Ants in my pants and smells in my kitchen

Miles made an odd request out of the blue a couple of weeks ago. He would like an art farm. I looked on line and asked on lists for recommendations. No replies. Well, fate works in a mysterious way and as luck would have it I wandered past a charity shop the other day and in the window noticed a brand new ant farm still in it's wrapping! I couldn't believe my luck. It only cost £1.50.

Craig and Miles set it up today and we have placed it in an empty shaded shelf.



The farm only cost £1.50 but the ants I have ordered cost £5! We are all now eagerly awaiting their arrival but I have to say I am worried in case they escape. Cats, rabbits, hens and gerbils are one thing - but ants loose in the house, no way!!!

Hermione finished reading Wuthering Heights late last week so we will be working on that a bit over the next few days. I have to say, I didn't set out with the intention of using it for character study, but it is perfect! I had forgotten just how extreme and 'real' many of the characters are. It also illustrates the 'narrator' concept well with there being two distinct narrators. Throw in the strong theme of destruction, enhanced with lots of nature imagery and I think we'll have gone as far as I wish to with that one for now *grin*.

In addition to Wuthering Heights we are looking at eggs and all things eggy this week. There are lots of bargains to be had here this week and I picked up a unit study about eggs for 50p. It's great as it will appeal to both Hermione and Miles.

I'm padding the study out with lots of kitchen science about eggs - to include finding out how strong egg shells are, how to dissolve an egg shell, how to make a bouncy egg, sucking eggs into bottles and how to tell if it is boiled or not (without cracking it).

We have made a start by placing two hard boiled eggs (one dyed with coffee, one with beetroot) into a glass with white vinegar. Can you see the bubbles forming on the eggs?



This combo seriously stinks. I have put them in the garage. I can't possibly have them festering on the kitchen windowsill for the next two or three days.

Got to dash. I'm doing a lot of preparatory work to help overhaul our local home ed Book Club at the moment. It may be that some folks won't want a more structured club and it may fall flat. That's okay though - some families, including us, do want a bit more structure and all of the things I'm spending time on I can use at home quite independently of club. I'm just up to my eyes in cutting, printing, laminating etc right now!