For some reason no crystals have formed in the sugar jar. There looks like there is some collection on the bottom, but no formation. Salt one is growing though.
The trials and errors of a home educating family finding our own way and getting saner by the day!
Showing posts with label crystals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crystals. Show all posts
Feb 28, 2011
Feb 22, 2011
Piquing Interest in Learning
In an attempt to engage the teens in the house today in a project that I thought they could really get into, I picked a topic that I knew they both would like and added a bit of constructive as well as destructive properties to it.
They began on Brain Pop! watching a video on crystals and completing the quiz together ~ they had one answer that they did not agree on and they both turned out to be incorrect! Then we went to the experiments section and decided to try it out. For a competitive twist I gave KM sugar and DN salt, so they can see whose crystal forms first and what property differences they might have. I also choose to veer of course a bit from the original instructions -- I had them use nearly boiling water, so that it would dissolve to a solution better and they would not need to "shake" every so often. There are plenty of variations of growing crystals with sugar and salt all over the web, just be sure to check the sites before you send your kids there!
Once the jars were set aside to begin growing, I took out some geodes to bash! They had a good deal of success and got out some of those pent up teenage frustrations!
With DN here for the week and learning more about how our household works on a regular basis, this was the perfect opportunity for him to engage in an educational activity where he was interested in the subject and did not feel intimidated by the process or institutional feel of learning. He asked some really great questions and when I wasn't sure on an answer he saw that we could find the answer together. Although he has difficulty admitting it, I could tell that he was enjoying himself and learning at the same time.
Sometimes in order to engage the learner, all you have to do is take advantage of an aforementioned interest area. Paying attention to the actions of a child can pay off in so many ways. Even a child who is extremely resistant to any form of "schooling", "learning" or other educational jargon will give you hints about what might interest them. You may notice that when they are walking to the car and they tend to kick the rock ever so slowly, they always seem to be staring at the ground, you find rocks in the washer and in piles in next to the bed. This is a HUGE indication that for some reason his child is interested in rocks, geology and earth science. Now your challenge will be to present it to the child in a way that will really catch their attention.
Don't push too hard and when the child is done - THEY ARE DONE! Sometimes that means that they will stay on a topic for months and sometimes that means that they are only there for a few days or even hours. Pushing them to continue a study that they are no longer interested in or that they have learned enough about is not going to do anything, but make them more resistant the next time you try a learning sneak attack.
Good Luck and PLEASE feel free to post any helpful tips or ideas for encouraging the resistant learner!
They began on Brain Pop! watching a video on crystals and completing the quiz together ~ they had one answer that they did not agree on and they both turned out to be incorrect! Then we went to the experiments section and decided to try it out. For a competitive twist I gave KM sugar and DN salt, so they can see whose crystal forms first and what property differences they might have. I also choose to veer of course a bit from the original instructions -- I had them use nearly boiling water, so that it would dissolve to a solution better and they would not need to "shake" every so often. There are plenty of variations of growing crystals with sugar and salt all over the web, just be sure to check the sites before you send your kids there!
Once the jars were set aside to begin growing, I took out some geodes to bash! They had a good deal of success and got out some of those pent up teenage frustrations!
With DN here for the week and learning more about how our household works on a regular basis, this was the perfect opportunity for him to engage in an educational activity where he was interested in the subject and did not feel intimidated by the process or institutional feel of learning. He asked some really great questions and when I wasn't sure on an answer he saw that we could find the answer together. Although he has difficulty admitting it, I could tell that he was enjoying himself and learning at the same time.
Sometimes in order to engage the learner, all you have to do is take advantage of an aforementioned interest area. Paying attention to the actions of a child can pay off in so many ways. Even a child who is extremely resistant to any form of "schooling", "learning" or other educational jargon will give you hints about what might interest them. You may notice that when they are walking to the car and they tend to kick the rock ever so slowly, they always seem to be staring at the ground, you find rocks in the washer and in piles in next to the bed. This is a HUGE indication that for some reason his child is interested in rocks, geology and earth science. Now your challenge will be to present it to the child in a way that will really catch their attention.
Don't push too hard and when the child is done - THEY ARE DONE! Sometimes that means that they will stay on a topic for months and sometimes that means that they are only there for a few days or even hours. Pushing them to continue a study that they are no longer interested in or that they have learned enough about is not going to do anything, but make them more resistant the next time you try a learning sneak attack.
