Panning for Gold

We finished up our USA themed week today with our last state for this round. I think we may do this for a theme week again sometime- though in October we're having Science Project Week and in November we're having the much anticipated Harry Potter Week to go along with a trip to Universal (I know, right? SO EXCITING! I'm even more excited for November than I was for September- if all goes according to plan I'll be road tripping up north with some kiddos, going to Legoland for a home school day AND Universal!) 

But, anyway, back to California Day. It's the weekend here at the Waterstrauts (Asa is normally off Wednesday & Thursday in addition to Sundays), so Asa was around for our activities today which is always a plus. 

After getting up late (I'm still coughing and sneezing- yuck!) I had Asa dump the bayou in favor of a shallow sandy area to pan for gold! Hayden helped me out, and we found the cutest little frog that had made the half a bag of play sand his home. 

Then we came inside for an early lunch. Our B.L.T.A wraps included Californian avocado. YUM! 

Then it was time to pull out the last state box. 

Along with it, one last road trip project for the boys. 

The boys got pretty good at navigating 'the old school' way. 

Then we got to our California high lights. We talked about Death Valley being the lowest elevation in the contiguous United States, and had a talk about how cactus survive the heat of the desert. I also told them how all I remember from death valley is grandma running around outside without her shoes on while bats flew around. Anyway, to demonstrate how the waxy substance of cactus help lock in the water, we had a quick experiment with some wet paper towels. 

Hayden simply wet his paper towel and left it out, laying flat. 

Calib rolled his up to try and preserve more water. 

While Peyton wrapped his up in wax paper. We'll check them tomorrow to see which one stays wet, but we've been keeping an eye on them all day- and it's pretty safe to say the wax paper has protected Peyton's paper towel from drying out- just like the cactus. 

Of course you can't talk about California, without talking about Hollywood. Though most shows are now produced in places like Burbank, there's always the walk of fame to talk about. I found these kits that had plaster of paris, a star mold, and paint for the boys to make their own stepping stones. 

We'll have to finish these up as they have to dry overnight. 

Then we discussed plate tectonics, earthquakes, and the San Andres Fault. I think our graham cracker, frosting, and fruit roll up lesson on it went a little over Hayden's head- but he sure didn't mind eating it. 

Calib might also have not found the lesson too interesting- I caught him mid-yawn. 

But then it was time to talk about the 49er's and the Gold Rush! I had collected some small shells the last time we were at the beach- and then spray painted them gold to make little gold nuggets. 

Then I put them in some sand and some shallow water. 

And the boys got to pan for gold! 

I told them they could 'sell' their gold to Stinky Pete the Prospector (a little Toy Story humor for you), for money (aka points) so they got really into it. 

Then they cleaned off their gold to see how much they could sell it for. 

Then Asa made some offers. 

So he has all the gold in the house now.

Then we had one last day of map coloring. 

Our board is up and done! (It's another one I won't want to take down) 

For dinner tonight we paid homage to the best fast food place ever- In-N-Out Burger. I had mine animal style with grilled onions. Yum. 

Asa even made us animal style fries! 

That's it from here- 

Next Up: Tomorrow we're just tying up some loose ends. Besides that, we're not too set in plans with the colds we've got going on.