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March 7, 2023
Winter Issue #14
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Weekly activities and lessons to keep your child thinking and progressing all year long. |
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"Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently."
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If you feel your child might benefit from a group or individual tutoring program to prepare them for the next phase of their education, please contact McManus Tutoring.
Programs are structured so that students learn independence, accountability, and self-possession. They will develop a repeatable structure that can be used to build success in the future.
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The Swifts
by Beth Lincoln
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The Swifts is a kooky murder-mystery where the children are named from the dictionary-a family heirloom treasure. The day has come for the legendary family reunion, which leads to the family attempting to find a treasure that has long been hiding in the house. The house is unique and has many secret passages, booby traps, and hidden places. Booby traps are so prevalent in the library that they must be locked during the reunion. This murder-mystery tale about the Swifts is fun and dark at times, but the clues and the characters' uniqueness kept me turning pages. The author shares that the characters' names, as picked from the dictionary, are supposed to express the kind of person you will be. Shenanigan Swift is attached to mischief, but as you read, you learn that this may not always be true, and sometimes we should look beyond just a name. Enjoy!
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Most kids love playing with magnets and food. In this mind blowing experiment you can do both. Breakfast doesn't have to be boring any more. With a little kitchen science you will give that first meal of the day a whole new meaning. |
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Magnetic Cereal Experiment
Materials you’ll need:
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1/2 cup of iron fortified cereal (I used Total.)
- strong magnet
- water
- zippered sandwich bag
- shallow dish
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Activity 1:
- Pour a small amount of water into a shallow dish.
- Float 2-3 pieces of Total cereal on the water.
- Ask yourself, what types of things are attracted to magnets?
- Metals - Right?
- Place your magnet close to one of the pieces of cereal and watch what happens.
- Did the cereal move across the water towards the magnet?
- Breakfast cereal is fortified with iron.
- Look at the nutritional information on the side of the cereal box and see how much iron is in your cereal.
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Activity 2:
- You’re going to extract iron from cereal.
- First, break the flakes up into tiny pieces with your fingers.
- Place the crushed up cereal in a small zippered plastic bag.
- Fill the baggie 1/3 of the way with water and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, shake the bag a little while holding a strong magnet against the side of the bag.
- The iron filings will collect against the magnet. This is easiest to see if you lay the bag down on a flat surface and then slowly lift the magnet away from the bag. You can even use the magnet to pull the dark iron pieces around the bag of cereal.
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Want to take the magnetic cereal experiment a little further?
Try it with several different cereals to see which one has the most iron in it. Then check out the nutrition labels to see if you’re results match up.
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Three Writing Prompts and an Essay Topic
These prompts and questions will help jump-start your daily writing. Just as it's important to read for at least 30 minutes each day, you should also write for 30 minutes a day. Don't worry about your organization or spelling, just write!
"I was given the gift of any wish in the world, so I..."
"I can’t believe how fast the time went by when I was..."
"I was eating lunch with friends when I overheard them talking about a mysterious creature called..."
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March 7th
Today in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was issued a patent for his "talking device."
Prompt:
Name three ways life would be different if telephones had never been invented.
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Try a KenKen
Sudoko is too busy for me, and I get overwhelmed with all the tiny boxes. About 15 years ago, I discovered KenKen puzzles which use the same logic as Sudoko but with a math twist. With practice they get easier. Give KenKen a try... Here is a medium and an easy puzzle
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Rules For Playing KenKen
The numbers you use in a KenKen puzzle depend on the size of the grid you choose. A 3 x 3 grid (3 squares across, 3 squares down) means you use the numbers 1, 2, and 3. In a 4 x 4 grid, use numbers 1 to 4. A 5x5 grid requires you use the numbers 1 to 5, and so on.
The numbers in each heavily outlined set of squares, called cages, must combine (in any order) to produce the target number in the top corner using the mathematic operation indicated (+, -, ×, ÷).
Here's how you play:
- Use each number only once per row, once per column.
- Cages with just one square should be filled in with the target number in the top corner.
- A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not in the same row or column.
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