Owl Sanctuary

Today, we went with our homeschooling group to the Owl Sanctuary down in Ocala (actually called the Ocala Wildlife Sanctuary). This is a non-profit organization that specializes in rescuing birds of prey, primarily owls. We heard about the owls, how they are able to hunt using sound (echolocation) and that they don't need daylight to see.



There were many other birds and fowl there, including ducks, a parrot, a kestrel, a crow, a goose, and more. We saw screech owls, barred owls, great horned owls, and barn owls. Because it was daylight and many of the birds were in heavily secured "mews" (for their safety as well as ours), it was a bit hard to see them, and very hard to photograph them.

We ended the tour by receiving an owl pellet to take home and dissect (this is the undigestible parts of the animal that the owl fed on). Ours was a dark brown one, which should be a barred owl's pellet. It will be a fun thing to dig through.

Not Back to School Potluck

Today, along with six other homeschooling families, we celebrated not going back to school. A potluck gathering meant lots of fun and socializing to be had, for kids, moms and dads alike! Among this setting, there were groups forming to act out the Boxcar Children, a children's army, petting and caring for the goats, dress-up, water play, trains, LEGOs, and archery.



It was really a great way to continue our summer past the arbitrary school calendar cut-off. It was a hard transition to leave for pretty much everyone. Luckily, we'll see almost everyone again tomorrow (most dads will be back to work, and miss our fun trip to the owl sanctuary!).

Leo Building: Mars Base

K and P collaborated on building a Mars base, complete with green houses and tunnels from building to building.

Lego Building: Banks

P built a bank today, complete with teller desk, ATM, alarms, and an air conditioner. He then proceeded to rob it. But the police caught him.

City of Ember

"P" and "K" listened to the audio presentation of "City of Ember". Later, they discussed sections of the book with us and incorporated some of the scenarios of the book into their creative play.

August 12

P worked on his handwriting - Print and cursive for the letters A and B.

Yellowstone and vulcanism

Discussed geology with the kids in and around Yellowstone park. What causes geysers and hot springs, and how a magma chambers can heat the liquids and earth above it. Discussed the possibilities of an eruption and how remnants of earlier eruptions on volcanoes in western United Sates can be found in several western states.

Ant Lions

"P" and "K" watched a group of ant lion traps surrounding our backyard faucet. We observed how ant lion keeps his trap debris-free by placing leaves in the pit and watching the lion kick it back out again.

Little House on the Prairie

P demonstrated his reading comprehension skills this evening as I read a chapter of Little House on the Prairie, which he had been pre-reading for several days. About seven pages into the chapter I came across the phrase 'fever n augue'. Having never heard it before and unsure of how to pronounce it, I trimmed the statement down to 'fever'. Parker immediately corrected me, despite my sitting several feet away and him not being able to see the page from where he was sitting.