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.

Splash (finally)

It feels like we've waited for months to see some rain. In reality it's been more like weeks, and that's still a long time for a little boy with splashing boots and a rain coat. It was really too hot for the rain coat, but he couldn't resist the frog.

From the psych wing (not ward)

A few weeks ago we were contacted by the University of Michigan Cognitive Development lab and asked to take part in a study on value assessment. As an undergrad there I took several courses in the psychology department, including a course in developmental psych, during which I had to log a certain number of hours aiding in study assessment, and I like going back to help the kids who are in the same boat (and yes, I'm thinking of those college students as kids, which I'm afraid says a lot).

So earlier this week we headed to campus to participate in this study on value assessment. For these studies the kids first spend some time playing with the researcher in order to become comfortable, then the parent is taken into a room where they can watch the study from behind a one-way mirror. I watched as Calvin was asked to assign monetary value to each of a pair of objects several times over. For instance, how much did he think a pair of shoes belonging to Dora the Explorer would be worth, versus how much he thought the same pair of shoes would be worth brand new, or how about the cape belonging to dracula, versus the cape belonging to Joe Schmoe. He was shown the objects and the people in pictures, and asked to give his reasons for the values he assigned.

There were many permutations of the same question, and the first half of the study revolved around well-known characters with positive auras, the second half with the villainous portion of the famous. The problem is, Calvin knew who very few of the characters were at all. Dracula yes, Dora, no. And no to Diego, and no to Bob the Builder, to Cruella de Vil, to Woody from Toy Story, to Arthur, to Mario, to Bart. Though he was familiar with characters like Dracula and Mickey, he was unfamiliar with about ninety percent of the "well-known" characters they used to study the effect notoriety would have on item valuation. Afterwards, I asked the student what room they'd left in their study for the rare child who had no exposure to pop culture. She answered that they took those kids into account by making sure to use characters that even kids who didn't watch TV would have come into contact with through good old American commercialism (my words), i.e., seeing Dora on backpacks at school. I asked her if they'd left any room for kids who saw no TV and did not attend school with American commercialism. She just nodded and smiled. I'm pretty sure she has no idea such kids exist.

We were given a free parking pass to entice us onto campus for the study, so following our hour in the developmental psychology wing Calvin asked if we could walk over to the Museum of Natural History. I couldn't so no to such a request if I wanted to, so we spent a couple of hours taking in the archaic and taxidermied sights. Such a beautiful world we live in.

In the car on the way home I asked Calvin what he thought of the study, and after answering he asked me who Bob the Builder was. I think he was imagining a Lego guy. I'm imagining how far he skewed the study results.

From the iPhone camera...

And one more makes nine

A happy anniversary to us.

Last week

If you think I'm only having trouble keeping up with the blog, you should probably see the unchecked list of chores and the piles of books, papers, and other items collecting on tables, steps, the floor, and even chairs. It's a shameful confession, but true. I haven't written in our daily homeschool log in two weeks, and Calvin's budget sheet has been equally neglected. At least the library books are not overdue, the gardens are watered, and we do have clean underwear. Priorities.

So what happened last week? Last week was hot. We had our air on for two more days that reached into the triple digits, and nights that barely dropped into the seventies. We kept our cool by working at the library, reading a lot inside, and playing in the water. It has been over two weeks since we have had any rain worth mentioning. Our average rainfall for July is 3.67 inches, and to date we have had a total of .77 inches, the large majority of which fell in the first week. I'm battling to keep the gardens alive, and the rain barrels aren't exactly helping much.

Calvin had daily "jump start" swim lessons all week as a supplement to his weekly lesson. He takes weekly lessons at a local swim school with a comfortably warm indoor pool and enthusiastic, joyful young teachers. The lessons are limited to four students per teacher, and they are never-ending, so kids just move up to the next level whenever they are ready and keep going from there. I do admit to feeling a little guilty, though, or maybe just nostalgic, in taking him to indoor summer swim lessons when I remember so fondly the weeks of rising early to take lessons in the chilly outdoor public pool when I was little. I had to walk uphill both ways to school, too.

It was Art Fair week. The Ann Arbor Art Fairs are quite a production, and most locals try to get out of dodge for the week, but I have always enjoyed the crowd and the festive spirit. Jon's family has a tradition of spending the opening day walking the fairs and we have always joined them, so while this was unfortunately the first year that Jon could not take the time away from work, Calvin and I had a great time seeing everyone and perusing the art. Calvin was particularly drawn to a booth of nude photography, a booth of plaster and stone reliefs, and a booth of metal sculptures. He spoke well with a number of artists, and enjoyed a fair favorite—fresh squeezed lemonade. Jon and I went back on Saturday so he at least got a chance to go and look around. But even the Art Fairs didn't bring any rain worth mentioning.

Probably the highlight of the week is Calvin's new, very own Magic Tree House, built for him by Jon's dad, as imagined by his mom, in a tree at their house. A real, honest-to-goodness, awesome as all get-out tree house. I'm a little jealous. Calvin, of course, loves it, and had a marvelous time spending all afternoon in it. He especially loved the sweeping and upkeep, so why, I ask you, is our own house so messy?

And lastly, we spent yesterday morning cooling off at the lake, where Calvin practiced his swimming and played at splashing his father for a good couple of hours. This year especially I'm feeling lucky to live so close to a small public lake and beach.

Which brings us to this week. We have just three more weeks before we'll be on our final summer vacation, which I figure is just about enough time to catch up on everything and get back into a routine so that I can lose a whole bunch of ground again by leaving. But at least it's been fun.