Otter: Our wiggly 6th grader
Bear: Our big bear who is enlisting in the military this fall
Emily: Our froo-froo homeschool graduate working on her nursing degree
August 25, 2010 - An Egg Experiment
After learning about flourine in chemistry, we did an experiment with a couple of eggs to demonstrate how the flouride in toothpaste protects your teeth. Our experiment was in the book Fizz, Bubble and Flash - but you can find a similar experiment online here.
Here are the two eggs we started with:
Otter covered the "happy" egg with toothpaste and left the sad egg bare. Of course he HAD to do it with his fingers. Science experiments should always be messy, if possible. 
We put both of the eggs in their own glass full of vinegar after letting them sit out for about one day and after rinsing the toothpaste off of the "happy" egg.
Immediately Mr. Sad Egg started bubbling vigorously. The acid of the vinegar started attacking his shell right away!
After several days the egg protected by the toothpaste (on the left) filled up with vinegar, but the shell didn't break down as badly as it did with the unprotected egg on the right. You can see remnants of the dissolved shell on the glass.
What a great, visual way to reinforce why we brush our teeth and how fluoride works! Even if you aren't learning about chemistry, this is a fun and easy experiment to do anytime.
August 18, 2010 - Swag Bucks
I learned about Swag Bucks from my daughter (Little Miss Bargain Hunter). Swag Bucks is a search engine that gives you credits for using it. I really wasn't so sure about it, but I went ahead and signed up and gave it a try. Since I signed up earlier this year, I've earned about $20 in Amazon gift certificates. It's not a LOT of $$, but it's certainly something and has helped us buy a couple of homeschooling books. In this tough economy, every little extra bit helps! Emily also earned some gift certificates and bought some books (like we don't have enough, lol).
So how does it work? First you have to go and sign up for a free account. Then, every time you use their search engine, you have the opportunity to win credits. The credits, called Swag Bucks, show up at the top of your search results page (if/when you win them). Save your credits to redeem prizes. There are a variety of things you can earn, but my fave is the gift card section. 
There are also other ways to earn Swag Bucks. Here are some of them:
- Click through to an online store through the Swag Bucks website
- Look at offers and coupons (receive credits for just viewing the items or ads)
- Participate in surveys
- Refer a friend and get credits for the credits your friend(s) earn up to 1000 matching points (so if your friends earn points, you earn them too!)
- Submit a poll
- Trade things in like old cell phones and video games
- Sign up for a service like Netflix by clicking through from Swag Bucks
I like it that you can earn extra points by doing things other than searching.
The Swag Bucks search engine is not exactly Google, BUT if you remember to use it a few times a day, you will start earning some credits. The credits are assigned randomly. Sometimes you'll get a bunch of them and other times a smaller amount. I made it easier to remember to use Swag Bucks by making it one of my search engine add-ons for both Firefox and Google Chrome.
Here you can see it in the list of drop down search engines in my Firefox search engine box.
And here it is in my Google Chrome browser with the free plug-in called Search Center. Search Center allows you to search the same term in multiple search engines. I like it because I can just click a little button in the browser and then instantly have access to the search engines I want to use. It helps me to remember to use Swag Bucks because I can look for something there first and then, if I don't find the answer I want, I can click the button and go off searching in a different search engine without a hassle.
So what are the cons? Swag Bucks is NOT the best search engine. You won't want to use it for your power searches. And, you have to remember to use it! If you do though, you'll start racking up some points and win some goodies! It really does work like that. Check it out, and if you do sign up, please consider using me, (guesthollow) as a reference (so I can earn more points, LOL). Click here to get started!
August 16, 2010 - Baby Quail
We went to the wildlife refuge and saw some baby quail. They were SO tiny.
Here's a close-up of the picture above. Notice how the baby compares to the size of the seed fluff to the right!
August 9, 2010 - Chemistry
This year's science has been one of the best mix of programs and books we've ever done. Otter has learned a lot and we've had the opportunity to do all sorts of fun experiments. Here are some pictures of some things we've done over the last couple of months:
Otter was thrilled when dad, after hearing us read out loud about magnesium, brought a strip out and then lit it on fire!
He thought it was really neat to see a metal burn - and wow, it gets BRIGHT.
Play-Doh and chemistry? Why not? Below is a model of an atom Otter made.
And here are a couple of molecules! It sure beats going to the store and trying to find and purchase Styrofoam balls (as the activity called for).
We got to mix all sorts of concoctions up this year. While learning about magnesium, Otter dissolved some Epsom salts in water, added ammonia and created a precipitate (the gel-like stuff you can see floating on the top). You can check out the experiment here (or Google "precipitation of magnesium sulfate").
With the experiment below, Otter found out that yeast gives off carbon dioxide. Here's a link to an experiment that is similar to the one we did.
I often try to tie an experiment to the element we were learning. This helps Otter to retain the information about each one. At the very least we watch the wonderful (and kind of quirky) videos from the Periodic Table of Videos.
We don't only do experiments. I also try to find printables that tie into what we are studying.
Otter made this atomic model timeline:
He also made this booklet about halogens that you can download from Homeschool Share.
It's amazing what can be found online for free.
August 5, 2010 - Squire and the Scroll Update
Just a quick heads-up, I've posted more printables to the Squire and Scroll section of my website. I won't be posting updates for that project anymore here on my blog. If you are interested in the printables, check in at the Squire and Scroll downloads page for updates. At the bottom of the links you can see the date of the most recent update.
August 5, 2010 - Hands-on Ancient History
We're getting close to finishing up Otter's ancient history curriculum. Right now we are studying the Romans. Here are a couple of pictures of things we've already learned about:
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon - you can get this free printable model here. Neither Otter nor I are paper model pros like Bear, but we managed to complete this one! It has a map backdrop behind it.
When studying Greece, Otter "excavated" pieces of a Greek vase. We bought ours from Rainbow Resource. The pieces came ensconced in a hard kind of clay that had to be chipped away. After freeing the pieces you are supposed to glue them together and then paint (restore) the vase. We never got to that part, but Otter had fun hammering away at the clay and seeing what hard work it really is to be an archeologist.
I always try to include some sort of hands-on activity with our history studies. I think it helps cement people, places and time-periods in Otter's mind. It's also fun to look back over all the things we did in our school year. We're not just learning; we are making memories.
August 3, 2010 - The Squire & Scroll Printables for lesson 6 and 7
I'm continuing to work on The Squire and the Scroll printables. Here are the things I created today:
Write Psalm 119:9 and make a little booklet. Words are in Handwriting Without Tears style font on the top. There is a blank template below for those using other handwriting styles.
Make a scroll booklet. The cover is a handwriting / copywork exercise for this lesson's verse on p. 22 of Life Lessons from the Squire and the Scroll. The 2nd page is an exercise on discernment. There is an area to write song titles and then the question "Does it honor God?" with "yes", "no" and "?" to circle. We have, as a family, looked up the lyrics to several of the songs we listen to and decided that we wouldn't listen to some of them anymore based on the words. Sometimes it's surprising to sit down and read the lyrics we've been listening to over and over!
Read the story of Samuel from the Bible and then rewrite in your own words with dialogue on the printable. There are some writing "helpers" on the side of the paper. Lines are approx. wide rule sized.
Here is another writing assignment. The assignment is for your child to write a lesson about gossip aimed at children. In other words, have your child do the teaching for a change. I recommend you do this lesson after reading the online lesson about gossip at Garden of Praise or a similar website or material.
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August 30, 2010