Too much fun stuff out there to buy, help me whittle it down

[Trivium Academy]

We're studying invertebrates June-August and I hope to have a homemade ant farm, wormery and also allow the kids to catch insects as they wish to observe.

First- has anyone done a homemade ant farm and wormery instead of store bought??

I also want to do these things:

Life in a Rotting Log kit (http://www.carolina.com/product/life+in+a+rotting+log+kit.do?keyword=rotting+log&sortby=bestMatches)
Experience the diversity of life found on the forest floor. Life in a Rotting Log Kit provides the ideal habitat for creatures such as crickets, redworms, millipedes, beetles, and more. Kit includes a generously sized piece of decaying wood, moss, soil, and an assortment of at least 5 different kinds of harmless creatures that can be found in or under a rotting log. Comes with a 1 1/2-gal clear, plastic terrarium perfect for holding and observing this fascinating ecosystem. Keep your rotting log moist and watch it change over time. Instructions and activities included. $34.25, Exclusively at Carolina.com

Intermediate Dissection Kit (http://www.hometrainingtools.com/product_categories/139/products/3084-dissection-kit-intermediate)
Study the anatomy of seven different preserved animal specimens!

frog (2.5-3")*
perch (4-7")*
crayfish (3-4")
grasshopper
earthworm (6-8")
clam (4-5")
starfish (3-5")
This complete dissecting kit includes our 15-piece tool set (http://www.hometrainingtools.com/catalog/p_de-set1.html), 7 preserved specimens, a reusable dissecting pan, plus dissection guides for all specimens. All of the specimens in this kit are plain without latex injection in the veins. Grades 5-12. $31.95
The ones with * are ones we don't really need right now.

If I just get these two things the cost will be $67 plus shipping from two different vendors, but I think the Life in a Rotting Log will be a wonderful observation project. The dissection kit, well I'll be the one dissecting (unless there's something I think dd can handle doing) and she's thrilled with this idea. She wants to do the dissection.

Other things that I've found and want to buy:
These awesome replicas:
Insects (http://www.acornnaturalists.com/store/Insect-Replica-Collection-C539.aspx)
Spiders (http://www.acornnaturalists.com/store/Spider-and-Scorpion-Replicas-C540.aspx)
Invertebrate marine (http://www.acornnaturalists.com/store/Marine-Invertebrate-Replica-Collection-C537.aspx)

or some type of microscope with slides to see the tiniest of invertebrate animals.

Another thing to consider is that dd may be going to a week long 4-H summer day camp at the end of July that will have her exploring beach and marsh ecology, seining in the ocean and learning about crabs and other animals. We'll also be spending the week at the beach for her to go to this day camp (at a friend's beach house) so I have opportunities to do stuff with her too.

Of course we'll also be doing nature study so...where should I purchase here? Rotting Log and dissection and leave the rest of it alone?
Or are there other things I haven't considered like games that would be better?

What do you think?

[nestof3]

Well, I would personally skip the dissection at this age, but I've seen you mention a couple of times that this is one of your must-haves for the year.

The rotting log sounds fascinating to me.

I personally would leave out the purchase of the imitation critters. Now my boys have tons of these sorts of things, but that's because they've been collecting them over the last few years and they play with them when they set up habitats and such on their play tables. Educationally, on their own, I just don't think there's much to learn from them that cannot be learned from a book, a museum, or a trip to AC Moore or Michael's. They carry a lot of these imitation critters and they can be observed for free there.

Buying mealworms and raising them to beetles could be a fun activity (we're going to do this).

Plant parsley and see the swallowtails come would be another. You can raise your own this way.

I ordered the praying mantis egg cases -- we will keep a few for a while and release the rest.

The camp sounds wonderful! So does the microscope.

Oh, visiting a local pet store like Animal Jungle would be great to see the tarantulas and giant hissing cockroaches. They often have some salt water aquariums with anemones and such as well. Of course, an aquarium/museum would be great to see so many invertebrates since so many of them live in the ocean.