Good Luck and PLEASE feel free to post any helpful tips or ideas for encouraging the resistant learner!
Jul 16, 2009
Science Thursday - Biomes?
Our topic this week from our Science Review book was Biomes - it is ironic that this was KM's strongest area last year and the books review section was only 2 pages - compared to 6-8 in other chapters - so it was a good thing that she really already KNEW the material. Anyway she did two really fun habitat builders on adaptive curriculum and then wanted to do a project. WELL I figured she already had an aquatic habitat and a tropical habitat going with the triops and the terrarium, but she really wanted to do something - so I dug out some kits that I had gotten last year at a science museum and just totally forgot about until NOW! -
Crystal growing kits - hey didn't we try this before...
these are crystal growing trees so I guess they could be part of a fantasy biome right?
and this was about 90 minutes later!
The next morning they had grown to this -
Don't know why the orange one is not as puffy...hmmm?...but could have something to do with the branches not being spread out as much as the others.
Now the tray will take a bit longer but will have permanent crystals whereas the trees are the soft dissolvable variety! I will keep ya posted on how they turn it!
Crystal growing kits - hey didn't we try this before...
these are crystal growing trees so I guess they could be part of a fantasy biome right?
If you have kids who are really impatient - these are the kits to get!
This was just minutes after we filled the trays..
This was just minutes after we filled the trays..
and this was about 90 minutes later!
The next morning they had grown to this -
Don't know why the orange one is not as puffy...hmmm?...but could have something to do with the branches not being spread out as much as the others.
Now the tray will take a bit longer but will have permanent crystals whereas the trees are the soft dissolvable variety! I will keep ya posted on how they turn it!
Feb 13, 2008
Duhhh! 1-26-2008
So APPARENTLY we were not suppose to have an airtight lid on the jar with the crystal in it….who knew! It said to cover it but as soon as we took that cover off the crystals started growing. KM was started to get nervous that the whole thing was going to be a total waste, so glad that is not the case. We are not letting the solution evaporate and the crystals are growing like crazy!!!! New problem: HOW DO WE GET THEM OUT OF THE JAR???
Will post pics and let you know how that turns out once solution has dissolved.
Will post pics and let you know how that turns out once solution has dissolved.
Keeping Our Fingers Crossed!
Ok so it has been a few days and I think that the solution is solidifying on the bottom of the jar. There are a few crystals growing on the sides of the jar, however I can’t see anything growing on the actual rock where they are suppose to be! I don’t know what to do.
We are suppose to take the cover off the jar tomorrow so maybe we will see something more substantial happening. They also said in the instructions that things may develop more as the liquid evaporates. I have no idea what I am doing on this one. I am glad that we tried something for fun first and not something actually part of the curriculum cause I am just not good at these projects. I really think CJ is gonna have to step up on this end cause if this is any indication we are in for some trouble.
Keep your fingers crossed for us!!! We have fingers, toes and tails crossed over here!
We are suppose to take the cover off the jar tomorrow so maybe we will see something more substantial happening. They also said in the instructions that things may develop more as the liquid evaporates. I have no idea what I am doing on this one. I am glad that we tried something for fun first and not something actually part of the curriculum cause I am just not good at these projects. I really think CJ is gonna have to step up on this end cause if this is any indication we are in for some trouble.
Keep your fingers crossed for us!!! We have fingers, toes and tails crossed over here!
Will the Crystal Grow? 1-20-2008
We started our first science project yesterday. This is NOT my area, so we bought a kit that had some cool things in it to get us started.
One of the first units in her science curriculum is atoms and forms of matter. I thought growing crystals would be a great demonstration of how atoms form and grow. KM already knew a few things about crystals from last year’s science so she was excited about growing the crystals.
We got everything we needed together and followed the directions to the exact letter. She has been checking it and she seems to think that they look like they are growing. I am not too sure…if they are growing I can’t see anything…but it has only been 24 hours so we will have to wait and see if the crystals will grow.
Keep your fingers crossed for us!
One of the first units in her science curriculum is atoms and forms of matter. I thought growing crystals would be a great demonstration of how atoms form and grow. KM already knew a few things about crystals from last year’s science so she was excited about growing the crystals.
We got everything we needed together and followed the directions to the exact letter. She has been checking it and she seems to think that they look like they are growing. I am not too sure…if they are growing I can’t see anything…but it has only been 24 hours so we will have to wait and see if the crystals will grow.
Keep your fingers crossed for us!
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