Rowan made a foil volcano...
And we just had so much fun!
Happy Learning!
~Beth
Showing posts with label play. Show all posts
Showing posts with label play. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Volcano Day!
Rowan made a foil volcano...
And we just had so much fun!
Happy Learning!
~Beth
Monday, July 27, 2015
Buffalo Berries
"Fynn, what do you want to do today?"
This is how most of our days start. But he'd been planning this one for a while now.
"I want to make a planet model all the way to Sedna."
So we said OK and geared up to go with him to Sedna, the furthest known dwarf planet, at the edge of the Kuiper belt. He'd only recently started riding a bike, and he's still using training wheels, but we've been riding farther and farther, and i had a hunch he could make this trip, though it would take us most of a day. He's seven and rarely runs out of energy. So we packed some snacks and Rowan helped air up the tires and off we went.
Sedna is far away. Like, really far. If you made a scale model where one foot equals a million miles in space, Sedna would be about sixteen miles from the sun, which would be only the size of a bowling ball. We didn't go that far, but we did go a long way, about ten miles in all- Fynn's longest bike ride yet.
We all had a great time riding and then stopping at every planet so Fynn could get off his bike and draw them on the ground. Here's Neptune (Full of Tunes!)
A Praying Mantis caught Beth, and didn't want to let her go. Which was really cool because we've been watching Kung Fu Panda a lot lately. Fynn started eating soup, his most detested food, because of Kung Fu Panda. Never underestimate the power of television. We Stopped at a park for snacks, and basically just rode and rode and rode. Fynn did really well at staying on the right side of the bike trail, which took some effort and focus for him. He can concentrate when he's moving, and we can have conversations. Most of our conversations are him asking me questions he already knows the answer to, or him telling me to watch what he's doing. But when we're riding, or running, or bouncing or swinging, we talk about all kinds of things. I'll ride to Sedna and back for that.
After riding for a while we found a Silver Buffalo Berry Bush. (Sheperdia Canadensis) We were all hot and tired and this was a welcome treat. A wild berry that can't be bought in stores, you only have two weeks a year to harvest and eat them, so we take every chance we get to enjoy this delicacy. We filled up on berries and then continued on our way.
After crossing a few streets and riding through vast open spaces we made it to Sedna. We all felt a sense of accomplishment at having come this far. And since the river was right there we went for a swim to cool off and relax a bit. We played in the sand. Skipped rocks. Looked at fish and crawfish.
On the way home we saw a beautiful bull snake. We shooed it off the trail so it wouldn't get run over. We stopped for lunch at Wendy's, and rode home through down town. Down town is not exactly a kid friendly place to ride, and we're really proud of how well Fynn did getting through there. We all got sunburnt and exhausted. We drank a lot of tea. We did a lot of math. We talked about bugs and snakes and floods and buffalo. The kids ate buffalo berries for the rest of the day and then Fynn got on his computer and typed in "how fast can buffalo run". Apparently they can run forty miles an hour. We watched a few videos of buffalo running and then the kids turned into buffalo and ran around the yard until it was dark. It was a good day.
We've always been interested in Native America. My dad, Fynn's grandpa, is Native American, though Fynn's never met him and I haven't seen him since I was two. Fynn and Rowan have not yet shown much interest though. But now, because of these berries, they've become fascinated with the buffalo, and that can only lead to Native America.The next morning we watched videos of buffalo on youtube and talked about how the buffalo used to cover this area. About how a lady who lived here a hundred years ago said it took a herd eight hours to pass her house, and how some of the settlers killed almost all of them to starve out the indians. About how the indians that lived around here lived with and loved the buffalo, and how they took care of each other. We talked about all this while eating buffalo berries.
We make planet models everyday, who'da thunk we'd learn so much on this trip. What's that old saying about doing the same thing and expecting different results? We must be crazy.
We've always been interested in Native America. My dad, Fynn's grandpa, is Native American, though Fynn's never met him and I haven't seen him since I was two. Fynn and Rowan have not yet shown much interest though. But now, because of these berries, they've become fascinated with the buffalo, and that can only lead to Native America.The next morning we watched videos of buffalo on youtube and talked about how the buffalo used to cover this area. About how a lady who lived here a hundred years ago said it took a herd eight hours to pass her house, and how some of the settlers killed almost all of them to starve out the indians. About how the indians that lived around here lived with and loved the buffalo, and how they took care of each other. We talked about all this while eating buffalo berries.
