March 27, 2008 A Sunday Afternoon Hike
Last Sunday my husband invited some friends to go mountain climbing. So, while everyone else in the world was enjoying Easter dinner, we were on a two hour hike. I admit, I wasn't really looking forward to it, but it was a perfect day for climbing- clear and quite warm- and I'm glad I went. I hadn't been up there in several years and it was so beautiful.
This is a view from the parking lot. That doesn't look so bad, does it?
Here are a couple of nature finds along the way:
We have a lot of pileated woodpeckers in the area, so I'm assuming that's what made these holes. I'm not sure what else would have made a hole that big.
My son found this feather, but we weren't sure what kind of bird it was from. As I was taking this picture, I noticed that the dark edge was actually matted with blood. Poor bird!
And here we are at the top. (The brown place on the right side of the photo is the top of the trail.) And if you look at the picture below, you can see the county where we live. (Please excuse the graffiti. There's always someone who likes to spoil the view for others.)
This is the top of the mountain. The four people in front are our friends who hiked with us. Their son, who is almost two actually walked almost the whole way up.
|
•
Comments (4)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
December 5, 2007 Black Widow Update
OK, I have to post this in case you all are wondering if we are going to continue trying to smother this thing forever. The black widow did finally die (Nov. 21), so I took her out into the driveway and took some better pictures before smashing her (just in case she had viable eggs living inside her.)
Recent animal adventures include:
- a 10 point buck my husband killed while hunting on a friends property. It's his first "big" buck and he was quite proud. The children helped butcher it and went with him to take the head to the taxidermists. Don't you love "field trips"?
- a ruffled grouse my 101/2 year old caught in his box trap. he put it in a feed sack because it was scuffing its head trying to get out of the trap. I knew it couldn't stay in a feed sack until my husband got home, so (after checking to be sure grouse were in season) I asked him if he thought he could butcher it. He and his (11 1/2 year old) brother have helped friends with chicken butchering several times. He said he could, so I put the two of them to work on it. It turns out grouse are different from chickens (imagine that!) and they couldn't figure out how to detach the guts from the backbone. I ended up helping them to cut the other pieces of meat off the backbone & we just threw it away with the guts attached. A little more anatomy than I bargined for, but it was worth it to see how suprised my country boy husband was when he learned what we had done. And seeing a bird esophagus was really cool too.
- a racoon caught in the same trap. My husband helped the boys butcher that. They plan to eat it - I am not cooking it or tasting it. I have my limits. And they are going back to the same taxidermist to have him make it into a coonskin cap.
So, not exactly how Charlotte Mason would do nature study. A little more death than I would prefer. But educational all the same.
Oh, and we have a new kitty which my 2 1/2 year old named Snow White. And the seven dwarfs all love her. So at least something is still alive around here. 
|
•
Comments (1)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
November 13, 2007 You Know You're a Homeschool Mother When . . .
Other women are getting flowers, but your husband brings home this:
Yes, it IS a black widow. (I haven't figured out how to take a pictures of small things without making them blurry.) This spider has been sitting on top of our piano in a pickle jar for two weeks without food, water, or air.
Tonight we found some garden spiders had built a web over the back door, so we fed them to her. Wow! She was fast! We thought they might put up a fight, but she didn't give them a chance. Now they are all loosely wrapped and hanging in a group from her "web." I really hate to call it a web, because it is so messy. But I suppose that's what she thinks it is.
When my husband came home, he wasn't very happy we had fed it. Apparently he wanted this thing to die. I figure if she could live for two weeks without air, we might as well feed her. He says he's going to smash her tomorrow, for the sake of safety. Now where's the fun in that? 
I wonder what he'll bring home next?
|
•
Comments (5)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
October 14, 2007 Fall has arrived!
The creek is running very low, so it has a lot of leaves "stuck" in it.
The colors are very vivid this year because it's been so dry.
This maple is my favorite.
The "watering hole" is almost gone.
