Fan 2011

Good to know that the fan can still keep J's interest over a year later.

He's into kicking the floating ball nowadays, but he likes to keep it floating.

Yes, we did get a new, more powerful fan and the floating ball works so much better (and our house is MUCH cooler - double win!).  The original fan is still in commission on the other side of the apartment hoping for any sort of cross breeze.  And for safety, J knows that he is not allowed to touch the fan.

Fan Box

I ordered a bunch of cheap personal fans and they arrived 2 weeks later than anticipated (so I didn't have them for my Sail Boats activity with J's class last month).  However, we had to try them out to see if they worked.  They didn't seem too powerful, so the first thing I picked up to try to blow over was the box it came in.  It worked.

J decided this was a great game to play.

After the camera stopped rolling, J played for 20 minutes with the fan and the box, which was a nice distraction while I cooked dinner.  Then afterward, we had the battle of the fans.  I took a fan and J took a fan.  Then we tried to see who could blow over the box first while on opposite sides of the fan box.  It resulted in much laughter.  Now, every few days, he'll find the fan and it's box and remember this game.

Lessons from this quick science experiment:
*Wind creates forces that can move/knock over objects.
*Where do you aim to knock over the box?
*Can you move the box with the fan without tiping it over?

It's Official!!

I got this on Friday (9/16) afternoon.

Good afternoon!

The team at GlobalGiving wants to thank you for submitting all of your documentation on time. All of your paperwork was received and reviewed. Now we're thrilled to inform you that you've been approved as a Pepsi Refresh Project Grant Recipient. Congratulations!

...(some technical information)

Best of luck implementing your project, and we wish you much success!

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So, it's official.  We won $5k!!!

Nerdy Science finished #13 in August in the Pepsi $5k Refresh Grant category. The paperwork is complete and the $$ is on the way!  I'm so very excited.  Please stick with me as I develop curriculum for little kids.

If you have any ideas you want me to try for future blogs, I'd love to hear them too.  I just had a friend email me with an idea that I'll try with J in the near future.  Of course, I'll give you credit for the idea.

Thank you so much for your continued love and support!!

Plants + food

J's first radish

There is nothing better than getting your kids to eat fresh fruits and vegetables. It's a hard thing to do, don't get me wrong.

Luckily, we have a small space in our apartment complex to garden. Unfortunately, my husband and I have beige/pinkish, not green, thumbs. We put most of our gardening space to tomatoes and green beans, but it never got hot this year (no complaints other than the lack of tomatoes and green beans). Something was also wrong with our soil in the planter box, so our zucchini and cucumbers failed early too.

However, we do have this wild blackberry bush that we've been able to keep alive. Actually, it's J's "job" to water the bush whenever we water the garden. He might have the greenest thumb of us all!  He's learning plants need water and light in order to grow.  Some plants also grow yummy food for us to eat!

Though we've picked (and eaten) handful of berries each week, it's not enough to make anything. One Saturday a few weeks back, we decided to go berry picking.

J knows the purple ones are ripe and yummy

Well, maybe more berry eating...

And after mixing a few basic ingredients (chemistry) and some heat (heat transfer), we ended up with:

Children can understand that some food comes from plants.  They need sunlight and water and the right conditions to taste the way they do.  People pick our fruits and veggies for us to eat.  Start up these conversations with your children.

It's also very important to stress from an early age the importance of eating fresh and local.  I'm all for "saving the planet," but honestly, the main reason I like to eat local is that the produce tastes so much fresher. Overall, fruits and veggies are good for you, giving your body the energy, vitamins, and nutrients you need to be you!

We were able to benefit from a friend's vacation and get her CSA (community supported agriculture) box for the week.  We got carrots the size of J's head, celery, and orange cauliflower.

Some activities for kids:

Dissect different fruits and veggies.
-What color is the piece of fruit/veggie?
-Where are the seeds?
-What do the seeds do?
-Does the fruit/veggie have an outer layer/skin/rind?
-What's the purpose of the skin/rind?

Plant something and watch it grow.
-Make it your new "pet".
-Give your kid watering duties.
-Comment on its growth and development frequently.

Taste your product
-What do you taste?
-What does it smell like?
-Do you like it?
-Is it ripe or did you pick it too early?

