Bug Collection

The girls have always been fascinated with bugs of all kinds.  I have a vast collection of empty jars of all sizes on hand to grab when the girls find something interesting to study. It's also nice for me in that I have a free spider removal service.  They don't like us to kill spiders and bugs found in the house...instead they will collect them and let them go outside. Works for me.

Over the past year, the girls' collection of bugs has increased....dead ones I mean. They would never harm a bug just because they wanted to keep it. These bugs they find already deceased.

This year the cicadas have been good to them, lol. Georgia can tell you anything you ever wanted to know about cicadas. She likes to learn more about the bugs they find.

Katydids creep me out!  The live ones, anyway... 

And yes that is a urine specimen cup on the left, lol.  Whatever works, right? (it has never been used, lol) Old jam jars, peanut butter jars, my tupperware! 

Mark and I are trying to come up with a way for them to display their collection. I was thinking of a shadow box display on the wall, but they need something that will allow them to take them out and examine them whenever they feel the need. Hmmmm....

We'll also need something for their feather collection, rock collection, nest collection, seed collection....

As I am writing this I hear Animal Planet's Most Extreme in the background talking about a bug, lol.

Goldfish Dissection

When one of Olivia's goldfish died she asked if we could dissect it and learn about the insides of a goldfish

Meet poor Brazil...who died on September 21, 2011.

We first used this image to help us identify external anatomy.

Then we used our exacto knife scalpel and removed the layer of scales, skin, and muscle.

We were able to identify the swim bladder, spine and spinal cord, and intestines. 

We removed the intestines and saw where it connected to the esophagus on one end, and the vent on the other.

Here is Brazil without intestines. We can see his heart near the gills.

Olivia was amazed at it all. Very interesting stuff!

We also got a glimpse of the brain, and took a closer look at the gills..but at that point Brazil looked pretty gruesome...so here's a photo of the eye instead....

 She said she wants to dissect a grasshopper, too. Pretty sure I'll need a sharper "scalpel" for that one!

Here's my little scientist....

Fish Shopping

The girls have decided they want an aquarium in their rooms for their birthdays. So we have been doing research into what type of fish they want, what it needs, maintenance schedules, pH, nitrogen cycle, water temperature, etc. We are thinking goldfish for their first fish. Eventually we may get into tropical!

Schools out forever

Article on unschooling I recently read on USA Today...


http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/story/2011-09-04/Schools-out-forever-for-unschoolers/50259548/1



Just don't read the comments section below the article if you don't want to be brought down by rigid people who can't think outside the box.  Amazes me how someone can think spending MORE time with your kids and engaging with them on a deeper level, exporing interests and finding resources for them is....::Child Abuse::!!!  Yet sending your kids to the government-run institution and ignoring them most of the day, only to yell at them to do their homework...that is the way we should all do it, right??? Teach them they don't have a say in their own life....anything else is child abuse I guess. I think people with that mentality feel like they have no say in how their own life is run as an adult...and feel the need for everyone to feel how they do. What a sad life to live. Phew....breathe in....breathe out....breathe in....breathe out..... Aaah, better now.