Cleaning with Ketchup

The Jedi had been reading his assignments for his upcoming science lab at the local University and in the text he found a little science project. Since we had all of the materials, we decided to give it a try.
The experiment...

The experiment:  Will ketchup clean a penny?

The hypothesis?  The acids found in the ketchup will clean the penny and make it shine like new. 

The results?
Well, let's just say I won't be filling my bleaching trays with ketchup anytime soon!

The Jedi's hands actually absorbed the ketchup.  As you can imagine, he smelled like ketchup for at least two hours despite frequent hand washing.  All I can say is, "Yes, I would like fries with that."
Ta Da!!!  Not all that impressive really.  You can't tell from the picture, but it's a teeny tiny bit cleaner, really, it is. 

When attempting to determine WHY (pray tell) the ketchup didn't do that well cleaning, these ideas came to mind:
Ketchup is a very mild acid so maybe it needed to soak overnight?  (We rubbed it for 15 minutes)
Maybe it was our type of ketchup.  Perhaps the absence of High Fructose Corn Syrup made a difference...after all, they use acid to make HFCS.
Maybe we had a really dirty penny?
Maybe it wasn't dirt on the penny? 

The Jedi wanted to explore this further by trying hot sauce, but after the affects on his hands from the ketchup, I said no way! 

A week in review

I didn't have much time to write last week what with having a 15 page paper due and all of the activities the kids are involved with back in full swing.  Fortunately, my paper and coordinating PowerPoint presentation have been submitted and I have completed Strategic HR Management!  It was by far the most labor intensive class I have taken in pursuit of my masters.  While I learned an enormous amount and had ample opportunities to put my learning into practice through 16 papers, I am exhausted!  Yet, no rest for the weary!  Today I begin my final class for my degree.  It's my Capstone course where I apply everything I've learned in the last 18 months towards a massive project.  I just don't know how I'm going to do this, but I'm encouraged that I don't have to do it all on my own:

I've been clinging to Philippians 4:13 and many others for the last 18 months.  God knew I'd be taking this class at precisely this time...even while homeschooling the Jedi.  Praise God He's in control!

Last week I set some ambitious goals for the Jedi and told him that if he finished all of his assignments by noon on Friday we could watch Red Tales, the movie about the Tuskegee Airmen.

He met his goal and we enjoyed watching Red Tails during the middle of the day.  It felt really weird, but it's one of the wonderful things I enjoy about homeschooling.

On top of the Jedi's regular work he also began his science lab class at the local university.  We are really excited the university is offering this class because its an opportunity for their science education majors to practice teaching and for our local homeschool students to participate in lab projects.  When I was selecting curriculum this summer I was completely intimidated by the science material.  Not only is science not my specialty, but lab equipment is expensive!  Thanks to some experienced local homeschool moms, this lab class started last week and is already off to a great start.  It looks like the Jedi will be participating in a science fair this year so he should be blabbing about that soon.

Another exciting thing happened in our home this week.  The Jedi is an avid thespian and attends an amazing theatre academy year round held by the official State Theatre of Georgia.  He has been blessed with the opportunity to hone his skills in improve, classical & contemporary scene study, musical theatre, puppetry, and this fall he will begin stilt walking and parkour.

When the Jedi was invited to audition for the next children's theatre production, he jumped at the opportunity!  There is no place on earth this kid would rather be than on a stage.  He was born for it.  I can say that because I'm a completely biased mother.  On Monday evening he attended the cast call where over 60 students from 4th-7th grade anxiously were hoping for a role in the show.  I love the Jedi's mindset as he always goes into these auditions with a serious attitude, but with the understanding that it is okay if he doesn't get a role and will gladly enjoy attending the performance and seeing his friends on stage.  In the Jedi's eyes, he's just happy to get to spend 2+ hours in the theatre regardless of whether or not he is cast in the show.

On the other hand, I am a nervous wreck every time he has an audition.  I'm praying God's favor over him and asking God to give the Jedi what is best for him.  I'm always torn between really wanting him to get a part and preparing him for what will happen if he is rejected.  At the same time, I never want to impress a lack of faith on him because I want him to believe God for big things.

Imagine my heartbreak when he called on his way home from the audition with my husband and is talking in a serious, downcast voice.  Immediately I say, "How was the audition, Buddy?"  He says, "It was okay Mommy."  When I asked what happened he shouts, "I got in the show!"  That little turkey.  I was already in tears...I guess he is a pretty good little actor.

So, our next month or so will be spent with every other day at the theatre and 9 glorious shows where I will enjoy watching the Jedi do what he loves most, performing on stage.  I can't wait!

Light as a Feather Stiff as a Board

Have you ever played Light as a Feather Stiff as a Board?

It was a silly game I used to play at sleepovers, but when the Jedi decided he wanted to do levitation all I could think of what that annoying chant from my childhood!

Well, what on earth am I talking about today?  Magnets.  We've been studying Earth Science and more specifically, natural resources.  Magnets can be both natural and man made.

For this study we were using neodymium magnets which are a combination of iron, boron and neodymium.  Because neodymium is a rare earth element it is much stronger than your average ferric refrigerator magnet.

If you've ever tried to levitate magnets, it's nearly impossible.  Luckily for us, my mother-in-law bought the Jedi a magnet levitator.

By turning the lever at the top we lowered a magnet that was competing against gravity to levitate the square neodymium magnet between two pieces of pyrolytic graphite plates.

It's very hard to see, but there is daylight between the magnet and the bottom plate.  It takes a lot of concentration and slow movement of the hand (everything a Jedi should be practicing anyway) to get the magnet to levitate.  We never could get it centered, but it was fun trying out all of the different magnets included in the kit!

