Brick Maze

Brick maze is a game the that I made on a really foggy morning.

The object of the game is to be the last person with pieces on the board.
The board looks like this:

To play the game you have to have 2-4 players (3-4 works best).
To start the game each player must roll the dice, the player with the highest number goes first.
The player that is going to go first also gets to roll the dice first to get their quarter of the board. There are four quarters: quarter 1,2,3 and 4. So if the player rolls a four they would get to put their pieces in that quarter every player must do this until each player has a quarter.(Each quarter is represented by a stack of studs in each corner).
The pieces look like this:

(From left to right) pieces, piece mover, money and pickaxe.

If it is your move you have four options:
- Say you rolled a five you could move one piece five studs in any direction or you could move one piece three studs and another piece two studs and vice versa. 
- If an enemy piece was five studs away from one of your pieces you could move your piece to the stud that the enemy is on and take that piece.(Once you have taken an enemy piece you get one gold from the shop to keep until you spend it).
- The silver things on a piece's head is a blocker, when you have a blocker on your head you can place the blocker five studs away from your piece. A blocker is like the walls of the maze you can not go through them. (Once a blocker has been placed you can not remove it unless you have a pickaxe from the shop).
-If you already have gold you can go to the shop and buy things like an extra piece or a pickaxe. (Pickaxes are used to break blockers and can only be used once). If you go to the shop you are forfeiting your move.
The shop looks like this:

The person with the last pieces on the board wins!
   
 

Lego Millennium Falcon and Hoth base

(Inspired by the Star Wars universe).

This blog is about a Millennium Falcon and the Hoth base that I built to go with it.
The Millennium Falcon itself  has a large cockpit that can fit two minifigures, a small blaster underneath the cockpit, a large quad turbolaser turret on the roof, three landing feet, a large interior, a control panel, a tool storage compartment and spring missiles.

The Hoth base has a large hangar door with two falling icicles and a warning sign. It also has a bunk bed, a P-tower laser cannon, a generator, blaster storage and another control panel. The base also includes a small vehicle which is a small laser ice cutter.

Millenium falcon with Hoth base

Cockpit

Control panel

Double blaster pod

Landing feet with bottom cannon

Stud blaster under cockpit

Rear area

  

Cola Fountains!

One of our previous experiments was making cola fountains.

Items needed:
- A one or two litre bottle of diet cola
(You may also try other carbonated drinks, but diet cola is less sticky)
- An A4 piece of paper
- Some sticky tape or similar
- Two skewers
- 1 packet of mint Mentos
- Safety Goggles

Optional Items:
- Paper rocket or other light object

Step 1:
Use the paper and the sticky tape to make a tube that has the same diameter as the top of the cola bottle.

Step2:
Insert the skewers horizontally through the lower end of the paper tube approx 2cm from the end. These will stop the Mentos from falling all of the way through the tube.

Step 3:
Put the mint Mentos into the tube so that they sit on top of the skewers.

Step 4:
Screw the top off the cola bottle and secure the skewered end of the paper tube to the opening using tape. (If you are going to attempt to launch a rocket or other object, now is the time to sit it on top. Make sure the Mentos do not get into the bottle yet!)

Step 5:
Now for the fun part! Quickly pull the skewers out of the paper tube so that the mentos fall into the bottle. Quickly run away from the bottle and out comes a fountain of cola!

How it works:
The rough surface of the Mentos provides a large surface area, allowing more CO2 to be released from the fizzy cola. This quickly creates more bubbles than the bottle can hold! (Rock salt also works instead of Mentos, but not as well.)

Fountain making equipment.

The experiment.

Preparing the experiment.

The fountain does not work very well.

Now it does!

I hope that you have enjoyed the blog entry and if you try the fountain experiment, good luck!

Crystals

Once upon a time it was my sister's birthday and she got a crystal growing kit. This inspired us to grow lots of crystals, and that is what this blog entry is about.


Experiment one:

The crystal garden.

This crystal garden experiment took about one day to grow and it had a mountain, two trees and some bushes. The garden was made out of  absorbent blotting paper, which when in position on the plastic base, you then pour a saturated solution of crystals and water on it. The solution absorbs into the blotting paper. The blotting paper has dyes at the tips of the branches and the tips of the bushes. When the solution absorbs into the paper, it carries the dye along with it, forming coloured crystals.

Crystal garden.

Experiment two:

Salt crystals.

To make salt crystals you have to pour some hot water onto a piece of tin foil that is in the shape of a bowl once you have done that place the tin foil bowl onto a tray then slowly pour in a little bit of salt, wait for it to dissolve then pour a bit more. Do that until the salt stops dissolving then you have a saturated liquid. put the tray in the oven and wait for the water to evaporate, then you will have salt crystals. The water is a solvent and the salt is a soluble.



