Jeweler, you failed.

There's a scene in the movie Help! where John brings Ringo to a jeweler to have the mysterious ring removed from Ringo's finger. Of course, no matter how hard he tries, the ring stays firm. John, then pronounces, entirely deadpan, "Jeweler, you failed." Here's the clip on youtube.

I had never seen Help! until I started dating my husband and of all the famous lines from movies that occasionally run through my brain, I think this is probably the lamest, but nevertheless, whenever I see a failure of some kind, I think it.

When it came to science experiments this week, this jeweler certainly failed.

So far our biology curriculum has been going pretty well. The move set us behind a couple weeks and that disappoints me, but I've decided not to rush to catch up. We'll just forge ahead at a consistent pace (or try to) and see where it takes us. We have done very well making science a hands-on experience with all the models Gabby's made. She built her atom, her gumdrop molecules, and she just finished a terrific model of an animal cell.

Here's the cell. There are holes cut for each organelle and on the back you can read about them.

But experiments have been harder for us. I have craft supplies galore -- great for models -- but what do I have that's good for experiments in freshman biology?

This week Gabby and I attempted 3 experiments. Every one was a failure.

The first was a diffusion lab. This was to conclude our chapter on the cell. We had to fill plastic baggies with a cornstarch solution and place them in an iodine solution. Sounds simple, right? Well, we did exactly what we were supposed to do and it did not do its part.

The bag was supposed to work as a selectively permeable membrane, only allowing the iodine solution in. We would have been able to see that because the iodine would have reacted with starch, turning blue. Nothing happened to our starch solution! It stayed perfectly cloudy white. The iodine solution did change though. It started turning a dark brown or black. We realized that for whatever reason our bag was acting as a selectively permeable membrane -- only letting the starch solution pass! So I guess that one wasn't a total bust. It still illustrated the concept but I wouldn't give us a gold star or anything.

The next one was supposed show how light affects leaves. We colored some leaves with black construction paper and others with different colors of cellophane and placed the plant in a sunny window. Of course, for the next few days we had cloudy weather. The covered leaves looked no different from the rest of the leaves. It may be because of our choice of plant. This time of year, I could only find poinsettias. Alas.

The final lab should have been our simplest. A paper chromatography lab. We followed the instructions EXACTLY. I sent Gabby and William into our yard to collect leaves. We thought it would be fun to collect leaves of all colors: green, red, yellow, purple. We cut them up and put them in cups with acetone (nail polish remover) and let it sit for 24 hours. When we came back to it the acetone was tinted with the colors of the leaves. We dipped strips of coffee filter in and waited for different colored lines to appear. We got nothing! I couldn't believe it. In fact, I was so mad that I found another website, same lab but somewhat different instructions. We're going to do it all over again. We will succeed!

I think a situation like this is why a friend of mine, Susan, says to always test object lessons at home before performing them for the Sunday School class!

Well, I tested at home, but home was the class!

I can only hope for better results in the future. Or better experiments. Or a better biology instructor -- who just happens to come knocking on my door. That's likely, right? Maybe. Tomorrow never knows.


Our 3 failed labs

A Unit for a Little Woman

Gabby reading Little Women

To begin our Language Arts studies for the year, I chose to concentrate on Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I have a soft spot for the Transcendentalists, having grown up in the Boston area, swimming in Walden Pond in the summer, and being one of 4 daughters myself. (My placement in my family would make me "Beth" but I have much more of Jo's temper than Beth's meekness and timidity.) I hoped Gabby would enjoy this story of 4 playful, imaginative girls and thought it very likely she would identify with Jo, as I did. (Who doesn't?)

I found a workbook to go along with our reading. It is meant for a fifth grade class using an abridged version of the book. Gabby is in 7th grade and I wanted her to read the real thing. (Why does anyone ever bother with abridgements anyway?) We used the workbook as a jumping off point. I liked the character guide where the student keeps track of descriptive words for the main characters and sketches pictures of them. We also used the writing prompts and some of the discussion questions.

