Crystal garden

 Not a very good picture but as you can see our crystals are growing albeit not on the top of the seed but on the sides.

 Today we started another type of crystals. We used charcoal to grow the crystals on.

 The solution we made up of 2Tbs of salt,bluing agent, ammonium and water.

 Ds said the fumes were horrible! To add variety f colour and to make the crystals more visible we placed different food coloring on the charcoal before adding the solution to it.

Above is the result after a week. We think they look very pretty.Below in the right of the reflection you can see what was once the Home for the Destitute in Adelaide. The building might look very picturesque now but the conditions inside when it was functioning were incredibly harsh.We were privileged today to see a play  at the Migration museum that was based on the stories of the people who were forced to live there.

Warrawong

 We obviously hadn't done enough or had enough of nature because after lunch we took our leave of our friends and headed to Warrawong. We decided to listen to the keepers talk.I remember when we looked after friends of ours spiney leaf insects and the male died. We were very concerned at having to tell our friend as they had chosen special names for their pets and obviously loved them(well as much as affection can be given to insects!)We needn't have worried because on their return our friends assured us this was the norm for this species ad they had been expectin it to happen any day.

native green tree frog

 We learned that truck drivers are given miniature aquariums so should they find they have carried one of these little creatures from their natural habitat on a bunch of bananas they can safely return it on their next trip. Supermarkets have also been given aquariums to do the same. So that species which are endangered and others that may become pests can be returned from wence they came!

stump lizard

murray carpet python

red kangaroo

 We learned from some British tourists that there are now wild wallabies in parts of England. They said they seem to have adapted fine to their colder environment. Interesting we think we are the ones with "intruders"!

native  wood ducks

help us identify this one ?

2nd koala of the day!

a great day!

Waratah Adventurers Again: Worabinda Wetlands, Stirling

 Today we went to the Worabinda Wetlands, Stirling. It is mazing that all the times i have diven to and through Stirling I never knew this wetlands existed!

 Toda the group was composed of only boys. And what are the boys doing in the above picture...Looking out of a bird hide of course!

 We had a map and particular points to stop at and note things. We were also very lucky to have our own personal conservationist along to add even more information, thank you Mandy!

 One of the stopping points.

 An intersting specimen.

 Look what we spied asleep up a very high tree!!

 Looking back  across to the bird hide.

 A little bird discussion

 Further investigations...

 ...because I just liked the look of it...

Yeh a bird!

Artist Study: Marc Chagall: Journey on the Clouds

We are starting a study of the artist Marc Chagall.Marc Chagall was born in Vitebsk, Belorussia, Russian Empire [now in Belarus] in 1887 - the oldest of nine children. His father worked in a herring factory and his mother sold spices and herring out of a small shop in their home. As a child he studied drawing and painting and in 1910 he went to Paris and became an artist. Chagall often painted dreamlike scenes and many of the pictures he painted include memories from his childhood. In addition to paintings, Marc created stage sets, stained glass, murals and costumes, as well as illustrations for children's' books.

We read this book which is based on the artists life and the boys are attempting a surrealist project of their own.

Growing Crystals

 Ds has been wanting to do some crystal growing for ages. He is wanting to use this experience to complete his scientist badge before he goes up to scouts(no pressure!)

 after carefully reading the instructions

 He opened the packet of ingredients!

 This is what we got.

 He had to use boiling water with the sachet.

Here is the result. Now we wait for  something to happen.
Note to all homeschooling crystal growers:Please share  links to pictures of your crystal growing experiences in  your homeschooling. We are keen to try different crystals. One really cool looking crystals requires allum. Where can I get this, any ideas?

Layers of soil and masterly inactivity

Ds worked on this soil layering activity this afternoon.I love the dinosaur skeleton he added to the outside of the jar!
I came out to find the completed results residing amongst our nature study table exhibits, which I think is a pretty good fit!

Ants and aphids

This post is courtesy of my non bug loving son because"...well...you've got to admit its pretty fascinating!!"

The Jungle Book Part Two

 As I mentioned in an earlier post. Ds has had to prepare a Jungle Book theme diorama.Above you can see some of the trees.

 The next step was to attach the cave(having first removed the balloon of course!)

 Some of the trees were less stable than others9note: make sure you have attached planty of paper mache to your foil!)

 Blue tac was applied to the base of each tree.

 Next the trees were added to the shoe-box

 again this required a lot of patience!!

 Ds decided to add some vines to make it a very jungly diorama. The ones we used were rafia.

 Here is the jungle prior to adding the animals.

 Add the animals.

The completed diorama. Can you tell what scene from the book is taking place?