A Ladybug's Birthday - Simple Saturday

We were exploring in my Mom's backyard the other day and chanced upon some Ladybug pupa attached to a Mimosa Tree. Little Mister noticed them right away.

 We carefully gathered some of the leaf stalks with the attached pupa and brought them home to put in a habitat and await their "arrival".  Surprise, after one day, we had 5 new ladybugs! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

 The lighter colored (yellowish) bug has just emerged. Her wings are translucent; It will take as
long as 24 hours for her to develop her characteristic spots. She has her wings out to help them dry and harden.

 

 He wanted to tickle the bug's belly!

Life cycle of a ladybug

Who's in the House - Science Play

A habitat is a special place where a plant or animal lives. Just like you have a home or place to live, so do animals and plants. When we talk about an animal’s or a plant's home it is more like a neighborhood than a "house." An animal needs five things to survive in its habitat: food, water, shelter, air and a place to raise its young.

Animals require different amounts of space. Habitats can be big like a forest or they can be much smaller like a burrow. Some animals defend a huge territory or roam over a large area. Some other animals need only a small amount of space and can put up with neighbors that live close.

Just like you have to go to the store to get food, an animal leaves its "shelter" to get the things they need to live. If the population's needs aren't met, it will move to a better habitat.

Different animals need different habitats. A fish, for example, needs clean water in which to live. A grasshopper, however, needs a big space where it can hop and leaves that it can eat.
  

Here are a few habitats we observed:

Doodle Bugs or Ant Lion pits

Several different species of ants

Carpenter bees bore through soft woods to lay eggs and protect their larvae as they develop. Female carpenter bees will chew a tunnel into a piece of wood to build a nest gallery. The bits of wood she chews and deposits outside the nest are called "frass". The tunnel openings usually look about one or two inches deep, but they can be up to 10 feet long! These tunnels usually have several rooms where the bees hold their eggs and food. 

Wasp Nest

 Spider web

 Wood boring insects in a dead tree

We also saw: birds nests, squirrels nests, rolly-polies and slugs under rocks, spider egg sacks, lizards on trees

God Made You Unique

We were all made in God's image, yet we are unique. 

Did you know that our DNA, fingerprints, foot prints, tongue prints and ear prints are uniquely different from every other human being on the planet?

How marvelous are HIS works!

Little Mister's fingerprint animals

Have a blessed and wonderful day!

Acorn-palooza

These things were falling everywhere. 
We lost gobs when hurricane Isaac dropped by for a lengthy visit. 
I'm glad we had picked up several buckets full before the storm. 
Now, what to do with them all....

What have you done with acorns lately?







Featured at:

Creative Family Fun
                        

        

Chocolate Milk Comes from A Cow?

A local dairy farm recently had their 1st Annual Dairy Festival. They were to have hay rides, games, taste testing, cows to pet and feed, bon-fire, food and a tour of the creamery. I have always wanted to see a Dairy farm in action so we made the amazingly short drive.

After we made the trek from the back-forty (literally), Little Mister became so excited that he said cow about 10,000 times. He was so fun to watch. He would go to some of the cages and whisper, "come here cow". One little obstinate calf refused to obey so Little Mister tried to call him like he does our cat!

He made some fast friends.

He also discovered the joy of The Corn Crib!

We sampled some cheese. And Oh was it good...

See that look? It says, Keep your hands off my cheese!!

Finally, we toured the creamery. This farm is organic and pasteurizes their milk on site. By far the best chocolate milk I have ever tasted. 

Of course the best part was when Little Mister discovered that Chocolate Milk comes from a cow.

Priceless

The Day of the Turtle

Does this ever happen to you;

Driving down the road and come up on a turtle trying to cross, you swerve to miss him and watch in the rear view mirror to make sure the car behind you does the same as you let a strange sound escape your mouth. Yeah? Me too. The other day, we actually turned around and was going to assist the turtle across the street. I realized that Little Mister has never seen a turtle up close. So, we brought the mobile-home guy home for the day. Don't worry, when the day was coming to a close, we let him go (far from busy streets)!

Confused about what to name your turtle? Luke or Lucy?

 Finding this creature lead to many learning activities:
Sensory play : cold vs. hot (warm actually) with frozen turtle eggs
Language: the letter T
Math: counting turtle parts, 1 head, 2 eyes, 4 legs...
Literature: Look Out for Turtles by: Melvin Berger and Yurtle the Turtle by: Dr. Seuss
Science: where do they live, what do they eat, etc...
Good Stewardship: we are all part of this beautiful planet! Let's take of all things that live here!

