Science Project Sunday!!!! National Geographic Volcanic Eruption Kit

My little future scientists are always so eager to get their hands messy and experiment and create. Andy is constantly on his class webpage checking out the linked science projects. He will persistently ask over and over again until I find all the ingredients to make one every weekend, so today I declared:

"Let's make one day a week where we can find and perform ONE science experiment. Since it is Sunday and we haven't done one yet this week, we will do it today and forever more there will be 'Science Project Sundays'!"

The boys were ecstatic. Wayne added Borax to our Sam's Club order and a new concept was born!
I have to admit, I remember doing many of them and love doing them again while watching the wonder on their faces.

After the boys were determined to do a baking soda and vinegar volcano with Grandpa and Grandma Tonsager the week Jake was born, Grandma and Grandpa decided to get them some National Geographic science kits from Who's Hobby in Rapid for Christmas. We have been so busy since Christmas that we keep putting off doing them. Today for our first Science Experiment Sunday, we decided to break one out.

We went with Andy's "Volcanoes and Earthquakes" kit. It had some neat information in it and some great diagrams. The experiment itself was not just your simple "poor in some baking soda then some food color and vinegar", it was actually fairly elaborate.

It came with a fold and tape globe that has the volcanoes of the world marked on it. That is now hanging from our dining room chandelier.

The kit suggested we wear gloves and eyewear, so we did.....

A little stirring......

A little mixing......

A mad chemist.......

....and then an eruption!!!!!!!

First science experiment.....SUCCESS!!!!!!

Schedule/Homework/Backpack Center

Fix It Friday!!!!

This week I am revealing my Schedule/Homework/Backpack center. I had seen it on Pinterest and started it over a year ago, but as with most of my best laid plans, it sat dormant for quite some time before I worked on it again, then again after I got the next step done, and again after that step until finally all that was left was to print, cut and glue.... that whole printing part was the worse! We have had some technology issues this past year and a half and no finances to support fixing them :(

 

Back to it.....

What you need for this project is:

• as many 16x20 cheap frames as there are kids
• I got some $5 and some $8 ones at WalMart, one or two at a time until I had enough. Luckily they were all uniform. It would have been better to buy them all at once, but I had to sneak them in the budget.
• 4x6 Picture of each child
• package of clips (mine was 6 for $1 at Dollar Tree, <3 that store)
• Command Strips or picture hangers
• scrapbook paper or colored paper of choice in alternating patterns or colors
• I used 3 different styles that color coordinated to each other for each board
• Within these paper choices, you will need 2 letter sized 8.5x11 to remain full sized, 1 letter sized 8.5x11 to cut in half and line the bottom portion for the "notes" section.
• another section of the same to line the top as a background to the picture and name sections. For this I used half one pattern, half another to contrast each other.
• printer paper, ink and an office program
• glue stick & scissors
• hot glue gun & glue

(Each backpack is hung on a Command Hook centered under each frame.)

Instructions:

• First find a spot where you have room in a location that is convenient and accessible and NOTICEABLE

For me I have a large family and an open floor plan with no entry way or foyer. (That is one of a few things I would change if I built again.) So that severely limited my choices for where to set up. I went with the 'long' strip of hallway between our garage door and laundry room entrance. It is in the hallway that leads from the kitchen and living room areas to the garage, laundry and master bedroom area, so it is a place I frequent. Best of all it is the first thing I see each time I walk out of my room to tackle the day. I really enjoy seeing those four smiling faces (they aren't always smiling this time of day in person, but hey, neither am I- I rather dislike having to be on society's agenda and rush everyone around by a predetermined agenda not set by us. In another life I would have chosen to live in BFE outside the reach of modern civilization & homeschool, something similar to Mountain Family Robinson).

• Next measure, eyeball it or trace the frames onto paper (or wrapping paper, way more fun) and pin them onto the wall in an arrangement you like and to make sure they do actually fit.

• Once you have your placement just right, place your picture hangers or command strips

• Now that you know you have the space, the location and the accessibility, you are ready to go on with the project.

• If you are using digital backgrounds for the paper as I did, you will next need to print those. If you are using scrapbook paper, you will now need to trim them to size.

