Have you ever heard of Robert Krampf's free "Experiment of the Week?" He sends out an experiment every week via an e-mail list. I have actually been getting these for 4 years. For some reason I don't use them very often - I think it has to do with the fact that I leave them on my computer rather than printing them out. It definitely isn't because they aren't good. He does a really good job of giving you interesting experiments that are easily done at home.
Well, this week Mr. Krampf sent an e-mail out stating that he is beginning to add videos of his favorite experiments to his website showing and explaining the experiment! What a great motivator for my children (and me)! The website is Robert Krampf's Science Education Company.
Go here to see all of the videos available.
Enjoy!
~Andrea
March 23, 2007
March 22, 2007
First Day of Spring
When I was a kid, I thought that the first day of spring was March 21st. When I met my husband, he informed me that the first day of spring is March 20th (his birthday). I checked the calendar, and, sure enough, March 20th said "First Day of Spring." Two days ago I was talking to my good friend, and she told me that she is updating her blog to a spring theme on March 21st, her birthday and also the first day of spring! (By the way, her blog looks beautiful!)
Okay, what is up with the first day of spring??? Being the curious person that I am, I decided to look it up. The first place I checked was my calendar, which said March 20th. I then decided to check out the trusty Internet. This site has the dates of the vernal equinox from 1980 to 2009: Vernal Equinox.
According to that site, spring was March 21st this year, that is if you compute it "in the Mathematica application package Scientific Astronomer, which is accurate to within only an hour or so, and in practice gives times that differ by up to 15 minutes from those computed by the U.S. Naval Observatory." (No, I can't translate - sorry!) It looks like the U.S. Naval Observatory agrees this year: Earth's Seasons, etc. 1992-2020. They give the time as 00:07 UT. Maybe the Mathematica or whatever is closer to the U.S. Naval Observatory than they thought since they give a time of 00:08 UT.
Just to make these extremely interesting figures more complicated, I live in Michigan, which is Eastern time, meaning that the vernal equinox was March 20, 2007, at 8:07 PM. However, I did my spring cleaning on March 21st, so that must have been the first day of spring! Wait! March 20th was warmer than March 21st, so that means the 20th must have been the first day of spring. Of course, how often is the first day of spring warm in Michigan? March 21st must have been the first day of spring!
Truly, I have a dizzying intellect! I think I'll stop since today is the 22nd anyway.
Okay, what is up with the first day of spring??? Being the curious person that I am, I decided to look it up. The first place I checked was my calendar, which said March 20th. I then decided to check out the trusty Internet. This site has the dates of the vernal equinox from 1980 to 2009: Vernal Equinox.
According to that site, spring was March 21st this year, that is if you compute it "in the Mathematica application package Scientific Astronomer, which is accurate to within only an hour or so, and in practice gives times that differ by up to 15 minutes from those computed by the U.S. Naval Observatory." (No, I can't translate - sorry!) It looks like the U.S. Naval Observatory agrees this year: Earth's Seasons, etc. 1992-2020. They give the time as 00:07 UT. Maybe the Mathematica or whatever is closer to the U.S. Naval Observatory than they thought since they give a time of 00:08 UT.
Just to make these extremely interesting figures more complicated, I live in Michigan, which is Eastern time, meaning that the vernal equinox was March 20, 2007, at 8:07 PM. However, I did my spring cleaning on March 21st, so that must have been the first day of spring! Wait! March 20th was warmer than March 21st, so that means the 20th must have been the first day of spring. Of course, how often is the first day of spring warm in Michigan? March 21st must have been the first day of spring!
Truly, I have a dizzying intellect! I think I'll stop since today is the 22nd anyway.
The Chicken Mummy Saga Part 4
Our Continuing Chicken Mummy Experience...
March 22, 2007 (almost Week 27)
I am getting really excited about the chicken mummies again now that we are on our fifth salt change. The birds are getting quite dry and I think this might be the last time we have to change the salt. I also thought up a really great finale to the "Year of the Chicken Mummies." I won't unveil that yet, though - you'll have to wait for the exciting conclusion to our adventure!
We began to a chant of "We hate chicken mummies!" Then Kathryn proceeded to compose some chicken mummy theme music on the piano that sounded like it came out of an Abbott & Costello movie.
Allyson was the first victi--- I mean mummifier, followed by Kathryn, Nathan, then Jordan.
This week, we used:
* 1 inexpensive plastic drop cloth (should have thought of this before)
* 1 pair of disposable gloves per person
* 2 gallon Zip-Loc bags per chicken
* 1 container of salt per chicken
1. We took the chicken out of the bag, wiped the salt out of the cavity and rubbed it off the outside of the chicken into a garbage can that was placed in the middle of a large, inexpensive plastic drop cloth.
