HomeSchooling: Exploring Nature
Wasp: Black and White Wasp - Monobia Quadridens
While my daughter and I were outside this morning we discovered this wasp. I’m not sure what type it is but I’ll soon find out. Update! Beth at the Eclectic Studio Cafe identified this was as the black and white wasp - monobia quadridens. Thanks Beth! I’m getting ready to purchase the book Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity: With a Photographic Guide to Insects of Eastern North America. I checked out the reviews from a variety of sources and this seems like a keeper.
I’m getting a good deal this book is priced at $95 but Amazon has it available for $59.85. I’m saving 37% of the price. I’m an Amazon Prime member so my shipping is free. Since I live close to the facility I’ll be getting this book tomorrow.
Homeschooling? Who Would’ve Thought…
My four-year old daughter is home schooled. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do but that was definitely out of the question when I was working out of the home. This school year would be the test. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to handle being a business owner working from home and home schooling my daughter. Although she has always been taught at home adding “home schooled” made it “official”.
I don’t believe in forcing children to learn. I believe you can get better results using other methods. Everyone does not learn the same way. They all learn at different paces and the key, I think, is tapping into what they find interesting. You can present education so they really don’t think of it as “boring”. I did very well in school and in elementary school my brother, and I was taught in a home school setting. It wasn’t at home but with a group of other parents/children.
My brother and I excelled. My brother and I transferred to a traditional school our junior year in high school and the boredom set in. I wasn’t challenged, and the work was too easy for me although I was taken “hard courses” I wanted to be stimulated in another way.
I see the same with my daughter. My daughter thinks are sessions are fun, and she is constantly entertained. When it’s time to get serious she will but don’t expect her to be serious always. She’s four years old after all and her attention span, at times, is all over the place. Actually, She started learning to read when she was three these days she tries to spell anything she says. She’s a lot like myself at that age. I had an insatiable thirst for knowledge I still do.
I have to be honest when I say I have a hard time keeping up with her with Spanish. Not a day goes by when she is not rattling something off in Spanish I tell her to slow down as I hunt around for my Spanish dictionary so that I can interpret the words that I have not caught, lol.
Frog Watch USA
Last evening as I was scouring the internet for cool & interesting ways to teach my daughter I came across this website Frogwatch USA. You can find Frogwatch USA on the National Wildlife Federation’s website.
What’s Frogwatch USA? I copied this excerpt from their website…
Frogwatch USA is a frog and toad monitoring program that gives YOU the opportunity to help scientists conserve amphibians! With as little as 20 minutes a week you can collect essential information to protect frogs and toads.
This long-term amphibian study, managed by the National Wildlife Federation in partnership with the United States Geological Survey, will increase awareness of amphibian decline and will give you the opportunity to be directly involved in gathering information that can ultimately lead to practical and workable ways to help stop the decline of these important species.
I instantly thought about Pelf when I came across this website. If you haven’t checked out this beautiful biologist what are you waiting for? You need to check out her website. Pelf is a wonderful soul who does a lot of work with humans and animals. Aiyana often asks me to check out Ms. Pelf’s page so she can look at the “cute terrapins.” Pelf she thinks you are cool because you are so nice to “her turtles.” That brought about a great discussion on turtles, tortoise, and terrapins.
Anyway back to Frog Watch USA I wish I had known about this early this year I most likely would have registered our location to be part of this watch. We see plenty of frogs and toads. So you don’t have a lot of frog’s & toads in your area they have a section that shows you how to attract more of them in your area. Naturally, there will be some places where you won’t be able to.
My daughter is excited about this project. She’s also happy that she can help nice people (like Ms. Pelf) study animals. I’m also picking up a book about frog’s & toads. I’m not sure which one I’ll purchase yet. I still have research to do. I told Aiyana that we needed to be ready to identify the variety that we might see hence the need to purchase this book. That’s going to be part of her “homework” aka “funwork” identifying frogs. She already can identify a large variety of wild herbs and weeds. Aiyana is already asking me when the book will arrive because she really needs to know about them right away, lol.
If someone had told me two years ago that I would be homeschooling my daughter I would have laughed. I didn’t think it was possible although it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and to be honest I did not think I would be able to handle it when I resigned from my position and started working for myself part-time .
I’m proof that a single mom who happens to be a business owner can home school also. Of course it’s challenging but thankfully I’m stubborn and I enjoy turning You Can’t into Yes I Can!
[tags]homeschooling, nature, wasp, Frogwatch USA, National Wildlife Federation, frogs, toads, black & white wasp - monobia quadridens[/tags]