Science and Marshmallows

We did a fun science experiment with marshmallows and uncooked spaghetti from 100 Science Experiments (Usborne) yesterday. My guys loved it! The basic idea is to build a structure out of marshmallows and uncooked spaghetti and test its ability to support things. Great fun!

Cicadas

It seems we are in the midst of a periodical cicada emergence. Walls of the house and shed, fences, tree trunks and even our garden trellis are covered with the empty nymph shells of periodical cicadas. This is so exciting to us - the boys have been so fascinated with watching them emerge from their nymph exoskeletons and spread and dry their wings. We looked them up in our Usborne Mysteries and Marvels of the Insect World and discovered that this mass emergence happens in the South only once every 13 years! So I'm guessing that some emerge every year, because we see one or two shells every years, but this year we are seeing hundreds of them. Does that mean that my oldest will be 20 yrs old and my little guy will be 17 yrs old when this happens again? I'm so glad that they are able to experience this and that they are enjoying the experience so much.

Last night, we read the book Clovis Crawfish and the Singing Cigales. This is a regional book about Louisiana by Mary Alice Fontenot. My kids love the whole Clovis Crawfish series, but this one had special significance because its about a set of Cicadas (twins) as they emerge from their home underground, shed their skin then sing their concert. We were blessed with a mild temperature, so we read the story in the kitchen with the lights low and the back door open (screen door was closed though) so that we could hear the Cigale Twins concert as we read.

Right now, my guys are outside playing with cicada shells and having a blast! Who knew :o)

Works for Me Wednesday (on Friday)

What a fun idea! After visiting Rocks in My Dryer (while you are there, be sure to vote for her kiddo in the Fruity Cheerios Contest) and adding this site to the Works-For-Me-Wednesday list, I realized I'd have to add my first WFMW post on Friday. That's what I get for not reading the directions.

Today, not only was it hot, it rained all day. After the boys grew tired of running in the rain, they came inside looking for something to do. They both love crafty things, so we pulled out our collection of activity books and they decided to make a Tie Card from "Things to Make for Dads". It will be a fun surprise for Father's Day and the boys are so proud of their work and that they made it themselves. Nicholas, our 7 year old made the card on the left with all of the bright colors and Andrew, our 4 year old made the "blue" card (with Andrew, everything is blue). It still amazed me that a simple and fun activity can draw out so much concentration and attention to detail. They guys happily created for over 45 minutes and here is the result of their hard work:

By the way, the tab at the top is to fold down so that Dad can wear his tie. And the kiddos wrote their messages on the back of the tie. Hubby is going to love them!

Getting outside with kids

My kids smell like onions! We've been outside playing in the garden, thanks to this post. Our green onions were a little overgrown and so this time, instead of stopping my boys from pulling some out, I let them. What fun! First, the onions were characters from Veggie Tales, and once that grew old, they got out the scissors and cut them up into small pieces. What a fun way to get some cutting practice! Sure beats cutting construction paper :-) Stinky kids are worth it for such great fun!

Thoughts on the Dynamic Learning Environment

Wow! That sounds so cool; a dynamic learning environment. But what exactly is it? Well, it is an environment that incorporates all of the senses to create a rich learning experience. Here are some ideas for incorporating the sense of hearing into your home or classroom.

Put together a listening center with a CD player and headphones. Stock it with books on tape, music cd’s, educational cd’s like School House Rock and Math Rap.

Set aside lots of time for reading aloud. Choose both fiction and non-fiction for your read alouds.

Put out a basket of musical instruments and some books with easy lessons on how to play.

Make available a tape recorder so that your child can record themselves talking or playing music and play it back as they please.

6 Steps to Taming the TV Monster

Okay, so I still haven't really figured out this blogging thing. I have an audio available that I'd love to post here. If you know how to upload an MP3 to a blog - I'd love to share in your knowledge. Until then, you can receive an MP3 of my audio 6 Steps to Taming the TV Monster by subscribing to my e-zine. Enjoy :o)

Robots, Electricity and Boys

My 7 year old is wild about robots. He's talking MIT for college (which cracks me up - better get a scholarship, son), planning to commission plating from a metalworker for his robots and wants to make one that cleans house and babysit for free(wouldn't that be great!). Looking around for some projects to help encourage him, I found our copy of "Science with Batteries" from "Science Activites" book. He's learning about circuits and having fun making blinking light houses, emergency vehicles with flashing lights and many more fun things. Its amazing how much a motivated 7 year old can learn! I guess next, we'll have to learn about attaching motors to our circuits. Wish us luck!