Unit of Inquiry: Inside The Earth

We spent the past week learning about what's inside the Earth.  The really cool part is that the light rail is coming through our "backyard", and the city has to relocate some of the utilities that are located under the street.  This gave us a first hand look at the first layers of the Earths crust.  Super cool!

We read some really good books.

And we made a volcano.  This wasn't so much a lesson about what's inside the Earth, as it was a chemistry lesson, but the kids had a blast anyway.  This led to about and hour and a half of the kids making "potions" out of liquids, spices, and powders in the kitchen.  Millie discovered that baking soda mixed with lime juice creates a lot of fizz.

Here's the recipe I used for the volcano:

Ingredients -
6 cups flour
2 cups salt
4 Tbs oil
Warm water
Liquid dish soap
Red food coloring
3 Tbs baking soda
Vinegar

You'll also need -

Soda bottle (20ish oz bottle)
Baking tray with sides
A funnel

Here's what you do -
Mix the flour, salt, and oil together in a large bowl.  Once it's combined, smear it onto the bottle, and make it look like a volcano.  Make sure none of the mixture gets into the bottle.  Once you're done with that, use the funnel to add warm water to the bottle (fill it half full - about 1.5 cups).  Squirt a little dish soap in (don't overdo it), and 10+ drops of red food coloring.  Now for the fun part!  Add the baking soda, and pour in the vinegar.  The reaction happens quickly, so make sure everyone is ready when you pour it in.

Have fun!

And...Just because she's cute, here's Elise at the gym: