Day 331 – Sometimes homework is fun!
Sunday 27th November 2011.
Sometimes, just sometimes, homework is exciting enough to get Thila motivated enough to do it without cajoling, pressure, begging or pure threatening on the part of her parents (I know, not necessarily the best strategies but this girl just does not get it!! and sometimes nor do her parents!). Usually the enthusiasm comes when homework involves something artistic, and is almost always an optional part of her package. Clearly showing that she hasn’t grasped the differing concepts of optional and compulsory!
However this weekend, it was lovely to see Father and Daughter work together so well over the challenge of building a volcano that can be used for an eruption in class this week. Two nights were dedicated to cutting, plastering and painting, shown here in photographs as the volcano was built…..
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display dressing gloves have many uses!
newspaper and cardboard are essential in the building process!
mesh and plaster of paris need to be purchased in advance, and a strong base of cardboard with an edge is necessary
it is all built around a plastic water bottle, which can be removed via a hole underneath
make sure the table is covered in plastic, this is messy!
Leave to dry overnight, and then add houses, lakes, etc and paint……… viola, the final version ready to “explode’ in class!!
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the volcano
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Additional references for technical support
the chemistry behind the explosion -> Make Your Own Exploding Volcano.
and this is the original youtube clip on how to build a volcano…..
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ps. I hear a Menthos dropped in a bottle of Coke has a pretty spectacular effect too. I dread to think what goes on in my stomach when I mix the two on long journeys in the car!!
Apart from the ‘plastic of paris’ which should have been ‘plaster of paris’ a pretty accurate description of how it’s all done 🙂
oops! trust my right hand Man and spell check expert to pick that one up!! May’be I was dreaming of plastic surgery and face lifts -> who knows!! x
This is such a great vulcano and just the kind of assignment daddy likes … 😉
Daddy indeed liked this assignment, a shame Thila wouldn’t let me ‘test-run’ the erruption, that privilege she kept for her favourite teacher Mr Moore..