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Uncategorized

Bottle Rockets! Outside Fun

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

One of the best things about living back on the East coast is the nice weather. It is January and right now my kids are running around outside in the dark with lights strapped to their foreheads having a blast. It’s not that cold out in January so we’re doing messy, outside fun things here still, like bottle rockets. This was a fun addition to our homeschool.

Bottle Rockets Science Experiment for kids - bottle on bench

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

This experiment was fun, and the excitement of not knowing how long it was going to take before the reaction happens and the bottle takes off into the sky. And boy do they take off!

What you need:

  • 2L pop bottles
  • vinegar
  • baking soda
  • paper towels
  • corks
  • launch pad
  • toilet paper – optional

Launch Pad Construction

Are you kids as crazy about Lego as mine? These are great for building a launch pad. You are going to need some to set your bottle rocket on, and letting your kids create a launch pad out of Lego is just another why to include learning… I love Lego, my kids are crazy about it.

Bottle Rockets - Lego launch pad
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How to Make a Bottle Rocket

This is easier than I expected. And a lot of fun.

I wish I had removed the label from our pop bottle so we could see the reaction better. Which my kids thought of while they continued to make their own bottle rockets.

Take a piece of paper towel, add some baking soda, and roll it up. Make sure that it will fit into the bottle opening, even if you have to push it in a bit.

Bottle Rockets - baking soda on paper towel

Try to keep it out of the vinegar.

Bottle Rockets - pushing paper towel into bottle

Push a cork in, only in a little or it won’t be able to pop out. This happened with our first attempt.

Bottle Rockets - wine cork in bottle

Flip the bottle over into/onto the launch pad.

Stand back and watch, it can take a minute, so while it seems like a long time, stay back so you don’t get hurt.

Bottle Rockets

Bottle Rocket

Yield: 1
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Active Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 7 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Estimated Cost: $5

Simple vinegar and baking soda can turn into a fun time with these bottle rockets.

Materials

  • vinegar
  • baking soda

Tools

  • 2L pop bottles
  • corks
  • launch pad
  • paper towel
  • toilet paper - optional

Instructions

  1. Take a piece of paper towel, add some baking soda, and roll it up. Make sure that it will fit into the bottle opening, even if you have to push it in a bit.
  2. Try to keep it out of the vinegar.
  3. Push a cork in, only in a little or it won't be able to pop out.
  4. Flip the bottle over into/onto the launch pad.
  5. Stand back and watch, it can take a minute, so while it seems like a long time, stay back so you don't get hurt.

Notes

Launch Pad:

Are you kids as crazy about Lego as mine? These are great for building a launch pad. You are going to need some to set your bottle rocket on, and letting your kids create a launch pad out of Lego is just another why to include learning... I love Lego, my kids are crazy about it.

© Ashley Mullen
Project Type: Science Experiment / Category: Experiments

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: science experiment

Let’s Focus on the Good Things in 2020

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

I am going to focus on the good things that happened in 2020 today with you. I hope that you can look back with me and focus on the good things too this holiday season. I am going to be happy that we are all healthy and able to, even if just a few of us, be together.

Focus on the Good

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

I know so many people are looking forward to 2021 like it is going to magical and all the problems of 2020 are just going to magically disappear. I hope they do, I really do hope that when the clock strike 12 that the pandemic is over. But I don’t see that happening.

The good things that happened this year for us:

This year we moved home to Nova Scotia…. we actually moved back to our old house that we had been renting out while away.

We got to spend the summer at the beach. The beach is my happy place, and after 8 years without, I couldn’t soak it up enough.

Blake and I got our first ever night without our kids! It was so strange!

We started raising chickens, turkeys, and quail. We learned so much this year about birds and all that goes into raising them. And it wasn’t just our kids who learned, we all did. We also started a new site to go along with this adventure, Little Red Acres, I will be working on it more in 2021.

Raising Chickens, turkeys, quail

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Filed Under: Uncategorized

Gift Ideas for Aspiring Artists

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

Do you have an aspiring artist on your shopping list this year? Here are some wonderful ideas to get you started on your shopping. We love to be creative in our home, each of my kids got art kits for Christmas a few years ago and they have been well loved and used.

Gift Ideas for Aspiring Artists

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

How Pick A Gift for Your Kids

When looking for art kit for your child make sure to look to the level of skill that it holds. Are there too many mediums to work with for your child and they are going to be overwhelmed by them?

Another big thing to look at is the size of the materials. Chunky pencils and markers are going to be for younger aspiring artists, while thinner, smaller ones for more refined fine motor skills.

Finding More for Aspiring Artists

Outschool has a great selection of online art and drawing classes for a variety of ages.

