Monday, September 15, 2008

The Dew Point in Homeschooling

"What do we do now?" The girls asked me when we finished reviewing cloud names.

"We're going to create dew." I said matter-of-factly.

"Whoaaaoaoaoa!" Niece said, impressed. Daughter turns to her and says,

"Not the Mountain Dew!" in an explanatory tone.

"I know!" niece responds hotly.

"We HAVE plenty of the Mountain Dew" Daughter laughs and nods.

"Alright, settle down so I can read the instructions for the activity to you." I try to calm their afternoon jumpiness so we can get some science hours logged for the day. I begin to read "Have you ever walked outside barefooted in the grass in the morning?"

"YES!" the girls chime in enthusiastically.

"Did your feet get wet?"

"YES!" They start to shout.

"Sssshhh If it didn't rain the night before, that dampness could be morning dew." As I was reading I was thinking this little intro to the activity read like a feminine hygiene product advertisement. My daughter had her own theories.

"OR DOGGY DOO" Daughter breaks in, already in hysterics. In seconds they're both bent over at the middle guffawing madly. "It could be diarrhea doo!" she continues through sputters and gut wrenches.

"Alright, that's enough." I'm having significant trouble keeping a straight face. Okay, so I was laughing, so what. It's not like I have a degree for this or anything. "How did the dew get there? Not another word, Daughter! Look in your own backyard for the answer!"

"So what do we do?" They asked again.

"Go dig a hole that's one foot deep and five inches wide, take your rulers with you." I said and they burst toward the door like I was on fire. "Dig the hole in the sand box!" I called after them. "I'll be out in a minute, I need some of the Mountain Dew."

I'm sure I heard Daughter say something related to diarrhea on her way out. I hope they're learning science somewhere in all this.

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