A vintage piece that I salvaged from the store room of a school!! Simply awesome to carry on long road trips!! We always

 carry flash card games on our trips! Comes handy during waits at airport or restaurants! 

Publications Bay Area parents should read....

 Bay Area Parent
 Parenting on the Peninsula
 Parents Press
 Active Kids
 South Bay Accent
 M Magazine
 India Parent
 Epoch Times
 World Journal
 Sing Tao Daily
 San Jose Mercury News
 San Francisco Chronicle

How many zeroes are in a billion?

Daddy told me there are 9 zeroes in a billion. So, mommy asked me how many zeroes are in a Quadrillion and I did not know. So we asked Google.

In the US the progression is:
Hundred - 100
Thousand - 1,000
Million - 1,000,000
Billion - 1,000,000,000
Trillion - 1,000,000,000,000
Quadrillion - 1,000,000,000,000,000

Hundred has 2 zeroes
Thousand has 3 zeroes
Million has 6 zeroes
Billion has 9 zeroes
Trillion has 12 zeroes
Quadrillion has 15 zeroes

What about something more than quadrillion? We did not know, so we asked Google.

Quintillion has 18 zeros
Sextillion has 21 zeros
Septillion has 24 zeros
Octillion has 27 zeros
Nonillion has 30 zeros
Decillion has 33 zeros
Undecillion has 36 zeros
Duodecillion has 39 zeros
Tredecillion has 42 zeros
Quattuordecillion has 45 zeros
Quindecillion has 48 zeros
Sexdecillion has 51 zeros
Septendecillion has 54 zeros
Octodecillion has 57 zeros
Novemdecillion has 60 zeros
Vigintillion has 63 zeros
Googol has 100 zeros
Centillion has 303 zeros (except in Britain, where it has 600 zeros)
Googolplex has a googol of zeros

Our solarsystem which has sun, earth and other planets is 4.5 Billion years old.

Learning my equations!!

Today I had the best day! Mommy spent a lot of time with me!! We played so much!! We went to Palo Alto and we saw two turtles named Turtle Dee & Turtle Dum. I had fun feeding them turtle food.

Today I learnt something new!! I learnt all about writing equations! I know how to write a full addition and subtraction equation! I also learnt about greater than and equal to signs! We also did a lot of math word problems on our workbook !! I got stars from mommy because I did all my problems correct!

Mommy Notes: We use a lot of worksheets that we download and print at home. Rehaan is pretty sleepy and tired in this video but he does an amazing job.

Below are some sample sheets we use.

Summer activities for gifted student!

Two great books!! We got them from Barnes and noble!

New science practice book!

We got a new science book full of activities from lakeshore learning!!

Multiplication Tables

My wonderful nanny Mary got me multiplication chart sometime back and mommy put it on my bedroom wall yesterday! Then I quickly learnt the 1 times, 2 times, 10 times and 11 times table! Now I need to be faster than mommy and also learn the other tables!!

Here is the video of me and mommy! I love learning as learning is fun!

Below is the table my nanny got for me!!

How does Mommy do it?

Mommy post!

I received numerous emails and phone calls from so many moms asking for advice or curious how I do it despite working full time and raising a special needs child with absolutely no family help. Is there a secret or if I have superpowers and one mom even asked if I take energy shots everyday, to which I laughed. Another fellow mom thought that I had abundant help since I get time to workout all the time...lol!!! She has no idea how I squeeze time for my workouts!!! A few months back , a mom who I was acquainted with broke down into tears at my son's school parking lot as she was too overwhelmed with handling her family and career.  Here are some of the things I shared with her and others.

First and foremost, take care of yourself. If you dont, then who will? And if you take care of yourself you can take care of your family better. I take 1 or 2 evenings for myself where I spend time reflecting and relaxing. One of the things I advice to fellow moms is 'Let go'  of trying to control everything and instead pick/choose what really matters. Infact be VERY VERY PICKY!!!!

Between a challenging full time job, a part-time job, raising a special needs child and a gifted child, I am involved with 2 real start ups (not mine), mentor young women, be part of professional/leadership women's clubs, workout , pursue my hobbies, work on my future business plans and still have time to facebook. I constantly motivate myself. I am my greatest supporter and champion. I dont spend time thinking too much, instead I spring into action. I am a compulsive researcher, that's where most of my time goes. I plan activities in short bursts. Most of my lesson plans with R2 are 15 minute. Not only are they productive but easy to schedule it in. I plan, plan, plan.