Curiosity Stream is a great source for learning about past artists, and art.

Gift Ideas for Aspiring Artists

Gifts to inspire young artists.

Sunnyglade 185 Pieces Double Sided Trifold Easel Art Set, Drawing Art Box with Oil Pastels, Crayons, Colored Pencils, Markers, Paint Brush, Watercolor Cakes, Sketch Pad

This great art set includes all types of coloring and drawing materials for artists of all ages - especially for any child who loves to doodle or wants to inspire and enjoy the joy of painting. Multiple tools equipped to meet all your drawing needs. Bright and colorful to inspire kids creative side.

Art 101 142-Piece Wood Art Set Amazon Exclusive

Includes 24 Premium Core Colored Pencils which color, shade, and blend beautifully. A variety of coloring and painting mediums, including crayons, oil pastels, and watercolors. Comes in a deluxe wooden carrying case with a drawer to easily organize your supplies.

Kids Art Set for Girls – 28 Piece Acrylic Painting Supplies Kit with Storage Bag, 12 Washable Paints, 1 Scratch Free Paint Easel, 6 Pre-Stenciled Canvases 8 x 10 inches, 5 Brushes, 10 Well Palette

28-Piece Kids Painting Set with Storage Bag has everything you need to create incredible masterpieces including: 6 Pre-Stenciled Castle, Unicorn, Butterfly and Flower Themed Canvases

US Art Supply 82 Piece Deluxe Art Creativity Set in Wooden Case, Wood Desk Easel and Bonus 20 Additional Pieces - Deluxe Art Set

Solid Solana Adjustable Wood Desktop Table Easel with Drawer. Wood Box Drawing Set Includes: 24 colored pencils, 24 oil pastels, 24 watercolor cakes, 3 Mixing trays, 2 drawing pencils, 2 paint brushes, sharpener, sanding block, eraser.

Make Your Own Comic Book – Comic Book Pages

Photo Credit: forgetfulmomma.com

Blank comic book pages can be used easily with all grade levels.

The Drawing Book for Kids: 365 Daily Things to Draw, Step by Step (Woo! Jr. Kids Activities Books)

The most comprehensive how to draw book for kids! This children's drawing book gives you 365 things to draw every day for an entire year - animals, objects, food, plants, vehicles, sports, holidays and more. Every mini drawing lesson is broken down into easy to follow step by step instructions, so that all budding artists can create a masterpiece.

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How to Draw Cute Stuff: Draw Anything and Everything in the Cutest Style Ever! (Volume 1)

Draw anything and everything—people, animals, and things—and make it CUTE. It’s easy! Budding artists just have to pick up their pencils, pens, crayons, or gel markers and follow these step-by-step how-to sequences.

The Beginner Art Book for Kids: Learn How to Draw, Paint, Sculpt, and More!

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365 Days of Art: A Creative Exercise for Every Day of the Year

365 Days of Art is an inspiring journal designed to help readers and budding artists nurture their creativity and explore their feelings through the medium of art. Featuring an activity for every day of the year, from simple tasks like drawing shapes and lines, to more mindful exercises like coloring-in, painting with primary colors, and drawing what you see.

MISULOVE Metallic Marker Pens, Set of 10 Colors Paint Markers for Black Paper, Rock Painting, Scrapbooking Crafts, Card Making, Ceramics, DIY Photo Album, Ceramic, Glass and More(Medium tip)

Great colors, Rich metallic color, metallic markers add an extra sleek sheen to homemade cards crafts and colorful art projects. set of 10

US Art Supply 133pc Deluxe Artist Painting Set with Aluminum and Wood Easels, Paint and Accessories

Lightweight Aluminum Field Easel with Adjustable Legs & Easy turn adjustable knobs for quick height & angle adjustments & Solana Adjustable Wood Desk Easel.

Castle Art Supplies 120 Colored Pencils Zip-Up Set perfect for Adults Artists | Smooth color cores and coloring pencils for blending & layering in a strong travel case

A selection of 120 premium colored vibrant pencils have fast become the ‘pencil of choice’ for thousands of artists and colorists who “love these” pencils and use them to create beautiful artwork in this popular, easy-to-use medium. 

Vigorfun Deluxe Art Set in Wooden Case, with Soft & Oil Pastels, Acrylic & Watercolor Paints, Water Color, Sketching, Charcoal & Colored Pencils, Watercolor Cakes and Tools (Wooden)

  • Exclusive deluxe drawing art kits for and intro art supplies for the beginner.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized

Eco-Friendly Homeschooling – How To

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

The older I get, and the more we move, the more minimalist I find myself becoming, and with that more eco-friendly I want to be. One area I am working on is eco-friendly homeschooling. Cutting down on waste and thinking about and teaching my kids about being more eco-friendly. Our homeschool is just one part of it.

