The biggest picture in the world

I took Cyan and a her girlfriend to see Beezus and Ramona yesterday. It was a WONDEFUL movie! I was sad to see that they used most of the books as one story though... because that means that they will not be able to make more movies. The movie was mostly a mix of Ramona and her Father and Beezus and Ramona... but even some of Ramona and her Mother, and Ramona Quimby, Age 8 were in it.

The dad in that series is just incredible. And the actor they picked for the role was perfect. I loved that he always wore his "dad" sweatshirt, even though it was really, obviously, kid made and designed.

We didn't have a roll of paper on which to make the 'longest picture in the world', but we did have a HUGE sheet of brown packing paper... and a TON of left over art supplies. We put them to good use when we got home.

Colored Queen Anne's Lace

Food coloring always seems to end up as a science experiment in my house. It is rare that I actually use it for food, but we use it for science quite a bit.

On our way home from Fort Nisqually last weekend I saw this BEAUTIFUL patch of Queen Anne's Lace by the side of the road. It was late, my kids were tired, but we had to stop and pick some.

Before they went to bed, we colored the water, and set the flowers we had picked into the colored water to see what would happen in the morning...

They look like fireworks to me!

However, this one, picked at the same time the same way died by the morning. I am wondering just how deadly red 40 is at the moment. Makes ya think... huh?

GOTW ~ Part 7

This has been the coolest experiment I think I have ever done with the kids. It has been really long term already (we first planted in April), but what an amazingly educational and fun thing to do! I HIGHLY recommend planting the grains that you can find around you and seeing what comes of it in your area. (This is the link to the rest of the story and how we started out.)

Our newest fruiting grain has been the Oats... they just sprouted a couple days ago.

They are much different than the wheats, barley, and rye. The millet hasn't fruited yet, and the corn is still very much concentrating on the stalk of the plant, but I can see that if this weather keeps up, those two will be fruiting as well.

The rye has a very flat fruiting head. It reminds me of a braid of hair... flat, but textured.

The white wheat has a very bumpy fruit. It also has these little white pollen things that come out of it. I wish I was better at describing these parts, but honestly, I don't know any more about it than the kids. So hopefully, by the time we are done, I will be able to name all the parts of the grains too! ;)

The barley is the most "amber waves of grain" plant out there. It has long hairs at the end of the fruit and really beautifully symmetrical heads of grain. It waves in the sun and is already turning yellow. Once again, I really have to find the time to research how to get these grains to make bread.

The red wheat is very similar to the white... but the little pollen heads are even more prevalent and the seeds tighter in the fruit head. It is a slightly taller plant too. Not sure if that is how/when we grew it, or if it is actually a taller plant than the other wheat... but it has been fun to watch them all side by side.

(A link to our last years garden experiment with a Topsy Turvy and Tomatoes.)

Grains of the World ~ Part 6

I haven't posted about this in forever, but recently, in our Grains of the World study, very exciting things have been happening!

I keep wondering what we are going to do with our little grain plot if it actually matures. Wouldn't it be awesome to make seven grain bread with the grains we are growing? That is my goal... but I don't have much hope of it happening if it doesn't stop raining! So here's hoping!

Here is a link to the whole experiment. Enjoy!