Summer "Minerals" Week

It's the last week of summer break!  So as you can imagine, it was a busy week too.  We talked about rocks and minerals this week, learning about how things are formed.

Of course we checked out fun books about rocks and minerals in the library.  We especially liked "Rocks in his Head" by Carol Otis Hurst which is a true story about a guy who collected rocks, and where it finally took him, and "Rocks and Minerals" by Chris Pellant which is a wonderful reference book with vibrant photos and descriptions of rocks to help you identify them.

Bill Nye the Science Guy was our buddy this week.  I found a spot where you can choose the Bill Nye Episode you want to watch.  He makes science so much fun, and presents it in a way the the kids can relate to and remember.


We also went to our last family reunion this week.  For this Powell Reunion, we stayed at the same place as last year - Wasatch State Park.  We had a wonderful time as usual.  John and I braved camping in the tent without our cots this time... I found I just don't sleep well on the ground- even with a therma-rest, and John ended up with a very stiff neck - must have slept wrong on it!  Ha!...We must be getting old! Glad to see that the kids don't mind the ground! 

John and the boys got to go with the group of cousins who went tubing down the Provo River.  It was a fun new experience, and they really enjoyed it.  Since our little girls were too small for that, we went to play in the pool at the hotel that one of his cousins was staying at.  They had a fun time, even though the water was quite cold.  They loved to float with their life jackets on.  We also had a good time with cousins playing ball, making bubbles, eating, chatting, and even a movie night.  Must have had a few too many goodies that were shared by others, cause Quin had a belly ache the first night, and Zach and another cousin puked at 2am on the second night!

For the last bit of our minerals week, we drove 5 minutes away from our camp site to the Homestead to check out the Crater! 

The Crater is a geothermal spring, hidden within a 55-foot tall, beehive-shaped limestone rock located on the Homestead property. Over 10,000 years in the making, The Crater formed when melting snow on the Wasatch Mountains seeped deep within the earth. Two miles below the surface, the earth’s interior heated the water. As it percolated upward, it picked up minerals, which were then deposited on the surface -- eventually forming the volcano-shaped limestone deposit.

We even hiked up the stairs to the top of the crater where you can stand on a bridge and look down into the crater.  We also enjoyed reading about the history of the site in the little hallway museum they have. 

 
 To finish off the visit, we found a nice shady spot under some pine trees to have a little picnic lunch.  A grand way to finish off the summer break!