Engineering and Art

We've been trying some different things with our homeschooling this week. I got the kids an abacus to help with math concepts, and we took a few minutes to work with it yesterday. I'm not sure exactly how this will fit into our daily plan, but I know it will help the kids visualize problem solving.

Today Gabriel got out one of his special Lego kits that he got a while back as a gift. It has some gears in it and some instructions to make a few simple creations. Gabriel experimented with the pieces in the kit, not bothering to look at the instructions too much. He made a gear assembly, and then told me that the top gear goes faster than the end gear. He was learning about basic gear stuff on his own, just by observing. That's what I like to see!

We did a fun art project today, from one of the recent issues of Living Crafts magazine. We dyed wool with food coloring. We used plain, white wool (Cascade 220) and soaked it in vinegar water for about half the day. Then we squeezed the excess water out, and made little dishes of dye using food coloring and water. The kids used spoons to drop the dye onto the wool.

It was a good review on color mixing and both the kids enjoyed the process. Annika sweetly said she was making some wool so she could knit a shawl for Gabriel. I guess I'm rubbing off on her a bit.

The wool turned out bright and cheerful; it is steaming in the kitchen at this moment. Later I will rinse it out and let it dry. I have some ideas for what to do with the finished project. Stay tuned!