The Eruption of Grumble Volcano

Ethan got a make-your-own-volcano set for Christmas, which he has been excited to open for some time (he's been into volcanoes lately), but let's face it... I wasn't always ready to take on the project when he wanted to do it.  We had just finished a unit on mountains, including volcanoes, so I figured the time was right (even though the timing wasn't the best since it was right before our trip).

So we opened up the kit and got to work.  It ended up being a two day project, so I'm glad that we started when we did.  Ethan did most of the work himself, and I think he did a great job.  To the right is my lovely volcano picture on the whiteboard in the schoolroom (I often wish I was better at drawing, but thankfully my drawing has been sufficient to teach kindergarten.  I have to mention also that there is an amazing stick figure drawing explaining condensation, which I am strangely proud of).

Here Ethan is getting ready to put plaster strips on the volcano shell.  It makes me a little sad to think that when I first bought that smock it swallowed him- now it barely fits! Ah well...

Here is the volcano drying outside in the sun.

Here is the finished product, complete with lava pouring down the mountain.  It looks great!  Just in case anyone is wondering, Ethan named it Grumble Volcano after the Mario Cart race of the same name.  Go figure!

Now for the eruption...

As you can see from the video, Micah was pretty excited about it, too.  That reminds me though that I need to put vinegar on my grocery list since I'm obviously out of it ;-)  So it was a fun project, and we had a great time.