Here a Chick , There a Chick !

  Small scale farming at home.  We are starting a farming experiment after much persuasion on my daughter’s part.

We were at the Woodville auction barn on Saturday, where you could purchase a wide variety of animals.   There were ducks, rabbits, dogs, calves, chickens, ducklings and … chicks.  A new acquaintance in a neighbouring village has been keeping chickens in their home for some time.  I was surprised to hear people may keep chickens at their home, due to a precedent setting  court case in Toronto.   So, with this in the back of my mind, and my daughter’s insistence that she could take care of them, pay for them etc ; we became parents to 3 baby chicks. Have you ever raised chickens? How did it work out for you? Watch for occasional updates on our progress.

Do you have a Pet Hero in Your Home?

Everyday pets perform amazing lifesaving acts.

Read about some real life pet heroes HERE.

Create a picture book showing the adventures of  some pet heroes, or create a story board for the film script.

Have your family post it in a blog and link to this post.

Nominate your pet hero here

FREE Field  Trip

Learn about all the pet and service dog Inductees at PawsWay Pet Discovery Centre located at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, and the permanent home of the Purina Animal Hall of Fame™. Open year-round, general admission is free.

Venomous Animals- How they Help!

Just when you think, we’ve discovered all the animals on the earth, some more pop up from hiding! We have much to learn from each of our fellow creatures.Reuters just posted a story about Antarctic Octopuses with venom that works in subzero temperatures.

Scientists have been able to use studies of venom in various animals to create extremely useful medicines, for example -

Hypertension drugs like ACE inhibitors are structured after snake venom, while certain diabetes drugs are derived from the saliva of the Gila monster, a slow-moving lizard found in the United States and northern Mexico. (Reporting by Tan Ee Lyn; Editing by Andrew Marshall) Quote from HERE

What other uses of venom can you find?   How do you think this newly discovered venom could be used?

Related Articles

Scorpion Venom  Snake Venom

Why? How? Where?- Questions Spur Creativity

This picture from Animal Planet reminds me of  the Rudyard Kipling story: How the Elephant Got its Trunk (a favourite with many children) In this story, Baby Elephant asks a lot of nosy questions about his neighbours.
Fostering  Curiousity
Young children have an enormous curiosity about the world, that if nurtured , can lead into many marvellous areas of invention, scientific discovery, and composition. Sometimes in frustration,, at not having a definitive answer,,adults will stifle this curiosity. One very successful tactic that , is to admit, “I don’t know. What do you think?” These are the times to grab a recording device and capture for posterity this peek into our child’s thought processes.
When students get a bit older ,they tend to lose a bit of this curiousity, to rekindle the creativity a study of "Pourquoi Tales", or “Just So Stories"  can be just the ticket.
Suggested Resources
Many Native legends give explanations about how the animals received their traits, some favourites with my audiences include How Bear Lost His Tale, the bitter,sweet story of Jumping Mouse (or How Eagle Came to Be), and the scary Water Monster (Bullfrog & the importance of free water for all).
Many tried and true authors authors offer explanatory tales as well. Young children enjoy these stories, for even though they will often see the silliness in the tale, they take comfort in there being a predictability to the world in which they live. Try a comparative literature study of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories or Thornton Burgess' Mother West Wind Stories , then create some of your own Pourquoi tales to explain animal adaptations  that interest your family.

Here are some questions from  students I recently met:

Why do earthworms have both genders’ organs?   Why do  daddy seahorses carry the babies?  Why do bears hibernate?

Send me your stories, and  I’ll post them here!