To go along with some of those discussion questions, I found some complimentary activities in Gabby's church workbook. For one, she was supposed to write in her journal about modesty, dating, and the media. I thought this went well with the chapter Meg Goes to Vanity Fair, where Meg is tempted to turn from her values. I encouraged Gabby to write about Meg's experiences and what she thinks of them and apply them to herself in a modern context. See Personal Progress Choice and Accountability 6. I also used an activity where Gabby had to learn about a gospel principle. I thought exploring sacrifice would help her appreciate Jo's sacrifice of cutting her hair. (Gabby also has very long her that she refuses to cut!) Gabby wrote an essay to share with the family. She used the scriptures and online church resources and, of course, the account from Little Women. See Personal Progress Knowledge 4.

I've already shared about our field trips to Orchard House and Fruitlands Museum in an earlier post. They made the story come alive and helped us to get to know the author.

I found this great website for learning about the clothing women wore in the 1860s. It has an interactive version where you can add and remove each layer of clothes (except for the chemise!) It is astounding how many layers women wore!!! We used this as a basis for Gabby's major project: sewing a dress similar to what Louisa May Alcott might have worn. First we chose a pattern. Most period patterns are geared toward adult women so we had to choose a girls costume pattern, since Gabby is still small. Thus, her dress has some differences from a traditional 1860s gown: her bodice is sewn into the skirt, her lacing is purely decorative, and we used a zipper rather than buttons. It is also a bit short (Gabby is thin, but tall!) Next, we chose fabric. Somewhere we had read that the Alcotts preferred linen over cotton -- to avoid passive participation in slavery -- so we purchased all linen fabrics for the dress. That made it a bit pricey and reduced our color selection, but Gabby was happy with what she bought. We chose not to worry about our threads, ribbons or lace being cotton or cotton/poly. Here are some pictures of the sewing process:

cutting it out

some help from Grandma Jo

despite the splint and sling...

finally sewing on her own

All done!

We had a great time sewing the whole thing together, even through the broken elbow. It was a funny sight -- one working the pedal and backtack and the other feeding the fabric into the machine! I'm not a great seamstress, so Gabby had a good deal of help from my mom. By the end, she was able to sew on her own and I think she learned a lot more than she would have in a traditional Home Ec course -- sewing a tote bag or apron. For a culminating event, Gabby trick-or-treated this year as Jo March.

Wild Kratt, Superman, Jo March, Perry the Platypus

Freedom!

Now that we are fairly settled into our new home, we are trying to get back into our old routine. I'm not sure we had ever really developed a true routine, but we had great visions of one, so we are at least now re-assuming our visions.

Today, that meant Gabby got to go to work with Max. Max is a researcher at a hospital in the city. He has his own office where Gabby can study and the atmosphere in the labs he works at is pretty relaxed so it's okay for her to tag along.

They took the train together this morning and around 9:30 they were probably scooting through the city together. This is one of Max's favorite parts of his day, riding his Zootr to his office. He got Gabby a Razor so she could join in the fun. (That is how the broken elbow came to be.)

So now, here I am, with a day free of homeschooling. I plan to do housework, play with Fielding, get caught up with my church responsibilities and who knows what else. Maybe give my parents a call? Bake a little treat for family night tonight? Steal some Halloween candy?

The possibilities feel endless. I think I'll go and see what Hershey's got to offer.

We've moved; we've been overwhelmed

Our home in a freak fall snowstorm.


We are in a new house, a house we love and are so happy to have moved to, but wow -- getting to this point, where I now have a bit of free time to write about it -- that's been tough. I really was not prepared for how difficult it would be to move during the school year.

We put our house up for sale in June. It is a lovely little townhouse, but with only 3 bedrooms (small ones, too) and 4 kids, it was time to go bigger. And since a bad economy is a good time to buy a house, we went for it. At the end of July we got an offer and found our new home at the end of August. We had 14 days between closings. I thought having 2 weeks to move would make the whole process run smoothly and allow time for me to homeschool Gabby and tend the other kids' needs as well.

WRONG! The 2 weeks went by like nothing and we still had boxes everywhere and nowhere to sit (small house -> big house = not enough furniture). The first night we slept here, we didn't have enough time to set up the beds, so our bedroom became a true "bed"room: we had all the mattresses spread across the floor and all slept together.

