2 gallon frog

Gray Treefrog, watering can, our porch.

Life cycles and taxonomy

The Well Trained Mind does not advocate a lot of true science exploration for the younger set, and that is (one of the places) where our paths diverge. I love kitchen science, and back yard science, and even the fantastical science that accompanies the study of dragons.

Here is what science looks like at our house right now.

Taxonomy. BFSU suggested that we study "what defines a species" next, but since we'd just talked about the Kingdoms I figured we'd fill in the rest of the taxonomic classifications while we were at it. It surprised me, although it shouldn't have, that from all the talks we've had on all our hikes as already well aware of many of the terms of classification, like vertebrate, mammal, arthropod, etc., and many of their defining differences as well.

Life cycles. That was the next thing that BFSU suggested looking into, and we like combining studies, especially since life cycles are so unique and often tied to classification.

Observation. Looking at things is fun. We love to go hiking and just sit and watch. Wait long enough and youl'll see some amazing things. And we've been magnifying things for years now with a hand magnifying glass, but he received a microscope for Christmas so we've been trying our hands at that, too. It really adds a new understanding to the concepts of natural symmetry and fine detail, two of his favorite words these days.

And the zoo. Because we don't need a really good excuse to head to our zoo, any excuse will do. This week it was about species classification, and about life cycles.

Zoo babies (and more)

Speaking of flexible summer days, today we dropped everything and headed over meet the new river otter pups just introduced on exhibit. Actually, our zoo has several babies this year, including a camel calf we did not get to see, and river otter pups and grizzly bear cubs, all of which were very entertaining while we were there. We had a chance to see the otter pups nursing, swimming playfully, and even tumbling down the slide in a head-over-tails ball of baby otters. We also watched them them follow and perfectly mimic their mother's every move in what could only have been a river otter's version of home (zoo) schooling. The lesson included swimming, looking for food, and waste elimination, and it looked quite a bit like follow the leader. One of them must have stepped out of line, though, because we actually saw his mother drag him by the scruff, under water, across the entire exhibit, then haul him out of the water onto the shore (he's as big as she is, mind you), and sit on him. We didn't see what got him into that trouble, but I think he's not likely to do it again.

The grizzly cubs were equally as precious. The three brothers were brought to the zoo late last year after their mother was killed by a poacher (story here), and they are immensely fun to watch. While we were there they swam, chased each other, and tumbled over and over a log that was in their pool. It was as though they were daring each other to be increasingly brave. There were other animals that we greatly enjoyed this trip, too, like the giraffe drinking from a spigot, the ostrich eyeing us warily from the shade, the penguins (of course), the polar bear who was just a glass width away, and some hoppity kangaroos. We ate lunch in the shade of a powerless carousel (the power still out in parts of the zoo from last week's storms), and even happened to spy some non-resident birds: black-capped night herons (adult and juveniles), and a red bellied woodpecker. Wildlife at the zoo, just imagine that.

We have gotten pretty good at spotting interesting wildlife, actually. I am a naturalist at heart, much of my college learning being focused on animals, their behavior, evolution, adaptations, and habitats, and Calvin has long taken part in seeking, finding, and quietly observing nature with me. Recently we have started to talk more in depth about what differentiates various types of life, like plants from animals, or mammals from amphibians, reptiles, or birds. A few weeks ago, partly following suggestions in BFSU, we talked at length about energy as the driving force behind life and about speciation, which really added to our enjoyment of all critter sightings while we were hiking on vacation, and the same can be said about today's sightings, both wild and not-so-wild (and one green heron sighting back in our own yard). Which means, I guess, that this only seemed like just another trip to the zoo, and that, in fact, brings me back around to what I was saying yesterday about learning and life fitting quite nicely together, quod erat demonstrandum.

Or, put more simply, we had a great time at the zoo today.

Baby river otters!

Little bumbles

Black-capped night heron being sneaky in the vulture enclosure

Black-capped night heron juveniles being sneaky (and avoiding their parents) in the ostrich and kudu enclosure

Animal watching...

People watching...

Grizzly cubs (including the little guy above)

Young polar bear

Adult polar bear

Sadly, a powerless carousel
American bison

Peacock

Little boy on an elephant sculpture

Red bellied woodpecker (from very, very far away, and very, very cropped in, but he's there)

Green heron flying over our yard at home

Life

Having lost more of our butterflies (see the note I added to the bottom of my last post for details, as it's not something I feel like dwelling on further), it has been a refreshing reminder of the continuity of life to see babies upon babies around our house as of late.

The second brood of robins has left the nest under our deck, spotted little things hopping around our yard while their mamma chirps worriedly. The swan pair lead a line of six cygnets through our yard, travelling from ponds at the back to ponds at the front of our neighborhood as they do every year. Butterflies of many distinctions are flitting about our flowers, and someone other than us is eating our vegetables.

The plants are thriving as well. The butterfly garden is more lush and full every year. We have mushrooms in the lawn, and even the yuccas are blooming this year!

All of this life, even the parasites and garden thieves, has been fortuitous. Not only does its continuance lift our spirits, but Calvin and I have been talking about energy, life cycles, and the difference between the plant and animal kingdoms, and being able to witness these things as we speak is a wonderful treat. Yesterday, after a balmy morning, it stormed in the early afternoon. While it was storming we sat inside. Calvin read about weather and created a book about the animal and plant kingdoms while I wrote a book review. When the sun was back out and drying the world, we emerged to look at the change the cooling rain had made, from greening grass to newly emerging mushrooms. Refreshing. It's when things come together like that homeschooling feels like a breeze.

Calvin's book. For some reason the colors just didn't come through in the scan, but you get the idea.

Fishing for magnets

Calvin got a magnet set for Christmas and after some imaginative play with it a few months ago, it was rediscovered this week with a renewed vigor. So we jumped and skipped a bit in BFSU, got a book or two from the library, and today we went fishing with magnets.

Materials art, after the experiment

We had plenty of help.