We have now started studying geology. To begin with, we are studying the layers of the earth. Alex made a playdough model of the 4 layers of the earth: crust, mantle, outer core, & inner core. Then, we cut it open to see what it looked like. She really enjoyed making her model! And, we bought new playdough, so we both enjoyed playing with it!
We spent one day dissecting owl pellets. Alex's pellet was a lot bigger than mine, but when we found the skulls, Alex's was a lot smaller. But, then she found another skull... and another skull...
So, she had 3 whole skeletons in her pellet, and I only had one, but it was quite a bit larger. We really enjoyed it once we got past the "gross" factor.
I took the time, while Alex was still "digging" at her bones, to lay out my skeleton. I know I didn't get all the bones in the right places, and I didn't find all of the bones (it just got too tedious), but we had a lot of fun discovering the joys of owl pellets & rodent skeletons! We thought the skulls & the teeth were the neatest part!
We have been studying "space" since Alex took a Junior Astronaut camp in late July. Here are some of our favorite books:
"Postcards from Pluto: a Tour of the Solar System" by Loreen Leedy "The Magic Schol Bus: Lost in the Solar System" by Joanna Cole (movie, also) "The Case of the Planetarium Puzzle" by Vivain Binamin
On her own, Alex decided to make playdough models of the planets by size. She got the idea from the "Planetarium Puzzle" book. She learned the names of the planets in order during her camp. She also made lots of other "space crafts" at camp as shown in this picture.
At home, we used a Lite-Brite to make constellations.
We made two castles for Ireland. The first one, the pink one, took a LOT of time as I kept messing up. Alex was expecting it to look more like a Disney princess castle.
Alex helped a lot more with the second, green one. She helped paint, cut, and decorate it. It was a lot easier, too, as it is made out of toilet paper tubes.
We also made two green, shamrock "angels." The crafts for Ireland have been lots of fun, and I don't know how we'll do near as much on other countries!
Today was Alex's 1st official day of kindergarten! She will be going to a homeschool "enrichment school" every Wednesday. Since today was her first day there, we decided this was her 1st day of kindergarten. Tomorrow will be her 1st day of kindergarten at home.
We started FIAR (Five in a Row) this week covering the book, Katy and the Big Snow. Today, we made a snowman from ice cubes! Yesterday, we filled 3 balloons with water & placed them in the freezer. Today, we sprinkled them with salt to make them melt & then stick together. Then, we decorated them with felt. Alex also added sugar to the snowman for fresh snow. There's nothing like a snowman in August!
Today we have been studying about the three states of matter: solids, liquids, and gases. We did several experiments. The experiments were from the book "Solids, liquids, and gases" by Louise Osborne.
We mixed a solid, baking soda, with a liquid, vinegar, to create a gas, carbon dioxide. The gas filled up the balloon.
We also used salt, a solid, to melt ice, another solid. The ice then froze again and stuck to the piece of yarn. Alex was able to pull the icecube out of the water with the yarn!
We have been studying "space" since Alex took a Junior Astronaut camp in late July. Here are some of our favorite books:
We made two castles for Ireland. The first one, the pink one, took a LOT of time as I kept messing up. Alex was expecting it to look more like a Disney princess castle. 
Alex helped a lot more with the second, green one. She helped paint, cut, and decorate it. It was a lot easier, too, as it is made out of toilet paper tubes. 
We mixed a solid, baking soda, with a liquid, vinegar, to create a gas, carbon dioxide. The gas filled up the balloon.
We also used salt, a solid, to melt ice, another solid. The ice then froze again and stuck to the piece of yarn. Alex was able to pull the icecube out of the water with the yarn!