PVC Pipe Rocket Launchers

For directions on making these rocket launchers and paper rockets, click here.

We made 3 trips to Lowe’s...

My stepdad cut the PVC pipe with his circular saw (and a lot of expertise!).

Putting the pieces together is easy, but making sure you’re buying the right pieces in the first place, and cutting the pipe are not. I couldn’t have done those things without his help.

KiwiCo’s Tinkercrate

For Christmas, we got Gemma a subscription to KiwiCo’s Tinkercrate. 

I had seen ads for it and heard people say they loved it, but I wasn’t sold until I saw one of the 5th graders at the school where I teach, walking around with the claw machine he built. 

I grilled him about what he thought of the Tinkercrate boxes. Did he like them? How many had he done? Could he complete them by himself? Were they too easy?

He’d done three and had enjoyed them all. He said he could do them on his own, but that they weren’t too easy. They were “just right.” That was exactly what I was looking for.

I found a promotional code that made it possible to get a 6 month subscription for about $13 per box, so the price point was right. 

I liked that KiwiCo could ship the first box to one address (Grandma’s house, so it could go under the Christmas tree), and the rest of the boxes to a second address (our house). 

I also liked that EVERYTHING for her first project (a spin-art machine) came in the box. The only thing Gemma needed was a pair of scissors to trim the transistors. I also thought it was very cool that the project used the box as part of the design.

I wouldn’t have tried KiwiCo if I hadn’t had the promotional code. There are just too many subscription services on the market right now, and it’s difficult to gauge if a product will be a good fit for your child without getting to see the product up close and talking to a child who has used the product. I’m really happy with my purchase (the gift was a hit!), and I’m excited to see what projects come in future boxes.

December 23, 2019

Today, we are working on a puzzle, went to see Frozen 2, did a chapter in Life of Fred: Algebra, and practiced piano. 

One of our Christmas traditions is doing a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle together. This year’s puzzle is Cobble Hill’s “Yellow” in “The Rainbow Project” puzzle series. We’ve also done green, blue, and black & white. We only just realized that all of the puzzles form one long puzzle. The yellow puzzle is orangey-yellow on the left side and greenish-yellow on the right side, because it goes between “Orange” and “Green.”

Regarding the plot of Frozen 2, I found this article interesting:

https://www.popdust.com/disney-frozen-ii-indigenous-people-2641411635.html

We’re currently in Chapter 6 of Life of Fred: Algebra. I would love to finish this book by the end of next summer, and while I think that’s doable, it’s going to mean that I have to remember to do math. There’s no rush. Gemma’s “ahead” of where she “needs” to be. I could not do math with her for a couple of years, and she would still be where she “needs” to be. But it’s nice and neat and tidy to do a math book per year, isn’t it? There’s something that feels good about it. So, maybe we’ll complete algebra in August, or maybe we’ll take all of 2020. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Just thoughts.

I’m liking having Gemma track her piano practice with tiny Candyland stickers. It’s helping her see what she has and has not done. The visual means that it’s not me telling her to practice, it’s her piece of paper - and it’s difficult to argue with a piece of paper.😉

Magic Flute

Yesterday, we went to the LA Opera’s production of The Magic Flute. I’d seen it before, about four years ago I think, and was so blown away by the way it fused the opera with silent film - such a bizarre juxtaposition, right? And that’s why it was so magical. After the show, three of the singers came out and signed autographs, and the singer playing Monostatos even brought out his prosthetic ears to pass around.