Heart of the Matter Online Magazine, January 2011: Focus on Science

Teach them God’s decrees and give them His instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives. ~Exodus 18:20

of the Grow All All--Natural Crystals Catapults and Trebuchets Dinosaur Fossil Art Homeschool Friendships You CAN Teach High School Science Labs!

January 2011

Focus on Science

January 2011: Focus on Science Copyright 2011 Š Heart of the Matter

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Table of Contents Curiosity: The Scientific Process at Work in the Child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6 Grow All-Natural Crystals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8 Science As Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 10 Catapults and Trebuchets—A Unit Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 14 Genetics and Aibilty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 18 Elementary Science: Chemical Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 20 A Reason For It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 22 Dinosaur Fossil Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 24 Youth Engineering Success Through Growing 4-H Robotics Program . . . Page 26 Volcano Unit Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 28 Heart of the Matter—Online Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 32 Homeschool Friendships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 33 Everyday Science: Contrails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 34 Magnetism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 38 You CAN Teach High School Science Labs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 42 Give Your Kids a Great Start in Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 45 Simple Machine Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 48 Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 52 Heart of the Matter

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Staff

Angela DeRossett—Owner, Editor-in-Chief Angela is a fun-loving, married to the military, homeschooling mother of four. She has four cats and a great big dog and loves her very full house. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Christian Education and holds a Bachelor’s of Arts and Science in Christian Ministries. Angela is a coffee and theology junkie and is passionate about Autism advocacy and disability rights. You can find her blogging at Memoirs of a Chaotic Mommy and Home-schooling the Chaotic Mommy.

Amy Stults—Conference Director, Development Consultant Amy is a devoted wife to her husband of 12 years, a Classical homeschooling mom to an eight-year-old Ninja and the co-founder of Heart of the Matter. As a professional genealogist, Amy has a passion for helping others trace their family roots. Amy was a partner in founding the ministries A Woman Inspired Conferences, and Inspired Hearts Media.

Robin Montoya—Digital Magazine Designer Robin and her family relocated from California to Colorado in 2008. With her new Rocky Mountain backdrop, she continued the mission she began in 1996 to educate her children at home. After homeschooling traditionally for more than a decade, Robin stepped outside of her comfort zone and tried alternative methods for teaching. She wanted to share what she had learned through her homeschooling endeavors, so in April of 2010, she launched her website, Stone Soup Homeschool Network.

Laura Delgado—Digital Magazine Copy Editor and Writer Laura has been married to her husband, Henry, for 14 years. She gave birth to four children in exactly 40 months, but cheated since the last two were twins. She now happily homeschools her 8, 6, and two 4 year-olds. She earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from Rice University, but finds that she uses her undergraduate Great Books education far more in her homeschooling pursuits. In addition to writing for various homeschooling publications, she creates educational materials for edHelper. For homeschooling helps and curriculum reviews, please visit her blogs at Living as Martha and Salve Regina Homeschool.

Pamela Swearingen—Director of Reviews Happily homeschooling in the beautiful Pacific Northwest for several years now.

Pamela's kids are transitioning into middle school, and the lessons in their homeschool (and in life) are getting very exciting! Books, unit studies, notebooks, and nature journals are all part of their homeschooling week. She truly feels that God has blessed her family with the opportunity to homeschool and her goal is to inspire other families to homeschool greatness by pointing them in the direction of some really great books, resources and field trip ideas. Her homeschool reviews and suggestions can be found at Mustard Seed Homeschool, and all of her non-homeschooling reviews are located at Mustard Seed Book Reviews.

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I have had homeschooling friends who argue against a formal study of science at the grammar stage. These friends believe that children are not developmentally ready to think like scien scientists at such a young age.

Others say in condescending tones that it is a very American thing to teach science at the elementary level. There is too much of a push for kids to learn advanced science in high school, they argue.

O n the contrary, I think that science is one of the most natural disciplines for children. Think of an infant exploring his world. We know that much of the information he gathers is through his sense of taste. So what does he do? He puts everything he can reach to his mouth, discerning its taste, texture, and temperature. Watch. He will pull the object out, look at it, and then taste it again. As soon as possible, the baby will propel himself toward new objects and continue this process of discovery.

The scientific process is a careful approach to the unknown.

It requires that one look, really look, and that looking is called Observation. It requires that one continue looking, with fingers, nose, and questions, and it calls this prodding Gathering Data. Finally, the scientific process asks for participation: what do you think? It asks that you become a giddy partner in a game of Imagination. Unlike experts and books that only publish the findings of elite academicians with expensive tools, the scientific process befriends all who are willing to play at its game. Like Jesus sitting on a hillside and welcoming the twangy tongues of toddlers when other teachers would have only heard the Pharisees, the scientific process is equally available to all.

One’s ideas about the data form his or her Hypothesis, even when that hypothesis is that the noise in my closet must be coming from yellow-eyed monsters. The difference between a scared child and a scientist is that the scientist then tests the hypothesis. Really, though, the child often does the same--he just calls in a bigger scientist to hold his hand.

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Together, then, you turn on the lights, open the closet door, and look into the dark unknown to test the monsters hypothesis and form a Conclusion. Like Edison testing the filament for the electric light bulb, you may have to look and look again, lighting closets and lifting bed skirts before arriving at that blessed Conclusion that… perhaps… just maybe… there are no monsters. Any more.

A good scientist then goes back to the drawing board, to observe again, to ask again. If not monsters, then what makes those curious noises in my closet at night? A good scientist will not accept that tree branches are scratching the roof of the house unless you show him. An imaginative one may begin to worry about aliens, however.

When does this curiosity fade? Perhaps when information is harder to access or perhaps when the call of commercial entertainment becomes too loud. Sating curiosity is a process that requires energy and patience that one must cultivate to maintain. Experts themselves are tempted to say, “There are no monsters in your closet. Now go back to bed!” But testing hypotheses, sating curiosity, and slaying monsters are worthwhile endeavors because it is this curiosity that is at the root of scientific discovery.

“So I put my finger in it.” Experiment.

“How did it taste?” Grace asked. Gathering data.

“I don’t know,” John said. Thank goodness.

“Does it come off?” she asked. Gathering data.

He wiped it on his pants. “Yes.” Experiment.

Then they both stuck their fingers in it. Experiment.

“I think it’s glue,” Grace said. Hypothesis.

They decided to wash their hands. John pumped the soap dispenser into his hand and noticed that it looked and felt the same as the mystery substance. Observation.

“Grace look! It’s soap!” Conclusion.

They continued washing their hands and making messes. Being kids.

My conclusion? The scientific process is profound because it is so natural. Curiosity propels children toward discovery, and if we as parents and educators offer our shoulders for a better view, they will be delighted. They will grow.

Science may not rank with reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic, but it is a key component of a well-trained mind. Perhaps it is more naturally dubbed, ‘curiosity.’

Children are natural scientists. When my older children were small, I overheard them talking about some hand soap that had been spilled on the kitchen counter. Naturally, I hid behind a counter to record their conversation: John, six at the time, cried, “Eeew!”

“What is it, John?” three-year-old Grace asked.

“There was something on the counter,” he replied. Observation.

“I thought it was water,” he said. Hypothesis.

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A Science Project by Nikowa

I've priced those crystal growing kits and WOW they're expensive. So I searched online for a homemade alternative. After getting together all of the chemicals, we were ready to go.

One. Two. Three times we tried to grow these chemical crystals and nothing happened. (And I must say that the ammonia smell stayed in the house! EW!) Back to the 'ol drawing board. I did another search after remembering rock candy are essentially crystals and it's natural! (Although we can't eat them because the boys are diabetic.) So we started over and success on the first try!

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Here's what we did.

First I decided what I'd grow our crystals in.

We used a glass (so we can watch them grow) carafe.

Then I decided what the crystals would grow on.

I knew we wouldn't eat them, so I decided to make cool color shapes with a pipe cleaner. We molded them into desired shapes and placed them into our glass carafe.

If you want to make rock candy you can use wood skewers or heavy-grade yarn/thread dangling by a pencil. But make sure they don't touch the bottom‌ more on why later.

Then we started cooking! Boil some water and dissolve loads of sugar in water by cooking it. I didn't measure; I just poured away!

You know you have the right consistency when it starts turning grayish-white and it's caramelizing (getting thick). You can add food coloring or flavoring if you're making edible rock candy.

Pour your syrup water into your container.

You will barely be able to see your shapes because the water is so murky but as the water evaporates, it clears. We placed our container in the windowsill to help the water evaporate more efficiently. As the water cools and the water evaporates, the crystals start forming right before your eyes! The longer you leave the project, the more crystals you'll have.

Once we were satisfied with the size of our crystals, we took them out of the jar and laid them on wax paper (which was hard to do because they stuck to the bottom). Tip: Use gloves or a kitchen tool if they touch the bottom because those crystals are sharp! We studied the crystals with our magnifying glasses and discussed accordingly.

Edible rock candy would make a great homemade gift and promote homeschooling too!

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SCIENCE

AS INVE STIGATO

N BY HEATHE

In my experience talking with homeschoolers, some (though not all) tend to be timid about science - either because it was not a strong suit of theirs in their own schooling or because they don’t like it!

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R

My challenge for you this month is to Sometimes I’m inspired by a magazine article allow your kids to do some investigation. (Homeschool Enrichment usually has science

to try with our kids in each issue) or by a vendor newsletter I receive suggesting different ideas for investigations. I’ve been known to be sparked into action by what I hear my kids doing. Such was the case when we decided to find out the velocity of a marble traveling along the marble roller coaster. I was finishing up some things before our school day began and I heard them building an elaborate roller coaster course. They were having such a good time at it that I knew breaking off and sitting down to school might be met with some resistance. So, I shouted down to them and asked if they’d like to find out how fast their marble was going. A resounding, “Yes!” Present your students with a question (related came the reply. to a point of current study) and allow them to decide how they would find the answer— scientific method anyone? Experiments don’t always have to be recipes from a book. Career scientists don’t always follow someone else’s directions. They design their own procedures to answer a question they have.

Go out of your comfort zone and present your kids with a problem and some materials to rise to the challenge. Giving your kids ownership of the investigation will take the pressure off of you and put it on your students to find an answer to the problem at hand. Feel free to join in on the fun and be a part of what unfolds. I like to watch portions of the time my kids are working on something so that when they get to a sticking point, I can offer some direction without giving any answers. Here’s a secret: That’s a great way to facilitate an investigation without always knowing all the answers yourself.

In the same authentic spirit, I really like to have my kids design their own data charts.