We make planet models everyday, who'da thunk we'd learn so much on this trip. What's that old saying about doing the same thing and expecting different results? We must be crazy.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Silly Math
Silly Math
One of
Fynn's favorite places to learn and discuss new concepts is on th'
swing. It's also a good place to test his understanding of things
we've covered in th' past. He's moving, he's relaxed, calm and
focused- and having fun. One of his favorite things to do on th'
swing is a game he calls “Silly Spelling” where we take turns
spelling numbers from one to one hundred. We always start off
spelling them correctly, and get sillier and sillier as we go. For
example, i'll say 0-N-E, then Fynn'll say T-W-O, then i'll say
T-H-I-R-S-T-Y, then he'll start laughing and say “What, that
doesn't spell three, that spells…..” He'll try to sound it out,
and i'll help him if he needs it. “Oh no wait, that's not right”
I say, “T-H-R-E-E”. And back and forth. His spelling can get
infinitely more silly than mine. He'll say things like
“T-W-E-N-T-Y-N-I-N-I-N-I-N-I-I-I-I-E-E-E” Which makes him laugh
uncontrollably. We learned long ago that th' best way to test him is
to give him th' wrong answer. If you ask him a question he'll usually
just say
“I don't know”- but if you give him th' wrong answer he'll correct you if he knows it. And if you can get him to laugh, well, it's just better for everyone. So, not only do I tell him something wrong, but I tell him something that's wrong and completely ridiculous. He'll start laughing and say, “Oh, that's not right, it's….. That's silly Papa.” And it's great fun, no pressure testing.
“I don't know”- but if you give him th' wrong answer he'll correct you if he knows it. And if you can get him to laugh, well, it's just better for everyone. So, not only do I tell him something wrong, but I tell him something that's wrong and completely ridiculous. He'll start laughing and say, “Oh, that's not right, it's….. That's silly Papa.” And it's great fun, no pressure testing.
So one
morning Fynn was quietly swinging, I was sitting by him drinking my
coffee, pushing Rowan, when I thought to introduce some basic
algebra. “5 + K=10, What's K?” - He got a little smile on his
face and said “What?” - I repeated th' question and he got it, “K
is 5, that's kind of silly Papa.” - So we did a bunch more that
way, real simple ones, just to get him used to th' concept. The
problems got more advanced, as well as sillier, as we went on. “18
+ T = 6, What's T?” He thought it was kind of silly, but it wasn't
making him laugh, which is th' key to success with him. So after a
while I say “5 + W = Whale, what's W?” Ah, laughter, now we're
onto something, “Oh no wait, that's not right, 5 + W = 34, What's
W?” He got a real kick out of this, and said we invented Silly
Math. So now when he get's on th' swing, if i'm nearby he wants to do
Silly Math. And of course his questions are sillier than mine and
often make absolutely no sense whatsoever- but we still have a lot of
fun together, and he answers my questions, and tells me when I get
the answers wrong, showing that he understands th' concept.
4 + K
= Kangaroo, what's Kangaroo?
6 + T
= -12, what's T?
Next on
the agenda is the mathematical order of operations- 5 + 6 x 10 = 65.
This one has been tricky for him as he wants to go in order, but as
we swing and work through th' problems together he's getting it…
just need to find a way to make it sillier. 5 + 6 x 10 = Cheetah –
What's Cheetah?
So, if
you get stuck in th' math arena with your kids, try silly math, and
tailor it to their interests, it's a lot of fun.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Light Speed
Light Speed.
The speed of light: 671 million miles an hour
186 thousand miles per second.
Well, it's been all about th' solar system for us lately.
Both kids have taken to making model solar systems anywhere and everywhere we'll let them.
Our house, however, is only so big, so we headed out to our class room the other day to practice on a larger scale.
Our "Classroom" is a small 2 acre nature area about five minutes away from our house if you're running, which is how we usually get there. There's a half mile section of bike trail that runs through it and that is where Fynn wanted to set up a model of the solar system.
The large yellow ball is the sun- Fynn is setting up Saturn in the photo above.
He used the cracks in the sidewalk to place the planets in this model, with Mercury Venus Earth and Mars all one crack apart, Jupiter and Saturn two cracks apart, and Uranus and Neptune and Pluto four cracks apart. In the photo below He is setting up Pluto. Like every kid we know, Fynn is not happy about Pluto being kicked out of the solar system- so we use it anyway. Now, we know that Pluto's orbit is more elliptical than the other planets, so his distance is averaged out. There are times when Pluto is actually closer to the sun than Neptune.
Now, the speed of light is really fast. Humans know of nothing faster. But how fast is it compared to the solar system? Well, it takes light about eight minutes to go from the sun to earth, which is 93 million miles away. Whew.
It's absolutely amazing how things work out when you're doing the right thing.
This was a very warm day in February, especially for Colorado. There were bugs out. We saw a few spiders running through our solar system. They were comets. And we found a Roly Poly. He became Earth's Moon. But only for a little while. They don't stay a ball forever you know.
Then Fynn had a brilliant idea. Let's see how fast he goes in our solar system. So we took him over to the Sun and waited for him to open up and start walking. We made him a little lane to travel in by placing sticks on either side of him, then moving the ones he passed to the front.
