LAVA LAMPS AND SECRET READERS

Today Baylie showed us how to make a homemade lava lamp that you don't even have to plug in!  First fill a glass or plastic bottle a quarter of the way with water.  Then fill most of the rest of the glass with vegetable oil.  The oil will float because it is less dense than the water.  Add a few drops of your favorite food coloring.  Right now it doesn't look like much, but add two tablets of Alka Seltzer and the whole thing bubbles up like a real live lava lamp.  This is such a cool experiment you can try at home.  Just keep adding something fizzy to make the bubbles go.  And check it out with a flashlight! 

We were also lucky enough to have a visit from a secret reader, Baylie's mom, Miss Morgan.  She shared a book we'd never read before called Can I Keep Him?  This hilarious book by Steven Kellogg is all about the details.  When a little boy can't keep a dog because it barks and has fur he goes on a hunt for all the other things he might be able to keep.  A snake is no good because it's skin clogs the vacuum.  A cat is not good because it scratches.  The little boy next door is no good because he already has a home, but he can come over for a play date. So finally, he settles on a little bird.  And the bird meets the long list of criteria.