Experiment three:

Monoammonium Phosphate crystals.

These crystals are made by pouring a crystal compound into hot water, it breaks up into tiny particles in the water. What you have now is a saturated solution, some of the water will start to evaporate and the water will not be able to keep the particles dissolved and some will start to join again and slowly more particles join them, making a crystal.

Monoammonium Phosphate crystals.

Look out for my next blog entry that is also on crystals! 

Lego!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I am going to talk about the Lego creations that I have built lately.

Here is a small list of creations that I have built:

-The Slave I
-A Republic Dropship
-A Camping Trailer
-The Golden Sunset


THE SLAVE I

Features:

- Large opening cockpit.
- Rotating pilot seat.
- Hidden storage compartment.
- Carbonite slab storage area.
- Double blasters at the front.
- Double spring missiles.

Cockpit.

Carbonite slab storage area.

Carbonite slab.

Hidden spring missiles/hidden storage compartment.

In-Depth Explanation:

(Inspired by the Star Wars universe.)
The cockpit's window is made out of two large window pieces sitting side-by-side with a 2x8 plate attaching them together. Underneath the window there is a rotating pilot seat which is made by attaching a chair to an axle which goes through two walls of the cockpit and is then attached to a pair of fins on the outside the ship.
The hidden storage compartment is inside the nose of the ship which can be accessed by two small doors on each side of the nose. The carbonite slab can be put in a small space behind the cockpit. There are also two blasters on either side of  the nose that can rotate 360 degrees. Also in the hidden compartment there are two missiles which can be fired by pressing the back of the missile.


REPUBLIC DROPSHIP

Features:

- Two large wings.
- A handle.
- Jet-pack storage.
- Two arms to pick up ships.

In-Depth Explanation

(Inspired by the Star Wars universe.)
The two wings of the ship come out of a spot underneath the thrusters. In between those two thrusters there is a large handle which you can use to carry the ship and pretend that it is flying. When the handle is folded up there is a small gap which can be used as jet-pack storage. Underneath this assembly there are two large arms which can pick-up other vehicles such as the AT-OP.

Republic Dropship with AT-OP.

CAMPING TRAILER

Features:
- Small storage space.
- Slide-out bed.
- Opening side for canopy

In-Depth Explanation

This small camping trailer's slide-out bed can hold one minifigure in it. The opening canopy has two legs to hold it up, which when folded up they fold into themselves. At the front of the trailer there is a small cupboard which can hold a coffee cup.

(Left to right)- Camping Trailer, Hailfire Droid and Republic Dropship.

THE GOLDEN SUNSET

Features:

- A large steering wheel.
- Crow's nest.
- lower-deck area.
- Crew room.
- Captain's office.
- Gulley.
- Two cannons.
- An anchor

In-Depth Explanation

The Golden Sunset has a large steering wheel located on a raised area at the back of the ship. Underneath that area is a staircase that goes down to the lower-deck, which I will talk about later. In front of the raised part there is the mast with a crow's nest at the top you can access the crow's nest by climbing the rigging. Also, on each side of the ship there is a cannon. At the back of the ship there is the spot where you can deploy the anchor. Now on to the lower-deck area when you go down the staircase you will enter the crew's cabin where there is a fireplace, two beds and a game table. Down a hallway there is the captain's cabin and the gulley. Inside the captain's cabin there is a bed and a desk. Inside the gulley there is a sink, a barrel and two benches.

Raised area.

Crow's nest.

Main deck.

Entire ship.

Rear with anchor.

Captain's cabin.

Gulley.

Bird's eye view of ship.

Game table in the crew's cabin.

Crew's cabin.

Whole lower-deck area.

Entrance to under-deck area.

Stairs to lower-deck area.

I hope that you have enjoyed this blog entry and that you look forward to my next entry.     


  

Activities for early 2011

I'm finally taking a moment to catch up with our activities for the past few months!  There has been so much going on, that I don't really know where to start!  Here are some examples of what we have been up to...

There was Australia Day, when we took the opportunity to learn about the Australian floral emblems and Australian animals.

The kids also enjoyed decorating some animal masks.....

We have an Emu, Kangaroo and Possum!

We had some trampoline maths!

Meccano creations.....

The Meccano Crane

Some Science.....

The Walking Water Experiment

Excursions....

The Forest Learning Centre

Bonorong Wildlife Park

Science with Dr Rob

We have more excursions to look forward to in the second half of the year, as well as plenty of science experiments and craft.  Another busy few months ahead..... I'll try to be more efficient at keeping up with our blog!

Welcome 2011 and the year of the Rabbit!

