I just don't even know what to say.
That's a first, I guess 
Thank you all, truly, for your support, your kindness, for rallying around the Blue Yonder Ranch. I can't find the words to tell you how appreciated all of your emails and comments are. It does my heart so much good to know that folks from so many different walks, with so many different outlooks and ideals can come together despite those differences. Doesn't that just give you hope?
For all the politico dribble going on these days, all the promises of change and pledges to unite, you guys are the ones who really make me believe that things are gonna be alright. So thank you.
And you know, since it was so very heartwarming to experience such an outpouring of support, I thought I'd stir in a little more controversy.
I give you, ant burning.
Kidding, only kidding, no actual ants were hurt in the making of this photo. There might could have been, but the ants are far too fast He only managed to toast a few leaves, but he thought it was super cool.
He only managed to toast a few leaves, but he thought it was super cool.
Please don't write to me about forest fires or your third cousin's brother in law's nephew who wound up with third degree burns over 80% of his body by playing with a magnifying glass.We supervised closely, and then put it away in a top secret location, pinky swear.
My guys have been really itching to learn more about the power of the sun. Their friends have some super cool solar panels on their house. We've also noticed the ones atop all the "School Zone" and "Low Water Crossing" signs about town. So, when my middle boy bought himself a solar calculator (voice activated spy agent communication device) at the dollar store, their fascination with the sun became an all out frenzy.
They didn't believe me when I boasted that I could focus the power of the sun on a single leaf and burn it straight through. I do so love having a few tricks up my sleeve
Afterward, we did some research and they came up with a modified solar cooker design.
My son, the skeptic, thought maybe it would just be sitting in the sun that did the cooking – that it didn't really make a difference if the mallow was in the cooker or not. So, we decided to set up a control bowl of marshmallows and put a thermometer both in the "oven" and next to the control bowl.
We got the oven up to 180 degrees, while the control thermometer hovered around 109.
Smores were had by each and every happy solar chef, while we talked about how what is fun for us can be life saving, and truly a blessing for people in less developed countries. We've also been doing lots of thinking and sketching out possible new designs to try and test.
Learning is just so very delicious!
{ 31 comments }
Because you are so brilliant I nominted you for a Brilliant Weblog award. You can link back to PepperPaints and nominate and link to 7 more blogs..share the love! When the award button is up on my blog you can take it and put it on yours. Thanks!!
again, you are the bomb!
i LOVE that you are letting your boys do cool stuff like this. i swear, if i only had HALF of your ambition my boys would crown me queen of the world… mine would probably just be burning ants!
I’m always so impressed with the things you come up with to teach your son “how the world works.” Way to go, Mama Blue!
Totally cool. My hubby grew up in Macon, GA.. and swears his aunt used to crack a duck egg in the road and let it cook for her cat to eat. Now, that’s solar cooking. LOL
That’s what it’s all about! Teaching your boys to love learning new things! You are one cool mama!
ha ha…Solar cookers are fun. Until somebody gets the genius idea to pour a whole bag (like 3 pounds) of popcorn in it.(ahem, hubby) Nothing happened at first, but then…I do mean a volcano of popcorn flying every which way. I was picking popcorn out of my hair for days, and then he said he found a whole slew of them in the rain gutter above the deck later in the season. My boys thought it was hilarious. I still can’t figure out how it worked…I didn’t think it was hot enough to sustain popping that many kernels.
I LOVE how things become ‘lessons’ in your daily life!! You are inspiring me! (when I don’t just feel like a total lame loser when I read here.)
Janice
Great idea to include the control plate–thanks for some ideas for projects with my kids, although I think I might just try popcorn in it after reading the above post (well, maybe not 3 lbs of it)
Great ideas! I’ll have to try it next summer when my boys are a little bigger.
What a great experience for your kids, and what a wonderful way to bring science together with geographical awareness. And marshmallows!
Awesome!
What a great idea – especially with the “control group” in the bowl. Brilliant!
This just WARMS my heart
I remember when I made my first solar oven in Girl Scouts. I love kids at this age, when they are so enthusiastic about learning. What a joy.
That looks so fun! I bet my kids would enjoy trying a solar cooker. Thanks for the idea.
I’ve been stopping in lately to read your blog. Using the sun to cook is the best. My son used a pizza box in 6th grade to cook with. He is now in 8th grade and still talks about it wanting to show it to his younger brother.
If you are up for more solar cooking, check out this link. Pizzerias are more than willing to give you a clean pizza box to start with.
http://www.solarnow.org/pizzabx.htm
Oh, fun! I wonder if they’d like to make sun prints (http://store.sundancesolar.com/solnatprinpa.html)? Have you guys done this? Very cool… Of course you can do it with construction paper too but the special paper is pretty magical.
Oooh, I love this! I have a solar oven in the shed that I made back in my college days. Maybe it’s time for me to pull it out and do a little cooking!
More great ideas for the “to try” folder – hubby will love this one, since it is right to his Boy Scouting heart!
What fun, if you aren’t all done with the heat of the sun, try melting some crayons. We tried this and it was great fun. Check out this tutorial….
http://pepperpaints.com/2008/07/15/stone/
Oh that is cool!! I’m filing this one away for summer!
Oh! I am inspired! Usually my dh is the one with all the cool tricks up his sleeve. But I think this is a chance for Mom to knock one out of the park! LOL!
I love your sense of humor (“Let me stir in more controversey… any cooking!”), cracked me up!
ooops.. I meant Ant Cooking =0)
Such a cool idea. I could learn anything where smores are involved!
Anna
That is the best way to learn. And really, I’m sure my brothers did much worse than burn ants when we were little.
Have I told you lately that I love you?
You can make a lesson out of anything. I love how you follow the interests of your children. Homeschooling at its best.
My kids made signs with their names on them by woodburning using a magnifying glass. Very fun! I will try cooking another time. It’s not hot now!
Well, don’t leave us hanging…which cooked the faster? Did it really make a difference? And how long did it take before they were smore-ready?
Sheesh, I didn’t realize this was a serial post! lol
That is so wonderful! My great-grandfather was an inventor in Tucson and built solar ovens and would have high school and college students out to bake bread. My mother and aunt say it was amazing.
My friend and I showed our boys (ages 5 and 7) how to burn things with magnifying lenses not long ago, but it was hard to get the mamas to stop. We both had fond memories of tortures we shouldn’t admit to. My son made a sort of cone solar oven, and cooked apples in a baby food jar in the narrow end, but I think his favorite is sizzling a hot dog or melting cheese with a small, cheap fresnel lens (like those thin plastic magnifiers you can get anywhere) nothing like the sound of sizzling…
okay, yum but where’s the chocolate??
your little solar cooker idea is so good. I just may have to impress my children with that one later next week.
xo.
these are life savers in remote parts of the world as well. so simple yet so effective
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