Being able to choose a way to record information based on what they will be collecting is a great skill to refine. This also allows you to be spontaneous without always being prepared ahead of time with a lab sheet.

Alternatively, you might choose to give them an investigation unrelated to your studies, but related to one coming up or something they’ve been interested in or asking a lot about lately. Maybe they’ve asked why some things sink and some things float too many times!

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So, I shouted down to them and asked if they’d like to find out how fast their marble was going. A resounding, “Yes!” came the reply.

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This was a great lesson in physics and math, and we spent the next day calculating and presenting the data and talking about how we did it. All of that good science came from suggesting to my kids they find out more about what their marble was doing. Instead of pulling them away from the fun, I nudged them in a more productive process while doing something they love. We answered the simple question, “How fast is the marble going?”

Janice VanCleave books- Mrs. VanCleave has written numerous books on various disciplines of science and math that provide directions for students to try out the science and even provide a simple explanation as to why it works that way.

DK Publishing also has a number of books on science activities, usually with extensive pictures of each step along the way.

The big take home message is to try and provide an environment in your homeschool that invites questioning and allows your children to investigate an answer. Some of our finest homeschooling moments have been experienced this way. We once did a very large experiment involving the scientific method and experimental design all from asking, “Which variety of popcorn is the best?” We had ordered many different varieties of gourmet popcorn and as we sampled them the kids asked that very question.

This led into an extensive discussion of how we could find out. What followed were The Popcorn Pop Off Extravaganza and The Results.

Another approach is to give them a book of experiments that speaks to their level and let them read through the procedure and try it out. Even if you aren’t inclined to enjoy this, Try not to be intimidated by formal chances are your kids will love it. There are processes and lots of planning. Just let your so many good resources for this approach. I’ll name a few series that I really enjoy and use kids ask the questions and begin a conversation with them on how they could find out an a lot. answer. You never know…you could be inspirUsborne has several series of books that ing a future scientist and the more you faciliare geared to experiments such as The Big tate, the easier it gets. Everyone will look forBook of Experiments and The Usborne Book ward to the next big question and how they of Science Activities which are offered in might go about answering it. three volumes.

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What followed was a meeting to determine how we might be able to find out the speed of the marble. Essentially, my kids helped to derive the formula for velocity based on what they could measure. We had to measure distance and time the marble if we were to find the speed. We talked about the pros and cons of the different ways they could measure the length of the track. We determined how many trials we should take. Once they began, they faced additional obstacles but they pressed on to find the data they needed.

Have you signed up yet?

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After an inspiring two days of TV fun with the World Champion Punkin Chunkin on the Science Channel, my kids and I decided it might be fun to learn more about the machines these teams used to hurl their orange fruits- with the idea that we’d hurl something of our own, of course.

So, a rather impromptu unit on the physics and history of siege warfare machines as born!

Much of the design of this unit goes along with my ―Science as Investigation‖ approach. The ideas that follow came out of a desire to dive right in and explore. Sometimes you don’t need the perfect curriculum or the perfect materials. You just need a question to be answered or something you want to figure out.

This unit will attempt to answer the question: What were these machines and how were they used? Who used them? How do they work? Can we build one? And how will it perform?

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Types of Siege Machines Catapults- research the different kinds of catapults and how they operated. When and how were they used? (I was able to find torsion and Roman models in my brief search.) Trebuchets- research the various models of trebuchets including the modern, “fixed axle” trebuchet which drops the counterweight straight down using the potential more efficiently. Trebuchets differ from catapults because they use a counterweight to throw the arm and hurl the object.

Mechanics How are the machines constructed?

What materials can we use for our model for it to function properly?

A shoebox, pencils (or other strong stick) masking tape, rubber bands, and egg carton cups. I’d love to tell you more, but then that would take away the opportunity to figure it out!

Physics Simple Machines- this is a great chance to discuss simple machines but in particular, the lever. Catapults and trebuchets use a lever to do work. Students can research the different classes of levers and see how changing the placement of the fulcrum changes the performance of their machine.

Similar to the mechanics of the machines, how does the machine do the work? They all transfer large amounts of potential energy into kinetic energy. Some do it more efficiently than others.

Which one works best?

How does the machine work?

How can you test it?

Build It Find and use materials to build a mock-up of the machine. (So far, my kids have been successful with a LEGO catapult and have discussed how they could use the LEGO NXT kit to make another type of machine called a centrifugal- which needs a motor.)

An old “standby” I have used often (as a classroom teacher as well) is the shoebox catapult. For shoebox catapults you’ll need: Heart of the Matter

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For older students, there are all sorts of calculations you can do on the energy efficiency of the machines. In a quick search, I found a website dedicated to Experiments with Trebuchets. The author, Mr. Bullock, gives plenty of instructions and advice on building the trebuchets and has an entire section on the math. All the variables are listed in working out the formula for the Energy Efficiency which is the Kinetic Energy/ Potential Energy. Of course you’d need to derive the numbers for Kinetic and Potential Energy which would be great fun using the list of variables provided. I may not be right on target with my answers, but admittedly I have a curiosity about physics and math so this is something I’d encourage my older children to try!

Hold a Contest To throw a “regulation” paper ball a distance. Set up a measuring tape or multiple yard/meter sticks and have line-judges watch when the ball hits the ground. A whole host of scientific data analysis can crop up out of this part of the activity. You can perform several trials and even have a

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discussion on the purpose of trials and what constitutes enough trials. Students can do some statistics to see the reliability of each machine (mean, median, and mode).

A regulation ball can be decided upon and made. This reduces the number of variables the machines have to deal with if they are all throwing the same type ball.

There really are a lot of learning opportunities in just letting a unit or investigation grow out of something your kids get excited about. Don’t be afraid to just drop what you are doing and get on the floor to figure things out with your kids. Our kids had a great time watching the building and performance of these huge machines over Thanksgiving. It was really amazing to watch all the work that goes into winning this contest!

The kids asked a lot of good questions and got me thinking. One of the best things about this is being willing to say yes when the kids ask if they can do it themselves.

Plenty of information is a few clicks away and it doesn’t cost anything to begin a process and learn with your kids.

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By Maribeth Spangenberg My son’s teenage friend asked my husband for assistance in designing a business card for a new entrepreneurial pursuit that he is initiating. Ben is very talented in photography and video-taping.

He has proven himself capable in the recent filming of weddings and church functions.

As a current high school graduate, he is setting himself up to be self-employed in a side business of his expertise.

children with their parents. Similarities like noses, foreheads, eye slants, hair color, and chins often make it easy. Sometimes it only takes observing similar height, strides, and gaits in teenagers to see that they belong to a particular “tribe.”

Since my husband’s career is in the field of design, he is familiar with the various computer programs. So last night my loving spouse stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, doing layout, imaging, font size and background in an attempt to visually tell a story of Ben’s business abilities and the services that he offers – all on a little 2 x 3 ½ inch card.

What I was intrigued with is that my 19 yearold daughter and 15 year-old son stayed up with him, giving advice and opinions on visual appeal, and sorting through their own digital pictures for use. In so doing, they had a personal introduction to design, and learned valuable skills. It helped that they had an interest in this occupational field – just like their father. What a coincidence!

It is amazing what role genetics can play in personal appearance.

But genes aren’t just limited to looks.

I find it interesting that my Chemical Engineer son had a grandfather who was a Mechanical Engineer, and that my Music One of my favorite past times is to watch a Education daughter had a great, great uncle group of unknown people and try to match who was a concert pianist.

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Coincidence or genetics?

My sixteen year-old son shares my love for writing. He enjoys putting words together for humor. This same son is also talented in cartooning. Could he have inherited a drawing gene from his artistic father and a gift for gab from his mother?

And just last night two of my children peered over their father’s shoulder, intently interested in computer graphics and photography.

So much so, that they were willing to lose sleep to be of assistance – and LEARN! These observations gave me much food for thought, as I made a connection with homeschooling. Many parents think that they are incapable of teaching their own children, or that their ability to home-educate plateaus at a certain grade level. Some even see their children surpassing their own abilities, and thus feel inferior. It is at this point that many quit.

Recently, I had the opportunity to listen to a cassette tape of a homeschool seminar given

by Dr. Jay L. Wile, author of the popular Apologia Science series. In response to the question of a parent’s ability to teach the higher sciences, his answer was very insightful: “Your job is not to teach your child. Your job is to help them learn. That you can do! Fundamentally, if one of your kids can do something, one of the parents should be able to do it as well. Hopefully, between you and your spouse, you make up all the genetic information that is in that child. And if you expect that child to have the ability to do something, one of you ought to be able to do it, too. And that is the only thing that is required to help your child learn. And that is to learn right along with him.”

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What some may see as interest or familiarity, Dr. Wile, a scientist, interprets as genes and ability.

God has a specific plan in placing YOUR child in YOUR family. He did not just randomly choose “Abby” to be your daughter, or “Jason” as your son. God has a purpose.

There is something of importance that the Creator desires for you to impart to that child, something valuable for that child’s plan in life that YOU or your husband can do best; a skill, a talent, a spiritual gift, that He wants YOU to teach, share, or encourage.

As a parent you play a vital role in accomplishing God’s Perfect Plan for your child.

Don’t let Satan’s lies of feeling incapable or inferior deter you from this task. If homeschooling is what God has called you to do, then He will equip you, send the opportunities you need, and open the doors of learning that He desires for your child.

Your job is to stay the course!

Connect with us!

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Albert Einstein once remarked,

"The more I study science the more I believe in God."

By Amy Stults

I couldn’t agree more with this eccentric scientist.

Vinegar & Baking Soda

What you need: 1 ¼ cup baking soda 4 T water Plastic jewelry, coins, small plastic toys or anything you can pass off as treasure 4 cups white vinegar Large clear bowl or pitcher

Two everyday household ingredients. Both have been used since ancient times. The Sumerians used vinegar as a medicine, a condiment, and a detergent. They made this invaluable solution by leaving wine in an open container until it turned sour. The ancient What to do: Egyptians were known to use baking soda as a Mix baking soda and water in a small bowl toothpaste, a body wash, and as the main to form a stiff dough ingredient for the mummification process. Make a “stone” by molding the dough Baking Soda is pure Sodium Bicarbonate, around one of your “treasures” which is a component of Natron. Natron can Let the stone dry overnight or bake in a 150 readily be found in many mineral springs degree oven for 30 minutes Drop the stone into the bowl of vinegar throughout northern Egypt.

Watch as the stone fizzles away to reveal the With these simple household materials, you treasure inside can create what is known as “Fizzle Stones.”

