Batteries and the Bubonic Plague

It's been a good week here in BangsundLand.  The learning this week was interesting, as always.  We have been studying the Middle Ages in history this year using The Story of the World Volume 2.  It has been pretty fabulous.  This week I learned something new, not an uncommon occurrence with this awesome curriculum.

We read all about the bubonic plague this week.  I had no idea that the plague pretty much ended the era of feudalism in Europe.  It makes sense.  WAY fewer serfs and also fewer noblemen.  Some peasants actually moved into the manor house because they were the only ones left alive in the area.  That kicks feudalism in the teeth pretty hard!  And then the remaining peasants realized that their labor was actually worth something, like say, wages.  Revolutionary!  This doesn't even take into account the fact that craftsmen were in such high demand that apprenticeships became shorter and much more accessible.  So, yes the bubonic plague absolutely sucked eggs.  BUT there was a serious silver lining to that cloud.  Feudalism, a system that kept folks exactly where they were born, died with one third of Europe's population.  Worth it?  Um...hard to say.  But definitely a good outcome from an otherwise horrendous situation.

End History Rant.

In science today we started our experiments with batteries.  Oh.  My.  Word.  These boys love electronics.  And watching the lightbulb go on - literally and figuratively - was SO much fun.  Here are the pictures.

 Luke lit that bulb up and was totally jazzed.  We had already gone through the process of doing one battery at a time, seeing how increasing the voltage increases the brightness of the bulb.  No pictures of that process because I was busily taping batteries together.  ;-)

Paul gives it a try.

Then Luke left and Paul got serious about this...
Paul:  "What happens if we add another battery, Mama?"
Me:  "What do you think will happen, Paul?"
Paul:  "It will make the bulb even BRIGHTER!  Can we do it?"
How do you say no to that?

  The bulb hasn't lit yet because he needed to push harder to complete the connections, but I LOVE the look on his face.

By this time Luke figured out something cool was happening.  And Paul is just fascinated by his ULTRA BRIGHT BULB!  It's not the only thing that's bright, buddy.

One other sweet moment this week was Luke finishing his math book.  Lest you think that he is some sort of math whiz, this was the book we started last year.  Things just weren't clicking, so rather than make him feel inept, we took a break from math.  We let his brain develop a little more.  Low and behold, seven year old Luke did much better with the addition and subtraction facts than six year old Luke.  I've said it before, and I will probably say it again.  Homeschooling rocks.  My dude finished a math book today and was so stinkin' excited.  It did NOT matter to him that it took him a year and half.  If that had happened in a regular classroom, my guy would have felt defeated and dumb.  Because it happened in our home, he feels victorious and accomplished.  I love it.

And I really do love this "job" of educating my people, despite the crazy hard days we sometimes experience.  There are LOTS of silver linings and nobody dies to achieve them!  Sweet!

Black Powder and Black Eye

The last few weeks have been quite eventful here in BangsundLand, and have involved some things that aren't regular fare for us.

When we started reading Little House in the Big Woods, I realized there were going to be all sorts of items and experiences with which the boys would be unfamiliar.  At the same time, I also know that I am too busy and too lazy to churn butter (which Luke can't even enjoy), or bake bread from scratch without my bread maker.  Know thyself.  I know myself, people.  Instead of making myself crazy with all the craziness that Pinterest suggested, I reached out to a friend of ours to discover that he owns a muzzle loading rifle from close to the same era as Pa's.  Oh yes I did.  Check it out.

 This is the associate pastor at our church.  He rocks for many reasons.  His name is also Paul.  My sons adore him.  Actually, all the Bangsunds think he is pretty awesome.

 Big Paul patiently explained how the muzzle loader works while the boys watched.

 He showed them the lead bullets that were similar to what Pa would have made for his rifle.

 Then he put a cap in and fired it off.  Both boys were very impressed.  The other pictures I took were very blurry because the boys were so jazzed they couldn't sit still.  A HUGE thanks to Big Paul for taking the time to come early to our staff meeting and share this piece of history with my guys.

A few days later on Friday, Erik and I had procured the fabulous Miss Rachel as childcare so that we could hang out with Dave and Lynne sans interruptions.  She had just arrived and was receiving dinner and bedtime information when the boys crashed into each other at top speed.  Luke let out that sad whimper that told me he was really hurt.  And he was.  Both Erik and I could tell instantly that this was going to be a colorful addition to Luke's face.  We calmed him down.  We iced it.  We gave him ibuprofen.  And then we went on our date, thankful that the damage had occurred before we left and that Rachel would probably have a quieter evening with a more subdued Luke.

The next morning, Luke emerged with an amazing shiner.  I only took one picture because I just couldn't bring myself to record it more than that.  Poor guy.  The good news is that each time I asked him how it felt, he said fine.  The Mommy Heart in me did not like seeing her boy looking so beat up.  Remember the big gap?  He just looked a little too much like he had lost in a fist fight.  But here is the smiling, happy bruiser, complete with bed head.

And now, because I can't leave that as the final image, a few cuite pictures from earlier in the week.

Happy Paul

Happy Luke