An Experiment in Educated Guesses

So I hadn't planned on doing a unit on weight- at least it wasn't in MY plans for school today. While I was busy getting ready for the day, I saw Shayleigh dragging something into the guest room. Mumbling to herself. And then returning that object to her room. Then dragging something else into the guest room, mumbling, and returning the object. As the third object appeared to drag across the hallway, I peered into the guest room to see Shayleigh placing Winnie the Pooh on the scale (the scale is in the guest room because apparently the scales are inaccurate on carpet and the guest room isn't carpeted) and said to herself- or maybe it was to Pooh, "Oh you're not as heavy as I thought you were!" When she saw me she stopped. So I asked her if she would like to do an experiment using the scale. She thought it was a great idea.  Off we went to create an Excel spread sheet. 

We decided to find 10 objects in her room. She would guess how much they weighed, weigh them, and then write the difference between the guessed and the actual weight. 

First she found 10 objects:

Very Random Selection.

And we needed a scale (or two):

Postage scale for objects under 5 lbs. Body scale for objects over 5 lbs.

She wrote each item and how much she thought they would weigh. Then based on her guess, she  chose the correct scale.

I was surprised by some of the weights she guessed.

Then she started weighing the objects and writing the actual weights.

Accessories Dresser

Box of Magnetic Dolls

Pink Guitar

Vase

Bean Bag

Pottery Barn Chair

Basket of Magic Tree House Books

A Puzzle Book

Soft body pillow

Bird cage centerpiece from Aunt Tami's wedding

Some of these are pretty close!

Working on the difference.

Here are the results!

Some of the weights were surprising to me too. The bean bag chair for example seems so heavy lifting up and down the stairs. For the most part though, she was pretty close to some actual weights.

Today's lesson was unexpected and fun. She wants to do more experiments like this in the future.

Another unexpected event happened today- I returned to blogging! It's been a while. I get so busy living everyday. So I will try better to blog about her experiences.

Composting!

Shayleigh's been doing a great job tending to her garden. Now that we've been eating a lot of vegetables from the garden, we've been starting to compost the scraps and the ones that didn't survive. Shayleigh was interested in what composting was, so we looked it up on Grammy's Ipad.

We can do this!

She read about Composting for Kids. It's a neat little slideshow that explained what composting is, how she can help, what to put in the bin, and what not to put in the bin. She is already huge on recycling (it's one of her "chores" to put the day's recycling in the bins outside), so this was easy for her to understand the importance and want to be involved.

So off to get our composting bin. We got this one at Target. It has a step lid opening and removable basket. I think we got it for around $15!

Ready to see what's inside?

Gross!

Really pretty excited.

You coming?

It's by the edge of the property.

Our FREE bin. They were giving these away at the Fair last year.

Grass clippings were already in there.

The bin is just the right height.

Dump!

Do not throw in plastic bags! There are biodegradable bags for composting pails- Biobags, but we haven't found them in the stores here. So for now, we use old Target bags and then rinse them out and recycle them in the bins outside the grocery store.

She did her part!

I'm liking that as Shay is getting older, she is wanting to take on more responsibility. And she is learning how to take care of the Earth.

We're making it official!

We're homeschooling! Well, I've been homeschooling my daughter for the past 4.5 years, but this year we are starting a curriculum. We don't have to officially start homeschooling, nor file an intent to homeschool with the state until next year, but my daughter is demanding it. She has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Her favorite things are books. She taught herself to read, and is constantly reading. In fact, she's reading this blog as I type it. She is constantly asking questions. She can be quite persistent. She really is a high maintenance child. But she is cool and insightful, and keeps me on my toes. She keeps me wanting to know the answers to questions I hadn't yet thought of. I don't really know who will be schooling who this year. So, while we don't  have to officially count this year per the state, we are going in full force.