Question of the Day: How do magnifying glasses work?

Brought to you by Katie Grace.

Wikipedia article
A magnifying glass works by creating a magnified virtual image of an object behind the lens. The distance between the lens and the object must be shorter than the focal length of the lens for this to occur. Otherwise, the image appears smaller and inverted, and can be used to project images onto surfaces.

Science, Optics, and You- Click on the link for a Java tutorial.
A magnifying glass is a bi-convex lens. It is convex on both sides, meaning that the glass is curved outward to form a dome. Things look bigger looking through convex lenses. Below, you can see how a magnifying glass works to project an enlarged image on the retina of the eye.

Kitchen Science Experiments
Create images on the wall with a magnifying glass.

Magnify It!
An experiment for the K-2 set.

Safety Rules for Using Magnifiers
Apparently it's easier to set things on fire than I thought!

My children often ask me questions that I don't know the answer to (or don't know how to explain!), and I tell them we'll look it up later. More often than not, we forget and later never comes. Lately, I've been adding their questions to my never-ending "to do" list. I thought it might make good blogbait.

From my notebook...

Outdoor Painting

While the weather is still nice, you might enjoy this fun outdoor activity. Tape a large piece of paper to a fence or the outside of a building. Fill juice cans with paint and pant with large easel brushes.

Something for Nothing

Win a Microlite Toro Stroller over at MomDot.

Seven Clown Circus is giving away a necklace from Twisted Silver.

Leila and Ben have a sweet little dress up for a giveaway. It really is sweet, too!

The Dear Dr. Moz Baby Blog has a baby shower gift package to give away.

From my notebook...

The Five Finger Prayer

I found this somewhere online... unfortunately, I don't remember where! But I googled it, and found it in this exact form on about a trillion different websites, so I will just cut and paste here.

When praying with little ones, have them hold up their hand.

The Five Finger Prayer

1. Your thumb is nearest you, so begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C.S. Lewis once said, a “sweet duty.”
2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.
3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.
4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.
5. And lastly comes our little finger the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

From my notebook...

Gift Wrap Station

It's never too early to start getting organized for the upcoming holidays! I love this great ideas from Family Fun.

A cute (and recycled!) ribbon dispenser made from an old cardboard box!

I did it!

Remember this post? The one with the killer squirrels and renegade clothespins? Well, I whipped out my trusty sewing machine and one of Katie Grace's baby dresses, and I made this! I added the step of tacking the dress to the hanger. The best part? I keep catching Katie Grace staring at it, as if in amazement that she was ever that little.

Lunch

You shall have a fishie
In a little dishie,
You shall have a fishie
When your boat comes in...

We had homemade cream of tomato soup with cheddar cheese cutouts today at lunch. I made the soup; Katie Grace took care of choosing everyone's special cheese shape. I thought Nick's looked especially cute.

The soup was simple. I just pureed some tomatoes from my garden with some minced onions I sauteed, and then added milk and salt and heated it up.

I will say that those people who theorize that children will gobble up food they've grown and helped to cook are full of it. I still had two out of four who wouldn't eat it. One of those wouldn't have eaten canned tomato soup either, though. It really was delicious. So fresh, completely different from canned soup.

Into the Woods

I found one last set of pictures from vacation that I didn't post. On the last day we went to Winterthur, the Dupont family estate. Specifically, we went to visit the Enchanted Woods. We went once before, when I was pregnant with Nicholas, and it was just as lovely this time around. More so, because I wasn't pregnant.


Nicholas and Grandpa on the shuttle bus


A Very Old Tree

Walking the labyrinth

Over the Troll Bridge


Sweet Little Daniel


And two big brothers!


In fairy house chairs


Hiking over to the main house

Meal Plan Monday!

MONDAY:
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and toast, fruit
Lunch: Star Soup (homemade tomato soup with cheese star cutouts)
Dinner: Labor Day Picnic! Hamburgers with all the fixin's, corn on the cob, tomatoes with mozarella, veggie chips, and crudites, root beer floats
Snacks and Cooking Projects: Apples with handles
Prep Work: Make bread, make Harvard beets, make extra corn on the cob and cut and freeze the extras, make salad for tomorrow, make burgers

TUESDAY
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Noodle "worm" salad
Dinner: Slow cooker lasagna and green beans
Snacks and Cooking Projects: Soft pretzels
Prep Work: Make breakfast bread for tomorrow, sort out salad bar ingredients

WEDNESDAY
Breakfast: Blueberry Breakfast Bread
Lunch: Salad Bar
Dinner: Chicken paprikash, peas
Snacks and Cooking Projects: Butterscotch Brownies
Prep Work: Make bread.

THURSDAY
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Cheesy Noodles
Dinner: Empenadas and corn
Prep Work: Pack lunches for tomorrow

FRIDAY
Breakfast: Cocoa and eggs to order
Lunch: Packed lunches at co-op
Dinner: Pizza! And salad/crudites
Prep Work: Make pizza dough and bread

SATURDAY
Breakfast: Waffles
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Roast chicken and roast root veggies
Prep: Make extra waffles to freeze

SUNDAY
Breakfast: Fruit and cereal
Lunch: Eat at church
Dinner: Spaghetti and sausage, salad

From my notebook...

Mr. Owl perched in a tree.
Place hands under arms like wings.
"Whooo goes there?" he asked of me.
Point to self.
I looked high up in that oak,
Look high.
But could not find the owl that spoke.
Shake head "no".
In the sky I saw that bird.
Pretend to look up.
"Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!" was all I heard.
Place hand behind ear.