At the beginning of the Chinese New Year, how fitting it is that we have recently become the adoptive family of two pet bunnies!  Thankfully they are both female, so we don't have to worry about contributing to Australia's rabbit population.  Although I am sure the kids would be delighted to see the result of breeding rabbits!  (I think we will stick to our plan of increasing the native amphibian population instead).  Rabbits have a pretty easy life really, eating, sleeping, eating, cuddles, eating, playing, eating, sleeping....  they do a pretty good job of keeping the grass under control.  If it wasn't for their love of digging and all the little rabbit nuggets they leave laying around, they would be great to let loose to do a little regular lawn mowing.

A lot of other things have happened since I last posted on this blog...

- Christmas passed without too much stress (just the way we like it!)

- B turned 5....

- L learned to use a camera...

- R continued to avoid cameras as much as he could (Is that a boy thing?) and spent a lot of time being a bookworm.  I can't seem to keep up with the supply of literature!

 

We are now heading into the 2011 school year and we have preliminary approval for B's homeschooling.  The kids were all looking forward to getting started on some activities that we have had planned, so we have already begun.  I love that one of the many benefits of homeschooling is for them to be able to learn when they are eager students!  B loves Maths and wants to do it for most of the day!

R decided to progress from regular Gymnastics to specialise in Trampolining this year (Thank goodness we purchased a large trampoline before Christmas!), and now that B has taken a break from Gymnastics, she is eagerly awaiting for her contemporary dance classes to begin at the start of the public school term.

I get the feeling that this year is going to be a busy one!

THE MINI OFFICE

When I first came across an example of the 'Mini Office' I thought that it was a great idea!  At times we have three kids sharing the dining table which can be distracting.  While R & B are doing their workbooks and worksheets, L likes to draw (she calls this her 'homeschooling').  They like to share their opinions about each other's schoolwork, which is sometimes helpful but more often than not unwelcome!!

I wanted to make a Mini Office that was going to survive a fair amount of wear and tear.  I imagined that after being used for a few months and occasionally altered, they would start to become dog eared and tatty.  I headed off to Officeworks in search of something similar but more sturdy than the regular Manila folder and found a plastic version that would do the job.  (It would have been nice to have a colour option, but alas they only came in boring old cream)

If all went well and these last quite a while, we didn't want to find that at a later date they were not large enough to suit our needs.  Keeping this in mind we joined three of them so that we would have 4 sections to use. After gluing them together we set about printing out and decorating/personalising various items to be attached.  While working on each layout and thinking about the pretty decorative bulldog clips that I had shown great restraint in keeping out of my Officeworks basket, I realised that if I left one section blank with a bulldog clip attached, it would provide a great place to clip any loose papers that needed to be close at hand or easily referred to.  Several sheets could be left attached and swapped around depending on what we were studying at the time.

Now that they are completed and in use, the kids are always eager to set them up!  They treat them with a air of importance and have a new respect for each other's space.  R treats his as if it is 'top secret' and will not allow his little sisters to peer inside!  (I have been permitted to reveal it's contents here on the condition that they never look at the photo!)  They are also strangely more tolerant of any annoying sounds that may be coming from the other side of someone else's mini office. It has been suggested that they be used at meals times, which could come in quite handy! Hmm.. 'The Mini Dining Room'?

PASTIMES AND TIMES PAST

The last couple of months have been a jumble of schooling, little projects, snotty noses and broken appliances.  When I think about those past weeks, I realise that it is no wonder I have neglected our blog!  After we had suffered from an awful bout of the lurgies which had us all take a turn at feeling miserable, we had the dishwasher and washing machine give up within a day of each other.  Now as annoying as it was to lose the dishwasher, it was a time saving luxury that I could survive without.  Unfortunately the washing machine is a whole other issue!  With three children and a working husband, the past few weeks of hand washing and Laundromats have been the bane of my life.


Although there seems to be less time available to do all of those things that we wish to do, we have continued to plod along at a steady pace.  (surprisingly I even managed to read a couple of novels The Quest and The Persimmon Tree )


Something that I never imagined to undertake in a serious manner keeps me occupied during what little idle time I have remaining.... knitting!  (I am not entirely sure what inspired me to begin) I thought that something simple would be best to practice on, so decided that the Fleck Stitch Envelope Purse was a good place to start.  The kids were all eager to have one each, so after choosing their preferred colours I altered the instructions for each of them so that they were deeper and wider (better for carrying those all important toys or whatever the day's role play required!).  I have completed two for the girls and am now three quarters of the way through working on the 'Postman's Bag' version that the little man of the house has requested!

I am not the only one that has decided to give the craft of knitting a go.  B was eager to begin finger knitting and R (who had previously mastered the art of finger knitting) has begun working on a scarf for his nan!  It's a slow process, so I suspect his nan will be lucky enough to receive it just in time for Winter 2011 (or maybe even 2012!).