July 4, 2023
Summer Issue #2
Weekly activities and lessons to keep your child thinking and progressing all year long.
“Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of their deep and continuing needs, is good for them.”
Happy Fourth of July,
Ok... Summer is here. The heat has finally arrived and today we are celebrating Independence Day with friends and family. I hope you stay safe and enjoy this midweek holiday.

This week's flyer is a treasure trove of learning activities. I'm sharing a fun quasi fire works experiment where your child can mix up some patriotic elephant toothpaste. This is a safe and sane "explosive" activity that I know all children will enjoy. The book recommendation is a beautiful and heartwarming story about overcoming hardship. This book would make a great read aloud for the entire family because I know that adults will enjoy this story as much as young readers.

Keep practicing those reading, writing and math skills. Keeping them fresh (and maybe even improving in them) over summer is the easiest way to start the school year right.

If you know anybody who you think would benefit from the weekly learning activities in this flyer, please share it with your friends and encourage them to join The McManus Files mailing list by following the links on this page.

Peace,
Mr. McManus
If you feel your child might benefit from an individual group or tutoring program to prepare them for the next phase of their education, please contact McManus Tutoring.

Programs are structured so that students learn independence, accountability, and self-possession. They will develop a repeatable structure that can be used to build success in the future.
Book of the Week
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster
•••
by Jonathan Auxier
Sweep is such a heartwarming story. Nan is a lovable character - brave and driven, and concerned for her "monster" and their relationship. Young readers far and wide will be able to find their voice and strength in reading about how Nan found her own voice and strength during those harsh times of her era as she worked in the same, dangerous job with the young boys. Nan is a courageous fighter who overcomes her adversities with the help of her Charlie, and her chimney sweep family, and emerges triumphant. I highly recommend reading this, especially if you are into both historical fiction and fantasy. It transported me to Victorian London and let me feel how scary it must have been for kids who were chimney sweeps. I loved reading this book. It occupied my every thought and I just couldn't wait to finish it.
Enjoy!
LET'S GO EXPLORE
Don't miss the hike to Sam McDonald's cabin where he used to live. Click HERE for more info.

The many park and open space preserves that surround the mid-peninsula and Silicon Valley cities are like jewels in a necklace, giving sparkle and adding value to our lives here. One of my favorites is Sam McDonald County Park in San Mateo County.

Located less than 50 minutes away from downtown San Mateo, it makes a delightful getaway for a picnic, a hike, or even an overnight. While the camp sites at the park are available only for organized youth group camping, two unique experiences await the lucky few, the Jack Brooks Memorial Horse Camp and the Sierra Club's Hiker's Hut.

The beauty of the area begins with the drive 'over the hill' to the parking lot. Rarely do I find much to praise about parking lots, but this one is beautiful, ringed with trees, including redwoods, with forget-me-nots surrounding the pavement, and well-placed picnic tables and barbecues tucked away just off the asphalt. Restrooms and a drinking fountain are there, too.
Inquiry Quest
Make Patriotic Elephant Toothpaste

Create a giant foaming reaction and wow your friends with this classic science demonstration! With just a few simple ingredients, you can make something that looks like toothpaste being squeezed from a tube—but so big, it must be for elephants!
Tools and Materials
•Empty plastic bottle
•Warm water
•Liquid dish soap
•Liquid food coloring - red and blue
•3% hydrogen peroxide. See the Further Exploration section for instructions on using a higher concentration of hydrogen peroxide.
•Measuring cups and spoons
•Safety glasses
•Large tub or tray to catch the foam, or outdoor location to do the experiment
Prep Work
  1. Wear safety glasses to do this experiment, since hydrogen peroxide can irritate your eyes.
  2. The elephant toothpaste will bubble up out of the bottle. Do the experiment in a tray or tub (or outside) so it is easy to clean up all the foam.
Instructions
  1. Pour 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide into the bottle.
  2. Add a big squirt of dish soap into the bottle, and swirl gently to mix.
  3. If you want to make your foam a single color, add a few drops of food coloring directly into the hydrogen peroxide, and swirl the bottle gently to mix. If you want to give your foam stripes like some toothpastes, put the drops along the inside rim of the bottle's mouth. Let them drip down the inside of the bottle, but do not mix.
  4. In a measuring cup, mix together 1 tablespoon of yeast and 3 tablespoons of warm water. Stir for about 30 seconds.
  5. Pour the yeast mixture into the bottle, then quickly step back and watch your reaction go!

