First, some background info.
Around 10-12 years ago, when all my children were quite
small, we came across an experiment in our science textbook. The idea was for all the children to gather
some rocks, and to then test their hardness by placing them on a flat
surface and giving them a good whack with the hammer. Sounds simple enough, right?
So, I sent the children out on a beautiful spring day to
gather their rocks. As they were
little, I didn’t explain what we would be using the rocks for, but I knew
they’d love watching the rocks being smashed to bits – I was excited – we were
taking care of the hands-on stuff today, and it was going to be fun!
My little children lined up on the verandah, proudly holding
their rock collections in their hands.
I took the first rock from my oldest daughter, and awaiting the squeals
of delight that were sure to come, I gave that piece of sandstone an almighty
thump.
Of course, it smashed perfectly – with bits of rock and dirt
flying across the ground. I looked up,
very proud of my accomplishment, with a smile on my face – only to see my
daughter burst into tears. ‘That was
going to be my pet rock!’ she cried, ‘and you’ve smashed it!’
And that was the end of the lesson, and in fact, the end of
our school day, as I spent the rest of the day trying to comfort her and calm
her down. It’s a day I never forgotten
– and a lesson learned – in such cases, it’s a good idea to give at least a little
forewarning of what is going to happen.
Fast forward to the present day. Imagine my horror when I turned the page in our current science
book (Science in the Creation Week, by Dr. Jay Wile), to discover the exact
same experiment! I took a deep breath,
and very carefully, and in depth, explained to my three youngest daughters that
today they would be collecting rocks, and we would be taking a hammer and
smashing them. After I was absolutely
sure that they understood these would NOT be ‘pet rocks’, I sent them out to
gather their collections – they were absolutely delighted that a hammer would
be involved, and that they would have permission to smash something!
After a little while the rocks were gathered and all lined
up, ready for their impending doom. We
started off very gently, with a lump of solid dirt, giving it a good tap, and
watching the dirt fly. We then began on the rocks – softly at first, but we
soon worked our way up to knocking the bejeebers out them!
We rubbed the rocks together, drew marks on the verandah,
and chatted about which rocks crumbled, which rocks were tough, etc. We also took the time to examine the various
layers, and discuss how the layers may have been formed. The only difficultly I had this time was
having the girls come back inside to complete their notebooks – this was one
experiment they thoroughly enjoyed!
So, a wrong has been righted. I never thought I’d ever attempt this experiment again, but
fortunately, this time, it all went off perfectly {insert a HUGE sigh of relief
here}.
And, with that done, we’re moving on……
Linda.
1 comment:
smiles :o)
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