Pigeon Party

I love my little science lovin' girl.  She is such a curious, interested little blessing!  She has always had an interest in science, even as a very young child and prefers biology and other non-fiction books to most anything else.  I'm a science lovin' girl myself, so I hit the jackpot here!  She loves any and all experiments that we do and she especially has an interest in biology and anatomy.  When my sisters asked if she'd like a dissection kit and specimen for Christmas, I knew the answer had to be a yes!  Maura chose a pigeon.  It was not my first choice.  I've dissected many an animal(including humans) over the course of my studies, but never any birds.  The idea of trying to work around the feathers grossed me out!  The pigeon sat in the garage fridge for at least two weeks after it was delivered before I finally got around to it.   Maura couldn't wait to get started!

I do all of the cutting(not ready for her to handle a scapel!) and so we set to work trying to open up our pigeon.  Maura was SO interested in everything we happened upon, especially this crop full of seeds.  We counted over forty kernels of corn!  Apparently they give the birds a good last meal before they become biology specimens!

The boys were also very interested in the proceedings.  They joined us after their bath to get the internal anatomy lesson.

Maura wasn't allowed to cut, but she used that probe with gusto.  She was able to identify all the major internal and external structures by the time we finished.  I'm so proud of my big girl!  She's growing up so quickly and becoming such a beautiful young lady, inside and out.  She's much easier to work with and school these days and she's developed a real patience with her brothers which leads to peace between them.  I love this girl!

A good time was had by all(except the poor pigeon) and we'll probably be doing this again soon.  This is truly one of the best things about homeschooling.  We are able to cater to their interests to create lessons which will truly stick with them and contribute to a culture of lifelong learning.  I love how much I'm learning this year as I teach my children and we have seen such an improvement in not only their academic performance, but in their behavior as well.  Brent and I both feel that homeschooling has been rough, but successful this year and we plan on continuing next year.  Please continue to pray for our family as we walk this sometimes bumpy homeschooling journey!