Tag: Homeschool Science

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NASA Plankton Bloom

Rabbit Trails

After a WONDERFUL Christmas break, The Daughter and I headed back up to the school room last Monday! We started a few new things – one of which is the second book in the Zoology series which focuses on sea creatures.  The first chapter discusses salinity, tides, the continental shelf and abyssal plain and also phytoplankton and zooplankton.  I was so excited to receive this timely photo from NASA of a plankton bloom – it’s quite lovely!  The NASA description is below the image. Stirring Up a Bloom Off Patagonia Off the coast of Argentina, two strong ocean currents recently stirred up … Continue reading NASA Plankton Bloom

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The Hawk

Rabbit Trails

My office, and Grace’s schoolroom, is the former sleep porch perched upstairs in the back dormer of our 1919 Bungalow.  When we look out our windows, we are surrounded by trees.  In the summer, it is a cool green leafy tree house.  In the fall, we watch a squirrel cirque du soleil performance, as they run, play and leap with total abandon in search of pecans from my neighbor’s pecan tree, often sporting nuts hanging from their mouths or clustered in their cheeks!  In the winter, it is a study of bare branches on two sides, and evergreens on the other with the swooping of bird wings … Continue reading The Hawk

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Farming ants…

Rabbit Trails

 Yes!  and it was actually pretty fun! Setting up and maintaining an ant farm in order to watch the behavior of social insects was one of the projects in the Flying Creatures curriculum we worked on this fall – and so you are asking – why are ants in a flying creatures curriculum?  Well, Grace informs me that the Queens fly in order to establish a new colony, with the male ants who have emerged from their pupa stage (conveniently) at the same time.  They swarm, mate, and then the males, well, they die (sorry!) and the Queen begins a new … Continue reading Farming ants…

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Beautiful Bugs!

Rabbit Trails

Sometimes not.  Yeah, I know.  But we really enjoyed the section on insects in the Apologia Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day, Zoology 1 book.  We started this study in mid-summer as we were dipping our feet into homeschooling.  It is actually the second section in the book, but author Jeannie K. Fulbright suggests working through these later chapters when insects are out and about!  The initial  “ick” factor has almost been dispelled by knowledge (interesting how that works!) and an informed appreciation of God’s creatures and the amazing way they fit into God’s design! We developed an increased awareness … Continue reading Beautiful Bugs!