biology – Nancy Tart: Writing for Life

Field Trip

What to do when your big sister’s college class has an amazing field trip? Double it as a homeschool nature exploration day!

September 12, 2018

Field Trip

Rebeccah’s first official school field trip happened recently. She got to go to the Guana River Dam with her Marine Biology class. She often jokes that she was inspired by Finding Nemo to be an orthodontic surgeon with a hobby in Marine Biology. For her Biology Major degree, she will need many sciences with labs, so this semester it was Marine Biology plus Lab. She loves animals and has a special love for aquatic creatures so Marine Biology is a double love.

We drove her up to the state park and since we were there, just walked around and explored the estuary. (The younger children got a field trip at the same time!) Kimberly took pictures because I had to keep both eyes and one hand on Lucas at all times.

We saw armies of crabs.

We found a tiny oyster.

We took a walk around the preserve. One of the brush-covered walkways hid dozens of golden orb spiders. Jaquline quoted, “if you look up, they’ll drop on you.” To which Jillian instantly laughed, “I’m looking down, Pooh!”

A lovely bird allowed Kimberly to get pretty close.

The view was gorgeous and we watched many fish!

Another lovely view.

Although we tried to stay out of the “way” of the class, we got cornered watching the armies of crabs. Kimberly snapped this picture to “prove” Rebeccah was at the estuary too. She hadn’t taken her shoes off yet, but when she loaded up in the van after the trip, she was covered mid-torso with water!

The Marine Biology class left some tiny minnows floundering and the girls made it their mission to find all of them and flick them back into the water so they could live. Most darted away. This one kept darting back to the edge as if saying “thank you!”

Jaquline showing off some shells.

Kimberly’s selfie.

Kimberly also got some video of our excursion. (Above, a crab & conch; below, the crab army)

It was a lovely day for a field trip. Thank you, Jesus, for the opportunity to be able to enjoy such natural wonders with my children!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

Any Book is Curriculum

April 14, 2018

Any Book is Curriculum

In our homeschool curriculum, we have base books that everyone has to go through. These are standards like Arithmetic and Language Arts.

I add vocabulary workbooks to teach etymology. Once etymology is learned, the student usually finds spelling and vocabulary far easier so only some use vocabulary or spelling workbooks. The main way students continue learning spelling and vocabulary is along with writing assignments.

We have a base of standard History. After the first book, we move to whatever textbook teaches a section in which they have an interest. Any history book is accompanied by writing assignments at the end of each unit, chapter, or small book to recount what has been learned and how it compares with other texts.

Literature study usually coincides with history of an era or region. I find it fun to teach history as a story of the people; which includes their writings, lifestyle, scientific achievements or lack thereof, and culture.

Basic science is usually learned hands-on in our house through the chemistry that can be found in the kitchen, biology learned from our animals, and physics discussed when someone trips on something or while building a new project. Our final science books require a command of Algebra; these Biology, Chemistry, and Physics books set the foundation for and help with the transition into college learning.

But any book can be a part of a curriculum!

We’ve used novels and storybooks to write about and study culture. We’ve used classic literature to teach etymology and practice translation. We’ve used history books to build Lego cities. We’ve used Lego sets to cross into history books and study culture. We’ve used cookbooks to teach fractions, chemistry, and time management. Any book a student reads can be turned into a book report, which requires practicing the skills of writing, grammar, and comprehension.

Therefore, we’ve discovered that any book can be incorporated into our home school curriculum with positive encouraging results!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

Odd Biology

Some thoughts on how unique our biology is; we are each uniquely beautiful.

March 13, 2018

Odd Biology

You know, our bodies are all unique. This is an amazing thing – but I bet it’s frustrating to medical science!

You see, I have this odd biology where my body reacts to some of the silliest things. (One of the reasons I’m so into organic and natural as possible!) I had some bad mosquito bites so Louis suggested I take some Benadryl. Normal stuff for everyone to take, right? Not me. I break out in hives – my entire body covered in red icky blotches that itched worse than chicken pox at 19! So I’m allergic to normal Benadryl. I’m allergic to latex. I’m allergic to aspartame, phenylalanine, and acesulfame-potassium. My body is just weird.

Last week I got pneumonia and was prescribed an antibiotic. I followed all directions, stayed away from foods that might cause any reaction, but does my body just accept this medicine and dry up the pneumonia? No. Not me. I’m two days from finishing the antibiotic when I bust out in hives and nausea that puts me to bed.

So I go in to the doctor and they are like “well, you are allergic to this antibiotic. Usually we prescribe an antihistamine like Benadryl to combat the hives, but that won’t do you any good.”

I walk out with orders to rest, eat fresh pineapple, drink water and Gatorade or coconut water, and come back if the reaction gets worse. I’m told, “it could take 5 to 7 days for the antibiotic to leave your system.”

Oh well. At least I rarely get sick. And now I know another chemical my body rejects. Its interesting learning how different each person’s biology is: Louis and the girls don’t have any issues with fake sugars or with Benadryl.

Isn’t it amazing how unique each of our bodies are? All of us have something that makes us different from everyone else. We are each uniquely beautiful.

Thanks for reading!

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

Tag: biology

Field Trip

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Any Book is Curriculum

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Odd Biology

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