2. We put the chicken in a new bag, filled the cavity of chicken with salt, and poured the rest of the container of salt around the outside of the chicken.
3. We zipped the bag closed, squeezing out as much air as possible, added another outer freezer bag to help keep the smell contained, and moved the salt around to evenly distribute it.
4. We put the chickens back on top of our refrigerator.
The chickens are drying out nicely. This is our fifth and hopefully final salt change.
Stay tuned for Part 5 or The Finale...
March 22, 2007 (almost Week 27)
I am getting really excited about the chicken mummies again now that we are on our fifth salt change. The birds are getting quite dry and I think this might be the last time we have to change the salt. I also thought up a really great finale to the "Year of the Chicken Mummies." I won't unveil that yet, though - you'll have to wait for the exciting conclusion to our adventure!
We began to a chant of "We hate chicken mummies!" Then Kathryn proceeded to compose some chicken mummy theme music on the piano that sounded like it came out of an Abbott & Costello movie.
Allyson was the first victi--- I mean mummifier, followed by Kathryn, Nathan, then Jordan.
This week, we used:
* 1 inexpensive plastic drop cloth (should have thought of this before)
* 1 pair of disposable gloves per person
* 2 gallon Zip-Loc bags per chicken
* 1 container of salt per chicken
1. We took the chicken out of the bag, wiped the salt out of the cavity and rubbed it off the outside of the chicken into a garbage can that was placed in the middle of a large, inexpensive plastic drop cloth.
2. We put the chicken in a new bag, filled the cavity of chicken with salt, and poured the rest of the container of salt around the outside of the chicken.
3. We zipped the bag closed, squeezing out as much air as possible, added another outer freezer bag to help keep the smell contained, and moved the salt around to evenly distribute it.
4. We put the chickens back on top of our refrigerator.
The chickens are drying out nicely. This is our fifth and hopefully final salt change.
Stay tuned for Part 5 or The Finale...
March 17, 2007
Time Warp Trio
I came across a site a couple of days ago that I really liked. Most of you have probably already heard of it, but I'm blogging about it anyway just in case. It is a kid-friendly history site called "Time Warp Trio" that is based on a Discovery Kids Channel show. We don't have cable, so I had never heard of the show before. The show is based on a book series by John Scieszka, author of "Math Curse," one of our favorite living math books.
The website has information, interactive games, activities, lesson plans, book recommendations, and website links for the time periods of each of the adventures. I am especially impressed with the Lesson Plans, and Books and Links sections of the site. The lesson plans contain historical background information, a couple of activities, and the same book and link recommendations at the Books and Links page of the site. The activities also list the curriculum standards covered.
The books sound a bit like the Magic Tree House series. Apparently, there is a book that causes people to be able to travel back (or forward) in time. I assume that the book is "magic" in case that is a concern for any families. The books are for ages 7-11 and look especially boy-friendly. I just checked out "See You Later, Gladiator!" from the library. Maybe I can talk one of my sons into reviewing it.
The author, Jon Szieszka, also has a website called "Guys Read," which is basically a boy-friendly searchable book list. You can search by favorite book title, favorite author, or subject. I searched for books about the Romans and the search generated 154 titles, many of which were excellent, some of which I had never heard of, and others I wouldn't recommend. The site does look like it could be helpful for parents who are willing to do a little research on the recommendations.
That's all for now. I hope this is helpful to someone.
~Andrea
The website has information, interactive games, activities, lesson plans, book recommendations, and website links for the time periods of each of the adventures. I am especially impressed with the Lesson Plans, and Books and Links sections of the site. The lesson plans contain historical background information, a couple of activities, and the same book and link recommendations at the Books and Links page of the site. The activities also list the curriculum standards covered.
The books sound a bit like the Magic Tree House series. Apparently, there is a book that causes people to be able to travel back (or forward) in time. I assume that the book is "magic" in case that is a concern for any families. The books are for ages 7-11 and look especially boy-friendly. I just checked out "See You Later, Gladiator!" from the library. Maybe I can talk one of my sons into reviewing it.
The author, Jon Szieszka, also has a website called "Guys Read," which is basically a boy-friendly searchable book list. You can search by favorite book title, favorite author, or subject. I searched for books about the Romans and the search generated 154 titles, many of which were excellent, some of which I had never heard of, and others I wouldn't recommend. The site does look like it could be helpful for parents who are willing to do a little research on the recommendations.
That's all for now. I hope this is helpful to someone.
~Andrea
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)