Cannot get enough of these adorable kiddos! Today’s Science Friday was really a combination of four small projects concerning constellations.

We did the following:

1. Connect-the-dots constellation worksheets (from this template).

2. Circled some additional constellations from our star charts (current for this time and season of the night sky, you can get them HERE.)

3. Drew our OWN constellation dot-to-dots from the new constellations we discovered.

4. I hole punched a few constellations on some construction paper and we viewed them on the wall in our dark bathroom with a flashlight!

First, as I already mentioned, I wanted to talk to the littles about constellations this week. While this crew have been known to stay up WAY past their bedtimes on long summer nights, I knew this day wouldn’t be one we could head outside to view the constellations at night.

Instead, I used this template from Kiwi Crate (my printer is out of ink, so I actually just did a free-hand worksheet for each child) and made each child a constellation connect-the-dots paper. See below.

After we all finished connecting the dots on our constellations, we talked about how constellations are groupings of stars that form pictures in the sky. We briefly discussed the ancient Romans and Greeks who gave many of our constellations the names we still use today.

Then I gave each of the children a star chart for the current night sky. They each found the names and groupings of other constellations like Bootes, Pegasus, Cephas, Aquila, and more! We circled the constellations they found on their star charts and talked about some of stories behind them.

When they were finished circling constellations on their star charts I gave them each a piece of black construction paper and some metallic markers so that they could copy the constellations they found for themselves.

Last but not least, I used a star hole punch to make rough representations of some of these same constellations on construction paper and then we went for a star viewing in our dark bathroom. I used a flashlight to light up our constellations!

Such a great sequence of projects. The kids were interested and engaged the entire experience. I was amazed at how excited they were to pick out some of the current constellations in the night sky from their star charts. They happily sounded out the names of multiple constellations and asked about the meaning of the names and the stories behind these night-time specters.

Hope you’re able to try these projects at home with your crew. I’d love to hear how your constellation viewing turns out!!!

XX, Megan

So excited to find and identify new constellations we’re up on the table to examine and explain!

Drawing out some of the new constellations we studied.

Making sure her constellation looks just right!

Miles favorite constellation discovery was Pegasus, which he has personally dubbed THE BIGGEST DIPPER!

He’s not far off, some refer to Pegasus as “The Great Square” because it really does form an enormous square in the sky!

 Super satisfied with his Pegasus 🙂

Showing off their finished dot-to-dots!

These are some of the larger constellations we used for our bathroom viewing!

Our afternoon viewing of Ursa Major and Orion.

Ode to Pluto

Alone 4 billion miles in the dark,
Probing further solar reaches than before,
New Horizons arrived at Pluto’s door.
All systems go and trained upon the mark,
All eyes and ears on Earth await to hark
NASA’s press releases and images, more
Pictures— crisp, clear—they resonate the core
Of humanity’s long fascination to embark
On Celestial travel into deeper space.
Discovering, exploring with great speed
Planets, stars, asteroids, moons to fill this need.
Pluto’s system was the long-destined place,
A generation mindful of the surge
Of joy that telescopes through space and time.

-Megan

Let’s talk Pluto, shall we?????!?

What an epic adventure and journey we’ve seen unfold right before our very eyes this week! I am so stoked on the exciting images and information that New Horizons has and is sending back to Earth in our first ever close-up exploration of Pluto. What an incredible moment in history!!!

This week, we’ve been reading and researching a little bit more about Pluto. The boys loved this short film about New Horizons, its journey to Pluto, and the accompanying article. Below are some of the facts that we covered:

Happy Science Friday!!!

XX, Megan

We have lived in our small town for almost four years. Writing that, I don’t know whether to feel as though I feel as though we moved here yesterday, or whether it sometimes feels as though we’ve lived here for MUCH longer than that. The reality is probably vacillating between the two.

We have met some truly amazing people here, and we feel twice blessed to truly love our neighbors. But we haven’t met everyone. For example, last year we were vacationing in Costa Rica and weren’t able to attend a neighborhood barbecue hosted by Jeff and David. Our loss, really as we heard a wonderful time was had by all!

Fast forward to this year. We’ve now officially met Jeff and David, and are so pleased to be getting to know them better. By the by, David was baking apple pie on the 4th of July and happened to make two. He so kindly, so blessedly brought us the extra pie (pictured below)! I’m pretty sure I squealed with happiness when I opened the door.

This was no ordinary pie. The crust was flaky, the form was impeccable. We’re talking the pie still had that perfect loft on top, the loft that every baker strives to replicate. Or at least this sub-par baker. Oh. My. Goodness. It was really too wonderful to handle!

The crust was perfectly decorated with those lovely leaf-looking cuts, complete with a gorgeous sparkling sprinkle of sugar in the raw. If you think the outsides looked beautiful, the inside was even better. Perfectly sliced apples were layered in a decadent filling. We were over-the-moon with the deliciousness!

Fast forward again to two nights ago. Our neighborhood was once again having a barbecue, this time hosted by another family. David came to my door to find out where we would be setting up. I sheepishly informed him that I’d double booked! We had dinner plans with other friends and would miss the festivities.

He replied that he only wished I could try the salad he’d made for the block party, and he invited me over to try a bite before dinner. Those of you who’ve read this blog for any length of time know I LOVE a good salad. In fact, for a while I felt my recipe posts were becoming salad-centric. All that aside, I could NOT wait to share this salad with you!

I wish I had a picture of David’s salad. The one I ate that very afternoon. He had it beautifully plated in a square white bowl. The color and and fresh scent of the dish were enough to have you salivating. The first bite, fireworks! My husband has often said that he wishes we could sustain a raw diet.

I’m not ready or equipped to take the plunge on that one right now, but if I did, this salad would be a MUST HAVE for any raw or vegan palate. I cannot rave about it enough! It is everything you could want for in a salad and MORE! What is it about fresh squeezed lemon, fresh ginger, sweet and spicy peppers tumbled with tomatoes and onions that makes a mouth so happy?!?

I don’t know. But whatever it is, it is incredible. I did a little Kachumbari research and learned that it is actually an African dish, common throughout Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi, and the Congo. I don’t remember where David said he’d picked his recipe up from, but I am a lucky goose indeed to be gifted this delicious recipe. Thank you, David!

May your Thursday be filled with fresh minced ginger! La-ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

XX, Megan

Ingredients

1 Lemon

1/4 C olive oil

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 red onion chopped

1 tsp minced fresh garlic

2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger

1 small red or green chili pepper deseeded and diced

1/4 C chopped fresh chives

1/4-1 tsp salt

1/4-1 tsp pepper

6 large cabbage leaves, rolled and cut into thin slivers

6 small sweet bell peppers diced

1 green bell pepper cut into thin strips

1 med cucumber, diced

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

2 C cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

Directions

In a large serving bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, chili pepper. Mix well. Add the remaining ingredients and mix gently.

Note: David did say that he likes to chop and measure every single ingredient in this dish before he begins, it’s a brilliant way to make sure that you’re ready to simply throw the entire thing together in the dressing and call it dinner!!!