Showing posts with label 2011-2012 School Year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2011-2012 School Year. Show all posts

Friday, October 21, 2011

Giraffe Test


There are 4 questions. Don't miss any of them!

1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?


Stop and think about it and decide on your answer before you scroll down.
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.


2 How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
Did you say, Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator? Wrong Answer.


Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant, and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.


3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend....except one. Which animal does not attend?
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory.


Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.


4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
↓
Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across.


Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting! This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.


According to Anderson Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong, but many preschoolers got several correct answers. Anderson Consulting says this conclusively proves the theory that most professionals do not have the brains of a four-year-old.


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Puzzles

This year I am trying to incorporate puzzles into our school routine. Puzzles not only give the picklets a little down time, it helps with their spacial skills, cognitive skills, analytical skills, problem solving skills and reasoning skills. And even more than that, puzzles help with imagination, patterning and thinking outside the box. And of course there is that boost of confidence when a puzzle is finished. Depending on the puzzles you get, your kids can appreciate art, learn geography, history, science and the layout of the ocean bed a million years ago. Puzzles rock and are going to be a BIG part of our school year.

For the beginning of our school year I got two puzzles out that the picklets needed to work on. One easy, one harder.

Ocean Critters teaches about life at the bottom of the sea. The picklets both picked it off in less than an hour. This was the easy one.
Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

The other puzzle I picked is called Lost Art Michelangelo. I picked it up at Goodwill. It only cost me 88cents. There was a reason it was so cheap.
Photobucket

The picklets (and their parents) have been working on this for quite some time on and off.
Photobucket

There are about a zillion different possibilities but only one solution.
Photobucket

We are all pulling our hair out trying to figure out that one solution. The picklets even got grandma involved. She enjoys the challenge...go figure.
Photobucket

Since we have all worked hours on it I decided to get the solution from the box. Here is what is said:
Stuck? For the solution, send a stamped self addressed envelope to University Games, Lost Art Solution...
Yep. You have to send away for the answer.

Being as this is the 21st century, I googled University Games and contacted them via phone to see if they could email me the solution. The lady on the phone had never heard of this puzzle. She took my name and number so she could call me back after researching it. Lo and behold, by the end of the day I had a phone call telling me they hadn't carried that puzzle in years and no longer have the solution.

So, I googled the person who "invented" the puzzle and actually found a phone number. So, I called and he, himself answered the phone! I told him what I was looking for and he said he would email me the answer key. I received it later that afternoon.

I have yet to reveal to the picklets that I actually have the solution. I am not sure when or even if I am going to let them know. Who knows, I might just study the solution, sit down next to one of the picklets while they are working on the puzzle and put it together like it's nothing. That would show 'em.

(c) 2008-2011 Wicked Pickles-Homefrontlines

Monday, September 12, 2011

A Tour of the School Closet

By nature I am an unorganized person.  But lately I have been in an organizing mode. This is not by choice mind you. The picklebarrel is in need of a major overhaul so I am forced. The first of my projects was our school closet. It was to the point that we would open the door and pray that nothing would fall out on us. Getting it shut again took an act of congress. And with school starting it was a necessity to be sure everything has a place and there is a place for everything.  It is a nice way to start off the year!  =D

I did not take before pictures.  I am sure it would have broke the lens of my camera.  It was THAT BAD!
Looking in the closet.  Grammar posters are hung on the door making for easy reference if needed.
Photobucket

The boxes and drawers are full of craft items, glue, markers, clipboards etc.
Photobucket

Is this too organized?
Photobucket

Photobucket

The green lidded boxes are the picklets individual boxes. I had better never hear I can't find scissors or a stapler or sticky notes again. They also have picked out the pencils they want to use and keep them in the box too.
Photobucket

When you look in the closet to the left we keep educational games and puzzles. These are free for the picklets to play anytime. Into the Forest is one of the favorites so far this school year.  Of course River Crossing, Rush Hour and HiQ are favorites of the picklets as well.  When the US puzzles are finished they will modpod them for the walls.  One shows the US at night and one shows the states and capitals.
Photobucket

