Nothing profound

Just thought I should do a blog entry.

We spent the morning doing some science experiments on friction. We tested the force needed to pull a shoe across five different textures: brick, carpet, grass, wood, and tile. N. hypothesized that the carpet would create the most friction (based on an activity she did online beforehand), but it turned out the grass required a stronger pull to drag it across the grass. Maybe our grass is too long? Nah....

I've been trying to gauge whether or not the kids want to do science projects for our upcoming science fair. N. did a great research project on Clouded Leopards last year, and was talking about doing another report on animals, but I kind of steered her away from that idea. I'd like her to do an actual project or develop an experiment. I think she's finally gotten inspired! She was watching something on tv this weekend, and came running upstairs to tell me that the show said she should try soaking a raw egg in a cup of vinegar overnight and then see what happens. Now, she doesn't remember that we did this years ago with a chicken bone, so I think we'll go for it. I suggested to her today that after we do that experiment and see what the results are, she might want to continue the experiment by soaking eggs in other materials. She seemed interested, so we'll see where this goes. Granted, we're not allowed to have food in the location where the fair is being held, so there will likely be videotaping involved, and then dubbing to dvd - really more work than simply attending the fair. Hmmm... why am I encouraging this? LOL! Oh, the kids' hypotheses - A. thinks the egg will turn green (hey, it's his favorite color! Maybe he doesn't understand the difference between making a wish and making a hypothesis. We'll come back to that.) and N. thinks the raw egg will harden like a hardboiled egg. Hee, hee- won't she be surprised. I think the experiment is generally done with an already hardboiled egg, but I'm up for trying it raw.

In other news, N. is really enjoying The Boxcar Children series of books. We've only read the first and fourth books so far, but I like that they are an enjoyable reads written at a level that a struggling reader can grasp fairly well. Seeing as how the series began back in the 1940s, I haven't found there to be any behaviors that are annoying or offensive - some of the current popular series really irritate me. Do kids' books have to be about playing tricks on teachers, or generally viewing adults as idiots or obstacles to joy in life? It's nice to find nice, wholesome storylines that my kids enjoy together. I mean, sure, they might decide they can go live off on their own in a boxcar in the woods, but other than that, it's great! ;P Actually, A. and I were discussing the first book. The youngest sibling in the books is the little brother, Benny, who is the same age as A. I asked A. if he thought that he and N. could live alone in the woods, and if he thought N. could make them dinner. He said, rather emphatically, "NO!" So I don't think they're likely to hit the road anytime soon.

Anybody out there have kids who enjoy graphic novels? I don't recall them being around when I was a kid, but we've stumbled across a couple that mine like. N. just checked out her second Babymouse book. These are just plain weird if you ask me. I guess they're basically about a girl mouse who's probably 11ish years old, loves to read, is not especially talented or popular, and is quite the daydreamer. It's written in comic book form, all in white, grayscale, and pink. The other series that A. likes to get his hands on are the Star Wars Clone Wars Adventure graphic novels. Doesn't make for the greatest read-aloud (I'm not very good at making laser sounds, etc.), but when you're a Jedi-in-training these are a must-have.