A Nip Here, a Tuck There

I am way behind on blogging. We just got done with recital, which is another post, and I have a little down time. But this blog is about science co-op. Ready?

One of my favorite things to teach is biology. I was so excited for one of my kids to get old enough for biology and the big girl got there first. My favorite part of biology besides the edible projects? Dissecting. This year we dissected a grasshopper, a perch, a frog, and a starfish. I won't show you any pics of the perch. Even I think they were yucky. And some of the pics of the frog may not be suitable for all audiences.

This poor guy never had a chance. We had 2 specimens and the kids were broken into 2 groups. I mixed and matched them for each lab so no 2 groups were the same. Their grade depended on each other and every one had to handle a different part of the lab. For the most part, that worked very well.

And then the teacher tells the left handed kid it was her turn to handle the right handed scissors. Because I'm smart that way. But she did it anyway.

Yeah, the pics just get a little grosser from here, so it's time to move on to the next victim specimen.

This one proved to be a little harder for the group. Just trying to get through the exoskeleton proved to be a chore. But they did it.

Part of the lab was to draw the legs and various outer features. There are some super talented kids in my class.

I liked the starfish. It was a little harder to distinguish some of the outer features, but the rest of the lab was way cool.

I had the best time teaching biology to this group of kids. We had the best discussions, and some not so good conversations. We covered a ton of material and they hung in there when it got a little boring. And, really, who doesn't like a class where you get to cut up dead things?

Have a great day.