The School Room Needs No More Paint!
Last night Mom finished the second coat of avacado green paint on the walls of the school room! Moving day is near!
Homeschooling
Green it is!
J+M+J
Mom decided that she would have the new school room green and the kitchen red. Dad has finished painting the ceiling and installing the lights and light switches, and the carpet man is coning on Monday!
A+M+D+G
Screwtape Letters
J+M+J
Today I read a wonderful book called Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.This book was on a Catholic reading list for my age. I enjoyed it immensly. the story is a collection of letters from the older, experienced devil Screwtape, to his yound nephew instructing him how to snare a soul in evil. It is humourous, calling Satan ‘Our Father Below’ and hell ‘Our Father’s House,’ yet it makes one think about their faith. I reccomend this book for anyone 12+.
A+M+D+G
Knitting Season
J+M+J
Today is the start of the knitting classes, when girls who do or don’t know how to knitcome and either learn how to knit, or work on projects with the other girls. I learned how to knit at the classes last year, so I take a project to work on and talk with my homeschool friends Grace, Rebecca, and Hannah who come.
A+M+D+G
Busy week!
J+M+J
Last week was probably the busiest week all year. Here is my schedule.
Mon-Thursday (June 4-7): Drama camp 9-11:00 am
Wed: Dance recital dress rehearsals. 2-4 and 7-10:00
Thurs: Drama camp production at 6:30 and Grandma coming up
Fri: Dance recital 5:00 and Grandparents coming up.
Sat: Dance recital 2:00 and Grandma leaving.
A+M+D+G
Chemistry and Botany
I have read the praises of coffee grounds for plants. I read that it is good for hydrangeas to make the flowers blue an effect of vinegar, an acid. This lead me to wonder if coffee grounds were acidic.
In this WONDERFUL, INTRUIGING book, The Mystery of the Periodic Table, (a must read,) I had read how to tell acids from bases (the opposite of acids.) So I proceeded to do the test.
First, I boiled four purple cabbage leaves in four cups of water for fifteen minutes.
This is what the leaves looked like when the where done
This is the water’s original color
Before I started my experiment, I first added things I knew whether or not they were acidic or basic. I put in acidic vinegar with a low Ph of 2 and the blackish-purple water turned red. I put in the slightly basic backing soda (with a Ph of 8) and the water turned slightly green.
These are the results of my experiment: When I put the cabbage water in the coffee grounds, expecting it to turn red, nothing happened! I tried it again with the same results! THE COFFEE GROUNDS WERE NEUTRAL! To confirm my results, I went on to the internet to find the Ph of coffee grounds. They have a Ph of 6.7, 7 being purely nuetral.
I read that coffee grounds making hydrangeas blue-er was a myth.
Left to right: Vinegar, Coffe Grounds, Baking Soda.
A+M+D+G
City Spelling Bee
J+M+J
Today was the city spelling bee. I got into it by competing against other homeschoolers in the annual homeschool spelling bee and winning. I came in forth place and won a trophy that is exactly two feet tall. A man from the newspaper that hosted the bee talked to me while writing stuff down. It was very fun.
A+M+D+G
Monocots and Dicots-A Composition
J+M+J
I am studying botany this year in science. Today I learned about monocots and dicots.
A monocot is a seed with only one Cotyledon. They have long leaves with veins running vertically. There is no midrib in leaves of this catagory. Often their roots are fiberous. Another interesting thing about monocots is the number of petals the flowers have are usually multiples of three!
A dicot is a seed with two Cotyledons. Their leaves have a midrib and veins branching out on both sides. Often their root system is a tap root systemhe number of petals in a dicot flower is usually a multiple of four or five.
These pictures are a mix of moncots and dicots. If you want to break the code of the previous post, Figure out the pattern of monocots and dicots. A monocot would have a #1, and a dicot would have a #2. For example: if the pictures went monocot dicot monocot monocot the code would be: 1211. Have fun!
A+M+D+G
Quiz Bowl
J+M+J
Last night there was another quiz bowl. I was not a captain this time. My team came in 7th place. That might sound pretty good until I tell you that there was seven teams. Oh well. There is always next time.
A+M+D+G
Happy St Valentines Day
My Valentines Day was spent holding Joseph, (who is sick, and running an almost 102 temp) and wiping Alexanders nose (you may have already guessed that he is sick also, with the same temp.) There was a party today, but because of obvious reasons we had to stay home. The last five days we have done little or no school (we homeschool) and have spent most of the time watching the sick ones. So much for having a good full week of school. Happy Saint Valentines Day!