The beauty of these stones is that they “dissolve” to reveal a treasure inside.

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17 When we allow Jesus into our hearts, we become much like these Fizzle Stones as Jesus dissolves away our ugly and sinful outer covering, uncovering the treasures of our heart.

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"Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord God looks at the heart. heart.""

Blow up a Balloon

Volcano

What you need:

1 Samuel 16:7

What you need: 6 cups flour 2 cups salt

Vinegar Baking soda A bottle

4 tablespoons cooking oil 2 cups water Plastic bottle Red food coloring

A balloon What to do: Pour the baking soda in the bottle.

Pour the vinegar in the bottle.

Quickly put the balloon on the top of the bottle. My husband created this little stopper to help quickly get the balloon on top of the bottle. It is simply a small piece of cardboard, rolled up, and taped to fit perfectly into the bottle.

Baking Soda Vinegar

When the vinegar (an acid) reacts with the baking soda (a base) it forms the gas carbon dioxide, which exits the bottle and inflates the balloon.

What to do: Mix the first 4 ingredients until smooth and firm (more water may be added if needed).

Fill the bottle halfway with baking soda and add a few drops of red food coloring.

Stand the bottle in a baking pan and mold the dough around it into a volcano shape. Don't cover the hole or drop dough into it.

Slowly pour vinegar into the bottle.

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By Suzanne As a friend of mine said at the time, God has confrontationally what I was doing. I tried a sense of humor. And, oh, does He. to quietly tell her that I would take my "F", that I couldn't do this project. I tried to tell I hated science in school. It didn't apply to her that I completely understood the conmy life. It was learning a bunch of facts that sequences of my decision and that I was were gross, unrelated to anything, and ready to accept them. She saw this as boring. And I was all about "causes" and insubordination and a direct, personal attack fighting for them back then. So when I was on her and her profession. She sent me to in 10th grade biology and they surprised us the office. This was not something I was with an aborted fetal pig for dissection, I accustomed to. I only went to the office refused. I would never use this information when I was accepting a placement into in real life. I was not going to be a biology Governor's School or receiving an award for teacher, I was not going to be a scientist, I Odyssey of the Mind. The principal knew was not going to be a doctor or nurse. I was this and asked me to go sit in the library for adamantly against growing animals for the the days it would take for the rest of the sole purpose of killing them in utero for the class to complete the dissection. I took the sole purpose of "teaching" teenagers that "F" and the resulting drop in my GPA and had little to no interest, who would not won he non-existent, but teacher-perceived, retain the information, and would only taunt battle of the wills. the other even less interested students with body parts that were being carelessly flung Skip forward 15 years. And I am now a around. Give me a book, I could memorize nurse. And doctor. And scientist. any picture offered to me. I was not a trouble-maker. I was a good student. I took pride in my grades, my nerdiness, and my And I find myself teaching the human body teacher's-petness. and all its systems to my 2nd grader. We've So I just quietly pushed my chair back and done a 3 week unit study and accompanying began reading my book.

The teacher lapbook from Homeschool Share, which he's eventually noticed and asked me loudly and loving.

And teacher.

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In the midst of this unit study we discovered Daisy Doodle the cat was chowin' down on a freshly killed and decapitated animal. We watched her pull out its internal organs one by one and discard them. We watched her pull the meat she did want and devour it. We discussed The Little House on the Prairie series that we're reading by talking about how Pa traded the furs. We talked about the spinal cord that was visible and pointed out the stomach, liver, large, and small intestines. We talked about how the kitty liked the meat parts that we normally like and how that meat looked compared to some of the raw meats that Mama cooks. I fully enjoyed the scene.

Suddenly, science made sense. It was applicable. It was real. There was a reason for it.

Don't get me wrong, it's still gross.

The irony was not lost on me. I smiled. I thought of how my Father was probably smiling too. Oh, my best laid plans.

I seriously considered grabbing my trusty camera and documenting the moment. But I resisted the urge.

You should thank me.

From Jimmie's Collage

Photo: Stock.XCHNG

Even though she's ten, I still read books aloud to Sprite. I enjoy our time together and the shared memories we create through reading. And the best part is that I can sneak in some learning without it being considered "school." We've been taking summer break mainly because her local friends are on vacation now and have time to play. But reading books is plain fun!

would find the attitudes toward girls inconceivable. And she did. But it's important to me that she understand the prejudices that existed and be thankful for the amazing freedoms and opportunities she now has. Secondly, it is a great book to stimulate discussions about science—dinosaurs, creation, evolution, and paleontology.

We re-read The Great Dinosaur Mystery and the Bible to answer some of the questions Our latest read was The Dragon in the Cliff that came up in The Dragon in the Cliff.

by Sheila Cole. I previewed the book first on a four hour bus ride, and loved it so much The ichthyosaur is actually considered an that I wanted to immediately share it with aquatic reptile rather than a dinosaur. But Sprite. It is the story of Mary Anning, a who knows? Scientists are basing these working class girl who at the age of 15 found ideas on bones only. From the fossil record, the world's first complete ichthyosaur fossil. we know it gave birth to live young, so Because of the prejudices against women at maybe it was a mammal. To get an idea of that time, she did not receive credit for her the size of this creature, look at this discoveries. Even worse, she was dramatic image of an ichthyosaur fossil at misunderstood and despised by her National Geographic. It is assumed to be community because searching for fossils was similar to dolphins. considered inappropriate for a young girl.

I loved this book for two main reasons. First, it shows how far women have truly come in just 200 years. For example, in the book women are assumed to be unable to understand science. I knew that Sprite P. 24

As things often work out, while we were in the midst of the book, I saw this cool glue resist craft featured at Crafty Crow. Perfect!

It was a great hands-on activity to complement the reading of the book.

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First we sketched the fossil.

Then we used white glue to go over the "bones."

We let it dry for a day before adding a light wash of paint.

Here is Sprite's fossil art.

And of course, I had to do it too! Here is mine.

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At a time when only 32 percent of undergraduates in the United States are obtaining college degrees in science or engineering, 4-H is pursuing a bold goal to reach one million new youth with hands-on science education and exposure to exciting science careers by the year 2013.

4-H Science programs range from agricultural and animal sciences to rocketry, renewable energy, environmental protection and computer science. Nearly 5 million young people each year are already involved in the hands-on learning experiences available in 4-H Science programs, with new growth and interest stemming from the rapidly expanding new 4-H Robotics program.

opportunities to explore science fields, particularly through team-based experiences in the design, building and programming of robots.

“We have had the opportunity to inspire the next generation of innovators and engineers,” Dean Kamen, inventor and FIRST Founder, said. “This is increasingly important as we try to build momentum in the U.S. to fuel a robust talent pipeline of innovative twenty-firstcentury STEM professionals.”

The excitement surrounding the program can be attributed to a strategic partnership National 4-H Council formed with FIRST Robotics in April 2009. This union gave both organizations the ability to further a shared The early engagement of youth in science, as pursuit of reaching American youth with more with 4-H Science programming, has proven to create a lifelong interest in the field. A longitudinal study conducted by the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University has found that when compared to their peers, youth who participate in 4-H are nearly two times more likely to get better grades in school, two times more likely to plan to go to college, 41 percent less likely to engage in risky behaviors and 25 percent more likely to positively contribute to their families and communities.

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One of these youth actively engaged in 4-H Science is Julian Capriles, a member of the 4-H Apple Pi Robotics team from Guilford, Conn.

Through his involvement in the robotics program, he has gained an interest in science and plans to pursue a career in the field.

From training volunteers, to guiding youth projects, to coordinating participation in top robotics events and competitions, Maryland 4-H is establishing best practices that will be used to create a model for new 4-H Robotics clubs all across the U.S.

“I want to be a mechanical engineer,” Capriles said. “I like to work with other people on other projects that I have to work on, and do things as a group, and learn about the mechanics of things and the engineering and programming and working as a team and getting everything done in a timeframe.”

Capriles’ Apple Pi team is one of 43 new 4-H Robotics teams across the country. His team was also one of nine 4-H teams chosen to compete at the FIRST Championship for robotics in Atlanta this spring. Nearly 300 teams from around the country advanced through local and regional competitions to vie for the national title on the floor of the Georgia Dome in April.

“The joint work of National 4-H Council and FIRST demonstrates the amazing things youth achieve when given the opportunity to step up and pursue their interest in science, engineering and technology,” said Donald T. Floyd, Jr., President and CEO, National 4 H Council.

And now, more 4-H youth will be able to explore their interests. Building on the growing momentum and excitement for 4-H Robotics throughout the country, the state of Maryland was selected to help develop and test further expansion of 4-H Robotics programming.

Through a partnership with Lockheed Martin and JCPenney, 4-H is working with the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension’s 4-H Program to establish and support 4-H Robotics clubs in each of the 24 counties in the state and Baltimore city.

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National 4-H Council will also launch a comprehensive Robotics Curriculum this fall for 4 to 12-grade youth titled Robotics: Engineering for Today and Tomorrow, developed in partnership with the University of NebraskaLincoln. It will focus on physical science concepts related to robotics, engineering design processes and the exploration of possible careers in the field. In addition to the hands-on, team atmosphere learning, the curriculum will also offer an online space for youth to experiment with robotic components and programming using virtual robotic tools.

The curriculum will be available for purchase online at www.4hmall.org.

For more than 100 years, 4-H has been reaching youth with science education through clubs, out-of-school programming, in-school enrichment programs and camps. Today, 4-H’s robust Science programming is supporting the development of the next generation of top innovators as they grow through science, engineering, technology and applied math. For more information about 4-H or learn how to get involved, visit www.4-H.org.

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My son loves volcanoes. I mean he LOVES volcanoes. He loves them way more than he liked the little 1st grade science program I bought for him. That program was very basic and very open-and-go, and I liked it very much.

My son, however, wanted to watch volcano videos and read volcano books rather than learn about the life cycle of a plant.

At some point I realized that getting exasperated with him and essentially saying things like, “Quit reading that science book you love so we can do this science book that bores you,” was patently ridiculous. When the light went on, I decided to ditch the first science program and put together a Notebooking Volcano Study for him.

National Geographic Kids Volcanoes Magic School Bus Voyage to the Volcano Usborne Volcanoes Why Do Volcanoes Blow Their Top by Scholastic Mountains and Volcanoes by Barbara Taylor How the Earth Works by Michelle O’BrienPalmer

Notebooking Notebooking Resources Resources There are are aa ton ton ofofresources resourcesonline. online.I flailed I flailed There around the eventually found some around the internet internetand and eventually found great worksheets at placesatlikeplaces Homeschool some great worksheets like Share, ABC Teach, fact, there Inare Homeschool Share,and ABCAbout.

