Husband, Dad, Mechanical Engineer, Bass
Player ...
Obsessed with all things Engineering.
AMY
Wife, Homeschool Mom, Webmaster ...
Obsessed with all things Political.
RACHAEL
Daughter, Sister, Sophomore ...
Obsessed with all things Geological.
NICHOLAS
Son, Brother, 8 year old ...
Obsessed with all things Historical.
(especially Egyptian!)
Favorite Books/Curriculum
The Well-Trained Mind Singapore Math Greenleaf Guides Apologia Science AIG Science curriculum Story of the World
Traffic Feed
Visitors
Sheep Brain Dissection
Monday, February 04, 2013
Our high school Advanced Biology / Anatomy & Physiology class completed our first dissection in last Tuesday's co-op class. Since the younger kids (who are also doing their own elementary level anatomy class) seemed intrigued, they also sat in on the dissection. We were able to identify all of the major structures and learn their functions. I have always had a passion for biology and have loved performing dissections ever since my freshman biology class. It truly brings science to life!
Brains are cool!
Squishy, but stinky! (Yes, that is Nick inflating a rubber glove in the background!)
The older students took more of a "hands off" approach!
Left & Right Hemispheres intact
Notice the Dura Mater in the foreground. This was removed prior to separating the halves along the longitudinal fissure.
Cross section showing the difference between the nucleated grey matter and the myelinated axons of the white matter.
This afternoon, Darla, Diana, & I met at the creek near our church to let the kids play and hunt crawdads. Fortunately, I took the old van because by the time we left, Rachael was drenched!
We had a co-op field trip to the Children's Museum to see the King Tut exhibit this afternoon. It's the same exhibit that we saw a few years ago in Chicago, but it's amazing how much difference a few years makes. The last time, Nick was just a toddler, but it was the event that sparked his passion for all things Egyptian. This time, he asked questions, absorbing everything that he could. The last time Rachael meandered through the rooms, taking only a cursory look at each item. This time, she read every description, watched every animation, and studied all of the background information surrounding the items.
The kids loved that Jeff took off work to come with us. He misses out on a lot of our field trips, because most of them are scheduled during the workday. Another bonus for Rachael was that Claudia was able to join the group. We hadn't seen her for ages!
After the museum, Jeff & I took the kids back to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. Always a good meal!
Julia is at camp this week, but we went over to her house today to meet her cousin, eight year old Isaiah, the newest member of our co-op. He moved here from Pennsylvania and will be staying with the family and homeschooling. They live on several acres complete with ducks, chickens, a stocked pond, and a horse pasture next door. The co-op kids enjoyed digging for worms in the compost pile, fishing, catching ducks, and petting the chickens. What a great day!
Our co-op planned a trip to Holiday World (a nearby theme park) on Friday. We couldn't leave Alex in the hot car or at home, and the people who would normally watch him were with us, so we needed my parents to dog-sit. Since Julia's parents weren't going to Holiday World, we picked her up along the way on Thursday evening. On Friday morning, I awoke to knocking on my door. The girls had caught a catfish, but were afraid to touch it in fear that it would bite them. They had heard that catfish have teeth and feared for their lives! Fortunately for them, Jeff went out and saved the day!
Holiday World was a blast, but it was HOT!!!! After a long day at the park, we took Gracie, Thomas, & Julia with us to eat at our favorite Chinese restaurant, then to walk along the Riverfront at night. The kids enjoyed searching for shells and throwing rocks and chunks of dried mud back into the river. Then, we headed back to my parents' house for the night...
We met at Deanna's house on Tuesday to plan our next co-op vacation. In the middle of our planning, Sam walks in the room as Isabel yells, "CHICKEN!" Yes, we're definitely a homeschooling co-op! Who else has their meeting interrupted by the arrival of a (live!) chicken entering the kitchen?!?
Every so often, our co-op goes on a mini-vacation together. The kids enjoy hanging out in the hotel pool and spending time with their friends; and the parents get a little R&R while packing in some great educational activities. This September, we're gearing up for our largest group vacation yet. 6 families, 6 days, and over 700 miles by car... we're going to Williamsburg!!!
Last Monday, Diana & I took several of the co-op kids horseback riding. The plan was for us to be able to sit and talk, but since there weren't enough adults for as many kids as we had, Diana had to ride while I stayed with Nick. Unfortunately, Freckles (the miniature pony that Nick usually rides) was being uncooperative, so Nick wasn't able to ride at all...
Today was our co-op's "End of Year" party. We all met at the Durnil's house. The kids had a massive water fight (of course, when one of the dads is a firefighter, his kid has the advantage when he brings his own personal water hose... pictures to follow!) The Crawford's also brought a pinata. Lots of food, outdoor toys, and FUN!
Since Jeff was working again yesterday, Rachael, Nick, & I got up bright & early (well, early for us, anyway!) and headed out to several yard sales with Darla & Gracie. After lunch at King Gyros, Darla had to run to Josh's baseball game, so I picked up Thomas & took all the kids to see the Hannah Montana movie. It was actually better than I thought it would be. When we pulled up to the theater, there were several fire trucks in the parking lot and all of the patrons were standing in the parking lot. After several minutes, they let us in. I never did find out what caused all of the commotion...
Name: Amy Home: Indiana, United States About Me: I am a Homeschool Mom of 2 awesome children. This is my attempt at Project 365 - to chronicle our world through daily photos... See my complete profile
SUBSCRIBE HERE
