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July's Science Minute

Ice Cream in a Bag This science minute will take longer than a minute, but you end up with some sweet rewards.  You only need 7 things:  Half and Half - Whole milk will make a less creamy ice cream.  Mixing whole milk and cream can make a creamier ice cream.  Half and half is the easiest blend, but feel free to experiment to find the texture you like. Vanilla extract Sugar Salt - You can use any salt you have around the house, but the chunkier salts are easier to keep out of the ice cream. Ice Two sizes of high quality plastic bags like Ziploc - You want a good seal, especially on the smaller bag to help keep the salt water from getting into the ice cream mix. Inside the smaller bag, pour 1 cup of half and half, 1 Tablespoon sugar and 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract.  As you seal the smaller bag, squeeze the air out.  Fill the larger bag half way with ice and add about 1/4 C of salt to the ice.  Put the smaller bag inside the larger bag and then top it with more ice.  Seal the bag and
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Ten Great Dads (of the Animal Kingdom)

In honor of Father's Day, we love to read Eric Carle's Mister Seahorse .  This is a great book about one of the most famous animal dads and some of his lesser known dad friends.  We also enjoyed the most recent Ranger Rick Jr that discussed Seahorses and other awesome animal dads.  So we compiled our own list of the top ten animal dads.  We included several dads that are helpful at birth, but thought the bests dads really ought to be the ones that help after birth as well. 10.  The Giant Water Bug This giant beetle dad has up to 150 eggs cemented on his back.  He dutifully carries those eggs for a few weeks until they hatch.  9.  Seahorses and Some Other Types of Fish Seahorses are a rarity in the animal kingdom as it is the father who gives birth.  But he is not the only doting fish parent, as Eric Carle's book teaches.  There are other fish that carry eggs for the family in a variety of different ways.  Some carry eggs in pouches, while others carry the eggs in their mout
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Finding a Balance

This week has been a rough one, so rather than post lesson plans or product reviews, I'd like to take a moment and speak extemporaneously.  I have been feeling many things this week - anger, sadness, anxiety, malaise, and most of all questioning what I can do.  I am proud to have attended Bluffton University, where I learned many things, but most importantly I learned not to do something just because everyone else is doing it, but to do the things I think are right.  One of the first speakers my freshman class heard from talked about Mennonites and the Pledge of Allegiance.  Something so many people are familiar with yet no one really thinks about it.  Kids in classrooms across America say this every morning, yet how many kids actually think about what they are saying.  Do they really believe it and understand the promise they are making.  When I see the flag, I choose to show it respect because I believe in liberty and justice for all and for all those who have lost their lives th
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June's Science Minute

How to make your own "Milky" Way Galaxy. Pour some milk in a shallow bowl or saucer.  This works best with any milk other than non-fat.  Add a few drops of liquid water color or liquid food coloring.  Use a toothpick to move the color about as you wish.  The real fun happens when you add a drop or two of liquid dish soap, or put soap on the end of your toothpick.  The fat in the milk is repelled by the soap, so you should get some fun movement in your liquid, swirling about like a galaxy.
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Product Review - Reading Games by Learning Resources

While we have been playing sight words Bingo for quite some time, we recently decided to try out a few more reading inspired games.  They are perfect for early readers, but with a few adjustments I was able to play them with our younger son too. Slam Ships For this game, you need one "reader" to call out words, while the other players man little suction cup space ships.  The words are all on circles which have different colors based on reading level.  Rather than have it be a race or a competition, we take turns because both of my kids are at different reading levels.  They like to have words from all the levels out at once.  For my 6 year old, I call out a sight word and have her look for it without too many hints.  We may practice sounding words out to help identify the word.  I usually use the word in a sentence too, although I try to prevent setting out homophones.  For my son, I read the word and then list the color it is on and give hints about the beginning and ending
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A Unit Study on the Ancient Celts

Objective: We continue my daughter's requested tour of the ancient world, this time into the world of the Celts.  This was a fun diversion from the paths typically taken by schools, but there was a challenge finding age appropriate books to read along.  We chose to study this in March, to tie in with St. Patrick's Day.  While exploring the ancient world, we wanted to examine some myths, and learn about some of their contributions to science, math and the arts.  I create daily worksheets dealing with the days topic and a daily chore.  My daughter gets five or six questions while my son gets three or four.  If there is room, I may include some math (simple equations or word problems) or language arts questions (like rhyme, syllables, synonyms). Spelling List and Sentence of the Week for K/1st grader : Language Arts lessons include some simple questions about the spelling list, like finding the nouns, making rhymes or counting syllables.  We read and write our sentence of the
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Product Review: Explore Science by Home Science Tools - Space and Plants

Home Science Tools is one of my favorite sites to look for science projects to do with the kids.  They have a number of science curriculum available, guides to help you select the best curriculum for your needs, and kits to help provide some of the tools needed for experiments.  They have also created their own topic specific curriculum for early elementary.  Topics include scientific skills, animals, plants, seasons, space and states of matter.  Guides include adaptations for advanced/older students, younger students, special needs students, and small group settings.  We tested out space and plants. Explore Science: Space This teacher's guide creates four lesson themes.  Some supplies are provided including an inflatable globe, and activity pages are included in the back.  Topics covered include the relationship between the Earth and the sun, revolution versus rotation modeling (year and day), lunar phases, Earth's layers, and the solar system.  We enjoyed activities modeli
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