**Featured at The Good Long Road, Kids Co-Op
in honor of World Animal Day

That Pig is Not Pink!

We were lucky enough to be invited over to a friends house for a Bar-B-Que the other day. Weren't we surprised when we got there and discovered they had a pet potbelly pig named Charlotte. She is only 5 months old! Little Mister would toss her an apple slice and say, "There pig"! He wouldn't get too close but kept wanting to go back out and see her! I also answered tons of questions, like: what do pigs eat? where do pigs sleep? does she swim in that pool? what is that noise? where is all her hair? It turned into a teachable moment for him and me. I had to come home and look up some facts about pigs!

When it was time to eat, I had to ask our hosts . . .  Is that Pork Ribs on the grill?

Of course we had to come home and do some "piggy thing", as I was told! Too funny! We had a fun day with good food and friends and a meeting a pig named Charlotte!

Random Piggy Facts:
* A pig will live an average of 12 -18 years, estimates range up to more than 20 years.
*Although often called miniature pot bellied pigs, the term miniature is relative - they are smaller than most pigs kept for food production, but they still usually weigh 125 pounds or more when fully grown.
* Pigs are very intelligent. This is usually a positive trait, and in fact pot bellied pigs are quite trainable, much the same as a dog (i.e. can be house trained, leash trained, and will learn a few tricks).
* Original specimens brought to the United States in the 1980s were black. Now several varieties are available including grey, white, tan and red. Spotting (or ”pinto”) seems to be a preferred variation to many owners.
* Temperament of your pet pot-bellied pig will vary. Males tend to be more aggressive and ”pigheaded” as they mature, especially if they are not neutered. Females can become territorial when they are pregnant. Most pigs will go through ”teenage” years as they mature. This stage is when they test their boundaries and see where they can put YOU in their pecking order. It is up to the owner to ensure that the pig learns its rightful place in the ”herd.” The owner should make the pig ”earn” his food and treats, thus enforcing the fact that the owner is the ”alpha.” During this phase the pig may develop ”selective” hearing and ignore commands from owners. It is up to the owner to consistently and uniformly enforce each action of the pig. If left uncorrected the pig may become unruly and this is, unfortunately, the time when most pigs are abandoned to shelters and rescues. It’s not the pigs fault; it is the lack of education on the owner’s part. Please be sure you are prepared for the responsibility of pet ownership before you purchase your pet. His life depends on you.

A Boy and A Hurricane

Well, we are still getting torrential downpours from this horribly SLOW moving hurricane! However, we are some of the more lucky ones. We lost Little Mister's water-wall and had some slight damage to our kitchen. I just wish the rain would stop! Flooding continues and I pray for those who are suffering!

My family rode out the storm at my mom's house. She is disabled so, it was easier for us to pack and go to her than to move all her needs and supplies to our house. Now, imagine 4 people in a small apartment, stuck inside for 2 whole days with no power!!! Augh! Little Mister was bouncing off the walls (along with Big Mister...)!

On the first morning, we tried to spend as much time as possible outside between bouts of rain. This, of course, did not last long before the bands actually started to move in. We made the most of the time we had and Little Mister played hard! My goal was to try and wear him out so he would sleep through the worst part of the storm. We kept him moving with a bag, a frog and snowballs!

My Mom's tiny living room after 2 days stuck inside!

Gone Felt Fishin'

I've never tried to fry Felt Fish but, they sure are good while learning to count to five. They also served as a good color review. All in honor of National Catfish Month.

We counted the number of buttons and then "released" the fish in our pond. To play, for example, I would ask him to catch the green fish or find the fish with 3 buttons. We played over and over. Thank goodness it was a catch-and-release operation!

To make the fish, I cut 2 different patterns with paper. I traced them on the felt and cut out 2 pieces for each fish. I sewed the buttons on them and then sewed them together leaving a small gap near the mouth area. I inserted a small washed and sewed it into place. We then found a wooden spatula spoon that had a hole already on the end. I removed the rubber end and tied a thick string onto the "pole". I tied a button on the other end and hot glued on a magnet.

And of course, we had to fry some up in a pan! Remember, we live in the #1 state for catfish production! Over 80% of catfish in the USA come from the Hospitality State!

He's a Good Cook