Frog Update - SOOOO Much

On 6/19 I posted how not much had really been going on with the Froggy Crew, but boy oh boy did things happen over the last few days.

On 6/20 Number 4 took a turn for the worse. He suddenly was not moving very much and then I noticed Number 3 was poking at him a lot and he wasn't swimming away, so I felt that it was time to take him out of the tank. When CJ got home, later that day, I mentioned we should probably think about switch the tanks because Bert looked like his middle was getting a bit more defined and I needed CJ to help me so we should really probably do it over the next few days while he was home. So we went that night to get the glass and aquarium sealant to make the tank into a terrarium. 

On 6/21 CJ was looking at Bert and noticing the changes in his mouth. He went to the store to pick up a few things and when he came back Bert's front legs had sprouted out. I moved Bert and Frank - previously known as Number 3 - into the smaller tanks to get the 10 gallon prepped. I put the piece of wood into the container that Bert was in so that he could get up and rest when he was ready.

Bert relaxing!!!

On 6/22 TO MY SHOCK Bert was on the wood!!! Charlie had swam around for 3 or 4 days before he got up on the wood, but Bert was ready to go. However our tank was not ready yet as the sealant takes 48 hours to fully dry.

On 6/23 I noticed that Bert's tail was swiftly resorbing and he would need to eat soon, so I decided to make a temporary home for him and Charlie in the tote that we use when KM catches snakes in the backyard ----

This morning (6/24) I tested the seal and there is a slight leak one side so I am going to have to pick up some more sealant, but luckily Bert and Charlie seem to be liking their temporary home ---

Frog Update - Not too much...

Charlie in his terrarium.

 ...has changed over the last few weeks. Charlie is doing great in his new habitat and seems to really like the pinhead crickets from our local pet store, but is not so crazy about the meal worms. Bertie seems to be on the cusp of metamorphism and should have his front legs at anytime now. Number 3 is doing well, he is substantially smaller than Bertie which is difficult to tell because of the angle of the shot below. 3 does have rear legs coming in, so it appears he is just morphing at an even slower rate. Number 4 is still tiny and although he has stopped floating upside down - possibly caused from a bacterial infection - he doesn't seem to be growing very much.   
Once Bertie has his front legs and perches on the piece of wood we will be turning the 10 gallon tank into a terrarium for the two frogs and will move 3 & 4 into the two smaller tanks. The one drawback to the kit that we got was that didn't realize at the time that we would need to upgrade the facilities to be able to keep the frog's long term. If I had known that at the time, I may have just gotten the eggs and food and not the whole kit, as the tank is not even big enough to keep one frog for more than a month or two.

Number 3 above & Bertie below

Number 4

Frog Update - Moving to the Terrarium

Charlie was found upon the piece of wood this morning.

 So KM went out and gathered some greens and dirt from the yard to create a terrarium for our little friend.

We used the smaller tank for now and once the next froggy finishes morphing we will have to swap things around again, but for now we hope Charlie will be happy.

Froglet Update

I awoke this morning to discover two things - one sad, one happy. Little Ozzy did not make it, this morning he was found on the bottom of the tank, barely moving and I felt it was time to end his suffering. He will be missed. Charlie, on the other hand has sprouted his front legs, so we have added the floating piece of wood to the tank. I think he will need to be moved to another tank soon. The second largest - still unnamed at this point - definitely has his hind legs sprouting and the twins are holding stable.

The second largest - still unnamed at this point - definitely has his hind legs sprouting and the twins are holding stable. This continues to be one of the most educational and interesting projects yet. I must do in all home ed households!

Froglet Update - Legs have sprung

Froglet update

So we have determined that the problem with our littlest froglet - Ozzi - is that it's organs are not centered within the body. In the picture below you can see the red mass of organs is shifted to the left side of it's body.

I am not really sure what the outcome will be, but we are keeping a close eye on this little one.

Random update - Froglets!

We haven't updated in a while as they really haven't had much of a change other than there size lately. The largest is now about 3 inches and little one is only 1.5 inches, so there is quite a size difference. Since we will have to eventually create a terrarium for the critters we decided to upgrade to a 10 gallon tank today, but only put about 3.5 gallons of water in it. This gives them plenty of space to swim around and grow but will not become overwhelming to change the water. It should also be ample space so that the littlest will not get eaten or taken over by the larger. 

Free Science Projects for Kids from Home Science Tools

The Home Science Tools site is one of my first stops for anything science related. They have a fantastic Free Science Projects for Kids section that includes project ideas in every area - Biology, Chemistry, Microscope Projects, Dissection Guides and so much more!

