The 7th graders did a cool experiment today. Or, at least, I thought it was cool. We've been studying earthquakes in science, and only briefly touched on earthquake resistant buildings. So I found a lab that had students build an earthquake resistant structure out of toothpicks and marshmallows. To test them for earthquake resistance, you put them on a layer of jello and jiggle it around. Then they can assess, redesign, and retest. Last night I made some jello in a 9x13 pan and I actually remembered to bring it to school today! The 7th graders seemed to have a good time. One kid made an almost circular building on the first try (it didn't move around at all). I limited their building resources, and that was the trickiest part for most of them. "I just need one more toothpick!" Yep, not happening. Still, they each got to try two or three different designs.
We got a little off topic today in American History. Last time, we talked about slavery and the Underground Railroad, but didn't have a chance to listen to the song "Follow the Drinking Gourd", which is a song they'd sing to give instructions on how to escape to freedom. I was going to have them listen to that song and then switch to a new topic, but the website that had the song on it also had information about quilts and the secret messages they held. And along with that was an interactive "game" where you could design your own quilt. So we did! I drew sticks and they'd come up and pick a color and a shape to put in the square... and then they discovered they could layer them to get even more patterns... so we did that for the rest of the time. Our block turned out really cool! We put a cross in the middle and called it "A New Beginning".
And now it's time for me to go home! I have bible study tonight and lots of writing planned... and a plan to take it easy and go to bed early. Only two more days left this week! For whatever reason (probably cause I haven't been feeling well), this week has been dragging on and on and on...
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