Indoor Gardens Synopsis

Of course, the most exciting objective this week was adopting our new family member, Sabor the Leopard Gecko. Our family has been peeking in her terrarium every day and coaxing her to lick our hands and fingers. We're learning how to care for her, feed her, interact with her, and give her her space when she needs it. This experience has also helped us talk about desert plants and climate--a welcomed subject in the midst of a wet winter storm! Additionally, our family has been reading informational books on geckos and has learned much in terms of their expected behavior, temperament, and needs.

This was also my first week back to school/work, so we're adjusting to the newly hectic schedule. I anticipate that much of the 'structured learning' will take place in the morning hours with games and extra fun activities for the late afternoons/evenings and weekends.

Reptile Observation

This week spent learning about our leopard gecko through reading and observation has been so fun! In the mornings, Aidyn's first thought is to check on "baby gecko." We peek into her terrarium and usually find her cuddled in her hollow log. The knowledge of her being nocturnal was fully realized this week as we often caught her napping and not doing much else. There have been late nights and early mornings when the glow of her purple nightlight exposed her nightly habits. She then ventures out of her safe spot and roams through her tiny desert. We once spied her right on top of her log looking like the queen of her world!

We also learned more about her eating habits. Initially we provided her with a scoop of mealworms but noticed that she barely touched them. Worried that she wasn't getting enough to eat, we revisited Petsmart for a professional opinion. The clerk filled us in on her usual diet, and a book from the library explained that pet store lizards may not recognize a certain food item as a meal if they didn't have it frequently enough. The case with the mealworms was that she only had them only occasionally. What she was used to was crickets. Yes. Live crickets! Live crickets dusted with calcium powder, I might add. Doesn't that sound fancy? So we picked up a carton of small, live crickets. Since adding two to her tank, she's gobbled up one already.

I'm sure we could have read all these things in a textbook and probably watched them on a documentary but something about experiencing this beautiful creature teaches us so much more. Some things that we've learned I cannot even put into words, but it runs the gamut from learning about lizards' idiosyncrasies to taking responsibility for caring for a pet. The root of that logic is why I adore homeschool; I want us to touch, see, feel, experience these things instead of only reading about it in a cold textbook. I'm sure we won't be able to do it all, but the things we do learn about with multi-module methods will surely stand out.

Leopard Gecko

The majority of yesterday was spent in learning how to create an indoor desert garden/terrarium and adopting a new family member: a leopard gecko.

I researched how to construct a desert garden and created a simple illustration to show Aidyn. We first went to library to check out lizard/desert books, and then we went to our local Petsmart to meet some live specimens. We shopped around for basic needs while I explained the function of each to Aidyn. When we finally returned home, Aidyn and I made a living desert. He helped place tiny pebbles on the bottom of the tank. Next we scattered natural moss over the pebbles. We then added cactus-specific soil. Carefully, we placed two succulent plants, that Aidyn had chosen earlier, in opposite corners of the terrarium. To create multiple hiding spots for our soon-to-be adopted lizard, we situated a hollow piece of a tree limb, rocks, and moss throughout our desert environment. While placing the lamp on the tank, I talked with Aidyn about a reptile's need for external heat as they cannot regulate it within themselves as we mammals can. Daddy, at one time being an avid lizard owner himself, checked out our progress and further talked about the characteristics and needs of lizards. Once we had everything squared away, we returned to the pet shop and chose our new family member. We selected the quiet, easy-going leopard gecko and wrangled up a name for her. We decided on Sabor, the leopard from Tarzan and an Edgar Rice Burroughs-created word.

In the short amount of time that we've had her thus far, observing her has been quite interesting. Through this sort of peeking in through the glass and careful petting and holding, Aidyn is absorbing things a book could never teach him--the experience of watching a live animal, of caring for a pet, of sampling how certain animals behave. We look forward to daily observations and learning more about the personality of Sabor and the behavior of geckos in general.

Indoor Gardens

Week of January 18th:

Theme: Pets
Adventures in Nature theme: Growing Indoor Gardens
Music: Jacob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn

Our main objective this week is to construct an indoor desert garden. We are economically searching for an aquarium and materials to make a desert scene including pebbles, charcoal, desert-type soil, and cacti. We aim to read both fiction and nonfiction books about the desert and its inhabitants, namely reptiles. There is a possibility that we adopt a leopard gecko or similar reptile to observe in our desert garden. This week is sure to be exciting and scientific!

We're also going to be working on number recognition, counting, and simple math problems, listening to a new composer, and adjusting to a new schedule as I am soon due back to work and school.

Winter/Birds Synopsis

Hands down, our favorite activity this week was making pine cone bird feeders and hanging them in our yard. It has been a treat to spy out our windows and catch hungry birds nibbling away on the pine cones. The experience also afforded us the opportunity to talk about what certain animals do in the winter, where they obtain their food, what they do for shelter, and how they respond to the weather.

In related homeschool news, Aidyn continues work on his number recognition and counting. He does rather well and is able to identify every number from 1-10 with the exception of 5 for some reason. Next week, we will continue working on numbers and counting.

The house has been filled with Schubert and his highly moving, melodic pieces. I feel that, out of all the composers we have listened to, his music contains the most passion. The experience of sampling various composers has certainly added some tranquility to our home.

We're also experiencing the death of a furry family member. This is Aidyn's first time dealing with the subject of death up close. Our very old cat is dying, peacefully and quietly. In seeing him respond less and less, we're all discussing the inevitability of death. Not to my surprise, Aidyn is handling it well. He shows curiosity but understands what is happening in simple terms. Although heartbreaking, it is a learning experience, and I intend to allow Aidyn to ask any question about the topic of death and answer him as best as I can.

Feeding the Winter Birds

Yesterday Aidyn and I worked on his numbers. With his new number cards and the pocket chart, he spouted off numbers he knew, met numbers he didn't, and worked on counting up to twenty. Afterward we played a number counting game using a separate set of cards.

When we wrapped up number work, we talked about birds. Specifically, we talked about what birds do in the winter and the limited supply of food in the area. He then flipped over his "surprise page" and found a robin to color. After coloring, he hole punched the paper and put it in his binder. He is getting much more adept at using the hole punch and opening and closing his three-ring binder.

Later in the day, we shopped for wild bird seed and brought it home. We found several pine cones in our front yard perfect for feeders. First we mixed peanut butter and shortening in a bowl. In a separate bowl, we mixed the bird seed, oatmeal, bread crumbs, and corn meal. After slathering each pine cone with the PB&S mixture, we dunked and tossed them in the seeds until well-coated. We left them overnight to sit and dry, so this morning we hung them in various places around our yard. We filled one of our conventional bird feeders with the remainder of the seed mix and now patiently await some bird-watching.

Through these activities, we've been able to have good conversations about birds, wintertime, and what some animals do in the winter weather.

Winter

Week of January 11th:

Theme: Winter
Adventures in Nature theme: Birds in Winter
Music: Franz Peter Schubert

This week we plan on reading winter-related books and doing winter activities. We also aim to make homemade bird-feeders (from found pine cones, peanut butter, and wild bird seed). Hanging our bird feeders in a visible area, we plan on doing some simple bird watching. We'll talk about what certain birds do in the winter as well as other animals and living things. Schubert will be our classical composer for the week, having finished our sampling of Beethoven.