Monday, May 28, 2012

Space Sand Experiment

This science experiment it is from out of space! What happens when you mix water and a normal kind of sand? Of course, it gets wet. What happens when you use space sand instead? See it for your self and try it at home. It is a good science activity to do with your child. My suggestion is to do this with regular sand first so he can see that it gets wet then do this experiment next. Later you could color the regular sand the same color of the space sand and repeat this experiment so your child can see the difference from one another.

If your child is older and can write then you could ask him to write what is happening. Maybe he could try to pour oil on the regular sand (dried) and mix it. Then add water to see what happens...Does it get wet still? If it does, does it look like before? Why?

Materials:
- A rag to clean up any spills 
- A spoon. I also added a craft stick
- A bowl with the space sand 
- A bowl with water

It comes in many colors. I chose red because it is Umi's favorite
color. I bought it on amazon.


Here he is doing some spooning work.  Umi is 3 years old. (5/17/12)

So this is what happens! It automatically dries when it comes in contact with the air!!! 

The best thing of this experiment is that when your child is done you can place the sand on a tray to let the little water droplets dry (they get formed when you spoon the sand out), and you can re use it! Nothing gets wasted!!!


Why did I choose to homeschool my children?

When I first saw my son when I knew I would not share him with anyone or give him "away" to the school system. A school system that in my opinion it lacks of education, money and time. I read about school closing, cutting down subjects that to my knowledge are very important like music and art. Children go to school for 7 hrs or more just to come back home to do homework probably wondering when is this all going to end so I can enjoy my childhood. That is not enough, on top of that they have to be tested every so often so the school system can test their own work. What I mean is that the tests are not really to see how well your child understands what is being taught. If that was the case they would never get a score! If you just want to know how much they understand why would you need to grade it? If someone didn't score well it means that they need more HELP not an F, not a punishment for not understanding! On the contrary, a school child goes through the stress of being tested to see if the school system is doing a good or bad job teaching them. If there is a good teacher and the teacher/student ratio is right there would be no need for tests. I view tests not as a tool of measurement but as a punishment for either having a good/bad teacher or a way to control the crowd. I view them as the killer of the love of learning. I know it sounds a bit tragic but imagine yourself being forced to "learn" something and after you tried hard to understand a concept that wasn't taught in a way you can understand it, and you tried hard to memorize (which is not really learning) the lesson just to get a F  as and fail to learn or maybe I should say the teacher got an F as an fail to teach. This is a punishment and punishment doesn't nurture the love of learning... It kills it. This is not the kind of environment and upbringing I want for my children.

I want my children to enjoy life that is so short. I want my children to LOVE being alive. They come to this world with the curiosity and the love of learning. Is the adult that forgot what it feels like to be present and the importance of the little things that life brings you. Every day is a new day for them and we need to guide them, to provide the right environment for them to grow free and happy. We need to provide a environment that allows a child to be a child. So why do I want to homeschool my children? I want to homeschool my children because:

- I think I can do a heck of a better job that the school.
- I know them more than anybody in the world.
- As a mother I feel that it is my job to educate them.
- I want them to love learning until the end.
- I want to give them the space to grow and bloom as they were meant to and not to fit in a box.
- Nobody cares for them as much as me and my husband care. So we have even more pressure to do a good job raising and educating them.
- The school system sucks here.
-  I want them to build their lives with good and positive experiences.
- I can do it.
- They are the reason of my existence.
- The list can go on and on....

Friday, May 4, 2012

Mirror Exploration Station

Here is our new mirror exploration station. It was VERY easy to make and Umi loved it so did my little  baby girl. It costs 30 including shipping for 6 mirrors in Discount School Supply. Just be careful they seem to scratch easily... They are acrylic I think so they don't brake and are safe for little ones!
I taped the back. Make sure you leave a bit of space between the mirrors so you can
fold them.

        Umi really liked it. He got a piece of tape and taped it close like a triangle and he
said it was a capsule.



05//4/12


Even my Little Princess loved it!