Make sure you workout even if it is just 10 minutes. It is a source to free up any pent up negative energy. It will do wonders to your body and mind. Plus it will increase your speed when thinking/doing other things.

I have shunned meaningless social life and started practicing minimalism. I select and attend very few social events. If it doesnt add value or quality to our life, it takes low priority.  I do all my shopping online. I cook food in bulk and freeze it. I prioritize and only focus on the most important things. I dont let trivial things bother me. If it has to do with my health, my kids or my job , then I pay attention. I invest in very good clothing so I dont have to ponder or worry about what I have to wear. I can just pick anything to wear and be on my way.

My close circle is most important to me, I ensure I nourish those relationships. Everything else takes second priority. From being an alpha-female I have transformed to being an alpha-mom and protect my interests.

Be a leader at home too! Remember there are little eyes looking at you and learning from you all the time. So show your confidence and leadership skills at home too.  Say what you mean, Do what you Say and pick up everything and move on when if it is falling down! No time to sulk, ponder,be depressed! Life goes on! The sun will rise tomorrow! The question is will your spirits be like the sunshine? Only you have the power or control on how you feel!!! I have been slapped with challenges but I respond to it instead of hiding from it.

I make mistakes, tons of them and learn from them. The "make mistakes-and-recover cycle" is very short since I make a lot of them AND I am not afraid to make them. All the challenges I have faced has only made me stronger! Just be brave!

Vent out your thoughts. Write or talk to a friend! It will lead you to a moment of clarity. Just like writing this blogpost is helping me!!!

De-clutter and be minimal!!! Let go of all the clutter you have been hanging on to. If you havent used it in years, you probably dont need it!

Make a daily to do list every night before you go to bed.

Carry a black notebook and pen in your purse so you can record your thoughts anytime light bulb moment happens.

Read, read, read - even if it is just 10 to 15 minutes. Reading keeps your mind fresh.

Record every moment with your child!!! Take numerous pictures!!

Dont compare yourself to other women or moms. You are a 'SuperMom' regardless!!!

Be drama free!!! Your time is not worth to engage in non productive activities.

If you want something go after it yourself, why expect anyone? Are you that incapable to depend on someone to fulfill your needs? But be smart about utilizing your resources. I enlist my domestic partner to help me around with chores and responsibilities but I dont spend cycles to make  decision since I know it will delay the process. Be confident of yourself and learn to take decisions and execute them.

Set high standards for yourself to be remarkable, exceptional, impeccable and just awesome!!! More than anything be genuine!!!!

To be continued......

44 Proven Ideas Parents Can Use to Help Their Children Do Better in School

Notes: These 44 gems are simply brilliant and I am proud I follow them!  I strongly encourage, you take a print out and post this on a wall.

Author: Dr. John H. Wherry. 
Source: The Parent Institute.

Making Time Count

1. Put specific times on your calendar each week when you will spend time with your children. During that time, focus your love and attention on your child.

2. Use car time to talk with your children. There's no phone or television to interfere. No one can get up and leave. And kids know they really have your ear.

3. Plan to eat at least one meal together as a family each day.

4. Look for things to do together as a family. Get everyone involved in choosing how to spend your time together.

5. Try giving children television tickets. Each week, each child gets 20 tickets. Each ticket can be used for 30 minutes of TV time. Any tickets remaining at the end of the week can be cashed in for 25 cents each. Parents can still veto a certain program, of course.

Reading to Your Child

6. Try relaxing your family's bedtime rules once a week on the weekends. Let your children know that they can stay up as late as they want, as long as they are reading in bed.

7. Help your child start a home library; paperback books are fine. Encourage your child to swap books with friends. Check used book stores. Give books as gifts.

8. Want your children to be good readers? Let them see you read.

9. Try holding D-E-A-R times at your house. "DEAR" stands for "Drop Everything and Read." During DEAR time, everyone in the family sits down for some uninterrupted reading time.

10. With young children, try reading to them during bath time.

11. Use the "Rule of Thumb" to see if a book is on your children's reading level: Have them read a page of the book aloud. Have them hold up one finger for each word they don't know. If they hold up four fingers and a thumb before the end of the page, the book is probably too hard for them to read alone. But it might be a great book to read aloud.

Building Self-Esteem

12. Have children make a "book" about themselves, with their own illustrations and wording. "A Book About Me" is a great way to help your child see themselves as "somebody."

