RETURN OF THE ZOMBIES: Yesterday was all about zombies, what with CJ's play. Not to be outdone, today in art class, Annabelle used a scrap of drywall to craft a zombie body for herself.
EATING INSECTS: Today in science class, the kids (and I!) learned lots about how insects eat. I can honestly say that before today, I'd never stopped to contemplate how mealworms partake of a meal.
The first experiment we participated in involved a demonstration of how insects like mosquitoes eat. They pierce something and then suck out the food. The kids were given grapes and a straw cut on an angle. We poked the grapes with the pointy end of the straw and sucked and sucked and sucked. Not a particularly convenient way for we humans to get sustenance, but interesting, for sure.
Next up, we learned about insects who have mandible mouths, like ants and beetles and mealworms. Unlike our mouths, which chew up and down, their mouths work sideways. The kids were given scissors to use to cut Cheerios and then pick them up and eat them.
And here, we have history being made. As a demonstration of insects which suck or siphon their food, like butterflies, the teacher asked kids to suck up some apple juice. Now, if you know CJ, you know that if you ask him to drink anything other than water, he thinks you're trying to poison him.
I wondered how he'd handle the request, but didn't say anything. Lo and behold, he started siphoning away. Good for CJ - setting his lifelong aversion aside in the interest of science.
MOVE IT: I made sure the kids got some exercise in today. I would have loved to have joined them in their scampering and jumping, but that's going to have to wait. My right foot is sporting camouflage colors (ewwwww) and has a plum sized knot on the outside ankle bone. :/
They also did about an hour of "Let's Dance," and they seem to be getting a bit sharper in their moves, which is good to see.
SPLASHY LANDING: We'll be glued to NASA TV and the SpaceX Web site tomorrow morning. As we sleep tonight, Dragon is set to leave the ISS and make its way back toward Earth. (A timeline of activities is on the SpaceX Web site.) A little after 8:30-ish Pacific time, the Dragon capsule is supposed to come splashing down back to Earth. Per a press release I received today, it's set to splashdown "hundreds of miles off the west coast of California likely out of range of live television."
Boo! No live TV?!?!
Maybe it will overshoot the "runway" and come into range. Either way, we'll be watching!
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