What kind of bugs can you find in your garden?
-What are their purposes?
-Do you think they help/hurt the plant/soil?  (there might be both kinds around)


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Please support some September projects that helped me out last month

Presents for low income Medford Kids:
http://www.refresheverything.com/birthdayparties, text 108304 to 73774

NC Elementary Schools:
http://www.refresheverything.com/forestpines, text 108674 to 73774
http://www.refresheverything.com/stoughpta, text 108654 to 73774

There's also a neat project for building a science museum for kids in Baton Rouge:
http://www.refresheverything.com/sciencerocks, text 108949 to 73774

Swinging

I decided to stick with the park toy theme this week. Parks are full of free science fun!

Thinking about it, swings work with:
-Pivots
-Angular motion
-Momentum
-Transfer of energy
-Friction and aerodynamics

We placed J in the swing and tried to get him to swing himself by "pumping" his legs.

Some things to try:
-How high can you swing from sitting still?
-Don't pump.  How long does it take to stop?
-Do you swing better if you lean back while you go forward with your legs out?
-Pump your legs at different times (one then the other).  What happens?
-Pump your legs in the opposite way than normal.  Instead of out when you come forward, pull your knees in and instead of bent when you go backwards, put your knees out.  What happens?
-If you are comfortable with your child sitting in different positions**, try sideways or standing up or spider (two children on one swing, facing each other).
-Match the swinging period of your swinging neighbor (we called this "shadow" back in the day).
-Twist while swinging.  What happens?


**I am not.  I'm the mean Mommy who won't let my child have any fun like climbing up the slide or swinging sideways or standing up.

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Please support some September projects that helped me out last month

Presents for low income Medford Kids:
http://www.refresheverything.com/birthdayparties, text 108304 to 73774

NC Elementary Schools:
http://www.refresheverything.com/forestpines, text 108674 to 73774
http://www.refresheverything.com/stoughpta, text 108654 to 73774

There's also a neat project for building a science museum for kids in Baton Rouge:
http://www.refresheverything.com/sciencerocks, text 108949 to 73774

Seesaws

Don't you ever have a random toy appear in your backyard? Growing up, we found balls and Barbie Dolls thrown over the fences, but we never had anything like this appear:

One day, this old fashion seesaw just ended up in our garden. Thank you to whoever left it back there. It has to be our most fun science toy yet. This toy taps into pivot points and moment arms (read, PHYSICS is written all over it).

If you find an old seesaw, inspect it first to make sure it won't fall apart on you. Then climb on it and start playing.  It works better if the seesawers are closer in weight than J and his daddy.  J climbed aboard with our neighbor girl, who is maybe at most 3-5 lbs heavier and both J and our neighbor girl had a great time transferring their weight back and forth on the seesaw.

Play with moment arms.  Push on different parts of the seesaw and see how the other side responds.  Is it harder or easier to lift the weight when you push further away from the center.

What happens when you lean back?  What happens when you lean forward?  What's the most weight you can lift with the seesaw?

Have fun with science!

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Please support some September projects that helped me out last month

Presents for low income Medford Kids:
http://www.refresheverything.com/birthdayparties, text 108304 to 73774

NC Elementary Schools:
http://www.refresheverything.com/forestpines, text 108674 to 73774
http://www.refresheverything.com/stoughpta, text 108654 to 73774

I don't think they helped me directly, but there's also a project for building a science museum for kids in Baton Rouge:
http://www.refresheverything.com/sciencerocks, text 108949 to 73774

Thanks so much!

Sorry to leave you hanging, I needed at least one day to recover!

I have been contacted by Pepsi to inform me that I finished in the top 20 for the $5k grant! I started some paperwork while they finish their audit. The announcement of the finalists should be official on the 23rd of this month. I'll definitely keep you in the loop.

I am sooooo excited to get to see my project come to life!

Thank you so much for your continued support and encouragement.


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Please support some September projects that helped me out last month

Presents for low income Medford Kids:
http://www.refresheverything.com/birthdayparties, text 108304 to 73774

NC Elementary Schools:
http://www.refresheverything.com/forestpines, text 108674 to 73774
http://www.refresheverything.com/stoughpta, text 108654 to 73774