Dr. Jekyll and Miss Hyde

Hello, all.  So glad you decided to stop by for a minute today!  I have an extra special treat prepared just for you….

Science!

Without a doubt, the monkeys’ favorite school subject here at Arrow Academy is science.  Ty and Lucy really seem to enjoy learning about the world around them.  In case you’re out of the loop, we’ve been studying human anatomy and physiology this school year.  We’ve covered everything from cells to smells and hearts to f……  well, I guess I won’t go there.

Anyway, last month our science lessons focused on the immune and lymphatic systems.  We learned all about pathogens and diseases and how our wonderful Creator designed our bodies with a powerful army of defenders to protect us from germs.  Ty and Lucy both found the study of white blood cells to be particularly interesting.

To help the monkeys better understand the microscopic world of germs around them, I decided to order some petri dishes and attempt to grow bacterial colonies.

After discussing options of where to collect bacteria, the monkeys and I decided to take some samples from human and dog mouths.

I don’t know why Lucy found the idea of swabbing to be so repulsive.  She was even weirded out by the idea of me swabbing her teeth.

We took four samples in all:  one from Lucy, one from Ty, one from our Chihuahua, Coco, and one from our Jack Russell, Dee Dee.  Then Ty carefully spread the samples onto the sterile agar plates.  In lieu of an incubator, we placed our dishes on top of the freezer where the temperature was a balmy 80 degrees.  Then we waited.

What do y’all think we found a couple of days later?

Nasties!  That’s what.

Ew, Yuck, and Gross!

Nothing like finding out your kids’ mouths are just as nasty as your dogs’ mouths.  (Note to self:  add Listerine to the shopping list.)

As you can see, there might have been some error in collecting Ty’s sample.  Although his dish was just as gross as the others, it was definitely much different in nature.

I think the monkeys thoroughly enjoyed their little science experiment.  I do hope this hands-on experience will help them retain some of the information we talked about. 

It’s one thing to read about germs and grossies in a textbook, but to grow them yourself and see them with your own two eyes is a different story.  If nothing else, maybe this experiment will inspire the monkeys to be a little more meticulous when it comes to teeth brushing!

Lindsey

Snow Day–Part II

Can y’all believe we had not one, but two snow days last week??  Well, technically, I guess the first one was more of a sleet day, but on day two we had really for real snow!

My monkeys had just as much fun playing in the snow as they did in the ice the day before.

Lucy especially enjoyed all the white fluff.  She was less than one year old the last time we had any significant snow, and she has been dying to make a snow angel for years.  At last her wish came true!

She left tiny snow angels scattered all around our yard.

Of course the monkeys had to build a snowman.   Actually, Ty did most of the work himself.  Lucy had a hard time getting the snow to stick together, so she quickly lost interest.

Have you ever seen anyone give a snowman a haircut??

Leave it to Ty, the creative genius, to use grapes for eyes and buttons.  Oops!  Looks like this snowman lost an eye before I snapped the picture.

The Tool Man entertained himself by capturing all the fun on camera with his drone.

You know that no snow day would be complete without a good natured snowball fight.  Even I, the serious, sensible mom, hurled a snowball or two.  Although, I quickly surrendered after I caught one with my teeth!  I mean it.  I literally caught a snowball in my mouth.  (If you’re wondering, the Tool Man is the one who threw it at me.)

Lucy discovered that, in a pinch, a garbage can lid makes a pretty good sled.

If you’re wondering where Tacy was during all this snowy fun, she was warm and toasty in her crib enjoying a long winter nap.  Hmmm.  Sounds like a great way to pass the afternoon if you ask me!

Lindsey