EEeek!

Has it really been a month since my last blog. Whoops! I guess that means I have been busy. In school, David and Jessica have entered what I call science fair season. I must admit that in years past, I hate this time of year. Their entire schoolwork seems to be focused on this science project. I must admit, this year is much better. I am sure that is because Jessica is able to work on her project independatnly. She has decided to test if the height you dive into the water makes a difference in the amount of time it take to swim 25 meters. A few weeks ago she completed the trials and sure enough, the higher you dive, the faster the time. Hence for all you competitive swimmers, choose the diving blocks that sit highest from the water's edge. Did you know that for the olympics there are specific parameters for the dive blocks? They must be a certain height from the surface of the water and at a specific pitch! Interesting info eh?

David has selected to test which insulator, rock, air, or home insulation works best in a solar oven. He searched online for a solar oven made from cardboard boxes. I was prepared to obtain the supplies for him so he could make his oven. However, he had a different plan in mind. With Dave's guidance, he designed an oven made from a 5 gallon plastic bucket. This photo shows the rock insulation on the left and the control oven on the right. David made these ovens all by himself! Dave was simply guiding him! How nice it is to have a scientific, creative, husband that is able to help David with this project. This year has been much better and I must say enjoyable. It does help that the teachers started the kids early in the year and broke the assignments down into simple steps. Shall I say that his experiments show that air was the best insulator. Interesting eh?

Now the kids get to write their abstracts, papers and design their presentation boards. I am sure that when Jessica and David finish, it will be time for Kierstin to start her project and we will start all over again!