Charles Darwin

Three years ago, my sons were fortunate to be cast in a National Geographic / Nova production called Darwin's Darkest Hour.  They played the two youngest sons of the famed biologist Charles Darwin.  It was my youngest boy's first time on set and he has fabulous memories of working with the cast, his favorite being Joe the dog!

Today as we eat our lunch, we are watching the film for educational value and nostalgia.

The film chronicles the difficulties faced by Charles Darwin as he comes ever closer to uncovering his theory of Natural Selection, which is in sharp conflict to his wife Emma's strong Christian viewpoint.  It demonstrates the conflict that Dawin experiences and the fondness he had for his wife and children; and the affect they had on this pillar of scientific history.

Watch Darwin's Darkest Hour on PBS. See more from NOVA.

Chemistry Fun!

As we prepare to begin a chemistry program I thought it would be a good idea for my boys to get a sense of what exactly the Elements are.  We've had periodic tables around the house in various forms forever.  But really what exactly are elements?  Enter:  Periodic Table Videos!  At first glance this is website has just a periodic table on it, but each of the elements has a clickable link to a youtube video produced by the University of Nottingham in England.

These videos are presented by the most likeable and entertaining geeks on YouTube.  We kids are a big fan of Pete...and his outakes on fun with hydrogen balloons.  You really must check these out!

We've been using these in conjunction with the Basher Book of the Periodic Table.

You'll have to click this link, for some reason the image links aren't functional on the blog.

This Blog Is For Women

For a long time people have told me that I should write about parenting.  I put them off, saying that I didn't think people would be interested in reading what I had to say.

Recently, I decided to take their advice and I started a blog.  Easier than writing a book, for sure!

Well, it seems from the viewer-ship I've been getting that people do indeed want to read my ideas about family and relationships.  Here's a recent comment one of my readers has posted:

Susan Steadman, RN, BSN | February 22, 2012 at 10:46 am

I have never seen so much good, old-fashioned, common sense in one place…..well, since my parents raised me. Your insight into what to do illuminates what is wrong for so many families; they just don’t know what to do!

….I hope they’ll listen to YOU!!

 If you'd like to check it out, here's the link. http://thisblogisforwomen.com

Star Gazing

Winter is a great time for star gazing.  It might be a little chilly, but you also don't have to stay up as late.  With longer nights we have more chance to see the stars in the night sky. 

If you're forturnate enough to live a little distance from a city you'll have a view of thousands of stellar objects and even a few planets!

This week we visited our local planetarium and heard a guest lecturer speak about the constellations and asterisms in the winter sky. 

We learned how to navigate by the winter hexagon to find the 6 corner stars: Capella, Aldearan, Rigel, Sirius, Procyon and the twins Castor and Pollux.  Within this figure can be found Taurus, Orion, Canis Major, Canis Minor and Gemini. 

We learned the mythology of the twins Pollux and Castor, one mortal one immortal: both together in the night sky for all eternity.  We chuckled at The Harry Potter References of Sirius (and the dog stars) and Bellatrix (LeStrange.)    

If you don't have a planetarium in your area, you can still find your way around the night sky with the help of a sky map.

Interesting thing to note: Homeschool outing are often great Date Night ideas!

For more information about the astronomy scene in your area visit the Royal Astronomical Society website. 

Sewing with Kids

Sewing with kids is lots of fun.  Sometimes they can find it frustrating when the project is too challenging. 

Stitching pals out of fleece has become somewhat of an obsession around our house.  If you stopped by to visit you'd see for yourself! 

This cute little Shamrock, Sheldon, was designed by my eldest boy. (He's named after his favorite character from The Big Bang Theory!) The project uses basic sewing technique and even my 8-year old had success with it.

Because we believe in cross-curricular studies, I enouraged my son to blog about his sewing.  And now he's even taken it a step farther and published his patterns for sale online. It's never too early to stasrt being an Entrepreneur.


Check out his blog and his online shop!

Paper Snow Balls

We always find ourselves hibernating in winter.  And with spending time indoors comes craft time!

We found this paper ball online and just HAD to make our own.  They took a little time and were a bit fiddly at first, but they turned out great!

There's a video that shows how it's done.
Check it out!