Hydra or planaria could be fun:
http://www.carolina.com/category/living+organisms/animals/miscellaneous+invertebrates.do


or

daphnia or brine shrimp:
http://www.carolina.com/category/living+organisms/animals/live+crustaceans.do

[Trivium Academy]

I was going to save praying mantis for the next cycle, considering ds4 right now.

The dissection stuff, dd8 wants to see inside everything. She just asked this week what the internal anatomy is of a dog and how it compares to a bird. "Mom, I want to see inside a dog. I know bird bones are hollow and lightweight, I want to see what a dog is made of. That's something I really want to learn," said with all the earnestness she could muster.

What do I do with this child?? Lol. I know dissection is really for the next cycle but I think it will satisfy her, you know? We're already going to be doing the anatomy worksheets. She's thrilled with the idea of getting a bone from the butcher to see inside (from Head to Toe Science, our Human Body lessons starting in Sept.). I'm not expecting anything really academic from her with the dissection, it's really just to keep her propelling forward with her curiosity and to supply that "wow" factor for her.

That's why I keep mentioning the dissection. There aren't too many books out there on invertebrates, I think I've seen a spider one that has the plastic model that show all the internal structure. Here's one I just quickly found on Amazon, should I just make sure I have books like these on hand (http://www.amazon.com/Spiders-Scorpions-P-D-Hillyard/dp/0895778009/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211631324&sr=1-5)?

[nestof3]

should I just make sure I have books like these on hand (http://www.amazon.com/Spiders-Scorpions-P-D-Hillyard/dp/0895778009/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211631324&sr=1-5)?

By all means, I really think you should choose what you know your daughter would benefit from the most. It's hard for me -- when I see the list of what you want to pare down -- to not allow my own opinions in, you know what I mean?

I'd vote for "do it all," but my husband's eyes would pop out if I chose everything, and then I'd run out of time (can you tell I've gone this route before)?

We used this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Whats-Inside-Insects-DK-Publishing/dp/1564580032/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211633088&sr=8-2

But it has only drawings of the inside, not real photographs.

[Trivium Academy]

to not allow my own opinions in, you know what I mean?

I'd vote for "do it all," but my husband's eyes would pop out if I chose everything, and then I'd run out of time (can you tell I've gone this route before)?

I'm making it hard, aren't I? Lol. I'm sorry. I think the Rotting Log and just a single starfish dissection ($7.95) will be enough and use books for the rest. We'll attempt a homemade ant farm and wormery. I'll also get a long handled net for when we explore the ocean so maybe we can catch a jellyfish and see it.

I might also get a pocket microscope and some slides that can be viewed with it and that will be it.

Thank you for the book links, I need to look at our books that we have and make sure we don't already have this. You're so helpful Dawn, I really appreciate it.

[Karenciavo]

My ds5 enjoyed dissecting a brain this year, I can understand your dd's interest, you'll just do it again one day, right? The log does sound interesting, but I would probably just go into the woods and find a rotting log and visit it from time to time. Any woods where you are moving (or have you moved already)?

[Trivium Academy]

We're moving in mid-June, the reason I would buy the Rotting Log kit is b/c it has the animals included so we don't have to look for them and I want the container for future uses- I figured it would be a good buy for those reasons. Not to mention it's easy care from what I understand.

Yes there are woods where we'll be but our house will be in a subdivision, we're going to see the actual house this coming Tuesday. We have a lot of State Parks around us for exploring including aquatic ones.

We will do dissection again later, I think just getting the starfish will be enough not the whole set. I didn't get owl pellets when we did birds b/c I wanted to save it for the next cycle. Boy, the next cycle is going to be expensive, but tons of fun lol!

