Search Results for: Insects

Compost Cups Science Project

As we walked through the autumn forest and noticed the falling leaves, I asked the kids what happened to the piles of leaves we walked through last year. That started a conversation about decomposition.

Decomposition and Composting

Decomposition is the process in which organic material is broken down into simpler forms of matter (according to Wikipedia). It’s natural recycling!

When leaves fall and plants and animals die, they start this process of breaking down or decay. Insects, bacteria, and fungus all carry out decomposition. In the end, dead matter decays and is turned back into soil. That’s what happened to the piles of leaves from last fall.

You might have a compost bin or pile at your house where your yard, garden, and kitchen waste are decomposed to create nutrient rich soil that can be put back into the garden.

Make Your Own Compost Cups

To study composting up close, we decided to create our own mini compost bins in cups, so we could see decomposition in action. You can make your own compost cups science project with these easy steps.

Supplies Needed

16 ounce plastic cup
Organic items such as grass clippings, kitchen scraps (no meat or dairy), leaves, coffee grinds, bark, etc.
Plastic wrap
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup dirt
Rubber band or tape

Instructions

1. Place organic material, dirt, and water in the plastic cup.

2. Cover the cup with plastic wrap and seal with a rubber band or tape. Give it a good shake and place it in a warm, sunny place like a window or safe spot outside where it won’t be disturbed.

3. Every couple of days add another tablespoon of water and give it a shake. Note what is happening to the organic matter.

What Happens?

The warm environment of the cup increases the activity of the microbes inside. These bacteria and fungus go to work breaking down the organic matter in the cup. The added water and oxygen from the shaking keep the process going.

Within a day or two you can see this happening. Given enough time, you’ll be able to see the organic matter turn into dark, nutrient rich compost that can be added to garden soil.

By contributing writer Marci

Differences Between Butterflies and Moths

by Toni Herrbach

By contributing writer Marci

Butterflies and moths are beautiful, fascinating creatures. People love to watch butterflies flit from flower to flower in all their colored splendor. We see moths flocking to lights at night with their dusty drab wings. Although we often see butterflies and moths, do we know much about them? Are there differences between butterflies and moths other than their color?

Butterfly and Moth Similarities

Butterflies and moths are both insects belonging to the order Lepidoptera. Their bodies and wings are covered with tiny scales that are actually modified hairs and give butterflies and moths their beautiful colors and patterns. These scales can come off the wings when they are touched and look dust like.

Both adult butterflies and adult moths have a long tongue called a proboscis that allows them to drink nectar from flowers. They are dependent on flowers for food, so need to stay near flowers their entire life.

Butterfly and Moth Differences

Although butterflies and moths seem so similar, they have some interesting differences.

Butterflies have long, thin bodies.
Moths have short, feathery bodies.

Butterflies hold their wings closed when at rest.
Moths keep their wings open when at rest.

Butterfly larva make a chrysalis that hangs from a plant or tree branch.
Moth larva make a cocoon from silk.

Most butterflies are diurnal (awake during the day and sleep at night).
Most moths are nocturnal (awake at night and sleep during the day).

Most butterflies have antennae that are long and thin with a bulb-like structure at the end.
Most moths have feathery antennae.

Butterflies typically have colorful wings.
Moths typically have drab wing colors.

Show What You Learned

Taking what you now know about the differences between butterflies and moths, lets put that knowledge to action!

Draw a butterfly and a moth. Label the differences. This is a good time to teach about symmetry, also. You can use a guide book or photographs of butterflies and moths on the internet as a guide, or you can create your own beautiful creature. Don’t forget to name it! You might want to create your butterflies and moths out of clay with paper wings. Get creative and have fun. This is a fun way to show what you have learned.

Butterfly Life Cycle Learning Fun

by Toni Herrbach

By contributing writer Colleen

Butterflies make for a fun spring and summer learning adventure, especially for little kids. Kids learn about the butterfly life cycle and how to care for a living organism. And you don’t have to worry about the upkeep long term. After a few weeks, you’re able to let the newly emerged insects go, and you can either start over again, or enjoy a pet-free break.

Over the years, my kids have raised several different species of butterfly. Painted lady butterflies are easily attainable (such as InsectLore brand) because they can be kept alive easily on a laboratory-created food source.

You can order a container that has several larvae and all the food they’ll need until they form their chrysalis. When they’re ready to turn into butterflies, they’ll crawl to the top of the container and attach themselves to the lid, forming their chrysalis in preparation for metamorphosis.

Kids can pop off the cardboard disk on the inside of the lid and gently transfer them into a larger container so they have room to fly when they emerge as newly formed butterflies.

If you decide to try raising butterflies, I hope you’ll download this fun printable coloring sheet for your little one to help them track their butterfly’s life cycle. They can just color it for fun, or color each stage in the cycle as it happens.

We’ve also raised monarch butterflies. Monarchs need milkweed in order to survive as caterpillars, so if, like us, you go hunting for monarch caterpillars, make sure you have access to a steady supply of milkweed leaves to feed them. Otherwise they’ll die. And they’re voracious eaters.

Alternately, you can go chrysalis hunting and bring (very carefully) some branches of milkweed that house a monarch chrysalis home. Put the branches in a jar to stabilize them, and place them in a large container or butterfly habitat.

I love monarchs because the green of the chrysalis edged in gold makes it look like a precious gemstone. And the butterflies that emerge are gorgeous.

photo credit: Vicki’s Nature via photopin cc

This year, in addition to raising painted lady butterflies, we’ll be monarch hunting and tagging in partnership with Monarch Watch. Monarch Watch is a citizen science program that asks everyday people and groups of people to band together and help track monarch populations around the world.

