True to our plans it was a crazy week. Three birthdays and a holiday plus sports in 14 days has left us whirling BUT my kids have learned so much. Our truss bridge was a huge success until the 3 year old decided to stress test it. The sugar cube arch was a huge fail but you know what my kids learned so much from that experiment (so did mom, do not let certain neighbor kids help). I am still trying to figure out what happened to the remains of our collapsed arch but I am pretty sure 8 children + sugar cubes + icing = missing remains.
On our trip on Labor Day we crossed many bridges and everyone was so excited to tell me what kind they were and why the engineers would have chosen that type based on the area. Even my 4 year old was yelling, look mom it is a beam bridge over a road, that is called an overpass. We crossed Francis Scott Key Bridge and a debate ensued over whether it was some sort of suspension bridge or truss bridge. We of course looked at all the parts and mentally labeled them and came up with the fact it was an enormous truss bridge. We came home on Tuesday and googled the bridge and read all about it. We finished our week off with draw bridges (we are a little skewed in our schedule but I knew we would be). We watched Dave Macualey's Bridge video, Bill Nye the science guy video on Structures and a Discovery Chanel video on bridges. They have been invaluable in cementing in my children's mind all they have seen and read.
The best part is that we are two weeks into our school year and everyone is LOVING school especially my husband. He is willing to overlook a messy home, quick dinners eaten late after sports practice because he can see how much they have learned in just two short weeks!!!
My kids are learning and practicing determination in all their attempts at bridge building. Wish I had pictures to share but the between the one that was eaten and then one that was flattened, I have nothing to show.
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