Friday, January 18, 2013

Pet Isopods!

This is the third winter that we've cared for some Sow bugs and Potato/Pill bugs. In the end we usually only have Sow bugs left. I'm not sure why, but they seem more resilient. This year the kids haven't been as interested in them as other years that we've done this so I looked up an information page, got out some containers, a spoon, and some magnifying glasses. HERE is the information page I pulled up on my iPad to read to them while they observed them up close. In the process they discovered some baby snails living in our mini aquarium and some baby sow bugs and some really small white bugs that we couldn't identify. We also have a worm still. I saw it still alive the other night when I checked them.

If you are interested in keeping sow bugs it's easy. They are found under rocks in autumn and you can place them in a large jar (we are using a small aquarium). I've kept them in a small jar as well. They aren't picky as long as there is food, dirt, and moisture. Be sure there are air holes so they can breath. Put a bunch of soil in the jar from the ground where you found them and keep the soil moist. Keep adding organic leaves to the jar to feed them. They will eventually have babies. The mom keeps the babies under her belly for the first little while. Once they are big enough to go off on their own they crawl off of her and wander around the jar. They are very tiny versions of the adults. If you use a larger container they like small rocks to hide under. You can keep worms with them as well, or snails. They all live well together. The worms make tunnels that the sow bugs like to crawl through. Enjoy!!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Frost

This is the view we had from inside our van one early morning. I happened to have my camera on hand to snap this shot. The kids were so excited over the frost on the windows and loved to look closely at the patterns. I decided to look for frost activities at home because of this. 

When dealing with different levels at one time, I just mix it up. I mix experiments for older children and activities for younger children and I mix up levels of books as well. I think that we can learn from all books and activities no matter what level we are at. Younger children will pick up what they can and older kids will be refreshed on things from easier books/activities. 

I found these activities online through Lesson Planet. Lesson Planet is great because I can search any topic and usually a bunch of activities come up in many different grade levels. HERE is the lesson plan and HERE is the worksheet with the experiment on it. It was an easy experiment. I forgot to take pictures but I thought I would still share it here so that others can try it out and maybe sign up with Lesson Planet because it's a great resource!

Here are two fun books on Frost that we borrowed from the library... 




Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Cells

When we went through our homeschool stuff the kids rediscovered this kit. I wish we had the other kits like it. I'd like other types of cells so that they could compare each model. It's a plant cell and the parts come out. There is a booklet and a card that help to explain the parts of the cell.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Book Sharing Monday - Yo, Aesop!

 If you like Aesops fables but would like to see a modern twist to the stories you will love this book. Paul Rosenthal did a great job of making new fables. 

 These are totally new stories with the same type of lessons. 

The illustrations were great too!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Physical Activity at Home in Winter

Our house is always busy. We don't always have to be outside in the cold to do sports or be physically active. This is the gymnastics and mini-sticks space in our home. This area is busy many times throughout each day.