Just random thoughts today

Our petri dishes are finally sprouting. Ewwwwwwwwwww. So maybe we didn't do it wrong after all? Are they supposed to take weeks? I don't know, but we're finally getting some (pretty gross) results.

Bridget commented that the petri dish that had the "front doorknob" swab has the most stuff growing on it. She wants to do a lot more experiments now and see what germs are lurking on every surface of the house, LOL! I keep forgetting to order the petri dishes and agar. I guess I should get on that, huh?

The apple slices are totally gross too. That was cool. You hand a kid a fresh apple slice, let them rub it all over with their hands and then put it in a ziploc bag (or a petri dish if it will fit - just something sealed). Then they wash their hands with soap and rub their cleaned hands over a new apple slice. Put that in a different bag and mark them carefully as to which is which. Eat the rest of the apple :D I'm sure everyone can guess what happens, but you know, if you wait long enough, both apples get pretty nasty. I guess eventually we'll have to toss them out. Eventually ;-) Maybe we'll keep them around long enough for my mom's birthday party we're hosting this weekend. Nothing says "Happy Birthday" like rotten apple slices and nasty looking petri dishes ;-)

Moving on to the topic of books . . . . we were at the consignment store yesterday and picked up a science book. A Technology Q&A : Is that Robot Really My Doctor?. We have two others of these. One on sports no one is really interested in but the other is about being good to the environment and we like that one. When Is it Great to Turn Green?

So I googled them to see if there are any more in the series. No, it seems like this is it. I was surprised to find where they are coming from though. As far as I can tell, these books are given out in schools as prizes for selling wrapping paper! That's . . . . weird. But I still like the books. The technology one did have a few tidbits on how great genetic engineering is which made me a bit wary, but overall, these are fun books that give brief bites of info that make you think but aren't overwhelming.

My amazon.com order also arrived yesterday (yes, it was a big book day!). I got two gift certificates to Borders for Christmas but it seems they have joined forces with Amazon so I went there (free shipping - whoo hoo!). I ordered a bunch of fun math books. "Fun math books". Hot damn, I never thought I would think that way, LOL! I bought the 2x2=Boo book that we liked from the library (Owen had me read it to him twice already) and Fraction Action by the same author. I thought that one was a little too "teachy" but Owen asked me to read it all the way through and Bridget took it to bed with her so I guess it's a hit.

I also got Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar which talks about "factorial". I don't remember that (vaguely? I don't know). The book is really nice, the illustrations are beautiful and then WHAM they hit you with all this math that makes your (ok, MY) brain hurt. I asked Bridget if she liked it and she said "not that much". Oh well, we can't like everything.

But the final math purchase was the I Hate Mathematics! Book. I admit I don't like the title (and had to explain it to Bridget since she certainly does NOT hate math!). I also don't like some of the attitudes in the book. It seems to be making fun of grown ups in order to make kids laugh and feel good about themselves. I guess that works for kids who see grown ups as "the enemy" but that's not my kids or any of the homeschooled kids I know. But aside from that, it's a really fun book with a lot of fun math activities. Bridget has already asked me a lot of the trick problems from the book and seems to be enjoying it. I read about 1/4 of it last night and found it didn't set off any math anxiety for me, despite the fact that I couldn't do/answer many of the problems. There's just something about the way this (and the Math for Smarty Pants book) is written. I think it's all because of Marilyn Burns. That woman just has the gift of taking the anxiety out of math :)