October Wrap-Up

I'm hoping to eventually get back to posting more often, but for now once a month is about all I can manage.  We are definitely keeping busy around here.

School is going well.  Squidy isn't appreciating the time he has to put in to Algebra.  He says it's not that it's hard, it's not that he doesn't understand it, he just finds it "tedious" and doesn't understand why he has to do so many problems.   He's doing Foerster's Algebra and it's a LOT of word problems.  Multi-part word problems.   I am spending a lot of time telling him how much time is typical for 7th grade (homeschooling or public schooling) and pointing out that he still has it pretty good.

Writing has consistently been our problem subject.   I like the idea of doing projects, ala Brave Writer, but while they are more likely to enjoy the projects, they need more actual instruction in the mechanics of writing.  We are giving Wordsmith (for Squidy) and Wordsmith Apprentice (for Vicki) a try.  It has a fun, creative, project-y feel to it but still offers incremental instruction.

We're still a little light on History.  We've been watching the Egypt episodes from the Great Courses  course - The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World.   We will do a few projects after we finish with Egypt.

On the other hand, the kids are doing a TON of science.  We were light on 4-H this month because our location was refinishing the floors and we had to cancel one meeting.  We did an activity on Acids and Bases for the session we did have. 

We started with a discussion of what is meant by pH and what are acids and bases.  pH is the scale that measures acidity/alkalinity. pH stands for potential Hydrogen.   If a substance produces more hydroxide (OH) molecules in solution, it is a base and is alkaline.  If a substance produces more Hydrogen (H) molecules in solution, it is an acid and is acidic. 

We then tested a variety of household substances for pH using two different methods:  cabbage indicator and litmus papers.  We tested citrate, baking soda, alka seltzer, borax (which had to be put into solution first), conditioner, dish detergent, ammonia, vinegar, diet coke, milk, tap water and well water.

I have also started offering science classes to local homeschoolers.  Vicki is taking two of my classes - Getting Messy with Science and Crime Scene Investigation, while Squidy is just taking the CSI class.

Messy Science began with a discussion of the Scientific Method and an experiment to determine what combination of soda and candy will produce the biggest release of carbon dioxide gas.  We compared 4 different sodas: Coke (sugar and caffeine), Diet Coke (artificial sweetener and caffeine), Sprite (sugar, no caffeine), and Seltzer (carbonated water); and 3 different candies: Mint Mentos, Mint Tic-Tacs, and Nerds.  In order to obtain measurable results, we used smaller bottles of soda, weighed out the same amount of each candy, and captured the released carbon dioxide gas into balloons, which we then measured to compare. 

Our hypothesis was that Mentos and Diet Coke would produce the most gas.  In this case, Coke and Nerds actually produced the most.  We discussed what effect the nucleation sites, size of individual candies, and mint flavoring seemed to have on our results.

Week 2 of Messy Science, we discussed Physical versus Chemical reactions.   We used acetone to dissolve styrofoam and made shapes out of the resulting "plastic".  We made Elephant Toothpaste by using yeast as a catalyst to convert Hydrogen Peroxide to water and Oxygen, and we made "plastic" by reacting warm milk with vinegar.  Vicki wanted to make sure the class lived up to it's name.  She's always liked getting hands-on with everything.

Our most recent class we did some Candy Chromatography in honor of Halloween. 

CSI started with the crime scene set-up. 

Mary was having dinner at home with her friend Susie, who works at a daycare center.  Also present were John, the chef who cooked the meal and Brian, Mary’s housekeeper who was doing laundry.

During the course of the evening, Mary’s jewels disappeared! 

You are Crime Scene Investigators who are tasked with processing the scene and solving the crime.

Your suspects include everyone who was present that night.

During the first class, they processed the crime scene.  Taking pictures, examining evidence, gathering trace evidence, swabbing "blood", and lifting fingerprints.

Our second class, we identified the unknown powder found at the scene by testing knowns with iodine, vinegar, and pH indicator.  Our unknown ended up being cornstarch, which could have come from Susie (cornstarch baby powder), or John the chef.

In addition to our group science activities, Squidy has continued working on getting the Nitrogen cycle started on his fish tank.  We weren't making much progress so ended purchasing some chemicals to help get it started.   Ghost shrimp and a snail were added over the weekend and we will be going soon to pick out his betta fish.

The kids are still doing Tai Kwan Do as their main PE activity.  They had a belt test this month and are now Brown Belts!   