If you like magnets, here's the link for the kit:

K & J Magnetics

Accidental Science Lesson

Yesterday we found some huge mushrooms growing in our yard.  We decided to take some pictures and do some research on what makes mushrooms grow in the yard.  As I went for my morning run, I noticed these little buggers are all over my neighborhood.  I'm sure the gnomes are getting excited!

Nevertheless, we made a science lesson out of it and the Jedi wrote his first essay for this school year.  He wanted to post it along with the pics we took.

Happy Friday!

Meet the Fun-Guy (fungi)

Mushrooms

By: The Home School Jedi

Mushrooms from our yard

         Mushrooms grow in yards because of their main source, underground mycelia.  Mycelia are made up of two fused hyphae, tiny threads, which come out of spores.  The life cycle of mushrooms start with spores. Spores drop from mushrooms and fly into other yards.  The spores let out strands of hyphae that must find other hyphae that are compatible.  When two compatible hyphae meet, they fuse together to form mycelia.  Then, after a while, a mushroom gradually sprouts out of the ground and the life cycle starts over again.

Mushroom spores blow into yards from neighbors’ yards.  No matter where it lands, it will grow all over a yard.  The main source, underground mycelia, spreads out rapidly.  The sooner mushrooms are pulled out, the less chance spores will blow other places.  

The best way to get rid of them is not to pull them out of the ground, but to eliminate their food source.  Mushrooms feed off of dead plants, animal wastes, and old mulch.  They do not cause diseases in lawns, but do not make lawns look good either.  In a way, mushrooms help lawns because they are decomposers.  Decomposers are plants and animals that feed off of decaying material.

A way to eliminate mushrooms is to add nitrogen fertilizer to the mushrooms.  This helps because the fertilizer also decomposes so the mushrooms won’t have any food.  Another way to reduce mushroom growth is to pull them out before they can make more spores.  Some people want to spray mushrooms with fungicide, but it won’t work.

         Mushrooms are classified in different species.  Some mushroom species are edible, while others are not.  It is best not to eat any mushrooms found in yards for fear that they may be poisonous.

References:

http://www.weekendgardener.net/plant-diseases/mushrooms-090809.htm

        

        

Solar Fudge

I was ready for the Jedi this morning and had his lessons re-planned and ready to go early again.  We began with grammar.  I'm using the Bob Jones University English grade 6.  We've only done 3 lessons, but so far it's a great fit for the Jedi.  While he's a wiz at Math, English is not his passion.  Today we talked about diagramming sentences...they still teach that?  Yes, and apparently it's still important.  I actually enjoyed going over compound predicates and the Jedi seemed responsive.  Although, I believe I forgot to mention we were eating left over birthday cake during the lesson.

We separated to do our work and I logged on to my class and responded to some discussion questions.  I'm on my second to last class for my Masters and although the end is in sight, the fog has yet to clear.  I can't believe I've made it this far, but I still feel like I have so far to go!

The Jedi had just the right amount of assignments today and no busy work.  That is another reason I love home schooling.  If he grasps a concept, we can move on!  He finished just in time for us to run over to the allergist and get our allergy shots.  (We live in the South and are allergic to just about everything.  The only way we can breath is to be on shots.).  Then, we had to make a quick run to the grocery store and Sams to pick up some food and supplies for our afternoon science project.

Last summer the kids made a solar oven out of a shoe box.  They cooked s'mores in it and enjoyed learning the science behind it.  I thought I'd take that lesson a step further and see what else we could make.  We had a pizza box laying around (we'd just finished it at lunch) and I sent a text to another home schooling mom for ideas and recipes...

First we started with our pizza box...

The Jedi traced a sheet of paper on the lid and then cut three sides of the traced rectangle with a blade.  (He was supervised, don't worry.)  Then, we lined the inside bottom of the box with black construction paper.  We covered the top flap with covered with aluminum foil.  Then we rolled up newspaper and put in along the inside edges of the bottom of the box to create insulation.  Finally, we taped plastic wrap (I was out so I had to use press 'n seal) to both sides of the lid to create a seal.

Then, we got out an umbrella...

(This was another idea I got from my friend too.)  We lined the inside entirely with aluminum foil.  I believe you're actually supposed to cut the metal out with wire cutters, but I wasn't about to ruin my ONLY umbrella.  Well, there is that Dora umbrella my daughter still uses, but she would not have been happy if I disassembled that family heirloom.

Then, we mixed up our recipe for solar fudge...

1 1/2 cups Semi Sweet Chocolate chips
1 & 3/4 cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 tsp vanilla
(That's it! - I didn't know what to think either)

We poured it into two brownie pans lined with non-stick foil.  I hate to make a mess...

Then, we set up our solar ovens and put the brownie pans in each one...

Fifteen minutes later we stirred each pan.  The fudge in the umbrella cooker still looked like it did when we set it in there, but it mixed well and we thought it might be fully cooked.  It's hard to tell.

The one in the pizza box didn't stir as smooth and the chips hadn't fully melted.  We gave it another 10 minutes before bringing it in.  

As we brought each one in, we gave it another stir and then put it in the fridge.  I suppose it could have hardened at room temperature, but we're not patient people when it comes to chocolate. 

Here's the final product:

It's still a bit gooey and I'm not sure if it will ever cut like normal fudge, but it tastes super sweet!

We had a great time doing this and Jedi's Sis came home just in time to join in the fun.  Tomorrow we'll discuss how it worked and why one oven cooked faster than the other.