August Journal and New Challenge!

My Goodness. I have had a very challenging weekend!

Yesterday I finished my August Journal - I added a few more beads and then my head started to think about September, so I guess I have added enough beads!

The Forensics Camps are finally over, the 2 Grandbabies (who came to the 2nd camp with me), have gone home to their respective, other homes and I have had some sleep!

These are the tyres the campers had to use to make castings!  Very messy, very physical and a lot of fun!

I took the photo after the "bits" were in my Prep room.  The plaster is there and the "Blood Splatter" equipment.  I didn't take any photos of the 'Blood Splatter" because I can do al sorts of things but I don't "do" disembodied blood, sorry!

The Physics Lab!  The 4 hot plates set along the bench are for Refractive index of glass!  The campers had to use this apparatus to work out which piece of glass they had!  

Can you see the Tamanian Tiger outside the window?

This is another photo of the same thing just because I love the art work on the walls out side the lab!

This s the "Soil and Paintchip" Lab.  The Campers also did paper chromatography in this lab.




I think we all had fun and learnt heaps

Basil, Barrie and Bill!
Basil - the fox on the shelf

Barrie - the Deputy Principal

Bill - the brains of the outfit!  Thanks Bill for 2 great camps.  The next one will be even better!



Two good sleeps later and.............

How lazy am I?

Had a shower and dressed at 2pm! I loved it! Then we(sweetpea (DH) and I) went to 2nd daughter's place to help keep her babies company! Sara (DD), Morgan (DGS) and Lucy (DGD) are wonderful but very exhausting! I loved it! We played in the veggie patch, we played in the bath and we giggled as we got ready for bed - then Poppy and Wally came home for dinner and a big sit down!

Before we left, DD gave me a challenge!

Sara tells me that Lucy needs a new quilt (Lucy is about to graduate from a cot to a bed). Sara has painted little persons room antique white and then painted a tree with owls and birds on the walls!  It's very cute really because she is a very good artist!!  She has even painted the cutest little ants running around the door frame! (Note to self - take a few photos next time you are there!).

Anyway - these are the templates and swatches that she used for the walls ( forgot to say that the dark red swatch is the feature wall in Lucy's room!).  Now to design the quilt!

Morgan's room is next and that is going to be a castle (Help!)

August journal in progress and a great learning experience.

I think I've go some motion in here! The beads are on the table and waiting!

I think Camp might get in the way of a Friday Flaunt but what the heck.

From tomorrow I have 2 grand babies with me 24/7 till Saturday morning! At work, from Wednesday morning, I have the Grand Babies plus another 58 other peoples' Grand Babies! And they all will be learning so much fun stuff!

I really do love these camps! It is so much fun watching the kids get confused, work out what they have to do and then just get on with it! The pride they show when they work out the whole problem (read crime) and that they can do it, is awesome!

Forensics Camp

Linda asked me some interesting questions about the camp. I'll post some of the answers here.

What do the kids do at the camp?

They initially learn basic techniques such as:

- finger printing using both magnetic powders and the "fluffy brush" that you see on CSI.
- Plaster casting - they make a tyre print in sand and then make a cast of the print
- hair identification - they are given a hair and have to match it to a set of sample hairs
- Blood splatter - They play with real blood (animal) too work out which way the blood hit the surface
-Is it blood? Luminol test for blood


That is part of the Camp. They also soil test, use chromatography to work out which pen was used to write the note, look at fibres to identify what the criminal was wearing, Was that glass the bottle that broke at the scene?

So much fun! So much hard work for the lab staff (Me and Sam and Moses) So much more work for the "Bill" - the Boss! We love him!

Friday Flaunt

This has been a tough flaunt.  I've been watching all the other amazing flaunts, thinking "What have I done this week, apart from work?" (More about that in a min). Then I had a thought.  Here goes.

This week I made the last of my red inchies, sorted them out, bagged them up ready to send off for the swap.  The amazing thing about that is that the swap doesn't have to be ready for another month!  Me that organised!  I am stunned.  I also made 20 purple and green inchies for Del for her Bathurst Bun Fight.  I just hope they got there in time!

So, you ask, What is the flaunt?  This the a photo of the ones that are going no where!!!  They are mine to do with as I wish!  I have a plan in my head.  I will show Progress as it happens.

Just cause I can, I'll tell you about my week.  I have worked 12 days straight, and I'm really happy!  I will flaunt this too!

We have just finished our Forensic Science Camp No 1 for these school holidays.  We have had 23 Year 7 and 8 boys and girls working hard for 3 days trying to solve a crime.  They started on Wednesday morning and they solved it, as a group, late this afternoon.  It has been amazing!  The kids have been focused, and paying attention to amazing detail!  I can't show you photos of the kids doing but I can show you photos of the labs before they started working.  Oops - I've had to show the photos from the last camp because I brought home the wrong camera!  I think I could be a bit tired!

(I love the Hawthorn Jumper - hangs just outside my door! - It's such a shame we are not there this month))


Next  week we have 60 kids doing the same camp all over again! 

HELP!