Tree and Leaf Identification

I cheated and bought a kit.  I want you to know that up front before wondering how in the world we found such beautiful samples, etc. etc.

I bought the one from Home Science Tools.  Here's a linky: http://www.hometrainingtools.com/tree-leaf-identification-kit/p/BE-TREEKIT/

I don't know if it is worth the price for you people who can actually look at a leaf and figure out what sort of tree might have produced such a leaf.  As I've said so many times before, I am not a scientist.  I put up with science because it is my children's favorite subject.  I am also not a naturalist.  I love being outdoors and take my kids hiking two or three times a week three seasons of the year, but I still can't tell you the names of anything that we see (except when we run into moose--even I know what a moose is).

My point is that the kit was worth the money to me because it made my life easier.  We made a fun poster, the kids loved looking through the identification guide, we justified two or three hikes by gathering leaves, and in short--we had a lot of fun with the kit.  We also tried to dry leaves and make pictures out of them but we waited a hair too long and the leaves were all a little too dry and brittle.  Next spring, summer, and fall we plan to try again.

And yes, I am trying to catch up so my posts are a little brief.  Sorry about that.

Igneous Rocks--Yummy!

 I highly recommend that you all start studying magma and igneous rocks immediately as it is a delicious field of study.

We took a bag of chocolate chips and melted them to create magma/lava.  Then we let the magma cool on a plate to see how igneous rocks are formed.  We put the rest of the magma on ice cream to see what happened when magma cooled down faster.

 You know what happens when magma cools down quickly?  The experiment ends and you get to eat sooner.  It is awesome.

Oskar had fun too.  Cutie patootie.

Man on a Buffalo!

Frolic and Farce Homeschool (that's what I call us for the Bookit Pizza certificates) has had a tremendously awesome week.  On Tuesday we paid homage to my favorite month by hitting the trails.  One trail, actually.  I call it the Bountiful Temple Trail because the trailhead is pretty close to the Bountiful Temple.  I don't know what it is actually called but you should all go hiking there!  It is one of my very favorite trails.  (If anyone is interested I'll have my hubby figure out what the trail is called.) 

We spent four hours roaming the hillsides, playing hide-n-seek, howling like wolves, singing about erosion, and enjoying each other.  The mountains are truly a balm for a troubled soul.  Not that I have a troubled soul, just a busy one, but sometimes it is beautiful to just breathe in the autumn air and glory in the changing leaves.  

 The next day my friend Marilyn emailed to let me know that she and her six lovely children would be at Antelope Island that afternoon to examine cool rock formations and did I want to join her.  There is nothing I like better than a last-minute-change-of-plans (that wasn't a joke, I really love spontaneity).  We packed ourselves into the van, grabbed some string cheese, and headed to the island.

Above photo: Emeline, Eli, and Malachi riding a buffalo.

 At the visitor's center.  Marilyn, Junie, Daisy, Miriam, with Sebastian and Abraham in the back. I was especially glad to hang out with Marilyn because she doesn't get lost (I always get lost) and she really tries to figure out this rock stuff and therefore succeeds.  Impressive.

We saw a cool sidewinder snake on the sidewalk outside the visitor's center.  We saw two snakes on the Bountiful trail.  In fact, Eli sat right next to one and it was so well camouflaged that we didn't see it until it moved a little bit.  It was a really funky green color--dark green on top with a limier underbelly.  Anyone know what it was?  Is limier a word?  Yes, because I am an English teacher and I just used it.

 Buffalo.

 Lazy buffalo.

 Kids crawling all over a bunch of gneiss rock.  Our first encounter with rock that we could be absolutely sure was metamorphic.  Thanks again, Marilyn, for knowing that.

 Children on rock.

 Gorgeous view.

 More kids on rocks with awesome clouds.

 Boys are happiest with tools--see exhibit A.

 Lady Harriet.  Aww.

 My favorite of the gneiss rocks.  I liked the black stripes.

 Eli likes to pose for the camera.  Marilyn with her baby, Marigold, in the background.  And Abraham (argh, I STILL get Abe and Seb mixed up.  I'm sorry Abe and Seb).  I'm pretty sure it is Abraham.

 This rock was cooler in person because the minerals around the edges were greener than the picture appears.

Cowen found this awesome chunk of mineral stuck in the gneiss rock.  Good eye, Cowen.

 Cake, anyone?

 Buffalo!  We were lucky enough to watch a bunch of buffalo cross the road right in front of us.  There were huge buffalo and cute little baby buffalo and we sang, "Guy on a buffalo," a lot.

Emeline watching the buffalo.  You can see the rain clouds in this picture.  It started to rain a little just as we stopped clambering over rocks and got in our vehicles.  It drizzled a little then rained a lot then drizzled some more.  Our pictures looked like this:

Now, for Marilyn's benefit because she couldn't figure out why I kept singing "Guy on a Buffalo," I'll leave you with a guy on a buffalo.




Because one video about a guy on a buffalo is never enough, here is another one:




Finally, here is another video.  My brother posted it on our family website and my sister commented, "The sophisticated cousin of guy on a buffalo!" Then I laughed really hard.



Happy October!  I hope you're able to get outside a little bit.  I'm watching the weather like a hawk and any rain-free days are hiking days!

A Science Update

 Our depiction of the layers of the earth.

 Yay!  Worksheet!

 Patsy (the dog) trying to join in the fun.

 Since we were studying the earth's layers on a Monday, we had a layers of the earth treat for FHE.  Half an oreo (crust, mantle) with chocolate sauce (outer core), and m&m (inner core).  The kids loved it.

 Look out!  The wind is eroding the hill.

Rainstorm!

Good times.  My kids love science.

Finding and Making Pet Rocks or First Day of School!

And so it begins.  The school year, I mean.