*** What happens? How long does the reaction last?
Cleanup
Wash the foam down the sink when you are done with the experiment.

What Happened?
You probably saw lots of bubbles and foam in this activity. What made the foam appear? When the hydrogen peroxide comes into contact with the yeast, it starts breaking down into water and oxygen. Oxygen is a gas and therefore wants to escape the liquid. However, the dish soap that you added to your reaction traps the gas bubbles, forming a foam. The reaction continues as long as there is some hydrogen peroxide and yeast left. Once one of them runs out, it stops making new foam. If you try the experiment without dish soap, the reaction will still make bubbles, but not foam. See the Digging Deeper section to learn more about the chemical reaction.
Digging Deeper
H2O2 is the chemical formula for hydrogen peroxide. It is available in various concentrations, most commonly 3%, which you can buy at a pharmacy. It is used as an antiseptic, which means it can kill bacteria. In fact, it has been used as an antiseptic for about 200 years. Hydrogen peroxide is relatively unstable when exposed to light, which is why it is usually stored in dark brown containers. Light decomposes it into oxygen (O2) and water (H2O). At the same time, heat is generated. Usually, this decomposition reaction happens very slowly. However, certain compounds, called catalysts, can make the reaction happen much faster.

The decomposition of hydrogen peroxide can be catalyzed by various compounds, such as sodium iodide or yeast. In yeast, there is an enzyme called catalase that functions as the catalyst. Catalase is a very common enzyme that is present in almost all organisms that are exposed to oxygen. The purpose of catalase in living cells is to protect them from oxidative damage, which is damage to cells or other molecules in the body caused by oxidative compounds. This damage is a natural result of reactions happening inside your cells, which create by-products like hydrogen peroxide that can be harmful to the body.

To prevent such damage, the catalase enzyme helps break up hydrogen peroxide into harmless water and oxygen. This means if you mix catalase with hydrogen peroxide, it will immediately start decomposing the H2O2 into oxygen and water. The oxygen is a gas, and therefore escapes the liquid as bubbles. In combination with dish soap, it creates the famous elephant toothpaste foam!

For Further Exploration
  • Try the experiment with differently-shaped containers. What happens if you use a bottle with a narrower or wider neck, or a cylindrical drinking glass with no neck?
  • You can do this experiment with higher concentrations of hydrogen peroxide. The higher the concentration, the more vigorous the reaction will be. 6% and 12% hydrogen peroxide are available from Amazon.com. 30% hydrogen peroxide is available from Home Science Tools. Safety warning: additional safety precautions and adult supervision are required when working with higher concentrations of hydrogen peroxide:
  • It is not safe to get this hydrogen peroxide on your skin, so you will need protective gloves and clothing.
  • Make sure you wear eye protection.
  • The foam will shoot up very high out of the bottle, so you will need to do the experiment outdoors.
  • Do not touch the resulting foam, which may still contain some unreacted hydrogen peroxide.
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Three Writing Prompts and an Essay Topic

These prompts and questions will help jump-start your daily writing. Just as it's important to read for at least 30 minutes each day, you should also write for 30 minutes a day. Don't worry about your organization or spelling, just write!

"Constance was planting daffodil bulbs in her flower bed when her trowel struck a most unusual object in the soil..."

"Why did she burst through the door like that if she wasn’t going to tell me the truth?"

"Though Evie knew the dog was special, she’d never realized he was magical..."
Four Fabulous July 4th Writing Prompts
  1. What does independence mean to you?
  2. I am thankful to live in America because…
  3. Why did the colonists want freedom so badly?
  4. What is your favorite Fourth of July memory?
Problems of the Week
mcmanustutoring.com has all previous issues of The McManus Files posted in its library.
Visit the site by clicking mcmanustutoring.com
Creativity Corner
Set your art free
Andy Warhol
Pop Art
You will enjoy learning about the creative artist Andy Warhol who was well-known for his pieces of pop art. You too can create these masterpieces individually or as a collaborative project. To learn more about how to make this creation, watch this video.
Fill the Jug
Puzzles

Click this link to solve these challenging jug filling problems. They are not as easy as they look and take some real brain power.