Biology / Life Science

Sometimes a book comes along that is truly outstanding! The acknowledgments page alone of this new book by Dianna Hutts is truly impressive! The text is captivating, telling stories that fascinate young and old readers about all sorts of seeds. I bet many an amateur botanist will have never heard about some of these! The illustrations--just gorgeous--complement this high quality picture book. Our children are learning Botany this semester at Homeschool Co-op and this volume is an excellent enrichment. We have the authors' other one as well--An Egg Is Quiet--also excellent!

One of the things that fascinates me most about Wisconsin winters (I grew up in California) are the animal tracks clearly visible in the snow. It leaves a temporary record of what was visiting while you weren't looking - what a fascinating thing for homeschoolers to look into. Animal Tracks will make a nice resource for younger students to study local wildlife. This is an illustrated narrative of animal life with a little guessing game on each page based on the tracks left by each animal. The book also contains four pages of identified tracks (including humans) and instructions for "preserving" the tracks with plaster of paris or by tracing. An excellent way to spark children's interest in nature.

AntWorks was one of the highlights of our summer natural history studies! This simple kit became a quirky centerpiece on our dinner table, engaging the entire family from the 18-month-old who insists that they are "Nants" to a 40-something daddy. AntWorks comes as a thick-walled plastic home with a stable base; this became important as the little ones spent time watching the ants. We have tried the sand-filled ant farms with dismal spills that freed too many of the inhabitants. The AntWorks home is filled with a blue gel-like substance that provides both nourishment and liquid to the ants. Accompanying literature explains that this gel was developed by NASA for experiments carried out on the Space Shuttle. One of the nicest features is that this gel is translucent, allowing observers to see completely through the tunnels. An optional illuminator is a nice addition which makes an interesting night light, but we thought that it wasn't necessary.

Ants are not included with the kit. You can either catch your own or mail in the enclosed coupon. We opted for the mail-order ants, and that boosted interest in the project for our little ones who love to receive mail. Once the ants are added to their home, the only maintenance that is needed is opening the top for a few seconds a week to allow fresh air to enter. Occasionally you will need to remove a dead ant, but our industrious insects buried their fallen comrades deep in the gel in sealed chambers. It was incredible to observe! This kit, combined with a few books from the library and a couple of diagrams and coloring pages downloaded from the Internet, provided a wonderful investigation into the life of ants for our elementary school-aged students.

In it's segment on "Experiments that Teach Us About Ourselves: The Amazing Human Body" this book provides 35 experiments about the body (the other segments of the book are about plant and animal life. While certainly not a comprehensive anatomy course, the book does provide interesting and simple experiments (which can easily performed at home with fairly ordinary materials) that would provide a helpful supplement to the study of anatomy.

Approximately one third of this book is devoted to "Experiments for the Beginning Biologist: The World of Plants". In the typical Van Cleave style, this segment provides 35 experiments relating to plant life that are simple and informative (and can easily be done in the home). Most experiments are designed to demonstrate certain properties of plant life (such as osmosis and diffusion, what causes plant stems to wilt, what makes plants burst when over-watered, and how water is transported through plant stems). Other experiments determine certain questions such as how plants take in nutrientsand whether it matters which direction seeds face when they are planted. Each experiments concludes with an explanation as to the "why" of the results. I find these simple but very helpful (even for moms!).

Another third or so of this book is devoted to "Experiments in the Animal Kingdom: Introductory Zoology". In the Van Cleave style, this segment provides sipmle experiments (easily performed at home) involving molds, fungi, mini-organisms, yeast, fireflies, butterflies and moths, spiderwebs, crickets, grasshoppers, flies, goldfish and earthworms. In addition to experiments involving observation and/or manipulation of these small creatures, you will find experiments which "illustrate" properties of creatures (such as a camouflage and suction) without actually working with animals.