• For the name in the text box you will need an office program. Microsoft Office 2010 is my favorite. Insert a text box, "draw your own" choice instead of a predetermined choice and choose a thick black border. Use the text box tools section to make the text box exactly 3.5x7" then type the name of your family member in your font of choice in a size that allows it to be centered in the box. The longer the name the more you will have to tweek this. My children go by 4 letter nicknames which allowed mine to be nice and uniform. I used "Blackadder ITC" size 100. You should be able to fit 2 to a page. Print it!

• Another thing you will need to print are the calendars. I used a template for the blank monthly calendar. I simply Googled "Free Printable Month Calendar Templates" then I switched over to google images and picked one I liked, saved it as a jpeg image and inserted it into Microsoft Word where I sized it (I would go waaaay bigger than what I did, the date pretty much fills the square on mine. A 5x7 might be ideal. You can fit 2 of those per page or 3 4x6 per page.

• For the weekly calendar you can go about it the exact same way or make your own in Word. I did this by going to "Insert" and "table" then draw your own in the drop down menu to be 2x7 squares. then adjust the width of the right column to be two or three times as wide as the left. Add the days of the week text to the squares on the left, centering them. Change tint to desired color. I fit four of these per page.

• Once you have all of these things designed and printed, use the cheesy print that comes in the frame as a background by turning it over face down on your work surface. Lay out all of your paper pieces how you like them trimming as needed. Use a glue stick on all the edges and a little in the middle. Line up paper edges and corners then spread and press toward the middle of the page working all creases out.

• After all your background pieces are in place, glue your name piece and calendars centering them where you choose. Then ball tape your picture in place. Avoid glue for this as the acidity can ruin a picture, glue can gloop up a picture and YOU CAN CHANGE THE PICTURE OUT if you do not glue (or mod podge) it.  

• Now put your frame back together with your masterpiece inside.

• BUT WAIT, What about that clip? Now you will use your hot glue gun to glue your clip at the top of one of your 8.5x11 pieces that is otherwise clear. You will glue this on the outside of your frame.

• You are done. Go hang that beauty.

You can use dry or wet erase markers to fill in your calendars or make notes. Hang important homework, fliers or papers on the clip and enjoy the picture and name you have chosen. I can't get enough of looking at these, however if you so choose to change yours up, you could annually update your picture, reprint and glue over color schemes or even start over entirely. I know there is a lady who sells the templates on Etsy, I believe it was once posted on Pinterest, however the pin I had didn't have the link so I made my own.



They already have came in handy as my preschooler and baby have their own important documents and their own schedules of coarse!

Each boy in our family has a color specific to them. Something I started when I had to buy in 3's. We now know the iPod with the BLUE case is Andy's, no one else can steal it. The GREEN one found in between the couch cushions is Zach's and the ORANGE one left on the floor to be stepped on that now needs put in the "earn it back" bin is Luke's. This has come in handy for backpack's, coats, shoes, cups, chairs, chopsticks, anything you can buy in a color!!! From a mile away I can tell which kid or kid's item I am dealing with. I only wish I would have picked different colors than Wayne and I's favorite colors so that all 6 of us could have our own color. The way it is Wayne likes orange and I like green which are also Luke and Zach's colors. For Jake, his color is actually RED, but the printer was in a pinkish mood. It makes the clip look orangey, oh well, I will reprint later.


My hallway is full. My gallery wall in the boys' hallway also has frames from edge to edge in sets of 4s. I cannot have anymore babies because I am out of wall space!!! (Though I really did want a girl and pinks and purples.) To be discussed later ;)

PROJECT COMPLETE....taa daa!!!

TBT: Yote Huntin' -20*

Wayne & Eric Borah decided the hunt was still on despite the -20* temperature in early January 2005. Their breath caused their faces to frost over. They remained on the hunt, to no avail, for a few hours!!!



Just another day Yote Hunting in SD

High in the Hills, Deep in the Trees, on the shores of many lakes, it's Camp Tonsager!

 

CAMPING 2012!!!

