Chemical reactions

Ben's been reading a Magic Tree House book on volcanoes. This prompted him and his faithful side kick, Shira, to build their own volcano. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I am a doting mama, so please indulge me while I rabbit on about my sprogs. The two of them did almost everything themselves. They made the papier mache using some cellulose stuff I bought at the Art shop, built the skeleton out of foil and then applied the papier mache.



Then when it was dry, they went about painting it. I eavesdropped the planning process and what I heard caused my maternal heart to overflow. They must have spent a good 10-15 min deciding on what colors to mix and how they were going to paint highlights. They also made little "lava rocks" to put in the well to see what would happen when they did the baking soda and vinegar part.

Here they are making the volcano erupt. My plan for tomorrow is to teach them about this chemical reaction.



I always used to chuckle when I heard homeschoolers say that one of the beauties of homeschooling is that you can do it in your PJ"s. What me? Not a chance! I was adamant we'd always be dressed before school started. As you can see, that doesn't apply when the weather is freezing outside and we have no errands to run.

I have to comment on Ben's robe. My little munchkin dislikes the feeling of most clothing against his skin. His favorite outfit is a pair of underpants and a blanket. I became totally fed up with the trailing blanket that was dropped all over the house, so I bought a second one and turned it into a "monk's robe". Ben's in heaven. He has a blanket that fits!