Teach,Inand About. manythere additional resources at those sites - if at you fact, are many additional resources are working kids, you should able those sites - ifwith youolder are working with olderbe kids, to find plenty activities could be used to you should be of able to findthat plenty of activities beefcould up this that bestudy. used to beef up this study.

I don’t think that a little boy loving volcanoes is unique to my son, so I thought I’d share the resources, basic outline, and review questions I came up with. My son is 6, so this unit study would be suited for the K-3 crowd. With a few I was able to record all of these off my minor adjustments, it could also be fun for television; they seem to run sporadically on the older kids. science-oriented cable channels. If that is not an option, then try your library – I found that even my small town library has copies. And of course, they are also available for purchase.

Let me just say up front that these books are Once again, let me caution you that these are secular in nature and may have material that secular in nature, although not aggressively so. you find objectionable. That is why I skip over Raging Planet (Discovery Channel) reading certain pages in my schedule, although How the Earth Was Made (Discovery Channel) you may choose to deal with that differently.

(Editors note: These videos are also available in Planet Earth, Inside Out by Gail Gibbons whole or in part on YouTube)

Video Resources

Book List

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Notes: Do not feel like you have to do every activity listed – we didn’t. I used StartWrite and input the vocabulary words to create handwriting practice sheets. I printed the review questions on colored card stock, added free clip-art from the Internet, and stuck them in the appropriate section of our notebook. I love the ProClick for notebooking, although the standard binder method is also great.

Goal: To understand the basic structure of the earth and how that structure creates volcanoes, and to learn about the structure of volcanoes.

Part One: The Earth’s Layers Reading Planet Earth, Inside Out by Gail Gibbons p 811 Vocabulary Words/Handwriting Practice Crust, Mantle, Core, Geology, Geologist Activity Boiled Egg Comparison, How the Earth Works p 14 Video – Raging Planet: Volcano Notebooking Pages Volcano Report Cover and Coloring Page Complete Layers of the Earth Diagram Fan Book of Vocabulary Words Yes/No Questions (see last page of outline) Fill out Did You Know Card with facts learned in Part One

Part Two: The Earth’s Plates Reading Planet Earth, Inside Out by Gail Gibbons p 12-15, 18-21 National Geographic Kids Volcanoes p 1-14 Magic School Bus Voyage to the Volcano chapters 1-2 Heart of the Matter

Vocabulary Words/Handwriting Practice Tectonic Plates, Magma, Magma Chamber, Vent, Ring of Fire Activity Video – How the Earth was Made: Ring of Fire Notebooking Pages Vocabulary Word Flap Book Plate Map, Ring of Fire Map, Volcano Location Map Color or Label the States with Volcanoes Discussion Questions (see last page of outline) Did You Know? Card with facts from Part Two

Part Three: Structure of Volcanoes Reading Magic School Bus Voyage to the Volcano Chapters 3-4 National Geographic Kids p 16-27 Usborne Volcanoes p 28-29 Vocabulary Words/Handwriting Practice Magma, Magma Chamber, Vent Volcano, Volcanologist, Lava, Caldera, Crater Activity Make Your Own Volcano kit Video – How the Earth was Made: Mt. St. Helens Video – How the Earth was Made: Iceland Notebooking Pages Vocabulary Words Flap Book Volcano Cross Section Parts of a Volcano Flap Book Exploding Volcano Flap Book What is a Volcano/What is a Volcanologist Matchbooks Volcano Trivia Game Volcano Questions (see last page of outline) Volcano Yes or No (see last page of outline) Did You Know Card with facts from Part 3

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Part Four: Types of Volcanoes and Types of Eruptions

Review Questions (see last page of outline)

Reading Part Six: Report on Volcanoes Voyage to the Volcano Chapters 5-6 Notebooking Usborne Volcanoes p 1-15 Volcano Shape Review Book Why Do Volcanoes Blow Their Tops p 8-13 Review Questions (see last page of Activities outline) Read about the Benefits of Volcanoes Certificate of Achievement Read about the Hazards of Volcanoes Vocabulary Words/Handwriting Practice Print out the questions on cardstock Cinder Cone Volcano, Shield Volcano, and put them in your notebook, or Strato Volcano Pyroclastic Flow, Active, Dormant, Extinct use them in a discussion: Notebooking Pages Part One: Vocabulary Word Accordion Book Geology is the study of the Earth. Yes No Active/Extinct/Dormant Flaps What Do Volcanoes Do For Us Accordion A geologist is someone who studies music.

Yes No Book Did You Know Card with facts from Part 4 Part Two: What is magma?

Part Five: Geysers, Mud Pots, Black What is the Ring of Fire?

Smokers, and Hot Springs What are Tectonic plates?

Reading What part of the U.S. is within the Ring of Fire?

Voyage to the Volcano Chapters 7-8 Compare the Tectonic Plate Map, the Ring of Usborne Volcanoes p 16-21 Fire Map, and the Volcano Location Map. Vocabulary Words/Handwriting Practice Geyser, Mud Pot, Hot Springs, Black Part Three: Smokers What building up below the Earth's surface Activities causes volcanoes?

Make Your Own Geyser Experiment What are people who study volcanoes (Mountains and Volcanoes p 28) called?

Video – How the Earth was Made: What is the molten rock inside a volcano Yellowstone called?

Notebooking Pages When this molten rock reaches the surface, Vocabulary Words Shutter Flap Book what is it called?

Did You Know Card with facts from Part 5 Name at least one volcano.

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Part Four:

Part Five:

A crater is a hole at the top of the volcanoes vent. It may contain a lake.

Yes No

Underwater hot springs are called what?

The center of the earth is called a vent. Yes No

What is a hot springs?

What heats the water in geysers and hot springs?

The Ring of Fire is in the Pacific Ocean. Yes No

A geyser shoots out what?

The smallest piece of volcanic stone is called ash.

Yes No

What bubbles out of a mud volcano?

The mantle is the Earth's outer layer . Yes No

What is the farthest place volcanoes have been found?

What state is made entirely of volcanoes?

A vent is an opening in a volcano through with magma flows.

Yes No “Dormant� describes an active volcano when it is erupting.

Yes No Sometimes there are vents in the sides of a volcano.

Yes No

Part Six:

What part of the volcano is where the magma builds up?

What is the cone made out of?

How long does it take lava to harden?

What are tectonic plates?

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By Karen I am grateful for so many things about homeschooling, but one of those things that I have been thinking especially about lately is friendships.

Homeschooling promotes real, authentic, friendships. One thing I have been struck with lately is the kind of friendships that schools foster‌ they are based on age groups and peer pressure. Kids in schools are segregated with only their age group, all day long. And if you do have friends in other grades, you may be looked down upon because they are younger and not in the same grade.

Now, I don't know about you, but it my life, not many of my friends are exactly my age. Many are older, some are younger. Some are even much older. And I love it this way. I learn from my older, wiser friends, and they are great examples to me about growing into a mature Christian woman. As for my younger friends, they may just be starting out having children, and I can be a good example to them, or guide them as they begin their journey into motherhood.

The Bible intended for our relationships to be this way! Titus 2:3-5 addresses this very issue. To have the older generations teach the young, and to have the younger generations learn from the older. And that is Heart of the Matter

exactly what homeschooling allows! My kids have friends of all different ages! They have older friends whom they look up to, and they have younger friends whom they set examples for. It is a beautiful thing to see these kinds of relationships in action. And it is the way God has intended us to be in relationship!

Schools have created this "unreal" world in a sense by segregating the age groups. That is NOT real life! No one in the real world only associates with people born in their year! So I am grateful for homeschooling to allow my children to experience real relationships in the real world.

It encourages me further to press on, knowing that our choice is not shielding our kids from reality, but immersing them in it, and preparing them to one day live in the "real world."

Photos: Stock.XCHNG

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aircraft exhaust. To form a contrail, the temperature must be low enough or the humidity must be high enough for water to condense on the exhaust particles. Since the process of condensation is well understood, it is possible to predict when contrails will form based on prevalent temperature and humidity conditions.

Check out our blog: homeschool homeschool--science.blogspot.com science.blogspot.com!!

Typically, with fall weather comes cool, moist air aloft and conditions are perfect for contrail production. Think about it: do you see very many contrails in the summer months when it is hot and dry? Sometimes contrails dissipate rapidly with high winds or high turbulence aloft, and sometimes contrails linger for quite some time. Contrails dissipate rapidly with low humidity, since the newly formed ice crystals evaporate quickly.

With high humidity, persistent contrails are visible, as ice crystals grow in size, absorbing water from the sur rounding (hum id) atmosphere. You might see a contrail which has been stationary for some time right With colder temperatures comes snow, next to one which is dissipating frost, winter coats, and.... contrails forming. rapidly. These contrails are at different altitudes, with different conditions at each level.

So what exactly is a contrail?

Contrails (short for condensation trail) are man-made "clouds" created by aircraft engines when the temperature and humidity conditions are just right. Usually occurring at temperatures below -40째C, and at altitudes above 26,000 ft, contrails are formed when water vapor condenses and then freezes on the particulate matter in

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Since different gas composition, exhaust gas temperatures, and water vapor content exist in different aircraft engines, not all aircraft engines will produce a contrail at the same altitude (with identical weather conditions) at the same time. Contrail formation has nothing to do with the type of aircraft or its speed.

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Another form of contrail is produced when a portion of an aircraft, such as a wingtip or winglet, causes air cavitation in humid conditions. Have you ever seen these vapor trails, perhaps at an airshow, when aircraft flying low over the airfield pitch up rapidly in high humidity conditions? And since we're mentioning winglets (shown below), you might be interested to know why they're on the wing. The winglet serves to reduce aerodynamic drag so the aircraft burns less fuel in flight. This fuel efficiency is created by breaking up the turbulent wingtip vortices (pronounced VOR-ti-sees) produced by the pressure differential between the bottom and top of the wing. No vortices = less drag.

The aircraft whose contrails you see are each navigating with navaids similar to the one shown above. Therefore the aircraft fly over the navaids as they transit the jet routes. Parallel tracks of contrails are aircraft flying along the same route. If you are ever curious about a contrail track you observe, you can check FlightAware.com. A Back to the contrails, though... have you screen shot near Dallas, Texas shows ever seen patterns in the sky produced by multiple aircraft tracks transiting along an contrails?

Perhaps all paralleling one east-west jet route using navaids. another or converging on a point?