Weekly Update - Taste of Summer

We are on "book break" this week and BOY OH BOY did we pick a good one. The weather has been incredible and we have fully been taking advantage of it. DN survived his first road trip with CJ and it seemed to be a good turning point and bonding experience for them. KM and I spent the week cleaning, yard-working, finishing projects, KM finished up Wuthering Heights and completed the work for her last Skype class which will be held next week, spent an afternoon at the beach, watched LOTS of shows on the ROKU and KM went to her first semi-formal!!! OH and our FROG EMBRYOS ARRIVED!!!!

Weekly Update - Looking Ahead to SPRING!!!

This past week is the last one of our winter session and things went really smoothly. This was DN's first full session and though there was some trips and a few stumbles all and all it seems as though we are all getting our feet firmly planted beneath us! He was here over the weekend and finished up things smoothly and with no issue. He also completed a few "pre-tests" in writing and in U.S. Geography so that I know exactly what I am working with. He really surprised himself on the writing evaluation as he thought he was going to do poorly on the entire thing, but only a few areas - 4 out of the 21 - that he needs to work on. As for U.S. geography, we have a ways to go, but I think it will all come together without too much of a problem if he puts his mind to it. He was at home for the rest of this week and will be going on the road with CJ next week. This should be a very interesting experience for the both of them, as they have never spent that much time together - 24 hours a day in close quarters for an undetermined number of days. I am confident that this will help them to understand each other a bit better.

KM finished up some areas, but will not be taking a full break over the next two weeks as she has to complete her Literature Skype class which doesn't end until 3/28. She has also decided to keep watching the Liberty Kids episodes and may need to do one or two other things as she is HOPING to have her turn to on the road with CJ the first week of April. This will also be an interesting endeavor as has never been away from me for more than two nights and although I know she will be fine and CJ will take good care of her, I will also be staying at home all alone for the FIRST TIME EVER - dun, dun, DUN! I will be fine, but will probably not know what to do with myself after the first day. I bet they will come back and the whole house will be rearranged, organized and unrecognizable.

As we were ending our winter studies, this included the ant and earthworm habitat studies, so it was time to release the critters. Although I know it is not recommended that you release harvester ants in our area as they are sure to not survive, there were only two left and we really didn't think that it would be long before they would be gone as well. They seemed so sad and lonely in there. As for the earthworms, they were going strong and KM had a great time making me jump and squirm nearly as much as the worms were - I know it is an irrational fear, but I think it is more that I just don't LIKE them than that I am afraid of them. So we released all of the critters close to home and right into our compost container. KM was delighted to see all the worms that were already crawling in there and felt Herbert and his friends would be in good company there. We will be freecycling the Anthill and remaining supplies so that another family can enjoy learning about these incredibly complex creatures. For next session we will be hatching frogs and are awaiting the arrival of the embryos.

I had a personal break through this week that I want to mention - I FINALLY learned how to skate backwards. Yes at 33, my 14 year old daughter found the key to unlocking my ability to skate in reverse. I have been trying all season to figure out how it is done. I watched others, I tried it myself, I listened to suggestions, but for some reason I just could not get more than two or three little movements before I would be in a dead stop or a spin. Well today we got to free skate a few minutes early and had the entire place to ourselves. We got right out into the middle of the ice and started playing around, spinning, turning, attempting to go backwards and suddenly I was doing it a little bit more than I had before. KM was making different suggestions to me and I was trying all the different things when suddenly I had made it from one side of the rink to other, it was jerky and no where near smooth, but I made it. At this point some other skaters arrived and I was nervous about them being behind me. When I would glance over my shoulder my whole body would move causing me to feel unsteady and catch my skate. I just kept trying though. KM was very supportive and started skating in front of me to keep an eye out when she suddenly said, "Move like the samba"  - WELL DUH!!! That was it, I moved like I was doing the Samba and I skated backwards flawlessly. That was my key, she kept trying and finally found a way for me to understand what she was doing.  I was so proud of myself, but I was even more proud of her. She didn't get frustrated or give up on me, she just kept trying. I feel like this is what I do every day with her and DN - I try to find just the right words, programs, approach, resources, games etc. to help them reach their potential and her she was doing the same for me!

And on that note here are some pics from the week -

Piquing Interest in Learning

In an attempt to engage the teens in the house today in a project that I thought they could really get into, I picked a topic that I knew they both would like and added a bit of constructive as well as destructive properties to it.

