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!).

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.

Ancient and Modern Athens

P and I talked about Ancient Greece and the acropolis. Reviewed photos of the building and models of what it used to look like. Watched a NOVA special on the Acropolis and attempts to renovate it and what they learned about its construction.

Whaling

"P" and I discussed the history of whaling. We talked about the uses for blubber, Moby Dick and current whaling practices, including the stand-off between Japanese whaling vessels and environmentalists.

Carousel Horses

Went to library and learned about the miniature (under 27" tall) therapy horses. Heard about a ton of books about horses, but P wasn't interested in checking any out. Instead, we checked out Star Wars and other books.

Blue Springs exploriation

We enjoyed exploring the spring-fed "watering hole", looking for snails, watching the fish swim past, feeling the cool water.

http://www.bluespringspark.com/

Almost Molecules

P and I had a brief conversation about molecules, and how these things are connected, but he just wanted to try it out for himself. I guess not quite ready for organic chemistry.

Circle Camp Finale

After two weeks of our peace talk-themed summer camp, the kids put on an amazing performance complete with drumming, dancing, singing, and skits. Lots was learned in terms of talking with others compassionately and getting to feelings and needs instead of blame and hurt.

Amazing Butterflies

Went to Butterfly Rainforest and Amazing Butterfly Exhibit.

Geography Lesson

AT-PT Transport

AT-PT Transport



TIE Fighter

Original Composition

P wrote and performed his first "original song" today, entitled "Frog and Toad". He sang it in front of about 35 people.

Aerodynamics (or why paper planes work better)

Ft. Clinch Camping

Enjoyed group camping for first time. Explored Ft. Clinch park. Cold water!!

Butterfly Release

Went to the Florida Museum of Natural History today. We looked at the exhibit of native butterflies and how they pick different native species of plants to lay their eggs, and watched the release of new butterflies into the tropical rain forest enclosure. We also visited the Fossil, Everglades, and Alien Invasion exhibits.

Can You Dig It?

We attended the Florida Museum of Natural History's annual "Can You Dig It" event tonight. We were able to see the live demonstrations of:

• an erupting volcano (talking about pyroclastic clouds as well as comparisons of the Pompeii eruption and the Mount St. Helens eruption);
• "magic rocks" which glow under UV lights (we got to see things glow orange, green, pink, and white) based on their component elements (like calcium);
• flint knapping, where master flint knapper Tom Nutter was making stone arrow heads the "modern way", and then discussed with us how it would have been done by Native Americans;
• the work of water and how it shapes Earth's surface and subsurface, including ridges and rivers and canyons;
• and the ground water system, complete with a 3-D model of a cube of earth down through to the deepest aquifer, and also a water model to show how pollution can get from contaminated sewers, septic tanks, and similar into our drinking water supplies.
  

We also explored mineral hardness and how a rock with a hardness less than 2.5 (which is the hardness of our nails) would flake when scraped, got to feel different stalagmites and stalactites, looked at shavings of different "rocks" under the microscope (including granite and limestone), and saw the gem cutting process (from mining the minerals to extracting the "pretty part" to shaping to setting for jewelry). We also briefly participated in the "fossil dig", but were less than impressed with it, as it was just a sandbox with different mineral rocks thrown in there -- there was no "excavating" required.

Manatee Springs

Visited Manatee Springs state park for a nature trail exploration and picnic. K and P saw:

• red-tailed hawk
• sea lettuce
• turtles
• black vultures
• yellow buttons (possible)

Copywork