13. Help your child discover their roots by talking with family members during holiday and other visits.

14. Constantly look for ways to tell your children what you like about them, and that you love them. There is no age limit on this. "When I do something well, no one ever remembers. When I do something wrong, no one ever forgets." Those words were written by a high school dropout.

15. Let kids overhear you praising them to others.

16. Try "King/Queen for a Day" for good report cards.

17. Help kids learn from problems, not be devastated by them. Many parents don't ever use the word "failure." They may talk about a "glitch," a "problem," or a "snag." But even when something doesn't work out as they'd planned, successful people try to learn something from the experience.

Discipline

18. In good weather, put two angry kids on opposite sides of a strong window or glass door. Provide each with a spray bottle of window cleaner and a rag. Then let them "attack." Their angry words will turn to laughter...and your window or door will be clean!

19. Try role playing to eliminate constant fighting. For five minutes, have the fighters switch roles. Each has to present the other person's point of view as clearly and fairly as possible. Odds are, they'll start laughing and make up. Better yet, they may come up with a compromise solution that both parties like.

20. For better discipline, speak quietly. If you speak in a normal tone of voice, even when you're angry, you'll help your child see how to handle anger appropriately. And if you don't scream at your kids, they're less likely to scream at each other or at you.

21. Try a "black hole" to keep toys and other belongings picked up. All you need is a closet or cabinet with a lock—the "black hole." When something is left out that should be put away, it gets put into the "black hole" for 24 hours. Once a favorite toy or something your child needs is locked up for 24 hours, there is greater incentive to keep it where it belongs. This works best when the whole family participates.

Solving School Problems

22. Try looking over children's study materials and making up a sample quiz as they study for upcoming tests.

23. Visit your child's school in a time of peace before major problems develop.

24. Make report cards a positive experience. Preparation: Ask, "What do you think your report card will tell us?" Getting ready is helpful. Perspective: Understand that a report card is just one small measure of your child. A child with poor grades still has plenty of strengths. Positive action: Find something to praise. Focus on how to improve.

25. Be aware that your attitudes about school affect your child. If you hated math, be careful not to prejudice your child.

Motivating Your Child

26. In addition to the three R's, children need the four A's: Attention, Appreciation, Affection, and Acceptance.

27. Some researchers believe every child is gifted, if we will just look for the ways. Helping children see their giftedness is very motivating.

28. Encourage children to read biographies about successful people. As children learn about the traits that made others successful, they are often motivated to adopt those same success patterns in their own lives.

29. Motivate your children in math by challenging them to figure out how much change you should get back from a purchase. If they get the amount right, they get to keep the change.

30. Praise children constantly.

Building Responsibility

31. Try a simple cardboard box to help make your children responsible for school belongings. Have them choose a place for the box, perhaps near the door or in their room. Every afternoon, their first task should be to place all belongings in the box. When homework is finished, it goes in the box, too. In the morning, the box is the last stop before heading out the door.

32. Help children understand, and take responsibility for, the consequences of their choices: "I chose to do my homework; the result was that I got an 'A' on my math test." "I chose to get up 15 minutes late; the result was that I missed breakfast and nearly missed the bus."

33. Try giving your child the responsibility of growing a small garden, even in just a flower pot. The positive and negative results of carrying out their responsibilities are very clear.

34. One way to keep children moving in the morning: After they wake up, begin to play their favorite CD. Give them until the CD plays through to get dressed for school.

Reinforcing Learning

35. Encourage kids to collect things. Whether they collect rocks, shells, leaves, or bugs is not important. By collecting, children are learning new ways to make sense of their world.

36. Estimating is an important math skill. We estimate how much our groceries will cost. We estimate how much time we'll need to complete a project at work. You can help your child learn to estimate at home. Here's one idea: As you're driving, estimate the distance to your destination. Then estimate how much time it will take to get there. Use the odometer or a map to check your work.

37. Talk about geography in terms children can understand: Go through your house and talk about where things came from. A calculator may have come from Taiwan. A box of cereal may have a Battle Creek, Mich., address, or White Plains, N.Y. Talk about where the wheat for your bread came from. Where was the cotton for your blue jeans grown? Tell your children where your ancestors came from. Find the places on a map.

38. Show your child that writing is useful. Have them help you write a letter ordering something, asking a question, etc. Then show them the results of your letter.

