FINALLY, today we were able to get back into our full home school studies!  Our first co-op meeting went really well!  Just little minor things to work out, but overall it was a huge success.  Thank you al so much for your prayers.  I've really needed them with the extra stress.  But, thank goodness, it is starting to settle down now.  Hopefully I'll be able to get ahold of the photos soon that were taken the first day to share here.

Over the last week, the Lord has brought new kinds of creatures into our home, via my son of course.  We have been thoroughly enjoying our new amphibians which took some time to identify, but I think we have finally accurately identified them as:  five (5) Southern Two-Lined Salamanders and one (1) Green Frog.

So, because we finally have the time, we spent a big portion of our school day studying them!

Here is a photo of one of the salamanders.

And also a photo of the Green Frog.

While studying and observing both of these creatures, we had to be careful to keep rehydrating them in some water.  Because one of the things we read was how they will dehydrate fairly quickly when not in or near water.  We got to feel this first hand as the frogs skin would dry out within just a few minutes of having it out.

Here are some other things we observed and learned about:

We carefully observed the eyes of the frog.  We saw that their shape was spherical.  The frog's eyes are their main sense organ for finding food and avoiding predators.  They have clear eyelids that raise up from the bottom to protect their eyes while under water.

Also in the photo above you'll notice, beneath and to the left of the eye, the circular Tympanic Membrane (external eardrum).  The Tympanic Membranes are the visible external structure of a well-developed internal sense of hearing. 

This photo really shows the beautiful jewel-like sparkling colors in our frog friend, and the length of the hind legs.

We also observed the frog jumping and the salamander walking and contrasted the two.  I LOVE the way a salamander walks, so cute!  We also reviewed the contrast between a frog and toad.  Here are a couple of videos discussing a few other things that we learned.

Did you know that you can hypnotize a frog?  Ok, well, you are basically just calming it down.  Alex wasn't so successful on the video with it.  But I was able to do it several times.  If done properly they will lay still and calm for over an hour!

While our little frog friend was relaxing, we observed his heart beating and lungs breathing.  It was quite easy to notice through the thin skin.  We also noticed movement in the bottom of his mouth.  In frogs, air is pumped in and out of the nostrils by the muscular action of the floor of the mouth.  Breathing, in humans, involves increasing of decreasing the size of the chest cavity to pump air in and out.  Frogs, lacking ribs, cannot enlarge the cavity containing the lungs.  They must use the muscles of the mouth to move air in and out.  Humans can breath through their mouth but frogs cannot.  We also tried to observe the breathing in our salamanders, but unfortunately they cannot be hypnotized. :)

We observed the skin on both of our amphibian friends.  An amphibian's skin is thin, smooth, and moist and only loosely attached to the muscles underneath.  Are amphibians slimy?  Yes, well at least when they are adequately hydrated.  Amphibian skin contains small mucous glands over practically the whole body.  An amphibian's skin, when submerged, can absorb water.  In the air, they constantly face the threat of dehydration due to evaporation because they have no physical ability to control evaporation off their skin.  Occasionally dead toads or frogs that are dry and stiff can be found around buildings, on roads, etc. due to dehydration.

We observed many more details about both of our friends.  These obseration ideas were found in Animals Alive, by Walter Dennis Holley.

We also took time to read one of our favorite books, The Salamander Room, by Anne Mazer.  And also learned some more neat information in Reptiles and Amphibians, by Bonnie Pettifor.  I had the kids take turns reading aloud from this.

Then they each made a Nature journal entry page.  Alex wrote about where he found our amphibian friends.

And Hannah wrote a very cute poem about our salamander on her entry.  And with her permission, I have shared it below.

Slippery Little Salamander

Slippery little salamander, run fast away.

Hide in the leaves where no one can see you.

Slippery little salamander, stay nice and warm.

Fall fast asleep, say good night to all the world

Stay warm in the leaves, "Good night little salamander."

At the end of our school day we took our friends down to the creek and wished them well, thanked the Lord for providing them to us, and set them free!