Science Demos

 The kids had made a list of some science activities that they wanted to experience again.  The can crushing was right up there at the top, so Mr. Finn got out the hot plate and we snagged some ice from Jay. 

 It's such a wondrous thing to watch that can implode.  Tyler had never seen it before, so he was especially mystified.

 Then Mr. Finn surprised them with something new...the egg in a bottle.  Johnny had seen something similar on T. V. and he was asking about it so Mr. Finn hard boiled some eggs and got out the beakers.  He lit a small piece of paper, put it in the beaker...

 Then he set the egg on top and SFFFTT!  It sucked into that bottle lickety split. 

 The kids were utterly captivated. 

 But it wasn't over yet.  Then Mr. Finn turned it upside down and blew into it and...

 PHHHHT! out popped the egg!  Soooooooo great!

We had a fantastic afternoon playing with science toys/equipment.  Here's Saylor with her hand on the Van de Graff machine.  We STILL couldn't get Brody to put his hand on it, but someday!  I, for one, have learned so much having Mr. Finn as MY science teacher.  He makes it not only fun and interesting, but it sinks in so deeply that you'll never forget it.

The View from Our Window

 There are always screams of laughter coming from outside our window.  So this is what greeted us Friday after school.  A gaggle of kids were outside riding various non-motorized vehicles.  Save of course, Ben, who was giddily riding my scooter, Peanut, up and down the road.  At one point there were five kids on this little plastic Jeep.  Hilarious. 

They weren't having a good time at all.

Soccer and Baseball

 We had a guest coach for soccer.  Mr. Finn's nephew, Ben, happens to be quite a soccer pro, so with a little help from his sister and cousin, they taught us some new moves and games to play.

 It was a lot like Ultimate Frisbee, which of course our kids had no experience with...but they got the hang of it fast enough.

 Then it was on to baseball.  Max demonstrates the "laid back" helmet approach.

 Something about little guys with big helmets on makes me giggle uncontrollably.  All I can think of is Darth Helmet from Space Balls.  I know, I know, I'm dating myself here. 

 A little family competition.

Max had just joined baseball before coming for a visit to Maine but he had the skills to pay the bills and hit some great ones.  The dog days of summer will be upon us soon...get out there and play!

Bigelow Labs Visit

 It was our last visit of the year from Bigelow Labs.  Ben Twining was back from his huge scientific voyage.  He updated the students on his trip and showed some of the equipment that the scientists used aboard their large lab at sea.

 Then it was off to gather some data of our own.

 We gathered water samples.

 Then we used the phytoplankton nets to gather some phyto and zooplankton samples to look at under the microscopes.

 Back to the classroom to check out our samples.

 We found all sorts of cool organisms.  Microscopes are such marvelous instruments.

 Nieces and nephews joined right in.

 Some old partnerships...

 and some new ones.

 Silly girls.

 At the end of the day, the kids gathered around to do a lesson on PH.  Our old pal, Jochen had cooked up a batch of red cabbage to use for the testing.  The kids had to smell it of course.

I think Seth might have thought is was going to blow, as he hid behind Cadin during the pouring of the vinegar, perhaps because of Ursula's baking soda/vinegar volcano that she demonstrated earlier this year?  A great time was had by all.  We are such science buffs out here!  Big thanks to Ben and Bigelow for coming all the way out to our tiny island.

Woods Capture the Flag

 Just a few highlights of our last Woods Capture the Flag.  It was great fun to have some extra kids along!  They fit in with Frenchboro School right away. 

"Good game.  Good game. Good game..."