Day 32

First thing this morning, Sam looked at the Lego website and found out that he's not a finalist in the contest he entered. He's disappointed, but he does know most people don't win contests. He voted for the stop action video he liked best of the 6 finalists, but the girls didn't vote. They really only cared if Sam was going to be one of them. But he'll keep entering contests. He likes it.

Jeff was helping Sam and Sarah with subtracting negative numbers today, and Rachel said, "I never learned negative numbers." I had to laugh because she's been dealing with negative numbers for years. She is a senior after all. She says she just knows the rules but not why it works. I guess we were trying to get Sam and Sarah to know why the rules are the way they are. I like to understand what's going on, because it makes the math part of me and I remember how to do it. Maybe everyone doesn't need that.


Everyone did science at the same time today, as usual. Rachel was studying something about cell membranes and she looked at lung cells in the microscope. We always all get involved in each other's labs for science, so everyone got to see today. And so do you. Sam couldn't do his experiment because it involved plaster of paris, and we don't have any. Sarah's experiment was a bust because she tried to use a rubber glove and rubber band instead of a balloon. Clearly, I need to buy some science supplies.

We read another chapter of The Mysterious Island today. They haven't found the fifth person in their party after they were shipwrecked (actually, balloon wrecked). The characters are assuming he's dead, but none of us think so. They keep talking about him. We figure they wouldn't keep talking about a guy if they weren't going to find him alive. I've never read it. I wonder how long it's going to take to find him and what condition he'll be in when they do!

After school everyone did yard work in the heat. It was yucky and sweaty. I just watched because I have a terrible headache again/still. There is an unreasonable amount of work to do in the yard. We're renting a house and this is our first summer here. We've talked about buying the house, and the first thing we would do is rip out most of the things that grow and cause yard work! It's not our thing.

See you tomorrow!