This is no coincidence. The world is crisscrossed with jet routes flown by all aircraft above a certain altitude. At the junctions of jet routes are navigational aids, which you may have seen while driving or flying yourself. Here is one navigation aid (navaid) in Oregon, shown courtesy of Wikipedia: Heart of the Matter

Contrail predictions have been used since WWII, when the ability to spot enemy aircraft "conning" could make the difference in advance notice of an airstrike or positioning for air combat. Here's a graphic from p. 55 of the March 1943 edition of Popular Science identifying two types of vapor trail formation:

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can be used to determine when a jet airplane would or would not produce a contrail. For many years, the US Air Force Global Weather Center used a similar chart to make contrail forecasts.

The first published reports of contrail formation appeared shortly after World War I. At first, scientists were not sure how contrails formed. We now know that they are a type of mixing cloud, similar to the cloud that sometimes forms from your breath during a cold winter day. Appleman showed that when the air outside of the airplane is cold enough and moist enough, the mixture of the jet exhaust and the air would form a cloud.

An example of a contrail-forecasting chart is shown below. We will use the chart to make our own forecasts, and make observations to determine whether they are true or false.

How about an activity to predict contrail formation? NASA has an activity page where you can access an Appleman chart. Using the chart, you can construct a temperature profile to forecast contrail activity in your area. The activity (recom-mended for 5th grade and up) begins this way: ..."Military planners have been interested in condensation trail (contrail) forecasts since World War II. Contrails can make any aircraft easy to locate by enemy forces, and no amount of modern stealth technology can hide an aircraft if it leaves a persistent contrail in its wake. In 1953, a scientist named H. Appleman published a chart that P. 36

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... Using either the temperature information provided by the teacher or the temperatures obtained from an Internet location (see note below), complete the table on the "Student Data Sheet", then plot the temperatures corresponding to each pressure level on the "Appleman Chart: Student Graph Worksheet". Connect the points to create a temperature profile of the atmosphere.

unit study, or just a fun diversion. If you have a weather station in your home, it would pair up nicely as an associated activity. For younger elementary students, the NASA site also has a word search and a downloadable "Clouds and Contrails" craft. Have fun!

Resources:

Contrail Science. Retrieved 16 October 2010, Note: Temperature and humidity information from Contrail Education can be obtained from weather balloon soundings launched twice a day from several Contrail Science—The Science and Pseudoscilocations around the country. Several loca- ence of Contrails and Chemtrails. Retrieved tions on the Internet including http:// 16 October 2010 from Contrail Science.com weather.uwyo.edu/upperair/sounding.html provide detailed sounding information. NASA, Contrail Education. Retrieved 16 October 2010, from Contrail Education Choose the location nearest your school."

This activity would make a perfect accompa- U.S. Air Force, Contrail Facts. Retrieved 27 Ocniment to a physical science class, a weather tober 2010, from Contrail Facts

An excerpt from Science Jim’s ―Bite ―Bite--Size Physics: Force‖ book Here’s a riddle. What am I? I stick to some things but not to others. I stick but I’m not sticky. I attract some things but push other things away and, if allowed to move, I will always point the same way. Well, since you know the topic of this lesson this isn’t the hardest riddle to solve. I’m a magnet, right? Sure. But take a look at the wacky things a magnet does! It sticks but it’s not sticky. It only sticks to certain things, and it pushes some things away. If you hang it from a string or float it in water, it will always point north. If that’s not enough strangeness, as we’ll find out in a later lesson, magnets can actually create electricity! Wow, what a wacky thing a magnet is! So what is a magnet? What is going on with all those bizarre little shapes that are sticking to my fridge!?

cause a magnetic field. We’ll look deeper into magnetic fields in the next lesson.

Electron Spin “But Jim, how are electrons moving in my Cranky the Clown magnet on my fridge? It isn’t connected to any battery. What’s going on there!? Don’t I need electricity to have moving electrons?”

Well said, fellow Cranky the Clown fan.

Electromagnets do have electricity flowing through them. Electricity is nothing more than moving electrons. So it’s the electricity that causes the magnetic force in electromagnets.

However, most of the magnets you run across are not attached to any form of electricity. So how are the electrons moving? Electrons move on their own. They move around the nucleus and they spin. It’s the electron spin that tends to be responsible for the magnetic field in those “permanent” magnets (the magnets that maintain a magnetic field without electricity flowing).

Believe it or not, electrons! Those wacky little “But don’t electrons always spin? Shouldn’t fellows that we learned about several lessons everything be magnetic?” ago are the key to magnetism. As you move further and further in your science education, My, you’re filled with fine observations you’ll notice that electrons are responsible for today. Yes, electrons are always spinning. The a lot of stuff that goes on in science! Mag- reason some things are magnetic and other netism is caused by a majority of electrons things aren’t is due to the balance of the moving in a similar direction. This is how spinning electrons. Electrons are said to spin electromagnets work. Electrons are forced to left or right. It is not quite that simple, but it move through a wire and the moving electrons makes it easier to think and talk about. Most P. 38 January 2011 Heart of the Matter

What Causes Magnetism?

atoms have a fairly even number of left and right spinning atoms. If there are four spinning left, there are four spinning right. If there are nine spinning right, there are eight spinning left. Since they are fairly balanced, there’s no net direction that the electrons are moving in. With no overall direction of movement there’s no magnetic force. However, there are a few atoms, iron being the most famous, that are not in balance. Iron has four more electrons that spin in one direction than in the other. This excess of same spinning electrons creates a net directional movement and thus, a magnetic force! Nickel and Cobalt are other fairly common magnetic metals.

did all face the same way. If I stuck them all end to end and created a long string of magnets. Now the box would have a very powerful magnetic force, right? This is the difference between an iron nail and a magnet.

The nail has iron atoms going all which ways, while the magnet has iron atoms that are fairly lined up. The more lined up the iron atoms are, the stronger the magnetic force.

Experiment 1: Make a Magnet You need: An iron nail A magnet (the stronger the better) paper clips 1. Take a nail in one hand and the magnet in the other.

2. Stroke the magnet along the nail. Make sure to always stroke in the same direction, “Aha, so everything that’s made of iron is from the head to the tip for example. Do magnetic! Got it.” Well, not so fast. Yes, each that at least twenty times. iron atom is like a little magnet but not all iron objects have a magnetic field. In fact, most 3. Now see if your nail can pick up any paper clips. Feel free to strengthen your magnet don’t. The reason that most objects that have nail by continuing to stroke the nail with the iron in them are not magnetic is because the permanent magnet. atoms are all jumbled up. Imagine I gave you a shoe box filled with small magnets. Since I So, what happened there? You actually just threw the magnets in there, they are all twisted and turned atoms! As you moved the jumbled up. Some are facing right, some left, permanent magnet over the nail, the iron some up and some down. Because of the atoms in the nail actually turned to align jumble, the whole box may not have much themselves with the magnetic field of the magnetic force since the magnets inside are all magnet. Once enough iron atoms turned, the canceling each other out. Now, imagine what nail itself became a magnet! Congratulations, would happen if the magnets inside the box you atomic manipulator you!

Heart of the Matter January 2011 P. 39

Atomic Line Up

Experiment 2: Destroy a Magnet

all those little “atom magnets” are pointing in different directions and canceling out their magnetic fields. But what happens when a You need: magnetic field gets close to those little “atom The magnet nail you made in the last magnets”? They turn. The atoms turn so that experiment. their poles are opposite of the poles of the 1. Drop it on a hard surface. A table, floor or magnet. (We’ll talk more about poles in a later lesson.) Since they have turned, they now act sidewalk would work well. like a magnet and the Cranky Clown magnet 2. Drop it again. can now be attracted to the atoms in the fridge. Once you remove the Cranky Clown 3. Drop it again. magnet, the atoms in that part of the fridge go 4. Drop it....you get the picture. Drop it four back to being mixed up. or five times.

5. Now see if it picks up any paper clips. Is the nail still a magnet?

Here you took atoms that were all nicely lined up and messed them up so they pointed in different directions. Since they weren’t lined up as nicely anymore they had much less or perhaps no magnetic force. Do you remember the magnets in a box that we were talking about before? This is like you took that box that had all the magnets lined up and dropped it. CRASH! They get all jumbled up, and next thing you know the box no longer has nearly as strong of a magnetic force.

Magnets Are Picky Where They Are Sticky “So, how come I can get a magnet to stick to a refrigerator but not my brother’s head?”

Ah, I’m glad to see that you’re experimenting! (You might not want to use your siblings as test subjects though...just a thought.) In a way, you could say that magnets only stick to other magnets. I know you know a refrigerator is not a magnet but bear with me for a second. Your fridge is made of a metal that has iron in it. Remember that each iron atom is kind of like a little magnet. So your fridge is made of bunches of little magnets. The reason you can’t stick paper clips to your fridge is that P. 40

Experiment 3: Atomic Manipulation You need: A permanent magnet (the stronger the better) Paper clips 1. Attach a paper clip to your magnet.

2. Can you dangle another paper clip from the end of your first one?

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3. How many can you dangle from each magnetic field of their own. So the paper clip other? Two, three, four, more? becomes a magnet as long as a magnet is near 4. What happens if you remove the it. Once the permanent magnet gets too far permanent magnet from the top of the chain? away, the atoms go back to mish-mosh and no longer have much of a magnetic field.

The paper clips became temporary magnets didn’t they? The permanent magnet turned Hopefully, this article has given you a slightly the iron atoms in the paperclips so that they deeper understanding of magnetism and, aligned with the field of the permanent more importantly, has given you a greater magnet. Since those atoms are all facing in a sense of wonder about how amazing the similar direction, they can now create a world around us really is!

Heart of the Matter

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Before I became The HomeScholar (and before I was home-schooling), I was a nurse. I loved being a nurse. I loved biology and chemistry. I’m a homeschool mom who loves science! I’m beginning to realize that not all homeschoolers feel the same way.

In my work now, I get a lot of questions about teaching homeschool high school science, particularly about science labs.

But what is a lab science? Can anyone tell me?

The truth is there is no national definition about what a lab science really is. No definition. The US House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology formed the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education, which issued a report about lab science, and it is remarkably clear in its conclusion.

National Research Council’s America’s Lab Report: Investiga-tions in High School Science states, “The NRC report committee concluded that there exists no commonly agreed upon definition of laboratories in high schools amongst researchers and educators.”

Most colleges do not require documented lab sciences. Some colleges do. The most important thing for parents is to research the schools where they plan to apply. Usually a college that has specific science requirements will also provide a method for them to achieve success. Perhaps they will allow the ACT science portion to meet the requirement, or they will accept an SAT Subject Test or an AP exam in a science area.

