Out in the Garden

Crickets and Cantaloupe

Sometimes one thing can lead to another. Sometimes coincidences happen. Sometimes, if we are fortunate, we can catch a glimpse of The Holy Spirit at work in those coincidences.

In my last post, I documented the photo bug safari that my daughter and I went on. Taking pictures made her decide to catch some crickets that we had seen. She ran inside and got a peanut butter jar and captured five little crickets. These were the really small ones. I didn't even bother taking pictures of them and honestly, I didn't know why she would want to keep them in a jar. She busily collected some fine dirt and some blades of grass to add to the jar. Then she put in a moistened paper towel and a small slice of banana. What I didn't know is that coincidentally she had studied crickets in science class that afternoon. (If you are new to my blog you need to know that Sarah is being homeschooled for the first time this year and is two weeks in.) She learned in school that you could easily keep crickets because they eat just about anything. She was creating a little habitat in the jar for her new crickets.

She was putting what she had learned into action. She showed me which ones were male and female and how you could tell the difference and all kinds of cricket facts. She spent a lot of time this weekend watching them. We can even watch as the males "chirp" with their legs.

Saturday evening, the best part of the learning happened! Sarah brought me the jar alarmed that one of her crickets must be sick. She was right, one of them looked very strange. Its color was not normal, and it looked like it was stretched out. It didn’t seem to have control of its back half and was obviously struggling. We thought maybe it had been attacked by one of the others. We discussed taking it back out in the yard where it might have more food options. While we were deciding what to do, it happened! It was one of the weirdest things I have ever seen. It crawled out of the back half of its body and unfolded a new set of back legs that were tucked up under its wings on its back. What we had been watching was a metamorphosis! The nymph cricket became an identical looking but slightly larger adult cricket. We could look at it in diagram form in Sarah’s book, but that is nothing like seeing it happen right before your eyes. Sunday morning the back half “shell” was gone. I suppose they ate it. No wonder we never find them lying around the garden like we might find a snake skin.

Needless to say, she was very pleased with the whole morphing episode. She made comment that her friends at the public school aren’t going to get to see that, and that she thought being homeschooled was better.

After the cricket excitement died down, we enjoyed our first ripe Ambrosia Cantaloupe. It was soooooooo sweet!

We were extra excited since our watermelon didn’t work out. Both girls ate their fill! All in all, we had a great weekend. I am so pleased that the homeschooling is going well. The Lord sure has been gracious to us. And you know, I think I’m sleeping a little better with that peaceful soothing chirping sound coming from the peanut butter jar in the next bedroom.

That's great

03:49, Tuesday, August 22, 2006 .. Posted by workinprogress

How fantastic for you! I am glad that you got some first hand experience with how wonderful homeschooling can be after you were struggling with a lack of support. We are due to have a baby any day now and I look forward to homeschooling, though we know we will also have a lack of support. I think that whole story is really neat and I hope that your daughter continues her journey in learning.

Shannon