This week started with day 1 of a week long science project. Although our intuition tells us that seeds won't grow without water, we are scientists and we mustn't say so until we test our theory! Miss M put 10 unpopped popcorn seeds on a paper towel on a plate and covered it with aluminum foil. Then she put 10 unpopped popcorn seeds on a paper towel on a plate and added enough water to fully dampen the paper; then she covered it with foil too. Each day she opened the two foil covers to observe what was happening to the seeds.
On Tuesday, Miss M sorted and rinsed a pound of red beans. Then she put them to soak in a large glass measuring cup.
The next morning she drained and rinsed them and put them in a pot of water to cook. She cut up an onion, a green pepper, and some andouille sausage.
Why did she do this, you ask? Because we were learning about the Louisiana Purchase, of course! We ate Red Beans and Rice for supper that night. It was very well received!!
In math this week, Miss M encountered something new, something that stumped her for a bit. Subtraction with Carrying (or Subtraction with Renaming as it's called now). It's hard for Miss M to not immediately grasp a concept. We had a long talk about how fortunate she is that so many things come easily to her and how she when she encounters something difficult, she needs to work hard at it with a cheerful attitude.
We brought out some manipulatives to help illustrate the concept. Eventually Miss M came up with a narrative that helped her understand the steps needed to complete each problem. Before long, she was trucking right on through her homework! (I do think we need to work a little on basic math facts though).
It was blazing hot out, so we didn't spend much time outdoors. But a little of the outdoors came in with us one day! The kids very much enjoyed the antics of this friendly katydid. They would have liked to keep it around longer, but I figured it needed to be back outside looking for its supper.
Little Guy was the only one who dared brave the heat for long. I gave him a pot of cold water and he enjoyed his sand and water table. Quite a bit of the water ended up on him as well as on my mums growing nearby.
On day 5, Miss M was amazed to see how much her watered seeds had grown. She concluded that seeds do indeed need water in order to grow!
In spite of some rough patches, this week was much better than last and we enjoyed ourselves immensely!