hurt their skin, but i failed to mention that the ones we were dealing with wouldn't...they were a little scared to pick up the cups and experiment. oops! i finally convinced Sugar Bee that it was safe...and she kept wanting to see what would happen if we mixed the red acid with the blue base, etc.


and, artistically speaking, we have been enjoying our fine arts studies. we started learning about some famous artists, and the girls tried their hands at painting Rembrandt-style. then the hubs (picture) and i modeled for them so they could paint our portraits. i'm not gonna lie, the hubs' looks like the abominable snow monster from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (in a cute, a-four-year-old-painted-it way, of course). we all got a good laugh (in a good way, of course) out of it. my precious budding artists. and next week Sugar Bee's class presentation topic is on a great artist - so she chose HER NANA! isn't that sweet?! hopefully the girls will absorb their talent from all of their grandmothers' genes.

cause all i've got is duck tape skillz, apparently! it was DUCK-TAPE DAY at our cc group, so i came up with a duck-tape apron. i taped 2 pieces of wax paper together in the shape of an apron and covered them with duck tape. i made Ladybug's a little too big, but figured it out for the 2nd one. i think it was supposed to be a child project...maybe?...but the girls did help put the little "triangles" on. they were the duck-tape belles of cc this week. (i forgot to snag a picture, so i had to have them modeling in their jammies tonight.) this could totally be a kid craft...if your adult fingers can stay out of it (unlike me). sticking the tape onto a self-healing mat to cut out the squares (with an exacto knife) to make the "triangles" was quite easy. i googled that part, but came up with the apron myself.