Earth Day just passed us by on April 22, 2018. We were busy that day doing a lot of different chores around the house indoors and out. Because of that our little project got turned into a art project. The little ones love to do anything that involves crafting. 

The first step we did was pose and ham it up for the camera. This part was really important because we had to get our cute pictures for the faces of our planters. There were cheesy smiles like there always is. LOL Eventually they will outgrow that, right? 

After that, the littles planted their various herbs in the top of their little planter heads. Add some water. Give momma another goofy smile. Woot! Now to wait to grow up. Wish us luck! We just might need it. Not sure how green their thumbs are. 

tOur hearts were set to go and see some amazing dinosaurs at a super cool event in Syracuse. However, we were taking 9 children and two vehicles, and a 30 mile stretch was getting hammered with over a foot of snow. That wasn't our idea of a great time. There were some broken hearts, just for a few seconds and then the were better. 

We decided to head out a little closer to home and still be inside. Best yet it was able to be turned into a field trip that was educational, and on a Saturday to boot. Who said learning can't be fun?  Loading them all up and head to the Sci Tech Museum in Watertown, NY. It was so nice when we got there. We had the whole place to ourselves for quite a bit of our visit. The staff was friendly and helpful. Plus, plus very patient with our crew. They are a force all on their own. 


The littles and the bigs alike enjoyed the different stations that were set up all through the two stories. There was fun with magnets, shadows, music, lasers, pendulums, fossils, old and retro electronics, and much more. They enjoyed playing together. It was great seeing Elliott and Devion play a game of chess together with huge chess pieces. 

Even though the day didn't go how we pictured it, it did turn into something that was memorable with laughter and love. That is all we could ask for in the end. 

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Connor is checking out all the cool fossils, specimens, and slides.

These butterflies and moths are beautiful.

Sophie is listening to the sounds through the pipe. She found them hilarious. 

We are surprised that Jazlyn is being this daring. She enjoyed the figuring out what is inside the holes.

Chloe looks a little bit more unsure then her little sister, Jazlyn.

Sophie and daddy are using their hands to heat up the plate and leave their prints. This was really neat to see and do.

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This just made me giggle. Don't ask why, because I don't know. Must be the big GRIN!

Normally, i am never, ever in the photos. I took this selfie with the number one love of my life followed by our children and all those I hold dear. Yes, I was being a goober.

We did find a few dinosaurs. See kids I delivered dinos after all.

This was an intense game of chess. I love these really big pieces. It has an Alice in Wonderland feel to it. The boys did a great job with it. The younger ones learned something from Devion and Elliott.

This trip was nice. If you haven't gone than you really should.  The Sci Tech Center is a great day trip. It is family friendly and affordable.  Great if you want to add to a trip to the zoo, shopping, and lunch or dinner out. I really love how attentive their staff was. Our littles are adorable but they are a whirlwind of energy, and they were so patient with them.  If you make it there, let us know what your favorite part is or was. Happy adventures.

With the fact the little ones are so busy and we need to do things that hold their attention for learning. It was a very nice surprise to find this experiment from Playdough to Plato.  She came up with this amazing experiment and covered so much of the information that we needed to go over. 

Supplies:

• Cool whip
• Graham crackers
• Food coloring (orange, yellow & red)
• Plate
• Spoon

Mix some food coloring in the cool whip after you place it on the plate. Place two halves of the graham crackers on the plate, on top of the cool whip. The cool whip is  the Mantle. The graham crackers are the Plate Tectonics. 

The Three Boundaries:

• Transform Boundaries
• Divergent Boundaries
• Convergent Boundaries 

Don't forget about the Subduction Zone.

To demonstrate the different boundaries, the children moved their graham cracker plates in different directions. Each movement had a different result. We stopped after each time and discussed what we had for results and why. Of course, they had to clean off their fingers between each movement. 

Transform Boundaries: are places where the plates slide sideways past each other. They will catch and grind together.

• Make your graham cracker plates pass each other in this way.

Divergent Boundaries: where two plates move away from each other. Magna rises and forms a new crust layer.

• Pull your graham cracker plates away from each other. 

Convergent Boundaries: where two plates are moving towards each other. If they are they are the same density they will push against each other and make mountain chain.  If the two plates are unequal density, one will sink below the other creating a Subduction Zone. 

Connor and Jazlyn are converging on each other. At this moment they are getting along. 

All our little scientists.

I caught Chloe in mid-conversation with James. Sophie is just being a little ham. She was ready to eat her experiment. 

We did this experiment to go with the first week of home schooling and our volcano unit. Finding units like this are a true treasure. It made it easier for the little ones to learn. I wish the photos were a little nicer but you can see the experiment well enough. 

 We started our home schooling journey mid school year, right at the beginning of the 3rd quarter. To ease the children into the learning we started part of our studies with volcanoes. To demonstrate the Earth, the little monkeys and I hard boiled some eggs. 

We learned that the Earth has different layers. These layers are made up of the Inner Core, Outer Core, Mantle, and Crust​. 

Clip art of the Earth courtesy of Classroom Clip Art. It is a great model of what the Earth is made of for each layer. 

Inner Core: 

• Is the center most part of the Earth
• It is solid, even though past scientist thought it was liquid, until Inge Lehmann proved that theory wrong in 1936.
• Unattached to the outer mantle
• Suspended in a molten outer core
• Inner core is believed to be 4982 Celsius
• Nickel alloy makes up the inner core
• Approximately 1500 miles wide
• About 3,200 to 3,900 miles from the Earth's surface
• Makes up 1.7% of the Earth's total mass

Outer Core:I

• 3700 Celsius
• Composed of iron and 10% sulfur (S) and/or oxygen. 
• Molten
• 30.8% of the Earth's mass
• Depth 1806-3200 miles from the Earth's surface
• The convection motion of the region, along with the rotation of the Earth creates an effect that maintains the magnetic field of the Earth. 

Mantle:

• Iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), aluminium (Al), silicon (Si), and oxygen (O)
• Made up of semi-molten rock called magma
• 67.3% of the Earth's mass
• Depth of 6 to 1806 miles
• 1,000 Celsius
• Convection in this region drives the plate tectonics

Crust:

• Oceanic and Continental Crusts
• Calcium (Ca) and Sodium (Na) 
• Rocky and Brittle
• Fractures during earthquakes
• .473% of Earth's mass
• Depth 0-31 miles
• 0 Celsius 

We love Bill Nye the Science Guy. He has some great videos with a ton of useful information. The little monkeys soak it all in. At the end we go over and have a discussion and it is amazing what they learned from the video.  We will continue to watch, learn, and grow.

This experiment was one that they got to do and eat. Those are the best kind in their eyes. They love snack times. Plus, what child doesn't enjoy playing with their food? 

The experiment was a huge success. The kids and I talked about all the core facts tat we learned and the facts about the volcanoes which we were studying. They are little sponges taking everything in. It is fun teaching at their different levels, too.