I'm not sure why these critters don't just drink from the creek. My husband says these are racoon tracks (with the thumb) & maybe possum (five toes in front) . There were deer tracks too, but they don't show in this picture.
|
•
Comments (4)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
September 10, 2007 Still More of My Backyard September 10, 2007 More of My Backyard September 10, 2007 My Backyard March 19, 2007 The Human Body
We've been doing a study on the human body. Last week we studied blood. Did you know that an adult has about five quarts of blood in their body? A child has three and a baby has one. This was my five year old's favorite fact. Janice Van Cleave's book Play and Find Out About the Human Body has easy activities to demonstrate this and many other facts. We also have been using the Wild Goose science kit on the human body (available through Timberdoodle) and some tapes in the Designed By God series. These aren't available anymore, but if you can get ahold of them, they're really great. They were put out by Chariot Books (David C. Cook Publishing) and star Bob Devine as "Uncle Bob." I don't know how many there were originally, but we have Uncle Bob Talks With My Digestive Sysyem, Uncle Bob Talks With My Circulatory System, Uncle Bob Talks With My Central Nervous System, and Uncle Bob Talks With My Respiratory System.
Here's a great recipe that shows the composition of blood:
Make A Candy Model of Blood
White blood cells and platelets each make up about 1/2% of the volume of blood. Red blood cells make up 44%. Plasma makes up the remaining 55%. * I did find slightly different numbers from different sources, but these are the numbers we based our measurements on.
mini marshmallows = white blood cells
sprinkles = platelets
red hots = red blood cells
corn syrup = plasma
You will need approximately:
½ t. mini marshmallows (about 3)
½ t. sprinkles
1 cup + 2 T. + 2 t. red hots
1 ½ cups + 1 t. corn syrup
The kids thought this was yummy and we were all suprised that there were so few platelets and white blood cells, yet they do their jobs so effectively.
Here's another activity that looked fun. It is a "crime scene" investigation of blood. We haven't done it, because I plan to do a forensic science unit with the kids in the future, but it looks really good. I would have never thought of usind hydrogen peroxide to identify if a substance was blood, but it makes sense.
Also, if you are looking for worksheets to use in your notebooks, lapbooks, etc. I found some great ones here:
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3028650
http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/body.htm
http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/Printables/Human_Body/index.shtml
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/worksheets/TCM/science.shtml
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/lessonplans/profbooks/bodybook.pdf
http://www.sciencewithme.com/worksheets.php?cid=1
http://www.lung.ca/children/grades1_3/index.html
http://www.dibujosparapintar.com/english_activities/dr_human_body.html
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/works.html
|
•
Comments (2)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
October 24, 2006 Rock Recipes
|
I haven't tried these and I can't remember where I found them, but they look like fun:
Make Your Own Geodes
Geodes are limestone rocks with quartz crystals growing in their center....ordinary on the outside, spectacular on the inside. If you are doing a study on geology, what better craft than creating your own "geode."
water
borax*
clean egg shells halves
egg carton
waxed paper
Create a super-saturated solution of borax and water -- fill a jar with boiling water then add borax one tablespoon at a time until no more will dissolve. This will be about three tablespoons per cup of boiling water. Place small pieces of waxed paper in the egg carton sections. Set the clean egg shell halves in the carton on top of the waxed paper. Pour a small amount of the super-saturated borax solution into the egg shell halves. In a few days, or less, crystals will form inside the shell.
*You can use other solids to make super-saturated solutions such as: table salt, rock salt, sugar, baking soda, and Epsom salts. Each of these will create a different looking crystal and will require a different ratio of water to solid, and will require a different number of days to form. Makes an interesting science project.
Edible Rock Recipes
Igneous Rocks
1 can evaporated milk (6 oz.)
1-1/2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. chopped nuts
1-1/4 c. mini-marshmallows
1-1/2c. chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla
Grease an 8" or 9" pan. Combine evaporated milk with sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring for 5-9 minutes. Remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients and stir gently. Pour into prepared pan. Let cool. (refrigerate) 1 pan (8") makes 30 (1") squares.
Metamorphic Rocks
1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped nuts
1/2 c. crushed pineapple, well drained
1 egg, beaten
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 375°. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the beaten egg and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in the fruit and nuts. Drop by tsp. onto cookie sheet and bake for 7 min. at 375°. (chocolate chips, coconut, wheat germ, etc. can also be added)
Sedimentary Rocks
1-1/4 c. crushed flake cereal
1-1/2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 c. margarine
1 c. chocolate or butterscotch chips
1-1/4 c. coconut
1 c. chopped nuts
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.)
Preheat oven to 325°. Melt the butter. Mix with the cereal and sugar. Press into an 8" or 9" pan. Add the following (in layers): chips, coconut, and nuts. Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over all. Bake for 25 minutes at 325°.
|
•
Comments (2)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
October 10, 2006 Owl Puke! |
|
|
|