They began on Brain Pop! watching a video on crystals and completing the quiz together ~ they had one answer that they did not agree on and they both turned out to be incorrect! Then we went to the experiments section and decided to try it out. For a competitive twist I gave KM sugar and DN salt, so they can see whose crystal forms first and what property differences they might have. I also choose to veer of course a bit from the original instructions -- I had them use nearly boiling water, so that it would dissolve to a solution better and they would not need to "shake" every so often. There are plenty of variations of growing crystals with sugar and salt all over the web, just be sure to check the sites before you send your kids there!







Once the jars were set aside to begin growing, I took out some geodes to bash! They had a good deal of success and got out some of those pent up teenage frustrations!

With DN here for the week and learning more about how our household works on a regular basis, this was the perfect opportunity for him to engage in an educational activity where he was interested in the subject and did not feel intimidated by the process or institutional feel of learning. He asked some really great questions and when I wasn't sure on an answer he saw that we could find the answer together. Although he has difficulty admitting it, I could tell that he was enjoying himself and learning at the same time.

Sometimes in order to engage the learner, all you have to do is take advantage of an aforementioned interest area. Paying attention to the actions of a child can pay off in so many ways. Even a child who is extremely resistant to any form of "schooling", "learning" or other educational jargon will give you hints about what might interest them. You may notice that when they are walking to the car and they tend to kick the rock ever so slowly, they always seem to be staring at the ground, you find rocks in the washer and in piles in next to the bed. This is a HUGE indication that for some reason his child is interested in rocks, geology and earth science. Now your challenge will be to present it to the child in a way that will really catch their attention.

Don't push too hard and when the child is done - THEY ARE DONE! Sometimes that means that they will stay on a topic for months and sometimes that means that they are only there for a few days or even hours. Pushing them to continue a study that they are no longer interested in or that they have learned enough about is not going to do anything, but make them more resistant the next time you try a learning sneak attack.

Good Luck and PLEASE feel free to post any helpful tips or ideas for encouraging the resistant learner!

Some Science Projects -

We are using the Thames & Kosmos Milestones in Science Kit to incorporate some extra science projects into the Story of Science Series by Joy Hakim. This week we showed how the universe expands with a balloon and made a telescope that showed everything upside down as the first telescopes didn't have mirrors in them -

The Ocean Floor

KM has been awaiting the DisneyNature Film Ocean since she saw the trailer for it LAST YEAR at the DisneyNature Earth. We will be going to see it next week with some families from our homeschool group and she is VERY excited. When we started see the trailers again for it back in January KM decided that she wanted to do an elective study, so we have been doing a little here and a little there over the last few weeks.

This week we had a double whammy with it since she is study Earth Science and was on the unit that covers plate tectonics and how the ocean floor is created. This led her to wanting to try to make a model of different features of the ocean floor and I think she did a really good job on it using some recycled materials and model magic -

Also thought I would mention this is my 500th post!!! Pretty cool huh! I was poking around trying to find something unique to post about for it, but I thought no lets just post something that really shows what are homeschooling life is all about! Hope you liked it!!!

Weather Center

While I was digging around looking for things to create a weather unit for KM, I came across this freebie at Currclick - Whatever the Weather. It was young for KM but I figured that I would save it to use for clip art or if she wanted to make a weather game or something. Then when I was trying to come up with things to put in the "toddler area" of our class space, I thought it would be perfect to use to create a weather today center.

I made up the background sign myself and then printed it on to cardstock. I used the brown tape to make the square and rectangle so that it would be very easy to see which fit on which spot. I took the word strips and pasted some of the smaller pics to those so that SC could match them up with the larger picture. Then I used magnets that I had left over from something - ?calendar, notepad that was suppose to attach to a fridge? - you don't need to much and if they are too strong little hands will try to rip them and get frustrated. I attached them to the piece on the wall and to the strips and squares. I am thinking I may cover the pieces with clear contact paper or packing tape to reinforce them a bit though as the edges are already getting a bit worn.



We don't do the center everyday because SC is not here everyday and is only 2. If she were older - or when she gets a bit older - we might print out a calendar and record the weather for every day. This could also lead to graphing, prediction, pattern discussions and all sorts of other things. This could also be a great way to incorporate younger siblings and make them feel included in the days work.

Quick easy addition to a morning routine that can expand to lots of different curriculum connections!

Thanks Wendy for asking - I got to it a bit quicker than I thought I would!