P is for Plumber

Our second community helper for P is Plumber! I explained to them that a plumber is someone who fixes pipes, so if there is a leak or a clog they are the ones you call. I also mentioned that Mario and Luigi (yeah you know who I mean) are plumbers too. This was probably by far the most exciting news of the day to them! *sigh* 

In order to explore the movement of water a little more, I set up a little water wall on our fence. I used zip ties to attach various bottles and pool noodles to the fence. This did require cutting holes in the bottles and pool noodles (near the top where the water won't run out). I purposely put one pool noodle up in a way they couldn't get water through it (unless they have the hose to provide extra pressure).  I also left some caps on the bottles. I did put holes in some of the caps with a nail, so they would still drip just a little.

Then I turned them loose with a bucket and pitcher full of water and little cups. They had to find and "repair" the clogged areas (caps).

They figured it out fairly quickly, and then they wanted to do it over and over again! They would put the caps on, and say, "I think there is a problem," and then they would start working on it.

They also got to solve leakage problems when one of the pieces would slide a bit and no longer line up with the one underneath it. This was especially true with the pool noodles and funnels.

They played and played until their bucket was empty, and hopefully they know a little more about water and Plumbers.

Giant Bubble Bath

Summer time, the weather is hot, and everyone is having fun in the pool. The pool alone is certainly enough to please my kids, but wondering through the store one day I came up with something that would make it even more irresistible....BUBBLES!

I picked up a bottle of bubble bath (something we use pretty rarely around here). Then one morning I went out and filled the pool, pouring the entire bottle of bubble bath in! The kids were beyond excited about all the bubbles!

I actually was afraid the bubbles wouldn't last long because they never seem to in the tub! But the more they played the bubblier it got! 

They played most of the morning in their bubbly pool, and by the time we went out that afternoon the bubble were all gone.  They sure had fun while it lasted though!

Sparkly, Squishy, Star Sensory Table

You may remember our first experience with marshmallows in a sensory bin; Eli loved it! Well this time we found some fun star marshmallows, and we happened across a star ice cube tray too (Perfect because Eli's favorite shape right now seems to be stars)! Together I created a little star sensory bin! 

I filled the star ice cube trays with colored water and a little glitter. Once they were frozen, we headed out to the water table. I filled it with about an inch of water and threw in the star ice cubes (which began melting immediately in the heat) and a bunch of the star marshmallows. 

At first the girls complained the water was hot (which it was since it came out of the hose), but it quickly cooled down with the ice cubes melting in it. The water also quickly turned purple! 

Once the ice was gone they enjoyed the marshmallows. Eli especially enjoyed squeezing them as hard as he could to squish them. 

They threw them down the spiral and put them in the water wheel.

They squished, and scooped, and stirred, and squished some more.  It was hard to get them away from it even though the marshmallows had turned to mush, and we had a pizza calling our names!

When Eggs Explode

The term “a comedy of errors” is the phrase which comes to my mind when thinking about my older children giving their 4H presentations.  This year, my kids are learning all about chickens and egg production for their 4H project.  Each June, they participate in a county wide “All Events Day” competition with a speech/demonstration as well as a cooking contest.  It is a lot of fun but it can also be very nerve wracking for my two oldest girls who are definitely more on the timid side when it comes to public speaking.

My soon to be nine year old son is a bit of a different story though.  He is the kind of kid who, while he may be nervous at first, sticks to his game plan or memorized speech no matter what happens.  And, I mean it… no matter WHAT happens.

As a 5 year old, he wanted to participate in a local track meet with his sisters.  He was so excited when I signed him up for his events and could not wait to start racing.  After a quick practice run, he was ready for the real race and smiling ear to ear.  The whistle blew and he was off.  Five seconds later, his face was planted in the dirt and he scuffed up his knee.  He looked horrified and I was sure he would never want to race again.  But, he got up, ran over to me and said, “Mom, can I keep going?”  Did I mention that there was some dirt still stuck to his chin and lip?  This is just one story regarding my son’s drive to finish what he starts.

In March, my oldest children signed up to give a practice demonstration to their local 4H group in preparation for All Events Day.  Here is a run down of the talks that they gave with the links we used as a basis for the demonstrations:

1st girl ~ How to Make Marbled Eggs with Shaving Cream 

2nd girl ~ How to Blow Out an Egg and Decorate It.

And my 9 Year Old boy ~ All About Eggs

My son’s presentation shared several cool facts and experiments revolving around eggs. The first one began with trying to crack an egg by holding it a certain way and applying pressure.  Can you guess what happened?  He asked for a volunteer to try it.  Much to our embarrassment the volunteer, squeezing it the wrong way, exploded the egg all over the conference table.

My son kept on trucking with his speech as I went about cleaning the mess around him.  Things were just starting to calm down for the next section of his speech where he was going to show how to make an egg float, when disaster struck again.  He had to pour water out of a gallon pitcher into a mug.  However, the lid was turned to the off position.  So, he tipped it over a little more.  Water cascaded all over the table after the lid popped off and kids dove for cover as it headed toward their seats.

My son kept talking and continued with the experiment even in the midst of chaos and three parents helping to clean the mess while taking turns running to the bathroom for paper towels.  Meanwhile, back at the presentation table, my three year old son snuck up and grabbed one of the eggs his brother had prepared for his presentation and tried to abscond with it while I was still mopping the table.