Up above the games we keep loose leaf paper, composition books and spirals. The paper was only a penny so we have a lot of it. I know it will get used though.
Photobucket

To the right of that I have our box of paint holding the notebooks up and plaster of paris is to the right of the paint. On the top shelf we have our three ring binders and file folders for lapbooks.
Photobucket

The shelves on the lower right hand side contain baskets with our science equipment, staplers, stampers, math items, chalk, and scrap paper.   We also have dominoes and figure logic.  The floor has their lap desks (for couch work) and a big popcorn tin of crayons.
Photobucket

It is so nice to know where everything is. The picklets can find what they need and as long as I am on top of making sure the items are put away, we know where they are next time too.

Yes, by nature I am an unorganized person but I think I can learn to like knowing where everything is.  ;)

Friday, September 9, 2011

Air Show

Being a member of CAP, Chip has had some terrific opportunities available to him.  One of them was security detail at the airshow a couple weekends ago.  He spent two long days walking the perimeter, policing the area and keeping people back behind the line.  He left home at 5am and didn't get home until 10pm.  He was tired, oh so very tired, but loved every minute of it.  We attended the airshow the 2nd day. 

It was pretty cool to walk in and see my eldest standing guard. Though the fact that he really looked like a soldier was sobering. The bus he is standing in front of has a jet engine and went down the runway at over 300 MPH.
Photobucket

We got a front row seat and saw some pretty cool planes and tricks.

Seeing the planes up high was much easier when they would put on their smoke.
Photobucket

This plane dropped parachuters. Those parachuters had red smoke but I didn't get a picture of them. :/
Photobucket

It was a cloudy-ish day but made for great silhouette pictures when the sun tried to pop out. Actually the sun fully came out about the time the show was over.
Photobucket

The University of Iowa engineering department has a trainer plane. They did a mock mission that was pretty cool.
Photobucket

Throughout the day we would catch a glimpse of Chip. He hated the fact that I took pictures of him. What he doesn't understand is I am proud of him.
Photobucket

Dill tolerated the obligatory picture.
Photobucket

And I love this picture of my oldest and my youngest. I have no idea what they are looking at since the airshow was in back of them. Notice the caution tape between the two.
Photobucket

The highlight of the day was being able to see USAF Thunderbirds.
Photobucket

Cool was psyched! His dream in life is to see either the Blue Angels or The Thunderbirds, preferable both. One down, one to go!
It was spectacular.
Photobucket

Of course, I am sure he was wishing he was a cadet in CAP because Chip was fortunate enough to not only meet The Thunderbirds, but got to see the planes and talk with the mechanics. Poor Cool had to go home while Chip got to have all the fun!
Photobucket

It was a great weekend, a great show, a great learning experience and something I am sure Chip (and the other picklets) will NEVER forget.

If you are interested in seeing a Thunderbird show, here is a great video, taken in Boston, from start to finish and is very good quality.




(c) 2008-2011 Wicked Pickles-Homefrontlines

Monday, September 5, 2011

Experimental Outside Cooking

We had a hot streak that lasted about a month this summer.  It was humid and in the 90's everyday.  There was no rain to speak of.  The thermometer would show the temperature being in the 80's at 3 am each morning.  It was hot.  It was miserable.  But it gave Sweet the reason to do some outside "cooking".

Car cookies were a given.  She made dough and put some in the back window of the car with a thermometer.
Photobucket

She checked it each hour to see how hot the car was.  Oven like is what we were hoping for.
Photobucket

It was looking good and then...
Photobucket

The thermometer broke.  There were little pieces of glass and red liquid on our cookies.  UGH! 
Sweet also decided to see if she could bake an egg in the back window.
Photobucket

And why not try to cook an egg on the sidewalk and make some toast too?
Photobucket

The cookies turned out good enough to eat with the exception that a thermometer exploded all over them leaving remnants of glass and red liquid as a topping. We did break them open to see their gooeyness.
Photobucket

The other results have been put on video because a still picture didn't do it justice.

