Self-initiated Activities

I had bought these books containing science experiments and activities for homeschoolers, but have never been really able to do much of them due to our filled schedule with OHVA lessons. With OHVA lessons coming to a close, alhamdulillah, those books are getting a breath of fresh air.

H has been conducting his own experiments, as evident from the frequent surprises I get when I open my freezer. Unfortunately I have had to chuck his experiments of frozen mud, snow balls, and what not to make more space for the chicken and meat.

He was the first to be done with his OHVA lessons, so he was the first to be' 'let out' of 'school' so to speak. He came to me one day with an empty soda bottle, and asked what to mix together to make the bottle cap pop open.

"Baking soda and vinegar," I said.

"Oh...I have some books on science experiments you can read," I added, as I remembered those books sitting dormantly in the metal cabinets.

"Yeah!" H exclaimed in glee.

I never thought I would actually make use of those books. Throughout the years, I have eyed them, flipped through them, only to put them back in the cabinets, and proceed to finish up their school lesson plans. Finally, after all these years, I'm able to hand them to the kids, and give those pages some breathing room.

Before long, all three were up to something, and before I knew it, they had tried out several experiments from the books.

"Look Ummi, we made play clay!"

A hotdog, a long sandwich, a burger and a normal loafbread sandwich!

I had noticed my saucepan sitting on the kitchen table, covered with a quilted cloth. When I peeked inside, I only saw green water. I left it alone though. What they showed me was a green blob of clay they had made all by themselves by following the instructions from the book. Voila! Self-initiated activities! No work on my part! Is this great or is this great?

H made a Y boomerang, and N tried out a blind spot experiment, which she claimed was a 'lie' after all. The kids are really artists with clay, especially N and S. They had created a living jungle, complete with trees, food, a garden, all from clay. Even I don't have that dexterity or skill to mold such things from clay. Alhamdulillah their creativity has not been inhibited, like mine.

H and N are in a ceramics class, and recently, N gave me a 'Daisy Bowl' which she had made especially for me. H gave me a vase, in which he put some blossoms from one of those trees I am also oohh and aahing over.


H's vase for Ummi from the ceramics class

Now, S has also finished her OHVA lessons, except for a few more of History, and she has one more test in the series of Ohio Achievement Tests, whereas N has two tests next week, and is at present finishing up her math, literature and composition inshaallah.