3 Ways Your Homeschool can be More Eco-Friendly

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

Ways Your Homeschool can be More Eco-Friendly

Eco–friendly literally means earth-friendly or not harmful to the environment. Commonly referring to products that contribute to green living or practices that help conserve resources like water and energy.

How can you be more eco-friendly in your homeschool when you are have school work that needs to be done? Well, the easiest way would be to stay clear of paperwork, and focus on digital learning.

Digital Learning

One way to reduce your paper waste in your home, for schoolwork, is to move to digital learning. I don’t believe that all schoolwork can be done digitally, but a lot of it can be and it makes a huge difference in paper waste/usage.

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Replace Paper

Another way to reduce your paper waste is to provide materials that you can use in replace of paper that aren’t going to cause waste either.

One way we have reduced waste was using marker boards for math instead of paper for working out math problems.

Borrow, Don’t Buy

If you have read anything here are Forgetful Momma before you know we love our libraries. This is one way we have always been eco-friendly. We do not buy a lot of books here, and only those that we either borrow repeatedly, or I know are going to be re-read and re-used a lot.

This goes for curriculum as well. Look for curriculum you can borrow, rent, or buy used.

Grow Your Food, Reduce Plastic Waste

I know this is suppose to be about being eco-friendly in your homeschool, but this fits, I promise. Teaching your kids to grow their own food, gardening, will reduce your plastic waste.

Not only does gardening and growing your own food reduce waste, it teaches your children valuable life skills, and provides snacks.

How much do your kids eat during the day? I know my kids love eating, second breakfast is a real homeschool thing, having a garden full of fresh vegetables and fruits is never going to go to waste.

Why Do Your Want to have An Eco-Friendly Homeschool?

Why not? We have a lot of waste in our everyday life, waste that you can’t do much about, so why not help the environment in a way that is easy and you can include your kids in. Kids catch on so quickly, and in no time at all they can be helping you to be more eco-friendly.

Talking about ways to reduce your waste in your homeschool could be a great conversation to start with your kids on Earth Day. Let them think of ways you can make your homeschool more eco-friendly.

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Mini Unit Study on Arctic Animal

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

My kids love animals, I love animals so focusing on homeschool lessons around animals is easy and welcoming, and something I know we’re all going to enjoy doing. This one is focusing on Antarctic and Arctic animal. I think we have such an interest in the colder climate animals after living through cold Saskatchewan winters ourselves.

All About Arctic Animals

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

This is designed more for younger learners, say grades k-2. But the beauty of homeschooling is that you can use a resource for your kids that are older than the recommended ages just by changing simple things. Like the books you read.

This mini unit study includes a slideshow presentation in PowerPoint and Google Slides too.

I have included two different reading list from Amazon: one for early readers and one for more advanced readers, or older kids needing more information.

All About Arctic Animals – 11 Different Animals – Google Slide Presentation

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We did this fun Arctic Animals science experiment a few years ago for the first time and loved learning from it. There is a lot of build up with you are about to stick your hand into a bowl of icy water, even when you know you aren’t going to feel the cold.

There are a lot ways you can take this mini study in your homeschool as a way to start learning about animals.

Learn about:

  • Arctic Hare
  • Beluga Whale
  • Caribou
  • Moose
  • Penguin
  • Polar Bear
  • Seal
  • Walrus
  • Arctic Fox
  • Snowy Owl
  • Arctic Wolf
Arctic Animal Science Experiment

Arctic Animal Reading List

Arctic Animal Documentaries to Watch

Netflix

  • Night on Earth – Shot in the Dark
  • Hold the Dark

Amazon Prime

  • Antarctica: A Year on Ice
  • Wildest Antarctica
  • Explore the Arctic
  • Under an Arctic Sky
  • White Wolves
  • Wonders of the Arctic
  • Living with Polar Bears

Curiosity Stream

  • Polar Bears
  • Survival in the Ice Kingdom: Polar Bears
  • Penguin Central
Arctic Animals

More Movies & TV Shows for You to Check Out

Netflix

  • Happy Feet (Cartoon)

Amazon Prime

  • Inui

Arctic Animal TV Series to Watch

  • 72 of the Cutest Animals – Episodes 10 & 11
  • Doctor Oakley – Yukon Vet
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A Little About Me

I'm Ashley, a Canadian secular homeschool mom of 3, living in Nova Scotia.

I share our adventures in homeschooling and parenting.

You can usually find us at the library surrounded by books.
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