Explorations with Professor Ana Lyze, Expert in Outlandish Oddities
Quicksand
2010 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC
$6.95 per eBook
for all ages: Elementary, Middle and High School
Available at The Old Schoolhouse Store
Join Professor Ana Lyze, expert in outlandish oddities, as she explains the wonders of Quicksand and it’s amazing Non-Newtonian properties. In this wonderful eBook from The Old Schoolhouse Store you will learn what Quicksand is, how to escape it, what not to do to escape it and much more. Professor Ana Lyze covers the facts of Quicksand and also provides biblical reference for Quicksand in our Christian lives. This eBook is full of wonderful information and fun activities, as well as including lessons for spelling, vocabulary, writing and even math for both Elementary and High School levels. The fun lab experiments are easily done at home with very little preparation and are memorable enough to last a lifetime.
This particular file took us a week to complete, though it could be done in only a few days or stretched to two weeks depending upon your preference. We began with reading through Everything You Never Wanted to Know about Quicksand, learning what Quicksand is made of and how it creates a suction to keep you stuck. The information is written to keep your attention as a child or adult without becoming overly boring. Each reading portion leads to more questions that are answered quickly with the next section of reading. At the end of the section are review questions, perfect for all ages.
The section called In The Beginning relates Quicksand to the bible and our everyday lives. This went well with other lessons we have been doing in our homeschooling. This lesson talks of building your life on the Rock, instead of in the Sand for a stronger connection to God. It continued to drive our current message of a strong faith and strong life, over that of the easily damaged one.
Included in The Curiosity Files are many related educational activities to further expand on the topic at hand. Math is handled by relating measuring, drawings, sinking rates and more. Spelling and vocabulary are kept on the appropriate levels for age, allowing challenge but not too much for the younger set. The writing portion is both challenging and fun, providing a thought provoking topic and including a very helpful guideline to follow as you write. The provided copywork comes in many printable formats to choose from, once again ready for any age to use. There is even an included Geography exercise in this file! Some of the activities are relatively easy to do, while others are more challenging requiring more skill to complete. All the activities are fun and leave you with a feeling of wanting to do more.
The experiments range in activity from Art to Physics. We particularly enjoyed making Edible Quicksand and our own Quicksand Goo. It was interesting to compare Quicksand we have encountered at the Beach with that we made at home. We realized that they were not extremely different in seperation and suction, though real Quicksand is grainy in texture and not really gooey at all.
The kids and I really enjoyed The Curiosity Files lesson on Quicksand. We look forward to learning more from other Files in the series from Professor Ana Lyze which can also be found in The Old Schoolhouse Store. You can get single eBooks from the series from $6.95 and up or the 9 pack bundle for $46. Check out The Curiosity Files today!
