Blooming Scientists

Question: What’s soft, cushy, helps you cut with scissors, and gives you practice tying knots?
Answer: a thirty-inch square of fleece (double thickness), masking tape, and fiberfill stuffing.

We made a quick trip to the fabric store and asked Stuart and Anthony to pick out a favorite fleece. It’s an everyday opportunity to see what thinking goes into their decision-making.

Stuart picked out a Star Wars pattern. The store had three. I asked him why he picked this one. “I picked it because it has the biggest Darth Vader picture.”

Anthony picked out paw prints, “Because they could be bear paw, lions, tigers, dog, cat, maybe a wolf. You just don’t know.”

We purchased thirty inches of each fleece. Since the fleece is sixty inches wide, we doubled it to make a thirty-inch-square double thickness.

Once home, we laid out the fleece, measured in six inches on each side, and put masking tape to show the line.

A six-inch square in each corner will be removed. Put a strip of masking tape from the edge to the tape line. Place the next strip of masking tape close to the first one. You’ll use the space between the tape strips as a cutting line. Continue placing the masking tape strips close to each other until you have them around all four edges of the fleece.

Cut between the strips of tape, from the edge to the tape line. This creates strips of fleece six inches long. It’s easier for little ones to cut between the tape than to cut along a line. Either way they have lots of practice working with scissors.

Remove the tape.

Use the strip of fleece below with the strip above to tie a double knot.
Continue tying the upper and lower strips together around the edge of the fleece.
 
  

Stop with eight strips not tied. This leaves an opening for the stuffing.

Use fiberfill to stuff the pillow. For the two pillows, we used about forty ounces of fiberfill.

This was the most fun for the boys.

Each one would stuff and then test the pillow to see if it was too hard or too soft.
(Here’s a nice tie-in to “The Three Bears.”)


Then more stuffing until they were just right.


Finish by tying knots in the last eight strips.

Finally, we had two pillows and two boys who can tie knots. They were very proud.

Recently I received some wonderful photos from friends and educators Dr. Roger L Boyd* and his wife Jan who traveled to India. I wanted to share these and some learning ideas with your family.

India is an ancient country with unique animals.
Many are similar to those we study in Nancy Larson® Science.

There are wonderful birds like those in Science 2.

In Science 1, we study animals in their habitats and how the animals use camouflage to protect themselves from other animals.
This little bird is a perfect example.

The next two photos show habitats where deer use
camouflage for protection.

In India cattle are allowed to roam free.
They are not kept in fenced pens or fields.

India is the natural habitat for these monkeys.
India is home to some dangerous reptiles.
Animals you might see in a zoo or circus in North America are at home in India. They are trained and used for work. 

Madon Dailey
Homeschool Manager
Nancy Larson® Science

*Roger L Boyd is Emeritus Professor of Biology at Baker University

Gabreial Wyatt is the editor of Vintage Indie™ Magazine, the on-line source for living a Modern Life with a Vintage Perspective™.  Gabreial is using Science 2 this year and writes a quarterly review of the program.

Teach Me: Nancy Larson® Science, A Quarterly Review: Part 2
We have been deep into our studies here at the VI house and we have really been enjoying a lot of science. We’re currently studying two different science programs due to interest in our home. Our favorite is still the hands on Nancy Larson Science 2.
Nancy Larson Science 2 is hands on, set at an easy pace and the teacher’s manual is a breeze to follow. The children aren’t content with just one lesson and we find ourselves doing 2-4 in any given day. While my second grader appreciates the pace of this science program, my oldest 5th grader finds it to be slow, but he’s patient with his brother and when it comes to experiment time, they can work together to complete almost the entire lesson together. I find this side by side learning invaluable as my oldest son points out observations and brings a level of excitement to our lessons.

We’ve been privileged to have daddy home with us during bits and pieces of this winter and he’s jumped right into our science lessons with us. He’s commented on how nice the entire set up is. With almost all of the supplies you need coming in a kit as well as the student and teacher’s manuals that are easy to follow, there is almost no reason why anyone couldn’t teach science with this set up.
This program is definitely geared more towards the elementary level as is explained on their website. There are also ample preview lessons and ways for you to gauge if this program is right for you.

Circular Magnets

Magnet Train with Paper Clips

Making Magnets JumpOne of our favorite lessons has been on magnets. We’ve studied them front and back, pole to pole and have expanded our learning to experimenting on our own after completing the lesson. I love when learning goes this way for us. The children are so engaged that their interest leads them to investigate and explore their own hypothesis. The leads to a longer science day and even week when we explore further on line or at the library.
I have to say I’m completely pleased with this science program. It has proven to be a valuable source of education in our home. Even though the pace seems easy at times, I know they are getting the information with the followup lesson worksheets. I feel that this pace ensures comprehension with my second grader and keeps his interest at its peak.Truth in Review: Nancy Larson Science did provide us with the curriculum in exchange for our review.  We were not paid for any contents of our review or required any certain text within the review. We speak truly from our hearts and hope that you and your family will gain trust from Vintage Indie reviews so that you may enjoy learning opportunities like this one and more.  All reviews posted by me are truthful in content and not bought. Gabreial Wyatt, editor in chief.

 Teach Me: Nancy Larson® Science, A Quarterly Review: Part 1

Gabreial Wyatt is the editor of Vintage Indie™ Magazine, the on-line source for living a Modern Life with a Vintage Perspective™.  Gabreial is using Science 2 this year and wrote the following quarterly review of the program.Good afternoon everyone!
I wanted to tell you about a new venture that I’m diving into with my children here at Vintage Indie. We are starting a new to us science curriculum this year by Nancy Larson Science. It is my goal to make this review a quarterly editorial so that you can see our progression, as well as hear of any pros/cons throughout our process.
I hope this in-depth look will better help those  who are looking for a new science curriculum make a (often times costly) decision based on “real-life” experience.
Although I know each child learns differently, it is important to see how educational materials look in real-life situations. You’ll be hearing from both my children and me throughout this process. I want to thank Nancy Larson Science in advance for working with Vintage Indie to provide these materials.
Part 1: Overview of Nancy Larson Science 2
“Nancy Larson Publishers is proud to bring you Nancy Larson® Science 2. It is a comprehensive and creative approach to elementary science where sophisticated topics are explored in age-appropriate ways”
Comprehensive, hands-on and everything is in a kit! “Sold!” Just kidding, but it is true, it was the “everything in a kit”  that was the spark that ignited my (non-creative) flame. When I first heard those words, I didn’t truly believe everything was included, but along with the Teacher’s Manual comes the Student Materials and Resource Materials, all together in one box! After visiting their website further I read over the teacher’s manual samples fully. Let’s face it, if I can’t get it from a sample, how will my kids understand it?
So this is the story of our journey on Nancy Larson Science 2. If you’re a non “hands-on” kind of mom/teacher like me, hopefully you’ll have a better understanding of how hands on this curriculum is and how it works. Personally, I’m very excited to get started and I truly enjoy teaching most when my children are enthusiastic about learning.
Box Day:
How many of you like getting packages in the mail? Truly I can’t be the only one! The day had come when our kit arrived. Everything we needed for this year’s science was in the box. The kids could hardly wait to get started.
Teacher’s View: I only have pros so far. I really love that everything is together, shipping was fast and I don’t have to prep hardly anything at all. At least in the first couple of lessons. I’ve started to read through the teacher’s manual and find the wording and explanation, even the dialogue to use with the children very easy, and thorough. The kit comes with a CD to print out needed worksheets or the children have the option of copying the information onto copy paper. You can also make a photocopy of the worksheets from the Teacher’s Manual if you need to.

Student’s View Grade 2:
We haven’t done very much in our science yet, but my youngest loves it so far and asks to do science every day.
Student’s View Grade 5:
We’re using the same curriculum for both children. So far only a few pages in, this is very easy for my 5th grader. He’s OK with it and he has learned some new vocabulary so, we’ll see. He also asks if we can do science every day.
Until next time, head over to Nancy Larson Science if you would like more information.

I met Jolanthe in 2010 at the HEAV conference. She is a remarkable homeschool mom, author, blogger, creative thinker, and friend. She shares her homeschool ideas and stories at Homeschool Creations. Last year Jolanthe used Nancy Larson® Science 1 with her children. This year they are working through Science 2.