Our old car top camper we had re-canvassed didn’t make it through a hard winter outdoors under tarp. It got moldy. With all our allergies we decided maybe it wasn’t such a great idea. We still hope to get it cleaned up and useable, but it actually cost less to buy a new tent altogether. For our anniversary last year we got this tent from Ken & Gayle…..

We absolutely love it! There’s 3 rooms providing plenty of sleep space as well as a common area to eat and hang out in inclement weather.

We were so excited, we immediately filled every remaining weekend last summer with camping destinations and rearranged a couple other weekends to camp. When Luke’s bump turned up as a lymph node and surgery was scheduled less than a week later that could result in lymphoma, we coped by going off grid up in the hills to a beautiful spot where we could concentrate on each other. For us, camping is an enrichment of life. With four boys and a tom-boy mother, there will not be a weekend at home between Memorial and Labor Day. This area has so many wonderful places to get away, you could spend all 52 weekends a year in a different campground without hitting half of them. It’s an opportunity I don’t plan to ignore.

 

Our first camping trip was to Angos Tura with our friends Jordan and Carrie Lent and their two daughters, Emily and Madisyn. And our best friend Andy Borah and his daughter Dayna. Some others came and went as well, mainly Carrie’s family.  We set up in Shep’s Canyon where it’s free to camp.

We got a shower/shitter tent with a potty bucket, complete with a seat and liftable lid and deodorizers. The sower tent has towel racks, drains, a toilet paper dispenser caddy, shower shelf and hook to hang the solar water bag. I used it quite a bit this summer and loved it. It is a really quick and easy set up and a compact pack down.

There was a small cliff with a trail to the waterfront, reminded me of Harlan Country Reservoir back home.

 

The weather was sketchy. The night before we got there the wind almost blew Carrie’s tent, inhabitants and all into the lake! It was cool and dreary the first 24 hours we were there, which is my kind of weather.

 

 

 

Camping Entertainment.....

 

Scavenger Hunt Items

The men and Carrie went fishing, and I was nominated for childcare. We played, had bug and scavenger hunts, went on walks, played I Spy and then it rained, so we all retreated into the tent and lined up lawn chairs in front of the iPhone for some Netflix. Got to love 3G. Everyone took turns holding baby Jake and ate snack. Then we played UNO. Perfect timing, the rain stopped just as all the others got back (of course).

 

There was a fire ban Hills wide this year and so so so many wild fires burning this year (Colorado's big one was right then as were Montana's and a few in our hills) so we couldn't do a camp fire with smores. It just felt wrong sitting there in the dark in a circle drinking our beverages, so we put Carrie's LED lantern in the middle, with only one panel lit on the opposite side. That thing was BRIGHT!

The only things I didn't like about camping here was the lack of shade and the ants that were everywhere!!!

Luke and Jake woke up early in the morning and the rest of the camp was sleeping in, so I took them on a walk and ended up with some amazing pictures along the way....

 

 

Camping food is the best! I had made up some breakfast burritos to take that we warmed on the grill.....amazing!!! All the other meals I had separated by baggie in the cooler (brats, burgers, fry sausage), it made it so much easier come meal time. I also had a hard sealed tote for dry goods separate from all other camping supplies. Then the camping supplies were divided by tote too. This way we only have to take certain ones in to be unloaded and restocked, while others stay in the garage.

Then the last day it got HOT. We spent as much time in the water as possible, but by 11am Jake had had enough. We tore down camp and headed to town to visit Grandpa and Grandma before going home.




In June we also "camped" at Custer State Park. We had a duplex cabin with our sister & brother-in-law and the rest of the Tonsager clan was spread out amongst the park for Uncle Karl & Denise Tonsager's wedding. What a great time had by all. The cabins were nice, but for the life of me I can't find them on the website to book them for my family this summer.

Norbek Visitor Center

Cloud Window made at Jr Naturalist Program

Learning about SCAT

They all decided to be omnivors

Eating their own scat they made ;)

Our duplex cabin



Buffalo in the campground behind the cabins

Stupid Tourist

Stupid Gaurdsmen who went and posed for a picture

We gave a Lemonade Picnic Basket

4 Generation Tonsager Men

4 Generation Tonsager Men & Women

1st Father's Day Together

Jake pooped, Daddy doesn't want him anymore

Amazing grill bought for the rehearsal dinner, then donated to the church in Hot Springs

The Ken Branch

There were a couple of bouncy houses at the wedding

had to get our hike on

the second time I have hiked Custer State Park in flip flops

Luke was determined to hike it too

Andy

Zach

Taa Daa

Up was by far easier than down. Andy froze up and had to be pried and pleaded down.

