Blooming Scientists

Animals of India

madon — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:08:58 +0000

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 – Nancy Larson Science 2 Review

madon — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:51:13 +0000

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.

Gabreial Wyatt – Science 2, Open the Box

madon — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:19:56 +0000

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.

Jolanthe Erb’s Update on Science 2

madon — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:05:10 +0000

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.

Recently, Jolanthe posted this update full of photos and details.

Homemade Pizza Equals Family Fun

madon — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:46:23 +0000

Isn’t pizza everyone’s favorite? It is with our family and we wanted to make it more fun and healthier. So, we’ve started making it at home. Talk about interactive science and learning! This fits right in with Nancy Larson® Science 2 and 3 lessons teaching measuring, physical changes and flexibility, and chemical reactions (air bubbles). Everyone gets in on the action and we let the creativity flow.

We use a baking stone and place the pizza dough directly on the pre-heated stone. You can purchase pizza stones. We went to our local building supply store and picked out a 16″ square, glazed porcelain tile. It cost about three dollars and works perfectly. The basic pizza dough recipe I use is from Cooking Light magazine, May 2010.
1 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees)
2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
4 teaspoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Pour 3/4 cup warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook. Add flour and mix until combined. Cover and let stand 20 minutes.
Combine remaining 1/4 cup warm water with yeast in small bowl. Let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly. Add yeast mixture, oil, and salt to flour mixture. Mix for five minutes or until a soft dough forms. Let dough rest for at least 30 minutes.
You can make the dough ahead, place in a plastic zip-closure bag, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
I’ve used gluten-free rice flour, wheat flour, and a 50/50 blend of wheat and unbleached white flour. So there’s a lot of flexibility in terms of what flour you can use.
After the dough rests, everyone gets a portion to make their personal pizza. The recipe will make four pizzas each about 10-11 inches across.

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.

We place the dough on the pizza stone/tile and bake at 500 degrees for about two minutes on each side. You’ll want the crust to be a light tan. As it bakes, use the tip of a knife to prick the air bubbles created.
Remove the crust from the oven and brush the top side with olive oil. This keeps the sauce from soaking into the crust so there’s no soggy pizza.

I pour the pizza sauce into a bowl, give everyone a spoon, and let them spread the sauce on their crusts.

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.

Then Molly adds red and green bell peppers. Of course we finish with cheese, Mozzarella or an Italian blend. Koren made her pizza cheese-free with lots of vegetables and pineapple.When the creations are ready for the oven, bake them on the pizza stone at 500 degrees an additional 5-10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly. More toppings require a longer baking time.

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.

Fresh basil is wonderful on pizza. I like to put it under the other toppings. This keeps it from being dried out while baking.

I hope you have fun with this. We’d love to hear from you and see photos of your creations.
Madon Dailey
Homeschool Manager
Nancy Larson® Science

Ad Astra Alpacas

madon — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:57:46 +0000

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

Warming Hearts, Hands, and Feet

madon — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:02:40 +0000

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.

The boys took turns deciding where to put each pair of socks or gloves. Then Melanie tied the pairs on the wreath, tying the ribbon in a bow, and curling the ends. This makes it easy to remove the items.
We also had some small teddy bears to add. I was able to find these at the Dollar Tree store. For about thirteen dollars per wreath, we created a fun time for the boys and Melanie. It was a good opportunity to talk about giving to others, what it meant to be homeless, how we want to help other people, and put the words into action.

Then we loaded everyone and everything in the car to make the delivery. The boys and Melanie sang and had a great time entertaining us with “A Hippopotamus for Christmas” and other songs I didn’t know.

Our shelter has all donations taken to their distribution center. The gentlemen working there were very gracious about accepting the wreaths. Later, they told me what a good idea they thought the wreaths were. So it was a win-win for everyone.

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.

Wishing You the Best

madon — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:20:54 +0000

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

Not Your Ordinary Gingerbread House

madon — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:44:45 +0000

Gingerbread Houses are a part of the holidays This one is different. It requires no baking. Think Rice Krispy Treats® for the holidays. We use flavored Rice Krispy Treat® mixture for the walls, roof, door, trees, and any other structures. I use the regular recipe on the cereal or marshmallow package. When the margarine and marshmallows are melted, I add a package of flavored gelatin or instant pudding for color and flavor. For the houses I have three batches: 1) lime gelatin for green, 2) cherry gelatin for red, and 3) chocolate pudding for brown.

Stir in the cereal. Line a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray. Pour the mixture into the pan. Cover the mixture with a second sheet of parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray. Use the rolling pin to roll the mixture to the same thickness. Use firm pressure when rolling. Let the mixture set until firm, chill if desired.
We make the sides of the house from the brown mixture. We use copy paper to make the pattern for the house. Fold a piece of copy paper lengthwise. Then fold about 1/3 of it back along the length. This will create two long sides and two shorter pieces for the front and back.

Cut two triangles from copy paper, and put these along the short edge. These will be the peaks of the front and back. Use the pizza cutter to cut out the sides front and back.
Now let’s measure for the roof. The roof needs to be the length of the long side, plus extra for the overhang. The height of the roof will be same as the peak of the front, plus extra for the overhang. Here’s what we did, using the pieces and copy paper to make the pattern.

Lay Roof Pieces 1 and 2 on the red mixture.

Now the real fun begins.
Jayde and Jordyn spread the roof pieces with royal icing to place Rice Chex® cereal “shingles.”

The completed roof pieces even have snow on the shingles.

Now the girls decorate the front, back, and two sides with candies, bells, holly, and an open door.

We use royal icing on each edge to position and hold the front, back, and sides together.

Jayde and Jordyn have the house together.
Now we just finish the decorating with more icing and candy.

Stained Glass Jars Make Great Gifts

madon — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 03:26:57 +0000

Earlier, I showed the stained glass jar I made re-using a jelly jar. Today Jayde (7) and Jordyn (10) start with two pickle jars.

In Nancy Larson® Science 2, children learn to describe objects by their physical characteristics. One characteristic is whether the object is transparent, translucent, or opaque. With this project, children see the characteristics of a jar change from transparent, to opaque, to translucent, to almost transparent. The final version makes a colorful votive or candy jar that children can give as gifts.


The clean jars are transparent. To begin the project, coat the jar with white glue.	Now Jordyn’s jar is opaque. We let the glue dry for several hours or overnight.

The glue is dry and the jars are translucent.	We cut white copy paper to fit inside the jars. Now the girls draw the design they want to use and color it with markers

Jayde places her paper design inside the jar to use as a pattern.	Now Jayde uses regular watercolor markers and colors the outside of the jar. Her paper design shows her where to color.

Jordyn is intent on following her pattern. She used several coats of color from the marker to make the colors more intense.	Jayde removed the paper design from inside the jar and shows how she colored the jar to match the paper pattern.

Jayde has colored her jar and is ready to make the marker color permanent.	We spray the outside of the jars with clear acrylic varnish and watch the jars go from translucent back to transparent.


Now that Jordyn’s jar has been sprayed, it can be hand-washed in warm water.	We put votive candles in the jars so the girls could see how the light shows off their designs.

We used battery-powered tea lights for safety. The girls have options for their gifts.	They removed the tea lights. Then we filled the jars with jelly belly flops and other candies.

The jars are ready to wrap and give. Jordyn has everything ready.