I highly recommend getting your kids involved in citizen science programs like Monarch Watch if you can. It’s a great way to help them see that they can contribute and make a difference – even as kids.

Have you ever raised butterflies with your kids? What was your experience?

Simple Earth Day Ideas

by Toni Herrbach

By contributing writer Tabitha

Earth Day is coming up next week, and it’s a good opportunity to get kids involved in simple ways to help preserve our natural resources and teach them awareness of our planet. It doesn’t have to be a big political statement of any kind but just another way to involve our kids in the world around them.

Over the years that I’ve had boys in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, I’ve learned a lot about how to be more aware of our world and take care of it. They even have awards based on this principle.

Simple Earth Day Ideas | The Happy Housewife

A deer was checking out our back yard.

10 Simple Earth Day Ideas

Keeping it simple is always good for me, because things aren’t simple around here with 10 kids.

Plant something. A tree is awesome, but not always possible. A garden is good, because it gets kids digging and learning more about plants.
Take a walk. Pick up garbage along the way and talk about how we can take better care of the world around us by not littering and by leaving places better than we found them.
Look around your home. Have your children identify problems that might waste energy or resources. This can include leaky faucets, items plugged in all the time that don’t need to be, windows that are cracked or areas that have a draft, lights left on, etc. Help them fix them or address the problem.
Find ways for your family to recycle paper, cans, and glass. Participate if possible. Talk about why it’s good to recycle.
Learn about the Earth. Knowing more about something helps us to respect and love it more.
Participate in any community Earth Day celebrations.
Learn about plants native to your area and how to keep the ecosystems healthy.
Find out what kinds of birds, animals, and insects are in your area, especially if any are endangered. Talk about how to protect those that can’t protect themselves. Start watching for birds. Build a birdhouse/feeder that would be appropriate for birds near your home.
Talk about how land and water can get dirty or polluted and how we can prevent this and help with cleanup when possible.
Visit a local organization that is focused on local plants or animals, like botanical gardens or a wildlife preserve.

Above all, show respect for the world around you and your children will learn from your example more than from anything you say.

I’ve found that learning and doing things together is one of the best parts of learning as a family. Enjoy your time together!

Even dandelions can be appreciated

Learn About Parrots

by Toni Herrbach

By contributing writer Marci

This month at The Happy Housewife, homeschoolers have been talking about pirates. Arrr!!! (Couldn’t resist!) See all of our Talk Like a Pirate Day Activities here.

When I asked my kids what they wanted to learn about pirates, I was looking for boats, sailing, navigation, swords, gold or the ocean. Instead, they told me parrots. How could I forget the pirate’s parrot?

Why did pirates have parrots?

The pirates that we, in the United States, are most familiar with roamed the Caribbean Sea and nearby shores. They would often capture exotic animals like monkeys and parrots because of the great price they would fetch elsewhere in the world.

It is highly unlikely that a pirate captain would stroll around with a parrot on his shoulder as a pet. Although, in the book “Treasure Island”, Long John Silver did just that, forever joining the pirate and the parrot in our minds.

Where do parrots live?

Parrots are a group of approximately 372 species of birds (including macaws, Amazon parrots, cockatiels, parakeets, and cockatoos) that live in the warm tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The greatest diversity of parrots can be found in South America and the region stretching across Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea.

What do parrots eat?

Parrots eat fruit, nuts, seeds and some insects. Their large, strong bills allow them to crack into even the hardest of nuts. The long claws of the parrot, along with their amazing dexterity, allow them to use their feet to assist in eating, re-positioning the food for a better grip and bite.

Are parrots smart?

We have all probably heard a parrot using human words. Most parrots species are just mimicking what they hear, not really conversing. However, there have been studies done that have shown the African Gray Parrot can actually learn what words mean and put them into simple sentences on their own.

Parrots can also use tools, problem solve and solve puzzles.

Parrot Information and Activities

ParrotsInternational.org – Tons of Parrot information, videos and images

Parrot Crafts

Squaking Parrot – simple parrot craft using colored construction paper cut into basic shapes
Sock Parrot – super cute parrot made with a pair of red socks

Parrot Mimic Game – The leader says a sentence and the other participants (the parrots) try to mimic the sentence. Start with short sentences and get progressively harder. Try one or two sentences. See how far you can go.

Parrot Map Activity – Get out your world map and find where parrots are located. Start general and then look up a few of your favorite parrot species and locate where they live on the world map.

Parrot Species Search – www.parrotspecies.org

Parrot Coloring Pages

More Homeschool Science from Marci

Summer Themed Worksheets: Free Printables

by Toni Herrbach

This month’s theme focuses on fun summer family nights. Each of these summer-themed worksheets was designed to use with your Kindergartner-First Grader.

In this 4-page worksheet packet, you’ll find:

Beginning Consonant Practice – Determine the beginning sound of each object you’d see while camping
Matching Sums – Match each equation on the left with its match on the right; includes 3 summer-themed simple addition word problems
Camping Fill-in-the-Blank – Use the word bank to fill in the correct answers in each camping-themed sentence
Scissor Skills – Practice scissor skills with this camping-themed printable

Summer Family Printables for Kindergarten-First Grade
Summer Nights Themed Printables August 2013.pdf

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by contributing writer Lauren

License:	CC Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Date:	July 22, 2013

Compost Cups Science Project

Decomposition and Composting