We have a lot of science learning going on around here. Some of it is intentional and some by mistake, but it is happening!
1. Science fair. The science fair projects are in full swing right now. They have to be turned in by February 1 and both kids have elected to complete projects. William is investigating which types of household cleansers kill bacteria. Amelia is investigating if there is bacteria in yogurt.
In order to complete these projects, we needed an incubator. Bacteria grows best at 80-90 degrees. We could have set the whole house thermostat to this temperature, but that could be quite expensive as we typically keep it set at 62-65 in the winter time (82-85) in the summer. So, we built an incubator out of a giant plastic tub, a reading lamp, a wooden board, and a digital thermometer. It is hanging out in our closet as that is the most consistently warm place in the house. It does look funny though when you come into the room with the lights off. Hence the picture of the flowing green tub in the dark.
2. Pinewood race car derby is also in full swing. William and Amelia are both building cars this year with help from daddy. The race is the last weekend in January. Perfect timing with the science fair, right?
3. William was taking a shower in our master bathroom this weekend and I came in to check on his progress. Sometimes he doesn't get the soap completely out of his thick, thick hair on his head. When I came into our bedroom, a heavy smell hit my nose. By the time I got to the bathroom door, the smell was completely overpowering. When I opened the door, I could taste the scent in the air. It was reminiscent of hall duty in the middle school outside the girls' or boys' locker room. Apparently, William found my bottle of "nice" perfume that I bought before he was born when I had more funds for purchase for myself. I don't use this perfume much anymore as some days my most important appointment is walking the kids to the bus stop. According to him, he sprayed the bottle 4 times. I cannot possibly see how it was sprayed less the 10 times.
(Looking at the bottle, I would guess it was more that 4 times, but less than 10).
William and I then had to discuss the behavior of gases. A gas will spread out to fill the entire space it is in. It squeezes through doorways and fills a whole room or set of rooms.
We had to air the rug outside for more than 24 hours. All the towels had to be changed out. William needed different pajamas as did john and I (they were all in the bathroom). And the bathroom surfaces with perfume needed to be deep cleaned. John changed out his toothbrush as he thought he tasted perfume on it. I didn't notice ( which does not mean it wasn't there).
4. This last story requires some upfront admissions. There is a piece of this story in which I make a bad call. A very, very bad call that was dangerous. I will reassure you that everything turned out okay in the end and no lasting harm was done. I regret this decision and am relieved that nothing terrible happened. The story is pretty funny, but I cannot tell it without first admitting that I made a mistake- a big one.
So, onward.
Some days, Amelia has a club starting early in the morning before school. Sometimes William does. The one without a club cannot go to school as this time is not supervised and it is by allowed unless students are participating in a sponsored club*.
This day, I left William at home engrossed in a good book. I cleaned the bathroom before leaving and I lit a scented candle in the room. I was running around chasing kids into clothes, harassing them into brushing their teeth, checking backpacks, reminding about lunches, and locating library books.
When it was time to go, William was deeply engrossed in a book on the floor in the living room. It takes 4-6 minutes to get to our elementary school or 8-11 minutes total. I told William I was leaving. When I got back it would be bus time. He didn't even look up.
As I was backing out, I remembered the candle. But, it was on a non flammable surface, plenty of wax to burn, small flame that wasn't visible from a distance and I would be back in less than 15 minutes. Also, the timeframe for club start time and bus coming time frame are so close together. It is much more convenient to have the kid not attending club ride the bus than to make another trip.
So there is my bad decision. Leaving my almost 8 year at home with an open flame. I understand it could have been a big deal. A very bad big deal and this has certainly influenced my decision making since then (this happened in November).
Anyway, on the way home, I received a call from William. William chastised me for leaving a candle burning in the house as it was a very dangerous thing to do. He blew it out for me. I thanked him and agreed it was dangerous.
He then told me there was a "lot" of watery liquid left in the candle, so he poured it out for me in the sink. Only, when he turned the water on, it wasn't liquidy anymore. Just so I knew.
I couldn't even be mad. It was my mistake by leaving the candle burning. I'm just lucky he didn't decide to investigate the type of materials that burn.
However, this was an excellent time for a discussion about liquids turning to solids and the temperatures in which this happens.
5. Over Christmas, we traveled to North Dakota. Along the way, William acquired a Very Important glass of water in a disposable plastic cup. He tried to bring it in to a few locations, but he was not allowed. We went to eat at a restaurant and he was disappointed that the he couldn't bring it inside. He left it in his cup holder. There was maybe 1/4 an inch of water left in it. We were int he restaurant for a little over an hour. When we came out, the water was frozen solid and it was stuck in the bottom of the cup.
Again, solids vs liquids.
It's science!