There are many colleges that don’t require excessive math or science. Perhaps their emphasis is music or art or a specific trade, and general sciences meet their admission requirements. There is a very wide variety of colleges that homeschool parents choose.

Science Requirements In general, when I look over the college preparation sites, they don’t mention taking a lab science every year. Even the College Board doesn’t specifically mention a lab science. It mentions three years of science, but isn’t specific about the lab requirement.

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“Science teaches students to think analytically and apply theories to reality. Laboratory classes let students test what they have learned through hands-on work. Six semesters are recommended.

Two semesters in biology Two semesters in chemistry and/or physics Two semesters in earth/space sciences, advanced biology, advanced chemistry, or physics”

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Public universities may have a greater or lesser emphasis on lab science, depending on their preferences, but I think it’s good to remember that colleges are rarely specific about WHICH sciences, and it’s OK for parents to have some delight-directed science courses along with the more ordinary biology-chemistry-physics choices.

How to Find Curriculum I’m a huge fan of Apologia science courses! I believe they are wonderful college preparation, and that their Biology, Chemistry, and Physics courses can provide the highest quality college prep education.

Not everyone loves Apologia. I always encourage parents to use what works for their student, because not all children learn the same way. It’s more important that a curriculum WORKS than that it is popular, inexpensive, or highly rated.

When you are looking for a high school science course, and Apologia doesn’t fit, look first at HomeTrainingTools. If you can’t bear even to peruse their online catalog, then call and speak to their customer service department.

Make sure to get lots of feedback from your student. She may be interested in a science that is slightly off the beaten track. Perhaps she would prefer astronomy, geology, ecology, robotics or equine science. You can choose a different textbook provider, like Bob Jones or Abeka. You can change to an experimentbased model, like TOPS or Rainbow Science. You can join with another homeschool family, completing science together with that family. You don’t have to have children exactly the same age, and that can be especially helpful for children who enjoy socializing.

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Teaching Lab Science Let me tell you a little about how I taught my children lab science. Remember, I’m a nurse, and I love biology. I loved every dissection and every microscopy lab. Sometimes I had trouble giving the microscope to my children to use, but I don’t believe I taught them anything. I was present in the room when they did their experiments. Biology labs include expensive microscope equipment and wielding sharp dissection tools, after all. Not wanting them to get hurt, I was always in the room. They read the labs on their own. They followed the directions, and I watched – usually while getting some laundry folded.

Once completed, I would leave them alone to complete the lab write-ups. I asked them for a paragraph of what they did and learned, and a drawing, graph or chart explaining the lab. At the end of the day I would look at their lab reports to make sure they truly had a paragraph (not a sentence) and they had some sort of chart or drawing. If those things were present and I understood from their lab report the purpose of the experiment and what happened, then I gave them 100%.

To tell you the truth, I gave them a grade for the lab report based on how pleased or annoyed I felt when I saw it! After taking Biology, Chemistry, and Physics at home, using this lab write-up philosophy, my children were WELL prepared for college science labs.

For our science lab notebook we used a cheap spiral bound notebook from the cheap Target back-to-school sales. You could also use printer paper or regular notebook paper, because the lab notebook isn’t about the NOTEBOOK at all! The science lab notebook is about the kids recording what they did during the science lab.

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When it was time for a test, I simply handed them the test, confiscated the solution manual and walked away. I corrected the tests when they were working on their next course. I gave them the grade, and wrote it on a piece of notebook paper I kept in their binder. Then I had them correct their answers.

I suppose you could say they were learning independently. They did all the reading, and I didn’t lecture (except about how expensive the microscope was). They did the experiments with an adult standing by. Perhaps I did try to teach them how fun and exciting biology is, because I remember I did a lot of squealing, but it didn’t work. Of all the sciences, they liked biology the least.

I know other successful mothers who have taken a much more hands-on approach. Dealing with learning challenges, they may read the entire chapter, or carefully assist their students in following directions for labs. It’s important to remember to do what works for YOUR family.

Some parents may want to judge others, and call it “spoon-feeding.” I think it’s important to remember that some students will learn and thrive with one-on-one tutoring because of challenges that others don’t understand, so do what works for your student, regardless of what others say or think.

In the four years of high school I became less involved each year. The following year I found that chemistry didn’t require as much help, so we didn’t include it in our morning meeting. The labs were rarely dangerous; so many times I would just peek in. With physics I felt completely overwhelmed, and I didn’t understand any of it. They worked completely independently with that science.

biology on their own, but we were just beginning the process of independence at that point. I’ll be glad to share how we did it – just remember that every child and family is unique.

With biology we had a morning meeting like I described in my blog post: Homeschool Accountability – Try a “Morning Meeting”.

During that meeting, I went over their vocabulary words, and would sometimes ask them questions found in the book (not very often – I didn’t have it all together that much!). They were responsible for reading the chapter on their own. I think going over the vocabulary helped the most. That’s a tip I read in a book about college success; if you know the vocabulary words you can pass most college tests.

Many Options There are many options for lab sciences, and you are not limited to the common three choices of biology, chemistry, and physics. While those classes are probably helpful for students going into highly competitive schools, or going into science and engineering schools, you don’t have to be limited by those standard three. Some students will not have the math required for physics, and others may want to branch out. Both groups have limitless options!

When faced with a non-math person, skipping physics and physics lab may be a good idea, because physics is highly math-based. If you decide to branch out into nature study, you can do your labs as field study. Even though there is no definition of lab science, it does imply handson learning and writing a description of what was accomplished. There are public schools that teach botany and ecology classes that may Learning Independently just fit the bill. Earth sciences may also count as Learning to be independent is a process, and a lab science, provided you do some biology usually comes along pretty early in that experiments. The good news is you can make process. I’ve seen children successfully learn almost ANY science into a hands-on experience.

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By Sarita Holzmann of Sonlight Curriculum

Do you dread teaching science? Layer Present a wealth of scientific ideas to your young children, but don’t expect them to absorb every detail. You can circle back around to those same ideas later as your kids reach new levels of maturity and can understand Here’s the good news: even if you don't new layers of each concept. Older kids have consider yourself very “scientific," you can the advantage of grasping more and more teach science confidently—and enjoy the meaning from vocabulary and ideas they’ve already encountered in previous years. process!

Do you skip science experiments because they’re too much work? Perhaps you feel inadequate to teach such a challenging subject or dread what you think might be a total bore for your children.

If you can help your kids fall in love with learning science, you’ll make your job a whole lot easier (and give your kids a big boost in life). So here are a few suggestions to "hook" your kids on science and find joy in it yourself:

Make it beautiful

Start with what you can see

You can make almost any topic into an ageappropriate science lesson, but some subjects lend themselves to adaptation more readily.

Biology is usually the easiest for younger kids to grasp, so that’s a good place to start.

Use gorgeous picture books when you first Find your children’s rhythm introduce science to little ones. Help them As with any subject, you don't want to discover the wonder and awe of God's hammer your kids with assignments that are creation. too hard or bore them with easy work. As you learn together, you will begin to get a feel for Make it robust how to challenge them without pushing them Kids are sponges. Take advantage of this by too far. offering them lots of information to soak up.

I remember my disappointment when I first started homeschooling and purchased a new science textbook. I’ll never forget the two black and white pages that simply told us "the sun is yellow." Even a kindergartner likes a challenge!

Have fun

Remember to have fun together. After all, you are planting the seeds for a lifetime of learning. If you relax and enjoy the process, your kids probably will, too. Have fun with your kids as you see how the world works.

Make it broad: Give your kids a variety of experiences

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Places

primary customers were families serving as missionaries overseas. They had very limited access to what we consider common items in the States. I wanted to provide them with everything they needed to conduct experiments—down to the single washer and wintergreen mint.

Help your children make connections between what they’ve learned and what they see in real life around them. Talk about science when you visit a farm or electronics store. Get out into nature in your own neighborhood. Visit state parks. Let your young scholars explore Even living in the States, I hated the feeling of museums. not having what I needed on hand for an experiment. I wanted to remove that stress for Books other parents. So we made science kits with Since you probably don’t have a field trip to the materials you need for the experiments in space scheduled any time soon, visit exotic or the curriculum. Even if you don’t use a hard-to-reach places through vivid books. You Sonlight Science Kit, you can make it easy on can examine rare snow leopards, deep sea yourself by gathering your materials ahead of creatures and remote galaxies without leaving time and keeping them in a homemade your living room. science kit. Having your kit already put together also allows for spontaneity if kids Experiments finish one exciting experiment and Experiments are a prime way to give kids immediately beg to do another. memorable science experiences. Science If you need to skip the experiments to save time activities drive home the ideas you’re reading Years ago, some homeschool moms started a about and allow concepts to sink in from firstgroup on the online Sonlight Forums called hand knowledge. Yes, they can be messy, but “Home Educators Neglecting Science the memories you build and the scientific Experiments.” I knew then we needed to ideas that finally “click” for your children can brainstorm other ways for busy moms to give make it all worth it. their children the benefit of science experiments!

Web A number of the colorful science books we include in Sonlight’s Science programs offer links to learn more online. Since a Google search for a science topic can often lead to overwhelming results, it’s nice to have a guide to some sources worth reading!

Make it easy on yourself

Thus, the DVD series Discover and Do was born. These DVDs give kids the chance to watch someone else do the experiment and explain what’s happening. We discovered that kids were so drawn to the experiments that they often went ahead and did the experiments on their own. Moms didn’t even have to set them up.

Ready-made science kits

Although it’s wise to provide parental guidance for most experiments, letting kids try When my husband John and I first started simple experiments on their own can spur on Sonlight Curriculum twenty years ago, our their scientific initiative and confidence.

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Science co-op

wait until college to examine truth and falsehood. It is much better preparation to A science co-op is another way to watch an engage these ideas from the safe harbor of a experiment without doing it all yourself. Kids loving and thoughtful family. If you haven’t can make observations together and everyone discussed these ideas with your children can share in the clean-up! before they encounter them in the world outside your home, they are much more likely Make it conversational and faith-building to experience a crisis of faith when they finally do face them.

