Dissecting a Mouse

Well, science happens, whether I am looking for it or not!

Last fall our cat was catching plenty of mice, and the thought of having my kids dissect it was--ewwww. Gross! Something has changed, for when Denver found a dead mouse in the house this afternoon, my first suggestion was to have him dissect it. I popped on Google and found mouse dissecting suggestions (http://www.ehow.com/how_2104794_dissect-mouse.html) and away he went! Denver even took a picture, which I'm not going to post here and gross you out.

Now I feel like science is one of our weak areas that my kids are interested in, but not the intensive book-learning way. So this mouse dissecting opportunity was perfect: a hands-on activity! Denver found it intensely interesting, and I'll bet not many other 4th graders have dissected mice at home....probably because their mom's couldn't stomach it!! So this homeschooling thing has given me a new perspective on learning: take it when it falls in your lap (or dies in your house at the hands of a cat!).

A Fun Day of Science

Well, I finally found someone for my son to do science experiments with! A family that has 5th & 6th grade boys also ended up taking kayaking lessons with my kids, skiing at Ohlson Mountain on Sundays and taking swim lessons with them as well. With all this time to connect, we busy parents made it happen. It was supposed to be a rocket shoot-off day, which is what got Denver revved up, but the rocket building (and drying!) took longer than expected so we just opted for chemistry experiments.

The boys did 4 chromotography experiments, watching the marker colors bleed up the filter paper. The other boys' mom is a local vet and she does exactly this type of test to diagnose certain diseases in animals, so it was a fun sample of a real-world application!

To pep up the slow pace the dad got out a jar, filled it with apple cider vinegar, baking soda, dish soap and glitter, and the boys had a blast watching it ooze out and overflow. You could feel their imaginations catch fire!

Then we headed back to the chemistry kit and they used a battery, wires and lightbulb to light it up and tested the conductivity of various solutions. As they discovered, plain water does not conduct electricity, but salt water and sodium carbonate water do.

All in all, it was a fun 3 hours of science before we all dashed off to swim lessons!