And here was our afternoon… We talked about Africa, primarily Eastern Africa, and the region surrounding Kenya, where a friend Lily made last fall spends a fair portion of her time. We also read: We’re exploring these topics, specifically on a global perspective. She’s learned that 100 cents = 1 dollar, and we’re […]
Oh, Balderdash!
This was our classroom this morning. We decided to use the “grown up” side instead of the kid’s side, in effort to even the playing field a bit because it was just the two of us. She did great, and she won, fair and square. We both learned a dozen or more new words […]
Dragonbox Algebra
Some of the stuff we’re learning concerning electromagnetism is exposing Lils to new items: lots of formulas and equations. In our discussions on fractals and visual representations of math (including geometry), we have only scratched the surface of equations, but she’s seen the images/equations, and their results (as the computer generates imagery based upon a […]
She Asked… Oil
She asked about oil, where it comes from and how it gets processed so we can use it in cars, etc.. We have spent most of today exploring how crude oil has formed, how it is extracted, refined, and finally delivered for our consumption. We’ve also talked about fracking for natural gas, the uses of […]
Because it Will Make Things Easier
We’re learning about historical inventions. I asked her why inventions and inventing stuff mattered… “Because it makes things easier.” Over the next few months, we’ll explore in depth, the various inventions in this book, as well as others she happens to find intriguing/asks about.
LED Robots
Today we built two robots and gave them sight! Lily worked on this project as her first project selection from her Tinkercrate and we had a great experience. She and I read through the directions, she assembled the components, and we set to work placing resistors, LED’s, and copper taping in a pattern on a printed […]
Titanic, Hindenburg, H2O, and Plasma
We began our day talking about H2O, then discussed the Titanic, then the Hindenburg, then Mark Twain, then helium, then steam and how the Titanic was powered, which led to evaporation and the water cycle, and how snow is formed. We then studied snow under the microscope, and then onto the Plasma ball and conductivity. […]
A Googol & A Light Year – That's How Big
Yesterday and today… We’ve been playing with the abacus, learning about the Orders of Magnitude (what we call each major transition in numbers, as they increase exponentially), and multiplication via sets thanks to a few beads on sticks. Yesterday, we talked about how, with each added zero, we increase the size/amount of the number. She’s […]
Alphabetizing
Lily learned how to alphabetize today. Over the weekend I rearranged her bookshelves, as she’d grown from one to two, and her books needed reorganizing. She was somewhat involved, but mostly just in the awareness and use of the final result of the effort. Last night, she wanted her 3d glasses for a movie, and […]
Just Another Day to Cherish
Our yesterday, with the 7 year old: Breakfast over the Lego Movie in Hindi She built a snowcat while watching and eating, I worked on cleaning out our greenhouse/workshop and prepared the yard for the impending freeze. By 11am we were discussing the angles cut into pieces of wood (trim) that I was […]