Through it all, my son continued giving his demonstration.  He never got flustered but continued to stay on track.  My girl’s presentations went off with a only a few minor issues involving shaving cream, food dye and egg yolk on the table.  Ai yai yai… who knew teaching your children to speak in front of groups could become so incredibly MESSY!!!!

But still, we persist.  Sometimes in homeschool, we have to teach subjects which can get downright messy and lead to unpredictable outcomes.  But, as our children’s teacher we keep on teaching and tackling hard things for the sake of their education.

We may not always end up with a mouth full of dirt or eggs exploding all around us each day.  But, we keep on trucking and keep our eyes on the end result; a well rounded education for our children with a bit of fun mixed in.  I can’t wait to tell some of these stories to our grandchildren someday about their mom and dad’s hilarious adventures in the school of life.

UPDATE:  Although the children were unable to present their demonstrations at our All Events Day competition due to an overwhelming schedule the weekend before the event, they did present them at our end of the year Homeschool Co-op Presentation day.  I am proud to say that there were NO exploding eggs or pitcher waterfalls in the midst of any of the speeches.  And now, this momma just sighed a sigh of relief... until next year! 

Inger grew up in a city by the beach in California, but loves living in her small Norman Rockwell kind of town on the prairie in Montana. She is a published author, a homeschool mom of four adorable children who just happens to own a 50′s style café with her mother-in-law. Inger currently writes Ditch the Desk, a hands-on monthly themed curriculum for K-5th grade, at http://schoolhouseteachers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/July-2012-Week-Two-Giant-Oceanscape.pdf. She also writes consistently for Molly Green Magazine which can be found at http://www.econobusters.com and on her personal blog at www.hidingthepeas.wordpress.com. You can find her cafe at http://www.facebook.com/badlandscafemt

So happy Inger shared this story (as well as the egg activity links) with us today! Just goes to show the real, messy side of homeschooling! Be sure to check out her blog Hiding the Peas for more real life looks at homeschooling!

Outdoor Water Play is Learning Time

Several months ago, before I began an official "Tot School" with my now-33 month old son, I began learning about Maria Montessori. She taught that our children learn based on their individual needs and interests. All we, as parents and educators, must do is give our children the tools and their minds will help them learn.

We can teach them based on four core areas of learning:

• Practical Life: Preliminary exercises (pouring, opening bottles, using tongs), care of the environment (sweeping, mopping, washing), care of the person (buttoning, zipping, brushing), grace and courtesy (introductions, excuse mes, offering help)
• Sensorial: Utilizing all senses for learning and understanding
• Language: Literacy is reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and representing at the child’s pace
• Mathematics: Promoting sense of numbers through learning materials

My first dive into practical life activities began when I let my son have a teapot full of water in our kitchen. He was so excited to work on the preliminary exercises of pouring and stirring and transferring. I didn't realize that these are valuable life skills that all children deserve to learn -- and children love water which is sensory learning as well.

Water play is even more fun outside of the bathtub! And water play is easy to assemble. All your child needs are some supplies from the kitchen. Bowls, cups, pitchers, spoons, strainers, any other containers that have been cleaned and rinsed. I love to do sensorial play -- with shaving cream, fluffy stuff, and other fun (and messy!) options -- but this sensory play time is as easy as changing their wet clothes -- and it is free!

We took our learning outside last week, and he had a blast.

Filling an old jam-squeeze plastic container and learning about water displacement.

   

 Squeezing and pouring.

Filling his container again.

Transferring water from one bowl to the other.

 

Stirring his water and more displacement science learning.

What could be more fun than dumping water everywhere?

For more structured water play ideas, check out Teaching Mama's latest post on Water Activities.

Have you tried simple water play? How have you taught your child practical life skills?

Amy writes at Wildflower Ramblings, a homeschooling and healthy living blog she started when she became a mother. Amy obtained her Masters in Elementary Education from the University of Michigan and is a former Kindergarten teacher. She lives with her husband and almost-three year old son and eight month old daughter, and all three are the loves of her life. You can find Amy on Facebook, Twitter, Bloglovin', or Pinterest.



A big thank you to Amy for sharing her simple learning activity! Make sure you check out her blog for more simple preschool learning!

Coloful Bubble Snakes

It's definitely felt more like SPRING around here! That means warmer weather which leads to more time outside and bubbles! I saw tons of people making these Bubble Snakes last year, but it took this long for us to get around to it. Really no reason for it either because they are super easy! 

Start with a plastic bottle, an old mismatched socks (I don't really even know why I hold onto these), and some duct tape for each kid. Cut the end off the bottle (please squish it and cut with scissor, do NOT stab it, and your finger, with a knife like I did). Slip the sock over the cut end and duct tape it one.

Mix some dish soap with a small amount of water in a shallow dish. Dip the sock end in the bubble solution and blow! See easy!

Then the best part was adding color! Using liquid food coloring, we put small drops of color on our socks. Blow through the sock now, and you have Colorful Bubble Snakes!

The girls were amazed at the colors! And Eli, of course, couldn't help but attack them all! 

After seeing how incredibly easy these were, I can't figure why we waited so long to make them! And the blowers are reusable, so we will likely have a whole summer of Bubble Snakes!