We made it!

Jenn & I took the wedding pictures..... oh my passion that I eagerly embark on at every offer!

Love this girl!!! She smashed that buffalo chip!

 

Then our last day there was Father's Day......

1st Father's Day for Jake

We did interview questions from each boy to dad and a candybar poem.

Our Next adventure was above mentioned off grid adventure when in limbo on Luke’s inguinal mass discovery. It was also our friend and next door neighbors’ sons/grandsons triple Batman birthday.

It was stormy from the start this weekend. We left during one storm, got there and set up, went to bed in time for another storm. Then woke up and had some sun for a while after breakfast.....

road treats, bulk twizlers!

 

 

hammering stakes with rocks

We stayed at Roubaix Lake near Lead. It was high on the mountain, deep in the trees making the temperature and the scenery perfect. The little lake had a great swimming area and a large sandy beach. The boys loved it. We loved it.

 

Then the weather hit. Thunder, lightning, torrential downpour and hail. I loved it. Unfortunately it was right during the birthday party so that was sad. Andy had his own best buddy’s bday to go to so we drove back into Spearfish to drop him off. On the way we actually had to pull over under the trees with some other cars because it was raining and hailing so bad.

 

 

 

There were lots of bikers seeking shelter as well. Felt bad for them. After that the neighbors packed up and headed home.

We toughed it out through two more rounds of storms and had a blast right up until being booted an hour after checkout. We had everything packed up and were finishing up lunch before leaving when the site manager drove up and asked if we knew check out was an hour earlier (seriously? The place was empty anyway, it was Sunday at noon and not in high demand.) We said we were all ready to go, just finishing our lunch before heading out. All is well that ends well anyway. It was my favorite destination yet!

The next weekend we met the Tonsager Besich clan at Deerfield near Nemo and Rochford. I had always heard of the place. The Canyon Hills crew liked to go camp there, but I had never actually been. It is a small lake with a few campgrounds surrounding and some 4 wheeler trails.

on the road again

Days of '76 parade in Deadwood shut down the highway an hour after its start we still were stopped for about half an hour.

S'mores Pie since we could have no campfire

 

Always weather :)

We warned the crew that when we camp, it rains at least once. They laughed. We arrived. It rained before we were unpacked.

It was a great time. Yummy food, good company, including a squirel…..

SQUIRREL!!!

A few games…. Lots of dirt…. Fresh picked raspberries…..

Some off the dock swimming…..

That was one thing I didn’t care for, we were unable to find an actual swimming area. I did like that it was up in the hills and most of the sites had good tree cover allowing it to be cooler for the most part.  Mark and Jenn brought their 4 wheeler and found some nice trails. One had the raspberries growing near it, YUMMY!!! We had a great time and can’t wait to make it an annual event!

Before we had gotten the tent, when Jake was only a little over a week old, we went down to Custer State Park to visit the Tonsagers, Besichs and Jensens at their campsites. It was a really foggy and really cold Memorial Weekend. We even saw a patch of snow toward the top of CSP. The fog made for some awesome pictures.

 

 

Maddie and Megan were so excited to meet Baby Jake.

This was before the summer's fire ban was in effect, so we got to roast s'mores once!!!

Zach had the most hilarious facial expressions when he would catch a whiff of the smoke in his direction.

We didn't stay too late because we still had to drive through that fog which was hard enough to see through on the way in at noon. If the temp dropped anymore it would be below freezing and freezing fog means black ice. Not a happy combo. We did see buffalo on the way out. Always fun.

We had intended on hitting Orman before school stated but we were busy, stressed and exhausted. We also had started to volunteer regularly at Bountiful Baskets on Saturday mornings. We have BIG plans for camping this summer and plan to hit many different and new campgrounds. Our weekends are nearly full already. Can. Not. Wait.