Again to Scitech

Friends from the country were down, so to Scitech we did go. The kids' play area was again the big winner, with the big ball machine the clear favourite. Alice spent rather a great amount of time dressed as a snail, gorgeous (got pics, yay!). As a matter of fact, she seemed to have a go on everything in the kids' area, I spotted her playing the thong-a-phone and having a go in the construction area that utilises ramps, pulleys, wheels and cogs.

Three activities that she went into.

1) Puppet show about adaptations. Sally the Seal is lost in the Aussie Outback, but she is not adapted for the conditions. She meets various animals that are adapted, discusses similarities and differences between her and other species, explains why she is suited to the marine environment and is lucky enough to have a ranger come to transport her home. Alice and Josh both listened attentively, and Alice was able to contribute to the initial discussion about adaptation of giraffes by telling the presenter that baby giraffes have longer tongues than their mummies, although she had to look to me for a more in-depth explanation.

2) Hi-Voltage Show. ELECTRICITY. Balloons becoming negatively charged by taking the electrons from hair, static electricity, A Van der Graf generator, Nikola Tesla, a tesla coil, Faraday cage for protection from electricity, electricity safety! Fantastic show, Alice is terrified of electricity after getting her shock from the small tesla coil at the Tesla Exhibit the other day. I can remember Nikola Tesla's birthday! 10 July, though I don't know the year. Early 1800s, I shall just check it out - 1856-1943, I was out by half a century!

3) Journey to the Stars at the Planetarium. Mike took her into that, Josh is too young. But she enjoyed it, and commented to Mike how interesting Space is. I'll see if Mike feels up to adding some info about it later.

Plus, we started Blend Phonics today, starting with /a/ and /i/. I had originally not intended on starting phonics until the beginning of next year, but Alice is ready to read now, and she's trying to guess words as she doesn't have the tools necessary to sound them out. So, daily phonics, making sure every element is well absorbed before we move on to the next stage.

Successful day, great day, happy day!

Plus, Alice decided this evening to get everything for her and Josh's breakfast ready in advance. She got Mike to measure out the oats and she poured two cups of milk and put them in the fridge. The purpose? So Mummy and Daddy can have a sleep-in. Bless her heart, she's thoughtful.