Oreo cookie phases of the moon

Today we made the phases of the moon using Oreo cookies. Similar to this, except we took the top off of each of them and carved the creamy filling to make the shape we wanted. We choose the Double Stuffs because a) they are easier to take to top off of and b) I appreciate the filling to cookie ratio of the Double Stuff.

I don't have any pictures because by the time I got back with my camera the cookies were being eaten.

As one of my 9-yr-olds said, "Who knew science could be so delicious?"

Burning Peanut M&Ms

Did you know that if you focus the light of a magnifying glass on a peanut M&M it will first sweat, then blister and finally catch on fire? Did you know that the flames will be 2 inches high? I didn't know that either. But I wanted to share with you.

We've been studying astronomy in science and are learning about the sun. So to show the strength of the sun's rays, we took our magnifying lenses outside. We burned the M&Ms, dry grass, bark chips and melted some nasty gum that had been squished on the sidewalk for a few months.  One of my sons would like us to cook this way for the next week.  I told him we'd try s'mores, but that's as much as I'm willing to commit!

Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus: The Earth Is a Planet
This was a lovely little book about Copernicus.  The illustrations were colorful and done in an "old-fashioned" style which made the book feel authentic.  The information was interesting and easy for the kids to understand while still explaining clearly what he thought and discovered.

I thought it sufficient for the elementary grades.  My fourth-grade boys really enjoyed it, but I almost wished it had been a little longer and more detailed for them.  Almost.  Any older and you'd probably need a different book.

There are not many children's books on Nicolaus Copernicus.  Fortunately, this is a great one.  Highly recommended for your study of the middle ages or astronomy.