Throughout this time, I was able to fit in very little schooling. Even Bri ended up missing 4 homework assignments over the course of the month. I don't think I had ever had to sign a missed homework slip for her in the past 5 years! Now, 4 in a month! The poor kid cried over the last 2 of them. She's responsible but still only 10. A 10-year old needs some support in getting homework done. An occasional "did you get your homework done?" goes a long way.

Gabby has been a huge help with the move. We would not be so well unpacked now if not for her. One day we organized the garage. It was stuffed so full, you could hardly walk through it. We moved all the boxes to the rooms where they belonged. It took the whole afternoon and was heavy labor. Gabby didn't complain once.

Doing schoolwork, though -- that's involved some complaining. Everything was too hard or she didn't know what she was supposed to do (5 minutes after me explaining what she was supposed to do). She was an angel to help me and a bear to teach.
But what can I expect? I had no interest in school either with the house in such a state! We are cut from the same cloth, this girl and I.

Well, now we're moved. Unpacked, mostly, a new couch (someplace to sit) and we are making a greater effort at schooling. Gabby should finish a nice paper puzzle of the cell in the next few days and complete our unit on Animal Farm as well. Halloween brought the culmination of her month-long study of Little Women. I'll post about that this week. I'm trying to be a better mom to everyone. I am even checking Bri's homework sheet every night.

PA Fall Foliage Hike

For the Columbus Day holiday, we went to the Pocono Environmental Education Center. Its got a large main building with exhibits and many hiking trails. We took the Fossil trail. Supposedly there were fossils to find. We just tried not to get eaten alive by the mosquitoes!

I'd love to go back there because it was a beautiful hike and I feel like we just scratched the surface of everything the center offers. Getting there, however was such a bear! Traffic was terrible. I'm not sure we will be headed back any time soon, despite how much we enjoyed it. Here's the website and pics of us on the hike, below.

The fossil trail


Bri reading from the trail guide



Can you find the frog?


Tumbling stream


Gabby, Fielding, William, and Bri

The Elbow

Today Gabby took off her splint. She's been writing her assignments herself and generally seems happier about her schoolwork.

It was just over 2 weeks ago Gabby fell off her scooter and broke her right elbow. It was a new scooter, purchased so she could ride it in the city with her Dad when she visits him at work. (He's got a scooter of his own.)

The very next day after having opened the box, she was riding around, got going too fast and --slam!-- fell flat on the pavement. When Max brought her inside, I could tell there was something more serious than scrapes going on. Gabby wasn't crying at all, but was holding her arm, bent and shaking. She couldn't straighten it.

Max wanted to wait and see, so we didn't actually find out it was a break until I took her to the ER the next morning. We were sent home with a splint and told to see an orthopedist. When we got in to see him, on Tuesday, he confirmed the break, but said it wasn't a bad one. She only needed to wear the splint and a sling for 10 days.

Today was the first open appointment at the orthopedist for a follow-up, so she ended up wearing it for 2 weeks, longer, if you count the splint she was sent home from hospital wearing. I had to write for her all that time! It was a pretty rocky week for school. Everything took longer. We were both easily frustrated. Looking back, I wish I had totally changed our plans so that she didn't having any writing or typing assignments. Goodness gracious, that's the benefit of homeschool -- that we can be flexible when we need too! I wish we had just focused on reading or combed youtube for science videos. I kept things the same, because I didn't want to get behind and because she was working on some pretty cool assignments. Here's the Biomes presentation, she completed, typing with one hand.

I'm not sure it was worth the added stress. The house paid for it too -- no laundry was folded last week and dishes only got done when Max did them. Thanks Max! I guess I'm still getting used to the idea that we don't have to "keep up" or justify our time.

We had thought that Gabby would get to go to swim practice tonight (she is an AMAZING swimmer!), but the orthopedist said no. He wants her to wait "3 weeks post injury" and to see a physical therapist. He normally would not recommend the therapy, but since she's a swimmer, he thought it would help her get back into shape sooner. I'm worried because, the longer she stays out of the pool, the more anxiety Gabby feels about getting back in. She's been swimming for so many years, it is like part of her identity. (I don't like that at all!) She stresses about going -- that she won't be up for the challenge -- and about not going, that she'll get more out of shape.