We've been struggling a little bit finding other PE activities.  Swimming lessons last year were such a total bust, both in the learning aspect and the exercise aspect, that we decided not to waste the money this year.  Too much waiting around, not enough actual swimming.  

The kids yoga at the Y, despite being advertised for ages 7 to 12, ended up mostly preschoolers.  Neither of the kids were comfortable in the class, and they weren't doing any actual yoga, just running around.  

We've done some hiking, Squidy takes a walk to the bus stop to meet the kids coming home from school each day, and we've dragged out the old Wii Fit to help us get through the colder weather.

Of course, since this is a wrap-up for October, we have lots of Halloween!

We started our Halloween activities with a trip to pick out pumpkins and check out a corn maze.  This maze was HUGE.  Squidy went off by himself for a little while and when we met back up 15 minutes later, he was done and ready to leave.  It took us another hour to find our way out.

It was a neat maze with activity stations, bridges and riddles but it was just too big unless you were super-excited about corn.   Previous years we've gone someplace closer to home that is about a 10th the size, but is big enough for the kids to go off and have an adventure, yet easy to get out of when you've had enough.  Lesson learned.

Squidy turned his pumpkin into an Elekin.

In a long tradition of picking out costumes that it is impossible to just buy at a store - Vicki dressed as Funtime Foxy and Squidy was a Decidueye.

We did a Mad Science lab at our local Trunk or Treat to advertise our 4-H Club and my science classes.  

The kids also enjoyed a party at TKD, and Trick or Treating around Gramma Kaye's house.  This year Squidy decided he was old enough to go T or T'ing by himself.  Since it's basically one street with a small cul-de-sac off one side, we agreed he could go alone.  Vicki and I did cross paths with him a couple of times.

A common theme with Squidy lately has been wanting to do things by himself, with friends if possible, but definitely without parents or siblings.  There aren't a lot of opportunities for him to get this independence but we are trying to offer it when we can.

Camping in North Carolina

Our big vacation for this year was two weeks camping in North Carolina.  Daddy used to live in Research Triangle Park and wanted to head down to visit with old friends and check out old haunts (which he found had changed quite a bit in 20 years ;-).

Unfortunately I forgot my nice Canon Rebel T3i with the zoom lens and was stuck taking pictures with my cell phone the whole time.

Jordan Lake

We started out at Jordan Lake Recreational Area in Apex.  We had a lovely site right on the lake, with coves on two sides.

We had a blue heron (that the kids insisted on pronouncing here-on just to bug me) that was nesting in the cove.  We saw him every day we were there.

We also saw a bald eagle a few times.  He was eating a fish on the shore opposite our campground.  Unfortunately it was too far to get a decent picture with my cell phone.  :-(

The weather wasn't overly cooperative but the kids did manage to get in some swimming, including a couple times swimming in actual rain showers.   But we also spent a bunch of just playing games at the campground.

Evidently we were there at the height of frog mating season, and a certain species of tree frog sounds just like a baby screaming.   A really nice sound to hear in the middle of the night.  There were also a ton of toads hopping around each evening.   As always, Vicki was our critter kid and was catching them for a closer look.

Then came what the kids called, somewhat hyperbolically, THE DISASTER.

We dealt with quite a bit of rain while we were at Jordan Lake.  The first night, it was a light shower and we had some minor leaks in our sleeping tent.  This was the first time it ever leaked (and we've camped in thunderstorms before).  We pulled off the fly, sprayed the seams with some waterproofing spray and put it back on.

The next night it leaked a little bit more, so we picked up a tarp to put over the top of the tent.  The first night that worked great.  The next night we got to see the negative side to that lovely lake view - strong thunderstorms included a strong wind coming right across the lake.   A wind that picked up that tarp and pulled the tent stakes right out of the ground.  Three in the morning and Daddy was holding up the tent long enough for us to get out and run to our Suburban to spend the rest of the night.

After looking at the damage in the morning, we debated whether to cut our trip short and head home.  A couple of the tent poles were broken, the canopy frame was bent, everything was wet (and I had already spent a few hours at the laundromat this trip!).  But we decided to stick it out and headed to the Blue Ridge Parkway to Davidson River.

Davidson River

Davidson River is in the Pisgah National Forest, part of the Appalachian Mountains.

With the help of lots of duct tape, we were able to set up camp at our new home-away-from-home.  Since we were in the middle of the woods, we figured we shouldn't have to worry about any strong winds.   We did tell Squidy that he could sleep in the truck if he felt nervous at any point. 

