I Am a Lifelong Learner ~ Are You?

 Something I do OTHER than make jewelry: LEARN

One of my plans for today (other than getting some orders out) includes learning. I am a lifelong learner...homeschool mom... who is showing my kids how to be lifelong learners as well.

On the agenda for today is: The Power of The Brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf. I've already watched part of this video. (Oh yeah, and I will watch it while I fold laundry! LOL)

Dr. Caroline Leaf is:
*An amazingly smart woman
*A Christian
*A scientist
*Interesting
*A captivating speaker
*A beautiful, amazingly smart woman!

This video isn't just for adults. I recommend it for teens as well. My 17 year old was enjoying it as well. She offers amazing insights that all can learn from.

Let me know if you decide to watch and learn!

The Power of The Brain

Kitchen Lab: Edible Experiments and Other Mad Scientist Recipes ~ Guest Post By Tamara Christine Van Hooser

Kitchen Lab: Edible Experiments and Other Mad Scientist Recipes

By Tamara Christine Van Hooser

“Who—me? Teach science? You must be joking! I barely passed science when I was in school. I’m certainly not qualified to teach it now!” The prospect of teaching science brings to mind names such as Einstein, Newton, and Bernoulli, along with the complex equations and scientific theories they espouse. Thus, it is easy for a homeschool parent with no science degree to view science as a daunting challenge and to shy away from teaching science. It’s easy to become even more discouraged by the price tags found on numerous materials required for science experiments, especially if you have a limited budget.

The truth is that science is all around us, and it takes no special training, knowledge, or extra expense to introduce your elementary-aged children to basic scientific principles right in your very own kitchen with common household ingredients. As The Magic Schoolbus’s Miss Frizzle likes to say, the key to making science come alive for kids is to “take chances, make mistakes, get messy.” Conducting science in your kitchen lab is an excellent vehicle for tying in cross-curricular skills such as measurement, nutrition, responsibility, and following directions, as well as kitchen safety and the scientific process. Select recipe experiments that end in an edible treat to motivate your kids’ scientific curiosity, and reward the junior mad scientists for a project well done.

Homemade Root Beer

Combining root beer and science will be an instant hit for all root beer lovers.¹ While many recipes call for ingredients that the average family does not have handy, a simple recipe of brewer’s yeast, root beer extract, sugar, and warm water is enough to teach kids about fermentation and carbonation.

Mix ¼ teaspoon yeast in a cup of warm water. Dissolve 1 pound of sugar in ½ gallon of water heated to 180 degrees F. Stir in 4 to 6 teaspoons of root beer extract and let cool.

Mix in the yeast solution and carefully pour the mixture into a plastic gallon-sized jug. Pour in enough warm water to fill the jug, leaving 2 inches empty at the top, and twist the lids on securely. Keep the bottles at room temperature for three to four days, and then refrigerate for an additional four to seven days.

For young children, a quick version of this experiment substitutes dry ice for yeast. Simply place the dry ice in the root beer liquid in an airtight container, such as a portable cooler. It should be carbonated and ready to drink in one to four hours. Add ice cream for a root beer float celebration, or hold a taste test to compare commercial brands to your homemade version.

Ziplock Ice Cream

For a completely scientific treat, make your own ice cream to go with your homemade root beer.² In addition to being a tasty project, making ice cream is a good way to learn about freezing, melting, and changing states of matter. In a quart-size ziplock bag, mix ½ cup milk, ½ cup heavy cream, ¼ cup sugar, and ¼ teaspoon vanilla. Seal the bag securely and place it within a 1-gallon size ziplock bag filled with 2 cups of ice and ¾ cup rock salt.

Seal the gallon bag and let the child squeeze and shake the bag vigorously until the mixture thickens like ice cream. Spoon the ice cream into your float or a bowl, and enjoy your tasty treat. Optionally you may substitute other flavors for vanilla, such as adding mashed berries, chocolate syrup, peppermint extract, or food coloring for a colorful snack.


To finish reading click "read more."

Boiling Water Science Experiment ~ Our Homeschool

Brrrrrrrr.....!! Baby it's cold outside!

Here in Chicago-land it is -2* and with the windchill it is -22*.

Yesterday, my boys thought it would be great to do a science experiment that they found online.  The temp with windchill yesterday was -54* !!! No kidding!  We have NEVER experienced this before.  The boys were greatly intrigued to say the least.

Of course, a warning is issued because boiling water is involved.
WARNING! Children should NOT do this experiment without a parent or guardian!

Materials

You only need two things:

• freshly boiled water
• really cold outdoor temperature

Basically, you toss the boiling water into the air (NOT above anyone's head!!!!) and watch it turn into snow!

Why does it turn into snow? 

This is what Live Science has to say about it:

"When it's cold outside, there's hardly any water vapor present in the air, whereas boiling water emits vapor very readily that's why it's steaming," Seeley says. "When you throw the water up in the air, it breaks into much smaller droplets, so there's even more surface for water vapor to come off of.
"Now, cold air is very dense, and this makes its capacity to hold water vapor molecules very low. There's just fundamentally less space for the vapor molecules," Seeley explains. "So when you throw the boiling water up, suddenly the minus 22 air has more water vapor than it has room for. So the vapor precipitates out by clinging to microscopic particles in the air, such as sodium or calcium, and forming crystals. This is just what goes into the formation of snowflakes."

Here is Weather.com's version found on YouTube:

Let me know if you try it and link back so we can watch your experiment!

Kitchen Science

My son LOVES kitchen science!

Here are 2 great resources:

I was reading blogs today and I came upon Miazagora's Homeschool Minutes.  She had a post about a  piza box solar oven.

That peaked my interest so I visited the Kitchen Pantry Scientist.  She has some wonderfully easy science projects on her website.  These projects are great for all ages to do together.

Upcoming Review: Science on Demand for Homeschool

Yeah!  I will be reviewing Science on Demand real soon but first I wanted to tell you a little about it.

Homeschoolers everywhere are searching for the perfect materials for their students.  That's why I wanted to make sure to tell you about a resource that I just discovered.

Science on Demand is taught by:

"Catie Frates is a dedicated bondservant of Jesus Christ, wife, and mother of three. She is an educator of over twenty years, author and nationally recognized Biblical Scientific Creation Speaker.Catie is a high school science teacher and home educator of over twenty years. She specializes in using science to prepare her students for their station in life and for their college experience. "

What makes this so exciting to me is that Catie actually teaches the students through video just like they are in class.  Check it out here:  Homeschool Science Class

I will fill you in with more info as the months progress and we get into our school year.

So...what's going on on Mars?

Your nerdier children (lol...like mine) may be interested in knowing what is going to happen on Mars very soon.