Homework

39. Try playing "Beat the Clock" with your child during homework time. Look over the assignment and figure out about how long it should take to complete it. Allow a little extra time and set a timer for that many minutes. No prizes are needed. There is great satisfaction in getting the work done on time.

40. Teach your child to use the formula "SQ3R" when doing any homework assignment. The letters stand for a proven five-step process that makes study time more efficient and effective: Survey, Question, Read, Restate, and Review.

41. Here are tips to make homework time easier for you and your child:

• Have a regular place for your child to do homework. Use a desk or table in a quiet room. Be sure there's plenty of light.
• Find a regular time for homework. You may want to make a rule: "No television until homework is finished."
• During homework time, turn off the TV and radio.
• Help your children plan how they will use their time.
• Set a good example. While your child is doing homework, spend some time reading or working yourself. Then when homework is done, you can both talk about how much you've accomplished.

42. Nitty gritty homework tips:

• Do the most difficult homework first. Save "easy" subjects for when your child is tired.
• Do the most important assignments first. If time runs short, the priorities will be finished. Do what's required first.
• Finish the optional assignments later, even if they're more fun.

43. Look over your child's homework every day. Start at an early age and keep it up as long as you can. Praise good work. Your interest will encourage good work.

44. Try having your child teach you the homework. The teacher always learns more than the student. 

This will bring a smile to every little boy's world

Color Lab

I love my new science lab toys. There are so many science activities to do. I started off with the color lab where I make my own colors. I played over and over again. My neighbor Chloe played with me too. I spent more than 2 hours playing this and wanted to play more. I used color tablets, test tubes, pipette and measuring cup.




What I learnt: 
1. Primary colors are blue, yellow and red
2. Pipette is used by chemist to suction liquids
3. I can mix 2 or more colors to make a new on
4. I also learnt what a color wheel is

Fun Excavating Rocks & Crystals...

This is one of the best projects I have ever done. I had to excavate and find the hidden treasures. It was tough but mommy helped me and I found five different rocks. I found Tiger's Eye, Pyrite, Amethyst , Sodalite.


Mommy Notes: This was pretty tough even for me but it was hours of fun! Definitely recommend! Rehaan knew what he was doing and he couldnt wait till he found one more hidden treasure. Not just the digging but also identifying the treasure excavated was fun! The rocks and crystals are genuine and not fake. We got this from amazon for less than 10 dollars. It is called Rock & Crystal Excavation.

Akeelah and the Bee (2006)

Mom got this movie for me and I watched this movie with my dad yesterday and enjoyed it very much that I did not move until the entire movie completed.

Then daddy and I discussed about how cool Akeelah was and how she did it.

Its about a story of a young girl from South Los Angeles tries to make it to the National Spelling Bee. You can read more about the movie at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akeelah_and_the_Bee

I am going to watch it again this weekend with mom this time.

Smart kids are cool!!

East Coast Moms Know.......Gifted Kids Enrichment Resources

Note: This post is a little dis-jointed and all over the place. I am just jotting down my jots before I forget. I will fine tune this later.  For me, these are valuable lessons that I learn from the East Coast moms ....

There is no study or research that compares East Coast Vs. West Coast moms nor is there a study that shows that compares IQ of east and west coast children. Atleast I have not come across any.

Of course fellow moms in New York and Chicago know all about these! :) Moms in California are pretty laid back and indulge their kids artistically or in sports or music with some academics but our East Coast Urban moms are about starting to prepare their toddlers to enter Ivy League right from when they are born! California moms know about Kumon and private schools but New York moms know exactly which subject their child should specialize in.

I am a mom with a mission and my mission was simple, enrich my child's life with opportunities and help nurture my child to his potential. I researched around various school of though about infant development and how to help your child read,etc at an young age. Had I not, my child would not have learnt to read before 2!! Almost all the support groups for these I was involved with had majority of moms from the East coast specifically New York and Chicago. In a few groups, I was only the single West Coast Mom. When I pried in deeper, it was obvious why these moms want to make sure their children get into the best schools in New York. The school competition in NYC is cut-throat!! There is also an article in NY Times that address this topic http://nymag.com/nymetro/urban/education/features/15141/  . If you search on Amazon.com, there are number of guide books to help parents navigate the tough preschool/kindergarten landscape of NYC.