She says things like, "What if it's too hard?" "What if I'm not fast anymore?" and "What if I'm not on the A relay team?"

I say things like, "I will still love you. Your coaches will still love you. God will still love you. The sun will continue to rise and set each day."

Sometimes she hears what I say and sometimes I think it just sounds like, "Blah, blah, blah."

I'm glad that she's been so independent in her work today. I hope that helps her feel generally more competent and capable. I'm sure it was discouraging to be so dependent on me for the last couple weeks. (I even had to fix her hair each day.)

When she's done with her reading assignment, we are going to finish a sewing project -- and she'll be 100% in charge of the machine for the first time. Now that she's got 2 good hands again.

Too Lazy, Too Tired

Today Gabby and I took our first theater class. It was in role-playing. We role-played how our day should have gone.

We can blame it, a bit, on yesterday. Yesterday, we drove home from Boston, with not too much traffic, just one vomit-incident, and just a little fussiness from Fielding. We got home in good time and ate leftovers from my mom, packed in a cooler and warmed, delicious.

It was hard, though, to get up for school this morning. I had to help William on a project that was due while we were away. Gluing little pictures of his favorite things onto a cardstock t-shirt.

I managed to get Bri and William on the bus and Fielding and I out the door for my 8:45am workout at the Y. (Normally Gabby comes with us, but since she's got a broken elbow -- I'll tell about that in some future post -- she opted to stay behind.)

When I got home, it was obvious that Gabby had been disinclined to work. Here's the role-play:

Gabby: Mom, I'm so tired from the trip, I don't feel like studying.
Me: I know. It's hard to get back into the routine after a vacation. What have you done so far?
Gabby: Well, I looked for photos of biomes but I can't find any with the locations stated, like you want. I did my math worksheets, but Daddy hasn't given me any new challenge problems and the timed quiz website isn't working.
Me: I can help you find some good websites for the biomes project. Have you emailed Dad about the math?
Gabby: No. I just don't feel like it.
Me: I understand. I didn't feel like working out this morning. I had to not think about it and just do it.
Gabby: That's too hard.
Me: It is hard. Would you like me to help you email Daddy?
Gabby. Okay. Then can I take a break?
Me: That's okay with me, but we might not have time to work on your sewing project if you do.
Gabby: I really want to sew.
Me: You'll have to decide what you want most. Here, let's email Daddy and then find some good websites on the biomes. Then you can decide what you want to do.
Gabby: Thanks Mom. You're the best!
Me: Gee, that means a lot Gabby. I think you're great too.

That's what we role-played. That is not what actually happened. What actually happened was a lot of "I can't" coming from Gabby (which I hear as "I won't). And a lot of "you have to" from me, which Gabby hears as "I dare you not to."

I even pulled out, "then we'll have to enroll you in the middle school."

SO DUMB! Why did I say that? Why pull out the big guns for such a little thing? She was tired from the trip. She was having troubled getting back into the rhythm of school... And we've been having a great time homeschooling so far! Why get so bent out of shape over one bad day?

Well, in my defense, I was tired too. I was all sweaty from my work out, which wasn't even satisfying. In the rush of the morning I had forgotten to eat. Halfway through the class, I felt like I might pass out so I left early. Blah.

Only to be greeted by Lazy Lucy when I came in the door.

It is so hard to be compassionate when I want compassion!

In a funny coincidence, last night my husband told me about a difficult time he was having with a coworker. Max works in academia and is responsible for mentoring students and others in his research. This particular individual was giving him a hard time over the assignments Max had given him. (Sound familiar?) In frustration, Max played Monty Python's Argument Sketch -- the coworker didn't seem to get it and wasn't amused.

Sometimes it feels like exasperation and defiance meet my every suggestion. I wish Gabby could just say that an assignment is difficult, or just ask me to help her, or just tell me she's worried about something. But every statement drips with emotion. All that drama makes me dramatic!

Sometimes I think to myself, "If Ican just get through the day without losing my temper -- or losing my temper again -- then we'll all wake up in better mood tomorrow!"