To our delight (and my utter amazement, though i think Fynn just expected it) it took this little guy just over three minutes to get to Mercury. It takes light 3 minutes 13 seconds to get to Mercury.
We gave each other high five and named our little friend "Light Speed," then laughed because, well, who ever heard of a roly poly going light speed? We led this little guy all the way to Earth, and sure enough, it took him just over eight minutes to get there. Light speed didn't seem so fast anymore. Eight minutes is a long time to watch a roly poly walking. And that's just to earth. It takes light over 43 minutes to reach Jupiter. Saturn is almost as far from Jupiter as Jupiter is from the sun. The same with Uranus and Neptune. What!?
We needed a snack.
Later in the day we decided to make an actual scale model. We got a smaller sun, one that would allow us to use 12 inches to represent a million miles. We knew we'd need to use the entire bike trail, so we placed the sun at the beginning. Mercury is 36 million miles from the sun, so we took 36 steps and placed Mercury, a tiny little bead, on the side of the trail. Venus is 67 million miles from the sun. 31 more steps. Earth is 93 million miles away. 26 more steps. Not bad so far. Our planets are all pretty close, but they're tiny at this scale, so we placed our little planets on various lids and plates we brought with us.
Once you get to Jupiter things start looking big. Jupiter is 483 steps, or million miles from the sun. Saturn is almost twice as far at 886 steps, or million miles away. By the time we set up Uranus, 1782 million miles away, we could barely even see our sun. Neptune is 2794 steps from the sun. It takes light over 4 hours to go from the sun to Neptune. If you want to know how far this actually is, use a bowling ball sized sun, then count out 2794 steps. That's where Neptune is. We were almost at the end of our trail, but luckily we had just enough room. Now time for our light speed experiment.
We were going to walk from the sun to the Earth, and make it take eight minutes. We started walking. Of course other people use this bike trail too, but we're always in the middle of an experiment (or filming) when we're out here, so we rarely talk to them. I'm sure we usually look crazy. Especially when it takes you eight minutes to walk 93 steps. One guy jogged past us pushing a baby stroller. He ran to the end of the trail and turned around. I saw him looking at us, and our planets, and on the way back, he just kept looking back and forth between us walking ridiculously slow (light speed you remember) and our little beads on plates. So i said to him "It's a scale model of the solar system. right now we're traveling at the speed of light." You could see the understanding dawn upon him. His face went from quizzical to OK, i get it, And he got a huge smile on his face and said "That's Awesome! I was racking my brains trying to figure out what you were doing!" Then he went up to Fynn and held up his hand and said "High Five!" And of course Fynn jumped up and tried to hang from his hand.
We finally wrapped up our experiment and went home. But this got me to thinking. Fynn is a true scientist. Everything he does is an experiment. Yet all he is doing is playing. We are out here nearly everyday doing things that look crazy to those who don't know what's going on. But once you understand, it goes from appearing ridiculous to brilliant. It's not him that's changing, it's us and our understanding. Things, and people, are rarely what they appear on the surface. Suspend judgement, and dig deep.
Our house, however, is only so big, so we headed out to our class room the other day to practice on a larger scale.
Our "Classroom" is a small 2 acre nature area about five minutes away from our house if you're running, which is how we usually get there. There's a half mile section of bike trail that runs through it and that is where Fynn wanted to set up a model of the solar system.
The large yellow ball is the sun- Fynn is setting up Saturn in the photo above.
He used the cracks in the sidewalk to place the planets in this model, with Mercury Venus Earth and Mars all one crack apart, Jupiter and Saturn two cracks apart, and Uranus and Neptune and Pluto four cracks apart. In the photo below He is setting up Pluto. Like every kid we know, Fynn is not happy about Pluto being kicked out of the solar system- so we use it anyway. Now, we know that Pluto's orbit is more elliptical than the other planets, so his distance is averaged out. There are times when Pluto is actually closer to the sun than Neptune.
 |
| Asteroid Belt |
 |
| Fynn and Uranus |
 |
| View from Pluto |
 |
| Pluto |
Now, the speed of light is really fast. Humans know of nothing faster. But how fast is it compared to the solar system? Well, it takes light about eight minutes to go from the sun to earth, which is 93 million miles away. Whew.
It's absolutely amazing how things work out when you're doing the right thing.
This was a very warm day in February, especially for Colorado. There were bugs out. We saw a few spiders running through our solar system. They were comets. And we found a Roly Poly. He became Earth's Moon. But only for a little while. They don't stay a ball forever you know.
Then Fynn had a brilliant idea. Let's see how fast he goes in our solar system. So we took him over to the Sun and waited for him to open up and start walking. We made him a little lane to travel in by placing sticks on either side of him, then moving the ones he passed to the front.