Many NYC moms will know this book ->
Testing for Kindergarten: Simple Strategies to Help Your Child Ace the Tests for: Public School Placement http://www.amazon.com/Testing-Kindergarten-Strategies-Admissions-Qualification/dp/1416591079/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1368461464&sr=8-10&keywords=new+york+kindergarten+guide


And these moms are super moms! Between balancing a career, urban life, gun violence, hiring nannies, these moms invest their time and effort for their child's education. It was an eye opener for me as I take so many lessons from these moms and use it in California for my own son. Will this wisdom give my child a competitive advantage? No, I dont think so but atleast it will give him a level playing field if he wants to pursue Ivy League schools.

Gifted Children Kids Enrichment Resources: A few websites where you can buy books for advanced and gifted kids. These books are not cheap!

1. http://www.thinktonight.com
2. http://www.testingmom.com
3. http://store.aristotlecircle.com/index.html
4. http://testingforkindergarten.com

Who is the Illustrator? Do you know what an illustrator is?

Today I was reading Dr.Suess books. I read 3 of them - Hop On Pop, Old Hat New Hat and There is a locket in my pocket. The pictures were so funny and both mom and I were laughing as I was reading to her and showing her the images. Then I looked at my mom and asked, "Who is the illustrator of this book?" My mom was surprised that I knew what an illustrator means. We turned together to look at the front page and did not find the illustrator. So we asked google and found out that Dr.Suess did his own illustrations. 

Now what exactly is an illustrator? I know, do you know?

An Illustrator is a person who draws or creates pictures for magazines, books, advertising, etc.

In the picture below the two pups are hopping on their pop(dad)!

New Exciting Adventure

I have been called for an audition and casting call for this weekend! So dad and I went shopping for new clothes and new shoes and now I look dapper!

My mom was apprehensive about the whole thing but when  she found out that it is not a scam and we dont have to pay anything, she decided to try out, even if it is just for the experience. I am too excited that I keep telling mom, may be I will be in 'Oscar's Oasis' movie because it is my favorite.

Timeout

I am on a 2 day timeout since I did not follow what my mom asked me to, so no fun science experiments! If I behave well, I get to do fun stuff this weekend.

Mom has got some really cool new excavation kits, lab goggles and more new science projects!

Question of the day: What do Blue Jays eat?

Mommy and I were looking at different kinds of birds and we were seeing at some Blue Jays and I wanted to know what they eat?

We looked up National Geographic and found some information. Blue Jays eat acorns, nuts, and seeds—though they also eat small creatures such as caterpillars, grasshoppers, and beetles.

You can read more about Blue Jays at http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/blue-jay/

Mommy's notes: We are slowly learning about different kinds of birds. Other than the common birds like eagle, crow,turkey, duck,sparrow, vulture, parrot, macaw, peacock, vulture, we are trying to read about other birds like robin, cardinal, finch, heron, etc.

Our activity for the spring/summer is to set up 3 bird feeders with 3 different kinds of bird food and observe the kinds of birds that each kind of food.

Take 2: Coke/Mentos Blast Off Geyser Fountain

This is such a fun and cool weekend project. Imagine creating a big fountain from coke? That is what we all did this weekend!

What you need: 7 Mentos , 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke. Diet coke works the best and optional Geyser Tube.

 




We got our geyser tube from Amazon.com . Very soon kids4fun.com will be selling this in the online store. But you can also make it yourself at home by rolling a paper to fit the mouth of the bottle. Make sure to position it such that all the Mentos drop at the same time. Think before you do it! Also make sure they are lined up and not be blocking

Video:
Mommy will be posting the video soon once she turns on her laptop.


Mommy Notes: How does this work?
When you drop the Mentos into the soda, the gelatin and gum arabic from the dissolving candy break the surface tension. This disrupts the water mesh, so that it takes less work to expand and form new bubbles. Each Mentos candy has thousands of tiny pits all over the surface. These tiny pits are called nucleation sites - perfect places for carbon dioxide bubbles to form. As soon as the Mentos hit the soda, bubbles form all over the surface of the candy. Couple this with the fact that the Mentos candies are heavy and sink to the bottom of the bottle and you've got a double-whammy. When all this gas is released, it literally pushes all of the liquid up and out of the bottle in an incredible soda blast.  Source: Steven Spangler

Complete Collection of Dr.Suess Books!

I love Dr.Suess books! He is my favorite author! His books are so silly and fun! I have read over 20 books written by him. Mommy and I are now trying to find more of his books in our library. Our library helped us to make a complete list of all his books. Along with the Mensa Reading list I hope to finish reading all of Dr.Suess's books.

