Home Education Magazine

July-August 1997 - Articles

Tristan, five years old, dragged the step stool over to the kitchen sink. I had just finished a batch of bread and the huge bowl was full of soapy water.

As he flipped on the faucet to wash his hands before lunch, he stared, mesmerized, as the water overflowed the bowl. Finally he squirted the soap onto his palm. He rubbed his hands together for a nanosecond then, like a torpedo, shot them into the bowl of water up to his elbows.

That was just the beginning of the afternoon's adventures.

He was quieter than usual at lunch, staring across the table at his brother Kellen, eight. I wondered what was brewing behind those large blue eyes. Silently he slid out of his chair and into the kitchen. He began rummaging in the utensil drawer. He picked out the largest wooden spoon he could find, hopped back up to the sink and began to stir.

Kellen moseyed over. "Hey, Tristan," he asked, "what's that gonna be--fortuic acid?"

I looked up from sponging off the table. Fortuic acid?

For the next half hour both boys asked for supplies for their concoction. Tristan, on the verge of learning to use a knife. successfully cut up celery and half a banana. Kellen chopped the more difficult carrots and walnuts into minute pieces. After he had used a quarter-size measuring cup to fill the glass four-cup measure, he turned to me, a smile on his face.

"Mom, four quarters equal one cup. That's the same as four quarters equaling one dollar. "

I can never guess just how their learning connections will be made.

Meanwhile, Tristan was busily squishing raisins, sesame seeds and stale bread through the garlic press. I considered writing an article for Cook's Magazine titled "Fifty Ways To Use Your Garlic Press. "

Next, the spice and baking drawers were opened. I nixed most of them, but they were satisfied with cinnamon, allspice, salt, cloves, chocolate chips and a few drops of peppermint. Was this how Hershey, Whitman and See had gotten started?

Now out of the drawer came the Test for Good Homeschooling Parents: cornstarch. They looked at me with that please-say-yes-or-I'll-die look in their eyes. I stared down at the mass (let's use the exact word here) in the sink. I had to make one of those split second decisions. Gooey it would certainly be, to say nothing of the clean up. I took a breath and gave the go ahead.

Tristan held the cornstarch box poised above the bowl.

"Wait. " Kellen held back his brother's arm. "Let's not make it too thick. I want to see what happens if we add food coloring."

Kellen whirled rhythmically while Tristan sprinkled in the white powder. It stuck to the produce nicely. Three drops of red and three of blue were added.

"Hey, look--purple!" Tristan's small round face lit up. Green and yellow followed in fast succession: brown was inevitably created.

Tristan suddenly stopped stirring. He dramatically raised the dripping spoon. "The mystic fortuic acid is ready!" he pronounced.

"Let's bottle it!" Kellen yelled.

Again the begging eyes. How could I fail them now? After a two-bit warning about helping with the clean up, I assented.

Out to the recycling barrels they marched (Thank goodness I had procrastinated going to the recycling center last week). Soon half-gallon plastic seltzer bottles, quart-size juice jars, soup cans and various glass jars were lined up on the counter.

The mystic mixture was, at this point, the consistency of chunky tomato soup, just thin enough to be poured. While Tristan, tongue stuck out with concentration, funneled it from the bowl into the container with a soup ladle, Kellen studied the labels. He asked what "fl. oz." meant. I explained. He decided that they'd sell it for ten cents per ounce. The buyer? You've got it.

Kellen, lately lamenting the uselessness of math in his life, was delighted to be able to practice his recently learned multiplication skills.

Tristan set up his cash register and handed me a bulging bag of play money. Obviously I was expected to be a good consumer.

I began with the purchase of one thirty-two ounce bottle of the schloopy brown goo. I handed Kellen a $5.00 bill, and he gave me the correct change. I was the first proud consumer of mystic fortuic acid.

Later that evening I reviewed my day. What had they learned? Cooking, cooperation, art, math, business -- and mystic chemistry. © 1997 Natalie Mortensen

....(articles list) | columns list)....

HEM General Information

Subscribe to HEM