The Joy of a Cheap Science Kit

A week or so ago, I bought a Newton's Apple science kit (put out by Wild Goose) at a thrift store for a few dollars. I brought it out today, and Kenzie was intrigued. He was especially fond of mixing acetic acid (vinegar) and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) as many times as he could. Amazingly, we'd never done that experiment before.

It was a cheap kit, but he enjoyed it thoroughly. The balloon car, the string and cup phone, the electromagnet, the fingerprint dusting - all of it. He was especially thrilled to own a test tube (plastic). Looks like I need to buy up a few real supplies from eBay. On a side note, I've been waiting to find a Magiscope for cheap, but after four years, I don't think it's going to happen. Maybe I should just bite the bullet....

Kenzie decided to pretend to be deaf, and then blind, today. We discussed sign language (we know a few random signs, and I can fingerspell), reading lips, and Braille (we have a Braille alphabet card that's quite cool. You can order one for free here or here).

Right now, he's listening to Eragon on tape. He's had the book for ages, but it must have seemed a bit daunting. Though he's read most of the Harry Potter series (he's on book 5), Eragon has been sitting on the shelf. But, when we found the book on tape at the library this morning, he grabbed it as quickly as he grabbed up several of Jeff Smith's Bone books. He's been in the bedroom with the door closed, holding his stuffed dragon, and listening for hours. An aside: The author of Eragon, Christopher Paolini, was a 15-year-old homeschooler when he began writing the book. You can listen to an interview with him (in which he discusses the book and his homeschooling) here.