Here is the complete list of all Dr.Suess books!

1. 1 -- And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street (1938) 
2. 2 -- Bartholomew and the Oobleck (1959) 
3. 3 -- The Butter Battle Book (1984) 
4. 4 -- The Cat in the Hat (1957) 
5. 5 -- The Cat in the Hat Beginner Book (1966) 
6. 6 -- The Cat in the Hat Comes Back (1968) 
7. 7 -- The Cat in the Hat Song Book (1967) 
8. 8 -- The Cat's Quizzer (1976) 
9. 9 -- Come Over To My House (1966) 
10. 10 -- Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? (1973) 
11. 11 -- Dr. Seuss's ABC (1963) 
12. 12 -- Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book (1962) 
13. 13 -- The Eye Book (1968) 
14. 14 -- The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (1938)
15. 15 -- The Foot Book (1968)
16. 16 -- Fox in Socks (1965)
17. 17 -- Great Day For Up! (1974)
18. 18 -- Green Eggs and Ham (1960)
19. 19 -- Happy Birthday to You! (1959)
20. 20 -- Hop on Pop (1963)
21. 21 -- Horton Hatches The Egg (1940)
22. 22 -- Horton Hears A Who (1954)
23. 23 -- How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1957)
24. 24 -- Hunches in Bunches (1982)
25. 25 -- I Am Not Going To Get Up Today! (1987)
26. 26 -- I Can Draw Myself (1970) 
27. 27 -- I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today (1969)
28. 27 -- King Looie Katz
29. 27 -- The Glunk That Got Thunk
30. 28 -- I Can Read With My Eyes Shut (1978)
31. 29 -- I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew (1965)
32. 30 -- If I Ran The Circus (1956)
33. 31 -- If I Ran The Zoo (1950)
34. 32 -- I Wish I Had Duck Feet (1965) 
35. 33 -- The King's Stilts (1939)
36. 34 -- The Lorax (1971)
37. 35 -- Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now! (1972)
38. 36 -- McElligot's Pool (1947)
39. 37 -- Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? (1970)
40. 38 -- My Book About Me, By Me Myself (1969)
41. 39 -- Oh Say Can You Say (1979)
42. 40 -- Oh, The Places You'll Go! (1990)
43. 41 -- Oh, The Thinks You Can Think! (1975)
44. 42 -- On Beyond Zebra (1955)
45. 43 -- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (1960)
46. 44 -- Scrambled Eggs Super! (1954)
47. 45 -- The Seven Lady Godivas (1939)
48. 46 -- Shape of Me and Other Stuff (1973)
49. 47 -- The Sneetches and Other Stories (1961) 
50. 47 -- The Zax 
51. 47 -- Too Many Daves 
52. 47 -- What Was I Scared Of?
53. 48 -- Ten Apples Up On Top (1961) 
54. 49 -- There's a Wocket In My Pocket (1974)
55. 50 -- Thidwick, The Big-Hearted Moose (1948)
56. 51 -- The Tooth Book (1981)
57. 52 -- The Tough Coughs as He Ploughs The Dough (1987) 
58. 53 -- Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories (1958)
59. 53 -- Gertrude McFuzz
60. 53 -- The Big Brag
61. 54 -- You're Only Old Once! (1986)

Question of the day: Can we eat banana slugs?

Last week, I went on a field trip with my school friends to CuriOdyssey. There we saw many banana slugs and since then I have been curious. This morning I asked my mom if we can eat banana slugs.

Mom did not know, so we pulled our ipad and searched using google. We found out that there is a particular Indian tribe that eats banana slugs. Some German immigrants also eat them. And they have a festival in California where they have banana slug races and also banana slug eating contests. Ewwww...

We also saw a video on banana slugs.

What else did I learn:

1. Banana slugs have tentacles and at the end of the tentacles they have their eyes

2. Banana slugs eat dead leaves, dead things

3. Raccoons, Ducks, Salamanders, Snakes eat Banana slugs

4. Banana slugs can hide and pretend dead if something falls on them

You can read more about banana slugs here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_slug 

Update on my Martial Arts class!!!

I recently started my martial arts class and I have learnt a lot in just a short time. My kicks and punches are so much better! Today I received a black band on my belt. I dont know what that means but I cannot wait to get my first orange belt like the other kids in my group.