[Trivium Academy]

From Carolina.com
Young Scientist's Dissection- Starfish $6.95
Rotting Log Kit $34.25

From HomeTrainingTools.com
Pocket Microscope, 100X, $13.95
Elementary Slide Set $16.95
House Fly Slide, mouth parts $2.40
Insect compound eye slide $2.20

and this all fits within the $100 I budgeted for science manipulatives

We have Microcosmos (http://www.spiritofbaraka.com/micro.aspx) and I think this will be all we'll do outside of the other free activities we'll try. This will also give me a chance to see if the pocket microscope will be enough or if getting First DuoScope in a month or two will be a better idea.

Exhaling, thank you so much for helping me sort this out. It's too overwhelming at times with all the neat things to do!

[mcconnellboys]

Okay, Jessica, has Carolina sucked you in, LOL??? I love their catalog, but can't heft it up on my knee anymore, it's so big....

I have done a wormery using a cut off coke bottle. I think directions for those are all over the place. They are quite simple. You use a piece of old hosiery for the "lid", to prevent escapees but allow in plenty of air, moisture exchange, etc.

I think a clear gel medium works better for ant colonies in order to see them working. If you can buy just the medium, then I think you can easily make your own ant farm, as well - but I have not done this as I already own a small farm that I re-use over time. The ants they send you always die because they're not allowed to put a queen with them. It would be more humane to use local ants, watch them for a few days, then let them go so they won't die....

I thought my older son would love, love, love to do dissection for fifth grade, so I got the basic kit. Not only did I end up having to do all the dissection myself, but it was like pulling teeth to try to get him to peer inside while I talked about the inner workings of the critters. He was completely grossed out by the smell, feel, look - everything about them..... So you might want to wait a little, or have some very searching discussions with your daughter before you go that route and spend all that money.....

The rotting log is a terrific idea. If you have an old terrarium with a small mesh or other good, tight lid, you can pick up a piece of rotting log in the woods, bag it tightly in a garbage bag, bring it home and put it in your terrarium that you've already outfitted with soil and moss.... Just shake out the garbage bag well into the terrarium and you should get all the critters there, pretty much intact.

We actually keep a couple of firewood logs out by our back fence behind some larger evergreen trees so that we can look at them from time to time and see how they decompose. If you will have larger trees, shade, etc. in your new yard, you might elect to keep your log outside. It will give you a better picture of how wind, water, freeze/thaw, etc. work on decomposition and how the critters migrate in, out and around at different seasons of the year (and save ya some money, perhaps, too)....

Have fun with your nature studies!

[mcconnellboys]

Okay, I didn't see this before I spoke. I think I would just make sure that she understands that it's a real, dead animal she will be taking apart. Looking at separate pieces and parts, such as skeletons or bones never bothered my older son, but seeing everything in situ sort of freaked him out.....

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

I thank you very much for posting the dissection kit. My husband, on the other hand, who will not only pay for it, but also do the actual dissection with dd, will probably not be so thrilled. :thumbup:

[Heather in VA]

I was going to save praying mantis for the next cycle, considering ds4 right now.

The dissection stuff, dd8 wants to see inside everything. She just asked this week what the internal anatomy is of a dog and how it compares to a bird. "Mom, I want to see inside a dog. I know bird bones are hollow and lightweight, I want to see what a dog is made of. That's something I really want to learn," said with all the earnestness she could muster.

What do I do with this child?? Lol. I know dissection is really for the next cycle but I think it will satisfy her, you know? We're already going to be doing the anatomy worksheets. She's thrilled with the idea of getting a bone from the butcher to see inside (from Head to Toe Science, our Human Body lessons starting in Sept.). I'm not expecting anything really academic from her with the dissection, it's really just to keep her propelling forward with her curiosity and to supply that "wow" factor for her.

That's why I keep mentioning the dissection. There aren't too many books out there on invertebrates, I think I've seen a spider one that has the plastic model that show all the internal structure. Here's one I just quickly found on Amazon, should I just make sure I have books like these on hand (http://www.amazon.com/Spiders-Scorpions-P-D-Hillyard/dp/0895778009/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211631324&sr=1-5)?


