Month: February 2018

We had the state traditional match this weekend for 4-H Archery. I actually shot really well and managed a 2nd place finish. I was super excited to have competition!  Everyone from out county placed in the contest. Our regular club is having fun with shooting as well. I really enjoy this program and am looking forward to it being a full time club next year.

Earth Explorers helped with a coastal dune clean-up at Madeira Beach. We collected nearly 100 lbs of trash! 
We also learned about microplastics through a citizen science program. We sifted thought he sand at the tide line and looked for plastic fragments. That afternoon we went to Grandma’s house to go swimming. We ended up hunting for bugs for a while.

We had some family game time, with Thunder supervising from the middle as usual!

Over the weekend was the district 4-H council meeting. E and I both went down to Manatee County to help with the clean-up. We collected over 300 punts of trash! I found some cool bones fo a raccoon skull! We also enjoyed an educational hike learning about the restoration of the state park.

We bought some inexpensive pots at the thrift store to melt bismuth.

We used the old grill side burner to heat the bismuth and try to make crystals. We got a few nice crystals but not what we really thought we would get. We will try again another time to do this again! Hedgie seems to be perking up but is still loosing weight and having tummy issues. I am still worried for him.

We went to Mocassin Lake Nature Park for our Forest Ecology class and learned about the local flora and fauna. We even saw a white peacock! We have a great group! I am so excited for the contest in April. There was a weird sward on insects on a tree. I need to research these! Hanging with the adults talking trees. Sometimes better than hanging with my friends. I also got to help the other kids study she of the samples that we have.

This is the busiest part of the 4-H year. We are go go go with events and activities through the end of April!

 

Some ideas of reusable containers to avoid more plastics going to the oceans or trash are:

Reusable straws

Reusable tote bags

Reusable water bottles

 

Our Forest Ecology Team went to Boyd Hill Nature Park to learn more about trees and plants. We stopped to see some damage that I spotted. I Pointed out that it was from ambrosia beetles.

We found lots of really cool trees to ID.

We did see quite a few alligators as well! There were little babies all over the place! The mama was a few yards away keeping a watchful eye on these babies.

Our gang! I really enjoy this part of 4-H!

Hedgie hasn’t been feeling well this week. We took him to the vet to have him checked out. They put him on antibiotics for 10 days to see if he improves. I am very worried as he is getting really old, in hedgehog years.

He acted perfectly fine and well behaved at the vet.

The Florida Aquarium hosted homeschool day and we went to check out the programs. We watched a squid dissection and learned about different animal adaptations. 

The next day Mom took E and I up to Gainesville. We have an archery tournament for 4-H. Usually we camp but we opted for a hotel and some time at the Florida Natural History Museum and insect hunting int he NATL.

The traveling exhibit is called “The Scoop on Poop”. We learned a LOT about scat! E and I in head to head dung beetle races!

I loved all the fun words in the magnetic poetry set. We conquered the kids wall and got all the circles to be red. We hunted in the NATL for a while but it was still kind of cool out so we didn’t have much luck. We opted for a nice hike instead.

I am really enjoying shorter hair. I didn’t think I would but I love how easy it is to take care of. I still keep it kind of shaggy, no clippers near my head!

I am taking Chemistry online and the math is taught I am getting through it.

Mom keeps us going on fun little science projects during the week. Today we made a solar balloon and left it outside flying from the mailbox 🙂 The neighbors must think we are nuts.

We baked some gingerbread cookies and one came out looking like Phinley from the Threshers!

I am now a student ambassador for FLVS and help with live lessons. I have to help monitor kids behavior and help if they need help.

We had fun at the Florida State Fair. We got our huge Amish Donuts and enjoyed seeing all the animals.

The guy running the butterfly booth was kind enough to give us two dead coontie hairstreak butterflies. Mom had to carry them around all day so they didn’t get damaged! 

I loved the crafts at the pioneer village. We made OJ and butter like usual!

This week was also Mardi Gras. We going Ms. Gail for the parade. I had too much water and then an ice cream and my tummy started to hurt. I had a fun evening but was happy when the parade ended and we could go home.

We had quite a haul of beads!

E wasn’t feeling well so he skipped PE this week. I was really in my element and enjoy the games and talking with friends. Our Forest Ecology Team kicked off for the year and we learned about identifying trees and plants. We went on a short hike to try our hangs at some tree ID! I managed to make it until Thursday and started to feel icky. My throat was itchy. Mom made me don a mask and we headed to the clinic. I was diagnosed with acute sinusitis and an ear infection. Antibiotics and a lazy weekend were my orders. Our house looks like a drug store this week. Everyone is down and out.