Things I can do and follow well
1. Attention
2. Yes Ma'am
3. Ready pose
4. Kneeling pose
5. Front kicks
6. Double punches
7. Running to the color lines
8. Meditate

I need to work on my side kicks and alternate leg kicks with punches.

Mommy's notes: Amazing how this little guy has picked up so fast. Martial arts is the only physical activity I want Rehaan in. I dont want him growing to be in any sports teams where I know my investment in his valuable time wont be worthwhile if he is not going to make a career out of it. Besides Martial Arts will improve his focus, attention, concentration and will teach him self respect, respect others, being humble and disciplined. It is a life science that will help him in all other areas. I am committed in seeing Rehaan excel in martial arts for a long time to come, perhaps for several years leading up to his late teens. So I have ruled out enrolling him in soccer, baseball,etc. In this sport, he will be competing against himself, getting better each time.

On Saturday, Rehaan has a special segment of his martial arts class which includes use of weapons, flips, etc. I am not sure what it is but cannot wait to find out! Rehaan has his first sparring class tomorrow!

Homemade Lava Lamp! Whoa!!

Today mommy and I made a cool lava lamp. Mommy wanted to make a blue lamp but I wanted a green one so we ended up making a green one!!

Me with my lava lamp!

We took an empty bottle. You can take any empty bottle. Fill it 1/4 with water and the remaining with vegetable oil. Then you can add you favorite food color. I used 10 drops of green food color. Once the food color reached the water, the water turned green. Then I put broken pieces of Alka Seltzer in and whoa there were so many green color bubbles floating up, moving around. When I put more Alka Seltzer, we got a tornado inside a bottle!

What I learnt: I learnt that oil and water dont mix because oil is thicker than water. I also learnt the color mixes only with water and not oil. I also learnt that when I add water, water goes to the bottom and oil stays on top because water is heavier than oil.

What you need:

Here is my video:

Mommy's notes: 
How does it work?

How do the bubbles form? The Alka-Seltzer tablet reacts with the water to make tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. These bubbles attach themselves to the blobs of colored water and cause them to float to the surface. When the bubbles pop, the color blobs sink back to the bottom of the bottle. Source: Steven Spangler

The Physics Show!!

One of mommy's friends gave her a lead to a science show that I may enjoy. 

The Physics Department at Foothill College enjoys putting on the show each year for the community.Its called 'The Physics Show' . 


Here is information about the show. http://www.thephysicsshow.com/what-is-the-physics-show

Here is the video clip about the show is about

Question of the day! What language do they speak in Swaziland?

What language do they speak in Swaziland?

This is the question I asked my mom and dad today ! They kept guessing and mom finally said "Swalihi" but turns out she was wrong.

English and Swati, Swazi or Siswati are the official languages of Swaziland. Capital of Swaziland is Mbabane.

Swaziland is a very small country in Africa surrounded by South Africa. It is a very poor country although it has a king.

You can read more about Swaziland here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14095692

Pocket Volcano

That's me with my pocket volcano!!

This is very cool chemistry project I did with my mommy today and I learnt that if you mix an acid and a base you get a reaction!

We used a baking powder as base and vinegar as acid and poured into our plastic volcano! When the vinegar touches the baking soda we got a chemical reaction which was our fake lava!!

To make it fun we added some color drops to our vinegar!

You can buy the pocket volcano at www.kids4science.com and you can reuse it over and over again!


What I learnt from this project:
If you mix an acid and a base you get a chemical reaction.

What you need for this project:
Below are the ingredients we used. You can buy them from any grocery store.

Method:

Here is a video of how we did it!

Mommy Notes:What actually happens is this: the acetic acid (that's what makes vinegar sour) reacts with sodium bicarbonate (a compound that's in baking soda) to form carbonic acid. It's really a double replacement reaction. Carbonic acid is unstable, and it immediately falls apart into carbon dioxide and water (it's a decomposition reaction). The bubbles you see from the reaction come from the carbon dioxide escaping the solution that is left. Carbon dioxide is heavier than air, so, it flows almost like water when it overflows the container. It is a gas that you exhale (though in small amounts), because it is a product of the reactions that keep your body going. What's left is a dilute solution of sodium acetate in water. Source: Thinkquest.com.
Since Rehaan is too young to understand this, for now he is just learning that when you mix acid and base, you get a reaction. He made an analogy that when food enters stomach, the stomach acid works on the food and you get a reaction called burp!