I know she wants to see inside but she may not actually want to SEE inside. It sounds like she wants to know what's inside but if you do disection she's going to be confronted with not only the answers to that but the textures and smells (formaldehye reeks) that goes along with it. I haven't looked but can you find either details posters, pictures, puzzles that have this information or maybe see it on a video without having her hands in a frog quite yet? I'm not against it but if she is at all squeemish you can grant her request without having her cut up something. After all - she wants to see inside a dog but I doubt she wants to cut one up. I'm huge into dissection - I loved it but even I walked out of my high school biology class when it was time to dissect a cat. I just don't do pets. Oddly - I was find observing an autopsy.

Heather

[Heather in VA]

Oh - and thanks for the rotting log link. I think I'll get one for my youngest next year. She always feels left out since her sisters are so much older. She adores things like this.

Heather

[Lovedtodeath]

Jessica, I love this post. So many possibilties for my next cycle through Life Science! I am planning to focus on life science and maybe combine other categories some. I would definitely look for models or vidoes that would show the insides of animals.

I am wanting to do an experiment on how things rot. (like when we buried our pet butterfly last summer) Any suggestions?

[Trivium Academy]

A compost is the quick and easy answer.
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/letsnet/NoFrames/Subjects/science/b2u1l4.html
http://www.kidsgardening.com/Dig/digdetail.taf?ID=1002&Type=Art

Simulated landfill
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/more/AttheDumpTeacher.htm

pumpkin
http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/2694.html

What Causes Tooth Decay
http://eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/Health/Body_Systems_and_Senses/BSS0007.html

Decomposition covers life science, earth science and chemistry, I would pick a focus and do that. A compost would probably be the most beneficial project to do, for both short and long term observation and use.

[Trivium Academy]

Thank you Regena!

[Lovedtodeath]

Thanks Jessica You are a homeschool guru!!

[Mommy22alyns]

I'm glad I opened this post and found out about the Carolina website! I was wanting to just order some snails for our study on them later.

[Karen in CO]

Just say vermiculture with me. It is worm composting. We built a worm bin last year and ordered worms from The Worm Man. (http://www.wormman.com/)We compost leaves and grass in a big outdoor composter, but watching kitchen scraps turned to dirt is pretty cool. I have seen pictures, but watching daily as they do it was fun. The kids got a new job of taking the scraps down to the worm bin, and we got rich black dirt for the vegetable patch. Try it. You can take it with you to the new place. It is faster than regular composting. Just two parts of it were a problem to me - fruit flies and the separating the compost from the worms when it is ready.

This is basically the way we made our worm bin http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/Easywormbin.htm


For the dissecting, I did the invertebrate kit with the co-op science kids - aged 5-10. Some were amazingly into it. They helped with the dissecting once I got it started, but they more enjoyed taking the organs out than carefully dissecting. Others were grossed out. Some became vegetarians. The two animals that had the best results and least gross factor were the worm and the crayfish. The good thing about the multi-animal kits is that you can compare the creatures and their adaptations. Make sure you pick up a pack of small latex gloves. Does that kit come with dissecting trays? If not, save some Styrofoam meat trays, you will need to pin parts down so that you can get to other parts. Carolina provides good instructions, but don't be overly attached to following them.

If you get the pocket microscope, get two or a similar but less-expensive second one- the younger will need his own. I also suggest a large magnifying glass on a base.

[Trivium Academy]

I have Backyard Composting: Your Complete Guide to Recycling Yard Clippings.

I thought we could just get nightcrawlers from the bait shop, what did you get from the Worm Man? I love the DIY Worm bin, exactly what I was thinking but this gives visuals!

You rock Karen!

[Karen in CO]

Jessica,
We got red worms instead of night crawlers - something about them eating from above instead of below makes them better suited for composting, but I don't remember where I found the worm comparisons. You can probably find them locally since you live in the South - out here, there aren't any worm farms. If you buy them online, comparison shop, I have found that the price varies wildly and seasonally. Watch for shipping costs too.