8-year olds, Grasshoppers, and Objective Bug Observations
Ahh the sweet school days of Spring. As they wind down, I'm loving every second because it is a constant reminder that time is limited; and precious. Well, as irony a.k.a, my life, would have it, my class seems to have gone bug crazy. Of course, they have the teacher who probably likes bugs the least out of all of them in the school; yet in the last month, here is what we've had captured as "pets" in our room: Ladybugs, pillbugs (rolly-pollies), Spider, caterpillars, and grasshoppers. And who knows what else was brought in that flew under the Miss V. radar... (the radar isn't so good at picking things up early on Monday mornings...).
Since I am a teacher, I have tried to be a bit more scientific minded when it comes to gross things. And I don't just mean in my classroom. A couple of weeks ago, I witnessed about a dozen catheters being "hooked up" to people. And what they say is true...you just begin to see it over and over, and pretty soon, it's like, "eh, no big deal." You begin to look at it objectively instead of, "eww" and put on your scientific thinking cap. I'm learning how to turn on my "objective" switch to be able to momentarily look at things as such. It is helpful, to say the least, in the EMT world.
Well, back to bugs. The very first time I remember being able to look "objectively" at a bug instead of thinking/feeling "BARF!" (at least in my adult life...believe it or not, I used to catch worms, grasshopers and caterpillars like they were going out of style) was last May in Joplin when I met my friend Jason. He was picking up some beetles and talking about them in a knowledgeable (that doesn't look like it's spelled right but I checked, lol) sort of way and I found myself curious...almost even intrigued about these beetles. I wondered, "Where do they even come from? They just appear at night"...and other things. For brief moments, I wondered if perhaps, they could be sort of NEAT...but just for a moment. :)
So a girl brought grasshoppers today. Most were dead in the little plastic container...asphyxiation, I'm assuming. But anyways, she thought they needed some grass to eat. One or two were still alive and a bunch of girls gathered around and screamed at first, then decided they liked them. Well one girl was holding a semi-unconscious one and said, "Hey Miss V., want one?" I told her no thank you and silently hoped she'd back up a just a few steps. Then she came to show me another, more robust-looking hopper that was eating grass. It was somewhat amusing, and I was proud of myself for another "objective bug moment." Go Miss V. So then she asked if she could take it home. I didn't want it to die or get hurt, so I said, "No, that will end up killing it." Her response? "Well, what if I kill it first...then can I bring it home?" She was totally serious. I laughed, then told her seriously, no. Who knows if she hid it somewhere and brought it anyway...
So that's today's adventure. In the next couple of days, our caterpillars will start hanging upside-down and end up in their cocoon as the truly remarkable transformation begins to take place. (Oh! Another objective bug moment! I'm on a roll here...) But what I'm super excited about is the duck eggs and incubator that will happen early next week!!! :D
Since I am a teacher, I have tried to be a bit more scientific minded when it comes to gross things. And I don't just mean in my classroom. A couple of weeks ago, I witnessed about a dozen catheters being "hooked up" to people. And what they say is true...you just begin to see it over and over, and pretty soon, it's like, "eh, no big deal." You begin to look at it objectively instead of, "eww" and put on your scientific thinking cap. I'm learning how to turn on my "objective" switch to be able to momentarily look at things as such. It is helpful, to say the least, in the EMT world.
Well, back to bugs. The very first time I remember being able to look "objectively" at a bug instead of thinking/feeling "BARF!" (at least in my adult life...believe it or not, I used to catch worms, grasshopers and caterpillars like they were going out of style) was last May in Joplin when I met my friend Jason. He was picking up some beetles and talking about them in a knowledgeable (that doesn't look like it's spelled right but I checked, lol) sort of way and I found myself curious...almost even intrigued about these beetles. I wondered, "Where do they even come from? They just appear at night"...and other things. For brief moments, I wondered if perhaps, they could be sort of NEAT...but just for a moment. :)
So a girl brought grasshoppers today. Most were dead in the little plastic container...asphyxiation, I'm assuming. But anyways, she thought they needed some grass to eat. One or two were still alive and a bunch of girls gathered around and screamed at first, then decided they liked them. Well one girl was holding a semi-unconscious one and said, "Hey Miss V., want one?" I told her no thank you and silently hoped she'd back up a just a few steps. Then she came to show me another, more robust-looking hopper that was eating grass. It was somewhat amusing, and I was proud of myself for another "objective bug moment." Go Miss V. So then she asked if she could take it home. I didn't want it to die or get hurt, so I said, "No, that will end up killing it." Her response? "Well, what if I kill it first...then can I bring it home?" She was totally serious. I laughed, then told her seriously, no. Who knows if she hid it somewhere and brought it anyway...
So that's today's adventure. In the next couple of days, our caterpillars will start hanging upside-down and end up in their cocoon as the truly remarkable transformation begins to take place. (Oh! Another objective bug moment! I'm on a roll here...) But what I'm super excited about is the duck eggs and incubator that will happen early next week!!! :D
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