One of our first stops in Pisgah was Sliding Rock.   Sliding Rock is a 60 foot long waterfall with a sloping boulder that can be slid down like a slide.  

Squidy took one look at it from the stairway down and gave a firm NOPE.

I found out how cold the water was and I gave it a Nope as well.  Vicki went down together with Daddy and didn't care for it.   The coldness and the drop at the end left her feeling like she couldn't catch her breathe and that seriously freaked her out.

 We went for a visit to Looking Glass Falls, one of the many waterfalls in the area.  It was a little bit chilly.

Our campground is named after the Davidson River that runs along one side of it.  The river was EXTREMELY cold but the kids still were brave enough to do some wading and some tubing.   While tubing they sang some lovely songs about the "icy river of death" - just a little morbid.   Daddy went with them once and I went with them once.  Other than your butt hitting rocks at time, it wasn't a bad trip at all. 

We did some hiking and found a cute, little Methodist church in the woods along the river.  

And went to visit the Pisgah Ranger Station.   The ranger station had exhibits about local wildlife, maps and information on local hikes and waterfalls, and a store.   Squidy bought a fox hat and a little stuffed hat, while Jade and Vicki got wolves.

Since it was chilly, Squidy decided he wanted something that he could use to cover his mouth when it was cold.  Something made of soft, warm material but not a scarf.   On one of my trips to the local Walmart, I ended up grabbing a fleece remnant and making him a bandanna.

And once he had a bandanna, he wanted an eye patch.  For himself and his fox.  Then Vicki wanted a poncho.  And one for her wolf.  And Jade wanted a scarf.  And one for her wolf.   I love that fleece is super-easy to work with - just cut and your done.

I figured there would be lots of science and nature learning on this trip, but we were also able to throw in some history with our visit to the Cradle of Forestry.   The Cradle is an American Heritage Site for the Biltmore Forestry School, the first Forestry School in North America.  

The education center had interactive exhibits about the school, later developments in forestry, and conservation.  Outside there were hiking trails that took you among the buildings from the forestry school. 

I was mean, and to make sure the kids actually read some of the informational signs and didn't just race through, I had them take notes about interesting facts. 

Back to science - the hills in this area were known as the Pink Beds, due to the large numbers of rhododendrons.   They were easy for us to identify since we have a couple sitting right in front of our house.

One of the things we asked about at the Ranger Station were simple hikes with waterfalls.  We ended up choosing Graveyard Fields as a not too long, not too strenuous hike.  It was a beautiful day for hiking, sunny but not too hot.

We went first to the Lower Falls.  These were the stairs we had to walk down to get there, which means we had to walk back UP them to continue on our hike.  The falls were worth it.

We fond this grouping of trees that the kids called the "Narnia tree".

Lots of little creeks to cross over, and lots of muddy parts in the trail.  Vicki still is unable to resist stepping in every body of water or mud she sees.  She lost her shoe in one muddy area, then I lost my shoe helping her out of another.

We made it to the Upper Falls and stopped on a nice flat rock to eat our lunch.

The troll blocking the bride.  ;-D

On our way back from our hike, we stopped at some of the scenic overlooks along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  You definitely want to make sure your brakes work well driving there.

Back at our campsite, we caught a glimpse of the elusive white squirrel (another time I really wished for my zoom lens!).   We had seen a sign about the white squirrels on one of our trips out to Brevard, which was the closest town to the campground.  According to local lore, the white squirrels were escapees from a carnival truck that overturned.  These squirrels are not albinos since they have black eyes and are sometimes streaked with grey.

We took a trip to the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education.

Outside the center were two swallow nests with babies in them.  

Inside, we watched a video on the Hellbender Salamanders.  

and walked through exhibits about various other wildlife found in this area of North Carolina.

We fed the trout out at the fish hatchery.

One of the highlights of our trip was going to be an all day caving and rafting adventure.   We got up early in the morning and headed to Tennessee, where we waited at this little outpost for our guides to arrive.  And waited.  And waited.  And tried to call but no one answered.  Finally, we reached someone at their main office and found out they had lost our reservation.  And wouldn't be able to get anyone their for a few hours.   

We were not happy to say the least.   They, of course, were going to refund out deposit (but we still haven't seen it!) and sent a voucher for a rafting trip.  

We were able to book the rafting trip for the next day, lucky for us since we were only in the area for two more days.  It was supposed to be a Class 2/3 trip but our guide thought we hit some Class 4.

Despite some set-backs, we had a great time on our trip in North Carolina.  The kids survived two weeks without Wifi, although still had too much time on screens, IMO.