Monarch Butterfly Online Course is Here

It is here! The online course on Monarch Butterflies is available now.  When your child completes this course they will be an expert on Monarch Butterflies! I will teach them how to grow a butterfly garden, how to find monarch eggs on the milkweed, everything about their peculiar and strange lifecycle, and the wonder of this incredible migration we get to witness right now! Click on the link below to see an outline of this course. Lots of fun videos and teaching tools and many hours of labor and love have gone into this project.

Click Here to Enroll!

South Carolina Reptiles October 19- 26, 2020

Have you ever wondered what kind of amazing snakes,

turtles, and lizards wander through our state? 

Students will be amazed at the bizarre array of reptiles

that live right here among us!  

Non Co-Op Students Register Here

Co-Op Students Register Here

Mandatory Covid-19 Registration Form

I will add your child to the schedule when payment is

made and registration is complete. Co-op students please

pay your co-op representative with the preferred rate. 

All other students one child same family $25 Two children

same family $45 Three or more children same family $65   

Online labs $22.50.  The online class website link will be

sent to you as soon as the lab is uploaded. 

*Paypal or Venmo Petronella Kahue ekahue@gmail.com. 

Please indicate who this is from and what for.

*48 hour full  refund for all cancellations.   Full refund for

inclement weather or Covid related issues.

Labs are held in Greer SC.  Email me for directions.  

ekahue@gmail.com

Once the 

1. payment has been received

2. registration document completed

3. Covid 19 Form completed

I will enroll your child in the class. 

Click Here to see the schedule.

I'm Never Gonna Die Part 2

I am obsessed with glowing rocks.  Its another addiction along with the others (lizards, rabbits, coffee, antlions, toads, kids, HIS presence, joy...) The list keeps growing of things to explore and discover thus I will most likely never die.  

Here is part two of the bucket list!!! 

Yooperlite Rocks.  If you are from Michigan like I am you will know instantly what a Yooper is.  My brother-in-law Gary, is a Yooper. 

Yooper's say weird things like "ish" and tell Onei and Ano jokes (ask a Yooper).  They are definitely unique ancestors of a "Fin" or a "Swede".  I love these people.  They are hearty and resilient just like these glowing rocks.

At the last rock lab in December, one of my all star parents, Eric Anonsen, 

introduced me to the latest addiction.  He showed me this video and I was hooked!  

So this summer I am packing up as many grandchildren as my kids will allow to kidnap and we are heading to Lake Superior to find some of these beauties.  I'll keep you posted and let you know how it goes!

Part #1 I'm Never Gonna Die (because my bucket list keeps getting longer)

Recently, I decided to write a blog post entitled, "I'm Never Gonna Die" (because my bucket list just keeps getting longer)" 

While preparing for the Fossil Lab, I stumbled upon some information about fossil collecting on the Peace River in Florida. Here is a sneak peak of one of the first of 17 items on my list with more on the way.

I've been to Florida many times but never knew about the Peace River. Even though Florida has many rivers, the Peace River in the southwestern part of the state has gained extra popularity with fossil hunters due to the abundance of quality specimens that can be recovered. This river has fine species of camel, mastodon, shark teeth, mouth plates and plenty more. Many fossil hunters use kayaks and canoes while others simply wade in the water, use a shovel or a trowel.

For one to hunt fossils in Florida, it is mandatory to have a fossil hunting permit and recognize the legal guidelines before you begin your hunt. Springtime is normally the best time to hunt fossils. March, April, and May are the low water level times of the year. For the best fossil hunting, water levels should be at least a little bit below normal levels. During sunny days, you may effortlessly see the bottom better; however this may not be suitable all times. At certain times when the water is clear and the days are sunny, you can use a snorkel and recover some good finds.

We go on a family reunion trip once every year thanks to science lab earnings. We pack up our five children and six grandchildren to just hang out and be together. Last July we headed to Gatlinburg and rented a beautiful VRBO cabin in the mountains. Look who decided to join us at our cabin!

Exploring the Peace River in Florida might just be a good one for our next family adventure!

I'm just hope the alligators don't decide to join us...

Fabulous Frogs

We have a water tank in our back pasture and the frogs that live in the woods have found it to be a great place to lay their eggs.   

 

You wouldn't know it but this water tank is full of frog eggs.  

Creatures from all over have decided to live here with us.  Here is one of our five male bunnies who lives wild and free in the pasture with the goats, chickens, pig, and wild turkeys.  The bunnies like to hang out under the IBC water tote.  The Great Pyrenees dogs protect them so they don't run away even though they could.  

OK back to the frogs...  So, I put a solar powered fountain

 

in all the water tanks to keep the algae and bacteria from taking over.  The frogs are so helpful.  They are giving me all the gray and green tree frogs a person could ask for.  What a gift they are giving us for the Amphibian labs in March!  

Here are some frogs who have already gone from egg to tadpole to frog.

Keeping these babies fed has been quite a challenge.  They are too small to eat baby crickets from the pet store so I've resorted to catching ants with sugar and luring fruit flies into the aquarium with rotten figs.  It works great!  

And if your child dares to say they are bored at any time between now and March, have them memorize these frog and toad sounds before they come to the lab.  They will be quizzed.  

Never a dull moment here on the farm or in the science lab.

I wouldn't want it any other way!