School days...

Here is an update on the last week of school...

We've been studying South America, learning about different animals from the rainforest, as well as other interesting facts, and practicing skip counting in Math as well as reviewing basic math skills.

We did a couple experiements throughout this study that were very interesting as well as fun!

One day Ethan was reading a National Geographic for kids magazine and found an experiement he wanted to try. It was very simple so we decided to do it. It is called Kitchen Fishin' and you can find it at www.kids.nationalgeographic.com

Here are a few pictures detailing the experiment:

We first poured water into a bowl. We pretended that the water was the ocean. Next, we sprinkled pepper into the bowl and pretended that we were releasing little fishes into the ocean to be free.


Then the assistant stuck one finger into the bowl and pretended that it was a shark. Can you see what happened to all the fish? They swam AWAY from the shark. (All the pepper went to the edge of the bowl once we stuck our finger in).


Finally, we removed our finger and then we took some sugar and sprinkled it into the bowl. We pretended this was food for the fish. What do you think happened? The fish came swimming back to eat the food! (The pepper gravitated back to the center of the bowl towards the sugar)

How did this work? What is the secret?

The secret is a little bit of liquid soap placed on the finger of the assistant before sticking it into the water. The soap acts as a repellant and the sugar acts as a magnet and attracts the pepper to it. It was really a fun way to begin a discussion about magnets and how they work.

A different day, we were discussing many different types of birds that are found in the rainforests and tropical forests. The curriculum had some interesting facts about eggs and the strength of their shells as well as an experiment to demonstrate their strength. Lucia helped us with this experiement. We usually end up doing experiments the days she is with us, which makes it all the more interesting because we then have to explain the experiment in Spanish. I usually explain it to Isabelle and Ethan and then they both have a part to explain to Lucia in Spanish- it gives them a lesson in Spanish as well :)

So, the experiment called for us to remove the egg yolk and white from four eggs by cutting a small hole in the smallest end of the egg and then pouring the inside out. Then we were to place the eggs on the table in a rectangular pattern, with the end with the hole down.

Lucia and Ethan with one of the hollowed out eggs.


Setting up


After getting set up, we were to add weight slowly to see just how much weight the egg shells could hold. I forgot to make the holes even all the way around and so the first batch didn't hold very much, plus we used heavy books to start with.


Two had cracked, but we used the other two and smaller books to try agin. The last two egg shells held 5 small books and one larger notebook! They really are strong!

Here are few pictures of our school room.

This is the starting point of our day. We spend most of the day working here at the table and everything we need is in this room. It is so great to have this extra space and it helps me stay organized. Everything is out where I can see it and most things are within an arm's reach.


After we moved, we finally broke down and bought a bookshelf. We'd done without for the past year mainly because we couldn't find one we really liked that was within our budget. We found this one for half the price we'd seen other places and it is working great!


This is the reading chair. We have reading time every day and this is a favorite spot to read individually. It also doubles as the spot both Matt and I use for our quiet times. I love this chair because I can sit in it and curl up with a book (on the rare occasion that I have time to do tht!) and it is big enough to cuddle in as we read together :)


Ethan in his spot at the table. Both he and Isabelle have their own spots at the table with me in the middle :)


This is our prayer map. We've got pictures posted of the other missionaries we know and where they are serving. We'd love to post your picture, too :) Just email us a copy or put it in the mail! Praying for specific families who are serving around the world is part of our daily routine as well.