Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Scientific Method
When pea season was over, we had a few pods left on the vines that grew to a ripe old age. We thought we might as well keep the peas as seed for next spring and gathered them up. Since then, they had been sitting in a shallow bowl on top of our microwave. One particularly still evening, we realized that the peas were making some suspicious, albeit very quiet, rustling sounds. We decided it might be best to keep our seed in a sealed jar.
Soon, beetles were hatching out of the seed and Larkin and Finn have been keeping a close eye on them. After they had taken the jar outside and were quiet for some time, I asked them what they were working on out there. Larkin said, "We're learning about beetles. I've noticed you can learn a lot about something just by watching it." Hey: observation! A key step in the scientific method. I admit I'm not sure whether I said that out loud or not.
I went and sat down with them and asked what they had learned so far. The following is a pretty accurate account of Larkin's stream of consciousness: "Well, we know they can fly, even though you can't see any wings when they're not moving. They also like crawling up the edge of the jar and never seem to get hungry. And we know they eat peas because you can see the hole they ate through the peas and they're hollow now. I wonder if they're not eating because they want something to eat that's not peas. Maybe they would eat leaves since they like peas. [hypothesis!] Let's put this leaf in and see if they eat it." And thus an experiment was born.
The experiment within the experiment was how to get a leaf into the jar without all the beetles flying away. Several stern shakes of the jar seemed to keep them in line. I am sure, after more observation, a conclusion will be reached. Then, if necessary, the hypothesis can be revised and re-tested. Then again, maybe not. They've become distracted by drawing a zoo, giraffes first.
Soon, beetles were hatching out of the seed and Larkin and Finn have been keeping a close eye on them. After they had taken the jar outside and were quiet for some time, I asked them what they were working on out there. Larkin said, "We're learning about beetles. I've noticed you can learn a lot about something just by watching it." Hey: observation! A key step in the scientific method. I admit I'm not sure whether I said that out loud or not.
I went and sat down with them and asked what they had learned so far. The following is a pretty accurate account of Larkin's stream of consciousness: "Well, we know they can fly, even though you can't see any wings when they're not moving. They also like crawling up the edge of the jar and never seem to get hungry. And we know they eat peas because you can see the hole they ate through the peas and they're hollow now. I wonder if they're not eating because they want something to eat that's not peas. Maybe they would eat leaves since they like peas. [hypothesis!] Let's put this leaf in and see if they eat it." And thus an experiment was born.
The experiment within the experiment was how to get a leaf into the jar without all the beetles flying away. Several stern shakes of the jar seemed to keep them in line. I am sure, after more observation, a conclusion will be reached. Then, if necessary, the hypothesis can be revised and re-tested. Then again, maybe not. They've become distracted by drawing a zoo, giraffes first.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Current Projects
How, you ask, are we keeping ourselves busy while our house is in surgery?
Well, aliens are involved. Lots of aliens:
This picture simply does not do justice to their very lime green nature. Here's a close-up, although the color is still off:
And here is a depiction of the path of the meteorite which almost took out their spaceship:
We've also been exploring the mathematics of patterns and the artistic uses of positive and negative space:
Playing board games:
This one is Sequence (for Kids) and came to stay when Elly, Janelle and Kiyo came to visit. Along with Uno, it has been the recent favorite.
Combining egg cartons, corn husks, gemstones and glue in new and marvelous ways:
Blowing out eggs so we can keep the painted results around a bit longer:
And having very silly dinners at which we are repeatedly poisoned by our teriyaki chicken, edamame and yogurt:
Don't tell our house that life goes on without it.
Well, aliens are involved. Lots of aliens:
This picture simply does not do justice to their very lime green nature. Here's a close-up, although the color is still off:
And here is a depiction of the path of the meteorite which almost took out their spaceship:
We've also been exploring the mathematics of patterns and the artistic uses of positive and negative space:
Playing board games:
This one is Sequence (for Kids) and came to stay when Elly, Janelle and Kiyo came to visit. Along with Uno, it has been the recent favorite.
Combining egg cartons, corn husks, gemstones and glue in new and marvelous ways:
Blowing out eggs so we can keep the painted results around a bit longer:
And having very silly dinners at which we are repeatedly poisoned by our teriyaki chicken, edamame and yogurt:
Don't tell our house that life goes on without it.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
State of the Union
My attention to this blog has lapsed somewhat in the last two months. We have packed all of our worldly possessions into a closet storage unit and a two bedroom apartment while doing the addition/remodel on the house that we've been talking about for years. Well, okay, *we* are not actually doing the remodel, but it is being done.
I've been updating the photo documentation of the remodel pretty regularly here. Despite several unforeseen delays, the contractor is still claiming they should meet our four month completion estimate. That would put us back in the house in early-mid November.
The transition to apartment living has been pretty smooth, but certainly not without a hitch. Larkin and Finn feel a little uprooted from their nest, but they are excited enough about the prospect of their new rooms that it has not been too traumatic. They have been fluctuating very regularly between wanting to stay at the apartment forever and wishing we could move back into the house immediately.
The kids have enjoyed having a flat, paved expanse right outside the door that they can ride their bikes and scooters on.
Emile takes them swimming in the pool almost every evening.
They've also been pretty thrilled to have lots of kids around who are ready to play. Before now, I don't think Larkin has ever turned down the opportunity to play, but having so many kids around has allowed her to be a bit more discerning in her friendships. The other day, she came in from playing outside saying she needed some space from one of our neighbors. "He kept saying he was going to go home if we didn't play what he wanted to play... so I told him to go home."
It has been interesting to see Larkin and Finn become a united front when there is conflict with other kids. They often don't want to play unless they are both there in case back-up is needed. I think this is partly because there is some clique-ishness among the kids who have known each other longer and there is safety in numbers.
More on recent activities soon.
I've been updating the photo documentation of the remodel pretty regularly here. Despite several unforeseen delays, the contractor is still claiming they should meet our four month completion estimate. That would put us back in the house in early-mid November.
The transition to apartment living has been pretty smooth, but certainly not without a hitch. Larkin and Finn feel a little uprooted from their nest, but they are excited enough about the prospect of their new rooms that it has not been too traumatic. They have been fluctuating very regularly between wanting to stay at the apartment forever and wishing we could move back into the house immediately.
The kids have enjoyed having a flat, paved expanse right outside the door that they can ride their bikes and scooters on.
Emile takes them swimming in the pool almost every evening.
They've also been pretty thrilled to have lots of kids around who are ready to play. Before now, I don't think Larkin has ever turned down the opportunity to play, but having so many kids around has allowed her to be a bit more discerning in her friendships. The other day, she came in from playing outside saying she needed some space from one of our neighbors. "He kept saying he was going to go home if we didn't play what he wanted to play... so I told him to go home."
It has been interesting to see Larkin and Finn become a united front when there is conflict with other kids. They often don't want to play unless they are both there in case back-up is needed. I think this is partly because there is some clique-ishness among the kids who have known each other longer and there is safety in numbers.
More on recent activities soon.
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