Discuss the information you encounter as you make discoveries with your children. As you Make the connections explore the scientific world, you’re bound to encounter ideas that are contrary to your Give kids a "big picture" outlook and help beliefs. Use these moments to build your them see connections. children’s faith as you help them examine why Science is so much more than memorizing they believe what they believe. facts and figures. Help kids develop an for the amazing detail our Teachable moments from your reading appreciation Creator put in place in this world. Encourage The most engaging and well-made science them to ask questions, search for answers and picture books tend to contain some develop critical thinking skills. Their curiosity evolutionary content. As you discuss these and resourcefulness will keep their minds busy pages with your children, you can help them and their hearts full of praise as they uncover understand what you believe. This will new ideas and insights throughout their prepare them to encounter controversial ideas lifetime. with grace and faith.

Whatever methods you use to learn science, I hope you have fun exploring God’s fascinating Prepare kids to engage ideas world with your children. As you help them I wanted to make sure my kids didn’t engage learn through books, experiences, discussions anti-Christian ideas for the first time without a and experiments, may they develop a love of loving parent there to guide and discuss. Don’t learning that will last a lifetime.

By Cindy West Studying physical science can be so much fun since almost every topic easily includes handson activities and/or experiments. During our study of physical science last year, one of the most exciting and easy topics was simple machines.

some prompting for them to understand that each of these simple machines is known as a lever. After thinking about how levers are used, we discussed briefly the definition of fulcrum being the point at which a lever pivots.

In one short afternoon of experimenting with simple machine models (along with a few good books from the library), we had this topic of science under our belts and were ready to move on to other adventures. Before I share our afternoon with you, I will admit that this study required some preplanning in order for supplies to be gathered. You can’t experiment with simple machines without building very simple machines, and that means you need building supplies.

Nothing fancy or expensive! What you have around the house will work; you’ll just need to make sure the supplies are gathered and ready to go.

Our study began with six self-discovery stations I set up around the room. My children (ages 12 and 9) and I visited each center together. Even though I was there to help them know what to do, they made all their own discoveries about the various principles of each simple machine. Then, for each station, I had a simple guiding question or two they were to answer in their science journals about the discoveries they made. I have included those questions for you along with the station ideas.

Station #1 – Levers I placed a hammer, can opener, bottle opener, nut cracker and paint can opener in front of them and asked what they all have in common. It took a little thinking and P. 48

Through this experiment, my children began to understand the function of a fulcrum. You’ll notice from the photo that you simply tape three markers together so they make a triangle, and place a board on top of the markers. The spot where the markers and board meet is the fulcrum. Place a small stack of books tied together on one end of the board and use your strength to push on the other side of the board. Place the fulcrum at various points under the board to discover at what points the fulcrum is the most and least helpful to you in lifting the books.

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In their science notebooks, my children were asked to draw simple sketches of the fulcrum at the points when it was most helpful and least helpful, and then write a couple of sentences about what they learned. I also asked them to sketch a few of the other levers we had discussed and mark the point where they believed the fulcrum to be on each.

Station #2 – Wedges

Both kiddos were given a nail with a sharp end (otherwise known as the wedge) and a nail with a blunt end. They tried hammering both to discover which wedge was easier to go through the wood.

After observing how the sharp wedge was more easily hammered, I pulled out an ax, chisel, tire wedge, tooth and some other nails for them to consider as wedges. We talked about how they are alike and different and how the wedge shape completes each purpose.

In their science notebooks, they had to sketch the nail experiment and explain why they Heart of the Matter

believed the sharp nail went into the wood more easily. They then had to write about one wedge they have used before and how it has helped them.

Stations #3 & #4: Inclined Planes & Screws I have included these stations together because screws, although classified as their own simple machine category, are actually inclined planes when you consider the threads that wrap around the screw.

Using a stack of books with string tied around them, my children pulled the books up a simple ramp made from a piece of scrap wood. Since we didn’t own a spring scale at the time, they tied a rubber band to the string and measured the stretch. Next, they pulled the stack straight up into the air to the same level of the ramp, again measuring the stretch of the rubber band. Upon seeing that the rubber band didn’t stretch as far when the books were pulled up the ramp, they concluded that less force was necessary using the inclined plane as compared to pulling the books straight up, meaning the inclined plane was a helpful simple machine.

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Inclined planes were further studied as they took two screws – one with threads very close together and one with threads far apart – and noticed how many turns it took to get each into a piece of wood. More turns were required for the screw with closer threads, but the job was much easier than the screw with threads far apart.

In their science notebooks, they were asked to draw a sketch of the ramp experiment and write what they believed to be the definition of an inclined plane. Secondly, they had to draw the two screws and explain why they thought the screw with closer threads was easier to get into the wood.

Station #5 – Wheels and Axles

Using the same rubber band trick as mentioned before they determined whether or not less force was required to pull a piece of wood using wheels. A heavier board (or the stack of books) works best with this experiment. First, they pulled the wood along the floor as they measured the pull on the rubber band. Second, they placed the wood on a wheeled toy (you can use anything you have on hand with wheels) and measured the pull of the rubber band. The pull on the rubber band was much less using the wheels.

Since gears are wheels that rotate on an axis, I pulled out the gear set we have in our toy closet and let them make more detailed observations than they normally would about how the gears work together.

In their science notebooks, I had them make a list of all the wheels and gears they could think of in the real world. Then I had them choose one example and tell why it’s a helpful machine. For instance, my daughter chose the wheelchair and wrote about how much harder it would be for a handicapped person to get around without it.

Station #6 - Pulleys At the time of our lesson, our pulleys were all in use on the farm. Since my children are around pulleys all the time, they were pretty familiar with their function already. We simply talked about how they’re used on the farm. For your purposes though, you can find inexpensive pulleys for experiments at a tractor/farm supply store and complete the following easy experiment.

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Attach the pulley to a door frame or a tree outside. Place a piece of heavy string or rope over the wheel of the pulley. Tie one end of the rope to the stack of books with string tied around them. (Before pulling on the other end of the rope, you might consider wearing a pair of gloves to keep from getting a rope burn.) Pull on the other end of the rope and take note of the effort exerted. Next, try picking up the pile of books with one hand and go as high as you were able take the books using the pulley. Compare the effort it takes to do this as opposed to using the pulley.

A few suggestions for simple machine reading: Simple Machines by Deborah Hodge Get to Know Simple Machines Series by various authors The Berenstain Bears’ Science Fair by Stan Berenstain For other simple machine ideas, you might like: Science Experiments with Simple Machines by Sally Nankivell-Aston Sensational Science Projects with Simple Machines by Robert Gardner

Janice VanCleave’s Machines by Janice In science notebooks, draw a sketch of the VanCleave pulley system and write about how the pulley And some free online ideas you might like: was a helpful machine.

Simple Machines Lessons: After our discovery time stations, we read a http://teachertech.rice.edu/Participants/ couple of good books about simple machines dawsonm/CAST/CAST95.html from the library then talked about what, when and how we use simple machines on a daily Simple Machines: basis. And, as a fun culminating activity, we h t t p : / / e d t e c h . k e n n e s a w . e d u / w e b / went to the local playground to see how many simmach.html simple machines we could identify in action!

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Contributors Ann Dunagan Ann Dunagan is a longtime homeschool mother of 7 (with 4 high school graduates and 3 university graduates). Since 1987, she and her husband Jon, and their family, have ministered worldwide through Harvest Ministry, to a combined total of 70+ nations, on all 7 continents. Ann is co-founder of 2 African orphanages (with over 700 children); author of several books, including The Mission-Minded Family; and she blogs at Passionate Homemaking and "Better Parents, Better Families" on The Christian Post.

Aubrey Lively Aubrey is a homeschooling mother of four, ages 9, 7, 3, and 2. She has a BA in Literature and an MEd in Teaching and is currently surviving seminary with her husband of ten years. Visit Aubrey online at http://aubreylively.blogspot.com.

Barbara Postma Barbara and her husband, as they homeschool their 7 children, are finding out that no two children are alike! Between lessons and lunches, Barbara blogs at Fuel by Barbara.

Belinda Bullard Belinda is a wife and homeschooling mother of three, Belinda is an author and the owner of A Blessed Heritage Educational Resources, a literature-based history curriculum featuring AfricanAmerican presence in history, as well as the contributions of other races to American history. A chemical engineer by formal education, she also serves as adjunct faculty for college distance learning programs. Belinda blogs at Simply Belinda and Chronicles of a Blessed Heritage.

Bethany LeBedz Bethany LeBedz is a veteran homeschooler, professional editor, writer, and speaker. You can check out her business website at www.bethanylebedz.com. Bethany contributes regularly to Heart of the Matter Online, has a regular column in the Home School Enrichment magazine, and occasionally writes for other magazines, websites, and newsletters. She lives in North Carolina with her family and she enjoys music, reading, scrapbooking, sewing, genealogy, and keeping up with friends in her spare time. Be sure to follow her blog, Confessions of an Organized Homeschool Mom, at www.bethanylebedz.blogspot.com.

Carol Barnier Carol Barnier is a fresh, fun and popular conference speaker unlike any you’ve heard before. Her objective is to have the wit of Erma Bombeck crossed with the depth of C.S. Lewis, but admits that most days, she only achieves a solid Lucy Ricardo with a bit of Bob the Tomato. She is a frequent guest commentator on Focus on the Family's Weekend Magazine broadcast, has been a guest on many radio programs and is a speaker to conferences nationwide. She's the author of three books about dealing with (or possessing) a non-linear mind in a linear world: How to Get Your Child Off the Refrigerator and On To Learning, If I'm Diapering a Watermelon, Then Where'd I Leave the Baby?, and The Big WHAT NOW Book of Learning Styles. Her main websites are CarolBarnier.com and SizzleBop.com. You can also find Carol at her blog for moms with distractible kids at SizzleBop. And for fun, see her church humor blog at CarolBarnier.

Chris Worthy Chris is mom to Caroline (16) and Nolan (11) and will soon celebrate 21 years of marriage to her favorite person, John. Chris practiced law before becoming a writer and stay-at-home mother more than 10 years ago. She enjoys cooking, crafting, spoiling dogs, green living and rummaging though old books. Follow along at www.chrisworthy.com.

Christine Hiester Christine is a Christian, homeschooling mom to three boys and a girl, ranging in age from 9 to 2 years old. She is a musician by trade, eclectic in homeschool style, and continues to grow and learn along with her children in this journey of life and discipleship at home. Visit her blog at Fruit in Season.

Cindy West Cindy West is an eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of three who loves learning alongside her children. You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward (http://ourjourneywestward.com) and find her nature study curriculum at Shining Dawn Books. (http://shiningdawnbooks.com)

Dana Hanley Dana is homeschooling her five children while moving to the country. You can follow her plans and adventures while seeking to live life more abundantly at Roscommon Acres.

