September Science

To culminate their study of cells, Marianna and her classmates created detailed models, many of them edible.  ;-)  Marianna considered making a pizza, but I persuaded her that gingerbread would be simpler and sturdier.

 Surprise!  We had all the fixings already in the house, including some candy left from last Halloween.

 Charming, isn't it?  And so educational!

Can you identify the flagella, Golgi apparatus, mitochondria, or lysosomes?

How about the rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum?

At least the nucleus and cilia???

Rebecca and I have been reading a biography of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch cloth merchant from the 1600's.  Although he didn't invent them, Leeuwenhoek was fascinated by microscopes.  He studied microbes, blood, insects, and more, recording detailed information and building many of the best microscopes of his day.

We own a stereoscope (3-D) that magnifies up to 40 X, but soon Len will bring home a real microscope (400 X) for a weekend.  Becca and I are preparing for this with a project suggested by our library book.  Each week we're filling four containers:  one with tap water, another with tap water and pepper (as Leeuwenhoek did), and the others with creek water and tap water plus dry grass.  By the time the microscope arrives,we should have fresh as well as one-, two-, and three-week jars to scrutinize.

 We have woods, a tiny meadow, and a creek behind our house, 

so finding some "natural" water was simple enough.

 We were surprised, though, to find a beaver dam!

It did explain why our trek through the grass was so . . . squishy.

I don't have much of a science plan for this year, but we're holding our own for now.

While I Was Away

When I left town to help someone, Len took time off from work and held down the fort for a week. What a wonderful man/husband/father!

And when Dad is in charge of the homeschool, something interesting is bound to happen . . .

Hmm . . .  What could be in the plastic bag?

 Len found this recently dead lizard while mowing the lawn.

 Waste not, want not . . .

 The stereoscope enlarges 3-D objects (vs. slides under a microscope) to 20X and 40X.  It's been one of our best school investments.  (Skip the next few pictures if you're squeamish!)

 Marianna took most of these photos.  There are plenty more!

 Len  walked me through the pictures, pointing out the heart (they could see the ventricles under the stereoscope), lungs, spinal cord, kidneys, trachea (which opened near the tip of the tongue), etc.

Having a veterinarian for a dad can certainly be fascinating.  He's brought home baby bunnies and squirrels for visits, and dissected a still-warm chipmunk on the kitchen table.

Field Trip

Last week we met some friends and searched for my favorite vernal pool.  It's been two years since our last visit, so it took me longer than expected to find the off-trail oasis.  At last--success!

I've yet to go early enough in the season to spot frog and salamander eggs, but the tadpoles were still enchanting.

I brought along a fish bowl so we could scoop up some tadpoles for a closer look.  We spotted a few that still had their external gills--cool!

(Image from moon soup.)

What I Love About Homeschooling

Rebecca was so engrossed that she didn't even know I took a picture (okay, three--and this is the closest one to being focused!) until she saw it on the computer days later.

It's Nice to Have a Doctor in the House

My thumb hurt for a few days, and there was a speck visible under the skin, probably a splinter. I figured it would just work its way out, but the spot became more bothersome and a bump formed over it. Time for surgery.

Len got to work, with tools that quickly escalated from naked eye to flashlight with magnifying glass to the stereo microscope set at 20 X (another benefit of homeschooling!). When he finally dug out the uncooperative bit, it was longer than I had expected (maybe 1/4") and wider at the end, too. I just HAD to have a look under the handy 'scope.

Bumped up to 40 X, this thing looked like it had come from outer space! It was dark grey, and attached to it were minuscule pink globes. Weird!

A light finally dawned--it must be a thread from an SOS steel wool pad. I'm no super dishwasher, but I had used one in an attempt to remove labels from our Advent letters (like Elizabeth's here) before painting. (It didn't work, by the way; I finally succeeded with lighter fluid.)

So ends another excerpt in the continuing saga, "Yes, I'm Easily Amused." And, yes, my thumb feels much better, thank you.

Blubber!

No, not flubber--blubber.

We experienced how an animal's body fat can help it withstand cold temperatures, concentrating on whales, seals, sea lions, and walruses.Each child wore two gloves on one hand, then held it in ice water as long as tolerable. They didn't last long. ;-)It was funny, actually--Rebecca held out more than four minutes, about twice as long as Marianna and Joseph. And she was nonchalant (compared to Joe, above): "Isn't is cold, Becca?" "Not really."

The next stage involved one glove and a layer of "blubber" (we used shortening) covered with a second glove.As you can imagine, installing the second glove was difficult, so when it was the girls' turn, I wrapped their shortening in plastic wrap--so much simpler.Since we used wrap instead of a second glove and were unable to apply identical thicknesses of fat, this was a demonstration rather than a true experiment. Nevertheless, the difference was dramatic.With a blubber layer, the children all kept their hands in for over 20 minutes! Their hands were taken from the water due to boredom and our need to get on with life, rather than discomfort. Basically, Mom said, "Enough already. We get it--time to move on!"Even though we didn't follow the scientific method, I don't think these three will ever forget the insulating property of blubber.

Earth's Orbit

As Earth orbits the sun, its position in the sky changes because our planet's axis is tilted.

Ho-hum, you say? Jennifer at Conversion Diary has some pictures on her blog of sunrise at an airport. They're taken at the summer and winter solstices (longest day, longest night), and the autumnal equinox (equal day and night). Scroll down to #6 on her "Quick Takes" list.

Is that not TOO COOL?

Bat Moms

Infant bats in colonies stay in the nursery--hundreds and sometimes millions! Their moms visit several times a day to nurse, coo, groom, etc. They don't care for random babies; they find their own by smell and sound.

Our science book suggested a project to demonstrate how amazing this is. I don't do nearly enough projects, but managed to pull it together today. I gathered multiple scents, and deposited them on cotton balls.

We took turns getting blindfolded and taking a whiff of our own "babies". That scented ball was put back on the plate, and the "mom" had to try to find the particular scent in the crowd.I thought it would be too easy because the scents were so strong and distinctive (maple flavoring, nail polish remover, fabric softener, etc.). As it turned out, the cacophany of strong scents overwhelmed us--no one was able to find the right one. Score one more for the instincts of God's creatures!