This is the baked egg from the back window of the car.


This is the egg that was cooked on the sidewalk.


We found it interesting that the white didn't turn white. It just sort of dried up.

Here is the toast.


What you didn't see in the video is that Sweet spit out her bite after I turned the camera off. She said it was horrible. It sounded like toast but that is as far as it went.

It was a good day of experimenting even though the final products were not what we had wanted. The left over cookie dough in the fridge was just the thing she needed to end of the day!

(c) 2008-2011 Wicked Pickles-Homefrontlines

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Philosophy

Today we are going to explore philosophy a bit with a guest speaker.  This individual has "schooled" all of us on life through out the years.  He is a great role model to us all.  Please welcome Mr. Charles Schulz, the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip, and his views on philosophy.  I encourage each and everyone of you to read these words, think about them and how true to life they really are.   Mr. Schulz....
You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just ponder on them.
  • 1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
  • 2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
  • 3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
  • 4 Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
  • 5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
  • 6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.
How did you do?   Hmmmm.....The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.  These are no second-rate achievers.  They are the best in their fields.  But the applause dies...Awards tarnish...Achievements are forgotten.  Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?

The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money...or the most awards.
They simply are the ones who care the most!

'Don't worry about the world coming to an end today.
It's already tomorrow in Australia !'

 ''Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is Taken!"
(I don't know if Charles Schulz really wrote this...I don't really care...it makes an impact that that is what matters)

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

"These Colors Run"

Different versions of these have been been showing up on pintrest and various blogs for the last few days. It seems to be the latest thing in homemade art. I of course, was intrigued. I had new crayons. I had foam board. I had hot glue. And I had a hair dryer. I had to try it. =D
Photobucket
The original plan was for Dill and Sweet to work together and make a print for my livingroom.  I thought it would be a great first of the year art project.  And indeed it was a great project but as they were picking out crayons Dill thought it would be great to make one for Gaga's birthday instead. Now, how could I say, "No, you can't make one for your 91 year old great-grandmother." So I, being the unselfish person that I am said,  "GREAT IDEA!" (I hit the dissapointment...lol)

The picklets knew that Gaga wouldn't want a huge picture to hang.  In fact they weren't sure if she would actually hang it up at all but that didn't stop them.  They planned, measured and cut a peice of foam board to a size they though was just perfect for Gaga.
Photobucket


















They played around with the crayons, moving them around until they thought the light to dark ratio looked good.  They then played around with whether the crayons should be glued straight across or in a design.  They opted for the swag window vallence design.
Photobucket














It was very pleasing to the eye...at first.

Once the heat of the hair dryer started melted the wax we found it wasn't so pretty.  The wax started splattering across the room.  We had crayon wax on our hands, our shirts and in our hair.
Photobucket














Plus it all melted together and created not so nice colors. 
Photobucket


















We concluded there were two reasons it turned out looking the way it did.  The first being we mixed the colors up instead of keeping like colors together and the second being the swag design.  There wasn't any barrier when the heated air melted the wax.  So, the picklets tried again.  This time they hot glued the crayons, "CRAYON" side up keeping the colors in the same color groups.
Photobucket














And when the colors started melting, they melted in streams, keeping the colors bright and vibrant.
Photobucket














It turned out gorgeous!
Photobucket


















On the back the picklets wrote "Happy 91st Birthday Gaga.  This is an original piece of art created just for you called 'These Colors Run'  Love, Sweet and Dill."  They wrapped it up and took it to Gaga's 91st birthday party. 
Photobucket


















She opened it and really liked it.  In fact, everyone at the table liked it.  They liked it so much that I think there might be a crayon print  making factory in the picklets future.
Photobucket




















(c) 2008-2011 Wicked Pickles-Homefront Lines