Deb Deb is a knitting, cooking, home schooling mom. Who is way cooler than that sounds. Really. She blogs about all sorts of random and sometimes even mildly interesting things at Not Inadequate.

Deborah Anderson Debra has three sons ages 11 and younger. Her passions are education, mentoring, her husband, writing, church ministry and missional living — not in that order. She has her seminary Masters degree in Christian Education, is married to her pastor-husband of 16 years, and resides in their newish home in Denver, CO. In spite of moves between four different states, she has always home educated her boys — even on the hard days. She maintains a blog at www.emergenthomeschool.blogspot.com.

Erica Erica is a daughter of Jesus, a wife, a mom, and a homeschooler. She likes to digiscrap and dabbles in graphic design in her *free* time. She authors Confessions of a Homeschooler and would love you to drop by for a visit anytime!

Hannah Hagarty Hannah is a relaxed homeschooling mama of five. She and her family are big on the outdoors, family days, and making memories in everyday small ways. She loves handcrafts, iced lattes, rearranging furniture and counts falling into bed exhausted a sign of a really great day. She and her husband make a home in upstate New York with their energetic children and a menagerie of animals. Hannah blogs at Cultivating Home.

Contributors Heather Laurie Heather and her husband, Christopher, have been married for 13 wonderful years, and have been blessed with 7 children, two of whom are awaiting them in Heaven. They began their homeschooling journey eight years ago, amidst trials and unexpected journeys, including genetic disorders, autism, sensory disorders, and lupus. Heather and her husband created the ministry Special Needs Homeschooling as a way to use their trials for the Lord's glory and to encourage special needs parents and homeschoolers.

Heather Heather is a homeschooling mom of four kids ranging from middle school to preschool and wife to a handsome chemical engineer. Before raising a family, she taught middle school science (with a BS in biological sciences) and has a masters degree in curriculum and instruction secondary education. Now teaching at home means the chance to provide the extraordinary for her children. She’s been homeschooling five years and you can read about those adventures on her blog, Blog She Wrote.

Jennifer Jennifer is a pastor’s wife and homeschooling mom to three – ages 9, 7, and 5 – who is continually amazed by the wonder of God’s extravagant grace. Living in Washington DC, she enjoys exploring the city with her children, early morning runs, and free museums. She delights in simple and natural living, the arts, and finding beauty in ordinary days. Her greatest desires for her children are to love God, love the church, love people, love books, art, music, and the outdoors. Jennifer blogs at Planted by Streams.

Jenny Penton Jenny Penton is a homeschooling mother of seven children and loves the closeness that being home with them provides. Un-schooling is how they live and learn and she blogs about their learning experiences at Homeschoolingbelle.com. Jenny also has a passion for inspiring women to become master life planners and that includes menu planning. Check out her sites for life planning and her inspiring recipes on her food blog at plannerperfect.com and plannerperfectmeals.com

Jimmie Jimmie is a former public school teacher turned homeschooling stay-at-home-mom. A sense of humor, faith, and creativity keep her “pressing on” in her unique situation -- living and traveling abroad with an only child in a bilingual environment. Visit her blog at Jimmie’s Collage.

Julie Barnett Julie is a Navy veteran and spouse who has been happily married since 1993. She is a homeschool Mom to 2 amazing kids, a teenage young lady and an elementary age young man. She enjoys fishing, camping, scrapbooking, card making, crafts, reading and oh so much more!

Karen Karen is married to the love of her life, Steve, and a homeschooling mom of 4 children ages 9,7,5, and 1. She was called to homeschool when her oldest was kindergarten age after thinking, "I could never do THAT!" Now she is passionate about encouraging others on their homeschool journey, as well as learning all she can along the way. She sees her kids as her mission field and loves the verse in Romans 10:15 that says, "How beautiful are the feet of those who carry the good news." Follow her blog at Beautiful Feet Bring Good News.

Lee Binz Lee is a veteran homeschooling mom of two and the owner of The HomeScholar, “Helping parents homeschool through high school.” She has a new free minicourse called “The 5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School”. You can sign up for her free email homeschool newsletter, The HomeScholar Record and get your daily dose of wisdom via e-mail from her homeschool blog, The HomeScholar Helper. Get homeschool transcript help with her Total Transcript Solution. Get comprehensive homeschool support as a member of her Gold Care Club.

Lisa Van Dong Lisa has been teaching her two sons since 2004 and attempts to incorporate study, work, service, and play into their homeschooling days. She takes an eclectic approach to homeschooling and enjoys reading, writing, editing, and essential oils. Lisa blogs publicly at Pockets of Time and privately at Scooter and B.

Meg Wilson Meg is a devoted wife to her husband, Ken, of 10 years, and mom and homeschooling teacher to her 5-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. When she's not writing or creating something, Meg loves to cook for, host and entertain friends and family. She also enjoys reading, the outdoors, eclectic music, yoga, and studying history. You can read all about her adventures (and misadventures) at her blog, Muses of Megret and read her product reviews at Muse Reviews.

Melinda Boring Melinda has been married to Scott for 25 years and has three homeschooled children. Her 22 yr. old son and 21 yr. old daughter graduated from home school in 2006, leaving Melinda an "empty desker" of two along with her 17 year old daughter who will graduate in 2011. Two of her children and her husband have been diagnosed with AD/HD. The children also deal with auditory processing disorders and sensory processing challenges. The name "Boring" just doesn't fit this family, and Melinda shares many humorous moments in her speaking and writing endeavors.

Melinda is the author of Heads Up Helping and has been a contributing author to multiple publications. She is a workshop presenter with a passion for helping struggling learners and providing practical strategies, compassion, and understanding for those with special needs.

Melinda is also a speech/language pathologist with over 25 years experience and the owner of Heads Up, a company with products for those who learn differently. You can find her blog at the Heads Up website, where she writes as "Heads Up Mom".

Contributors Melissa Morgner Melissa Morgner is a happy wife of 17 years to her college sweetheart and mother to six loud, but lovable children ranging in age from 13 down to three. After ten years of homeschooling and sampling way too much curriculum, she takes an eclectic approach in their little schoolroom, choosing resources that best suit the children and the teacher. Her busy household puts her gifts of juggling and winging it to the test each day. She steals moments here and there to write on her blog, Day In Day Out, about the lessons she's learning from the Lord in the routine but privileged tasks of mothering and homeschooling.

Misty Krasawski Misty is the overly-blessed mom of eight children whom she homeschools in sunshine-y Florida.

She has been clinging ferociously to the hand of her Lord since she was knee-high to a grasshopper, homeschooling for the past thirteen years, and has eighteen more years ahead of her with the children who are glad she will have done most of her experimenting on those who went before. Her wonderful husband Rob has much treasure laid up for him in heaven for having been called to such a daunting task. After the house goes to sleep she can sometimes be found gathering her thoughts at www.encouragingheartsathome.com

Montserrat Wadsworth Montserrat is completely devoted to her wonderful husband, Joseph, and their eight children (seven girls and one boy!). They live on a 4,000 acre alfalfa farm nestled in a small Northern Nevada valley. They’ve been homeschooling for 11+ years. Montserrat enjoys, photography, cooking, crafting, chocolate, and sloppy goodnight kisses. She strives to live each day as God would have her do following Mary’s biblical supplication, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38) You can find her at her blog Chocolate On My Cranium.

Patty Thompson Patty is a homeschooling mom to 4 kids and wife to her high school sweetheart. She has been homeschooling for 4 years and loving every minute of it. Future plans include Homeschooling through high school. Her kids range from Kindergarten through 8th grade. Her style is very eclectic and believes in going with what works! She is rarely seen without a book in her hand. She loves to plan lessons and unit studies. She has started working with a co-op group and has enjoyed teaching group classes. Her hobbies include Genealogy and card making. She has often been found lost in thought on her blog. Catch her there and take a moment to feed their school mascot, Shiver, at Shiver Academy.

Peggy Dalley Peggy has been married to her best friend and husband for 14 years. She uses the eclectic approach to homeschool their three sons, 12, 10 and 7. Her interests include writing unit studies, Bible study, history and she is working hard to become a Proverbs 31:10 woman instead of a Proverbs 21:9 woman.

Rachel Moriarty Rachael is wife to a Navy Tubist and mommy to three children, ages 1 to 6. She is Director of a Classical Conversations group and a childbirth educator and doula. She works along side her hubby on their hobby farm and has a passion for kitchen experiments. She aspires to train and reach the hearts of her children that they may know the purpose of life is to know Jesus and make Him known to others.

Renae Deckard Renae has prepared lesson plans, enjoyed children’s literature, and delighted in discovery with her three children for over seven years. By studying Principle Approach philosophy, she realized what she always suspected: the Bible lies at the heart of all subjects. Find her reflections at Life Nurturing Education.

Rhodema Cargill Rhodema lives the parenting adventure with Calvin, her college sweetheart. They have two adult daughters and two teenagers still at home, a girl and a boy. Their homeschool style is eclectic with a great love of living history books. Rhodema is a freelance writer and speaker.

Visit with her on her blog: MommyLife.

Robyn Stone Robyn is a wife, entrepreneur and homeschooling Mom to one very energetic little boy who is not quiet so little any more. She shares about her journey in life on her blog Our Homeschool Home. She loves a good cup of coffee, photography, and a great conversation.

Sheri Sears Sheri (with the help of her fabulous husband Mike) began homeschooling her four children in 2001. She spends her time creating whatever she can out of nothing to make her house more homey, writing lesson plans, listening to her son’s garage band and writing how God is carrying her out of the depths of depression. You can catch up with Sheri at her blog The Shades of Pink. Be sure not to miss the Love Story she and her husband have written.

Tammy Dallmann Married in 1980 and still living in the same house in a woodsy rural setting, Tammy’s homeschooling journey began in the fall of 1987 when her oldest turned six years old. As rather new believers professing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, homeschooling was a way to live out the principles found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Through all the challenges of life Tammy has stayed the course growing to a family with nine children who presently range from grade school age to college graduates married with children. Her role has transitioned from learning everything she could about homeschooling to becoming an encourager to others coming along the way. Please visit Tammy at Garden Glimpses.

Tara McClenahan Tara is a devoted mom to a two-year-old “little man” and enjoys discovering how God has “packed his suitcase”. As an associate with iBloom, she has a heart for inspiring, encouraging and equipping moms to become "Proverbs 31 mamas" and raise their children according to Biblical principles and guidelines using the Bible and other tools. Tara adores falling leaves, sweatshirts, Starbucks White Chocolate Mochas and the first curly BBQ chip from the bag!

Make sure to visit Tara's website to download your free Christian mom resource!

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