The little ones have a great time rolling it out.

Zach puts his muscles into it. He loves cooking.

Molly is sure she can do it, “Me self.” She’s very hands-on.

I couldn’t resist the fun of rolling the dough with her.

Koren couldn’t resist helping and getting in on the fun.

We put out a variety of toppings: meats, vegetables, and fruit.

Zach starts with pepperoni.

Then Zach adds pineapple. Molly started with ham.

Here are some of our creations. We don’t worry if they aren’t round or square. We call them “free form”.

This one has fresh tomatoes, olives, and chopped, homemade meatballs.

I’ve always loved llamas and alpacas. There’s just something about their quizzical faces, soft dense fiber, and quiet nature that I find calming and intriguing. We had friends in New Mexico who allowed us to help with their llamas and alpacas, even on shearing day. It was such a treat. So I was thrilled when I visited Family Day at the Iwig Dairy Farm and found my friend Claudia and her Ad Astra Alpacas.

    
Claudia invited us for a tour of Ad Astra Alpacas located at Claudia’s childhood home. What was a dairy farm, is now home to about fifty alpacas, a few cats, and Pepper, their dog.

We began our tour in the store, where Claudia explained how the alpaca fiber is sheared, and then combed so that all the fiber strands are going the same direction.

Once the fiber is combed, it creates bats. These are like clouds of softness.

Claudia has a special felting machine that uses hundreds of tiny hooked pins to pull bats together, creating alpaca felt.

The felt can be used to make hats, bags,  and pet beds. Claudia has her own staff of pet bed testers, here hard at work.

Then there’s this amazing shawl. For this, two bats are placed perpendicular to each other and felted together. Then a delicate silk scarf is felted to the alpaca fiber. The result is a warm, soft alpaca shawl with silk scarf patterned on the outside.

We also saw the fiber before and after it was spun into yarn.

Claudia’s store has lots of handknit items. I picked up several pair of socks. I like wearing the socks and knowing the animals that help keep my feet warm and dry in any weather.

The boys were excited to see the alpacas. Animals that created such soft socks had to be special. Claudia led us outside to the girls paddock. (Female and male alpacas are kept separate once their are weaned.)

We were immediately greeted by the official “Welcome Lady”.

Following Claudia around the shed, we saw the rest of the “girls”.

Infant alpacas are called Cria. Claudia had two cria that were about three months old. Ad Astra is part of the Kansas state motto “Ad Astra Per Aspera” and translates, “To the Stars.”  In honor of this, Claudia names all alpacas born on her farm after stars, constellations, and celestial events.

She carried over Aurora so the boys could pet her.

Claudia’s alpacas visit schools, senior centers, and even the local cafe. So they are used to having strangers around them, and seem to pose for young photographers.

They are also willing to have their necks and backs petted, which I loved. “Hands on science” had a whole new feel as I had each hand buried deep in the softness of this lovely lady’s back.

It was great for the boys to see and touch the alpacas while Claudia answered every possible question, like “What colors can alpacas be?” We only had to look around to see most of the colors possible.
If you’re interested in learning about alpacas, check out: http://www.alpacainfo.com/.  You will probably find an alpaca farm near you that encourages visits. You’ll also find that alpacas are popular with homeschool families, so new friends could be just down the road.

–Madon Dailey
Homeschool Manager
Nancy Larson® Science

For me, one of the best ways to bring warmth to the heart is to help others. Recently, we created holiday wreaths to give warmth to families at the local homeless shelter. This isn’t just for the holidays. Winter is here and there’s always need for warm clothing. You can use any type of wreath— evergreen, grapevine, wire frame, or even a clothes hanger bent into a circle. Decorate it with gloves, socks, scarves, and stuffed animals. Then deliver these to your rescue mission or homeless shelter.

Anthony, Stuart, and Stuart’s mother, Melanie, helped create these wreaths.

We started by tying pieces of ribbon, about 24″ long, evenly spaced around the wreath.

We topped the afternoon with a trip to Orange Leaf for frozen yogurt.

Later in the week Zach, Molly, and their mother, Koren, came by for a visit. They made a wreath with their favorite school colors.

A new year is coming, along with our wish for you today, tomorrow and always.