chemistry class

I am over winter. Over it.  Playing in the snow a few times is nice, the winter birds are sweet, the snow on the trees is pretty, but I'm ready for spring.  I'm dreaming of flip flops, green grass, blue sky, swing sets, picnics, our garden and the pool in our new back yard.  Every time the last batch of snow melts away Luke asks if  summer is almost here.  Almost buddy.   I have been doing some boot shopping this week and the stores must agree.  Not a boot in sight, sandals and flip flops are all over.  Almost summer.

We spent one of our recent snow days with friends having chemistry class.  There was snow, but it happened to be sunny that day, a rare treat lately. My new friend Shelly is a chemist (currently a homeschooling mama) and loves to work with her boys on science related projects.

I'm going to try to tell you all about this project, she was very scientific about the atoms joining and used tinker toys to explain the kind of mixture they made.  Here's what I know.*  We crushed dried raspberries (a color indicator- like litmus paper) in the mortars and then added them to a small amount of water and a good amount of vinegar.   It was pink and an acid.

Then we added baking soda and it fizzed a lot.  When more baking soda was added, it changed to a base and turned purple blue. 

Then we added more vinegar and turned it back into a pink acid. 

There was a story with the tinker toys about the mixture joining and some parts were released and that went to the surface as the bubbles in carbon dioxide.  Something.**   I mostly added things and watched it fizz.

Bee ate as many dried raspberries as she could and Lou encouraged me add a lot of whatever ingredient to get a lot of fizz. 

We both liked the fizz part so I was happy to help.  After science class, we had some art class and painted with watercolor pencils.  I apparently didn't take any pictures.

* It's not a lot.  I may or may not have copied off a cute boy in high school in science class.  It's OK though, I married him.  I may or may not have also copied off him in German class too.

** See, I don't know a lot here.   There is no cute boy to look off of today.