Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day

In homeschool science we are finishing Jeannie Fulbright's book, Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day. We started this book last spring, and it has bolstered science to the boys' short list of favorite subjects. They beg to read science, and I am happy to give in, because this book is a delight. Hannah used the upper level Apologia materials for General, Physical, and Biology Sciences, and I was pleased to see that Apologia continued the standard of excellence with the release of their elementary and middle school sciences under Fulbright.

Our journey through Swimming Creatures has taught us about whales, seals, turtles, fish, sharks, rays, and more. The book is written in an informative yet engaging manner, and the photography is outstanding. The experiments are involved enough for the boys to consider them "real science", yet simple enough for me to actually accomplish.

My method for teaching science is relaxed and simple. I downloaded free notebooking pages from the Apologia website and put them in a three ring binder, as well as copies from this coloring book. We read about a particular topic in the text, then fill out a notebook page and illustrate it. Then, I check out as many books from the library as I can find on each topic, and while I read aloud, the boys color their coloring book picture for that particular animal. This coloring book is detailed and realistic, perfect for older kids, and also has an informative caption with each picture. Jeannie Fulbright recommends creating an oceanic diorama, and making models of the creatures we study to add to it throughout the year. Some of the animals in our diorama are handmade, others are purchased. I will post a photo of it when we finish the book and complete it.

Right now, we are learning about shells. I didn't have many seashells around the house, so I checked at the local craft store and was thrilled to find a basket of assorted shells (complete with a miniature starfish!) for two dollars! The boys have organized them on a cookie sheet, which we set on our laps as we read. They have had fun classifying - and reclassifying - their special collection. Well worth my two dollars!

I also pulled out a special memento this week. My Grandpa (my "Opa") was raised in a town in Germany near the North Sea. Many years ago, he and my Oma went back to visit and took a walk along the shore collecting shells. Those shells were in a little glass jar on their sunporch during my entire childhood, and I have memories of sitting on that porch and playing with them. When my Oma passed away last year, that little jar was the one thing I asked for from her house. We sorted through those shells this week and learned that most of them are bivalves. Some have holes drilled in them by whelks. As an added bonus, I even uncovered a wayward Barbie shoe that has been in that jar for who knows how many years!

Yesterday we read about pearls. An irritant, like a grain of sand, somehow enters the shell of a mollusk, usually an oyster. In response to that irritant, the mollusk begins to form a protective coating, which in time becomes a pearl. Natural pearls take about seven years (or more) to form. We talked about how Paul wrote in the book of James to "consider it all JOY when we encounter various sufferings." Why? Because God can use the very grit of our lives; the dirt, the shame, and the irritants, and turn them into something of great value and worth. Beauty from ashes. Hope from despair. Anything can be used to God's purpose and glory in our lives.

Many thanks I give for the wonderful things I learned from seashells. :) And there is a peek into what science looks like around here lately.