To our delight (and my utter amazement, though i think Fynn just expected it) it took this little guy just over three minutes to get to Mercury. It takes light 3 minutes 13 seconds to get to Mercury.
We gave each other high five and named our little friend "Light Speed," then laughed because, well, who ever heard of a roly poly going light speed? We led this little guy all the way to Earth, and sure enough, it took him just over eight minutes to get there. Light speed didn't seem so fast anymore. Eight minutes is a long time to watch a roly poly walking. And that's just to earth. It takes light over 43 minutes to reach Jupiter. Saturn is almost as far from Jupiter as Jupiter is from the sun. The same with Uranus and Neptune. What!?
We needed a snack.
Later in the day we decided to make an actual scale model. We got a smaller sun, one that would allow us to use 12 inches to represent a million miles. We knew we'd need to use the entire bike trail, so we placed the sun at the beginning. Mercury is 36 million miles from the sun, so we took 36 steps and placed Mercury, a tiny little bead, on the side of the trail. Venus is 67 million miles from the sun. 31 more steps. Earth is 93 million miles away. 26 more steps. Not bad so far. Our planets are all pretty close, but they're tiny at this scale, so we placed our little planets on various lids and plates we brought with us.
 |
| Fynn with the Sun in background |
 |
| Venus |
We were going to walk from the sun to the Earth, and make it take eight minutes. We started walking. Of course other people use this bike trail too, but we're always in the middle of an experiment (or filming) when we're out here, so we rarely talk to them. I'm sure we usually look crazy. Especially when it takes you eight minutes to walk 93 steps. One guy jogged past us pushing a baby stroller. He ran to the end of the trail and turned around. I saw him looking at us, and our planets, and on the way back, he just kept looking back and forth between us walking ridiculously slow (light speed you remember) and our little beads on plates. So i said to him "It's a scale model of the solar system. right now we're traveling at the speed of light." You could see the understanding dawn upon him. His face went from quizzical to OK, i get it, And he got a huge smile on his face and said "That's Awesome! I was racking my brains trying to figure out what you were doing!" Then he went up to Fynn and held up his hand and said "High Five!" And of course Fynn jumped up and tried to hang from his hand.
We finally wrapped up our experiment and went home. But this got me to thinking. Fynn is a true scientist. Everything he does is an experiment. Yet all he is doing is playing. We are out here nearly everyday doing things that look crazy to those who don't know what's going on. But once you understand, it goes from appearing ridiculous to brilliant. It's not him that's changing, it's us and our understanding. Things, and people, are rarely what they appear on the surface. Suspend judgement, and dig deep.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Sunny Day Playin'
Most of the ground is still covered in snow, and temperatures are generally pretty chilly, but there was some sun shining on our back patio this morning, which thankfully had been shoveled earlier and was quite dry. The sun was warming up the air so the kids & I headed out for a few minutes of fresh air. The warmth gave us almost that free summer feeling; as you will see, Fynn went barefooted!
We busted out a tub of "chocolate dirt" that we had made earlier in Fall, and Rowan and I drove Lightning McQueen, Mack The Truck, and Red The Firetruck around in it. We also used the cars to make tracks in the snow.
Chocolate Dirt is a really fun sensory toy. It's mostly baking soda and some cocoa powder, enough vegetable oil to give it a moist sand texture, and a sprinkle of glitter. It smells good, feels good and tastes terrible! We've had that same tub sitting outside with the lid since early fall and it's still good. As long as water doesn't get in it it should last even longer.
We also colored with chalk for the first time since Summer! Rowan and I drew a solar system together, and Fynn drew one of his own. Fynn also made a model of Horsetooth Rock (a natural landmark here in Fort Collins) out of chocolate dirt.
These are planets he drew in the dirt.
The snow had been hardened by melting and freezing and Fynn was thrilled to walk on top of the snow instead of sinking into it. However, the kids both wanted it to be more moldable so they could make snow planets. I told them I had a recipe for play snow and would they like to try it? "Oh yeah!" they said. So I got a salad tub from the kitchen and some baking soda, tea tree shampoo, peppermint oil and glitter and we mixed it all together.
Rowan and I tried to make a few planets, but the next thing they wanted to do was mix it with the chocolate dirt. So they mixed and mixed, added snow and water, making "Hot Wash" and Hot Chocolate.
An orange kitty also came to visit us for the morning, but I failed to get a pic of him.
Cheers!
~Beth
Chocolate Dirt is a really fun sensory toy. It's mostly baking soda and some cocoa powder, enough vegetable oil to give it a moist sand texture, and a sprinkle of glitter. It smells good, feels good and tastes terrible! We've had that same tub sitting outside with the lid since early fall and it's still good. As long as water doesn't get in it it should last even longer.
These are planets he drew in the dirt.
Cheers!
~Beth
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