Trains!

We're spending the next few days on trains in every subject. We spent a bit of time on the US National Parks website about railroads. There is so much to learn! Elf and Emperor expressed surprise that the scientific idea of water expanding into steam could be used to make inventions. The website shows how a train works and guides the children through a "mystery" to solve. Morse code exercises are on the website as well. I think it's geared to children about 7 and up. Our Bob Jones Heritage Studies grade 3 also has an entire unit on railroads and their effect on the West. No way we could finish that in one day, but by concentrating only on that and the website, we're almost halfway done. Map scale is also covered in this unit, so it was a nice "math" review. And the boys have learned so much in our studies today! Here, they're pictured singing the spiritual, "Get on Board" and helping Woodjie and Rose on the "gospel train." The Bob Jones Heritage Studies CD was set to "repeat" play and the children had a blast. We also saved some children's menus from Longhorn about railroads and the wild west, so the children had word searches and fun things to do. I'm hoping that the rains aren't too heavy tonight so that we can go out and ride on the train at Worlds of Fun while D stays home with the little kids.

Difficulty With Science.

I tried and tried to do the "make static sparks in your hair" science experiment. Sure, I got my scalp all hot and probably burnt some hair in the process, but there were no crackly sparks like we were supposed to see. Bummer.

I tried and tried to do the "make the paper jump" experiment we were supposed to do with food wrap, paper and a box. We did it with two different boxes and wrappers, two different kinds of paper... nothing. Well, except for hurt hands and wasted time. Friction is supposed to make the paper jump... but... it didn't.

I really, really stink at the practical experiments. We were somewhat successful at the "put the lit candle under a jar and see what happens" experiment. It's supposed to make the candle go out, and then we're going to remove the jar and record how long it took to burn out in our notebooks. But upon removing the jar, WHOOOOOSH! the candle about burns down half the kitchen with its vehement spontaneous re-ignition. Um... ok, Mom stinks at science, but hopefully this teaches the children to make sure that candles are completely extinguished before leaving the room.

But wait! Emperor wants to see if putting water on a candle will still keep it lit.

Of course it won't, silly Emperor.

Yes, it will, Emperor counters. Didn't you tell me that water is made with oxygen? ANNNND, didn't the LIFEPAC explain that the flame needs oxygen? We have to try this experry-ment and see if it works. I suggest it will.

Well, of course it didn't but I can't explain why. He's disappointed but thinks the strange new wax formations are cool. Elf says that the experiment proves that the water has no oxygen. And besides, if it DID have oxygen, we would be able to breathe in it.

Ok, now what would you say to that? I told him that we could breathe just fine underwater if we had gills. Thankfully he did not ask me how gills worked. *whew that was close*

Elf thinks that if we devised our own experiments, they would work better than the ones in our workbook. LOOK! I see that "butane" and "oil" are fuels. Let's get a big bunch of them together in a tube, and light a match and see if it's electric!

???

Um... Well, there's a reason this eight-year-old doesn't write your science curriculum.

I've taken a picture of his "trying to convince Mom" frownie face and posted it to the blog. Would that picture convince you to try this at home? How getting butane, oil and matches together proves "electricity" is an interesting concept, though. Elf counters that Mom has not proven that coal makes electricity at the power plant, either.

Arg. It just *does,* ok? Don't ask Mom how. We will consult with "Wikipedia" on this issue later.

Ben Franklin's Print Shop!

Well, we're learning about it in social studies and it made for a nice title... I've shown the boys how D's leatherworking letters are backward-looking, so that they can make "forward-looking" letters! Same with our stampers. We put ink on these, laid them on the desk face-up, put a paper on top and "printed" just like the old presses. Well, not really. The old presses were much bigger and you got to roll the ink on and get all messy. But they got the idea. They also worked "typing" messages with some backwards letters in the Bob Jones social studies curriculum.