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| I L♥O♥V♥E♥ the duct tape on the net!!!! lol |
We've always had a policy, though, that whatever he catches he keeps for no longer than a day, to observe, and then lets it go.
An entomology project, apparently, is different from that! Oh, my. I of course had seen the insect collections at the fair, but, though I was duly grossed out and maybe a bit fascinated, I hadn't thought much about how those collections had become . . . well, collections! In a wooden box. Not moving. Ugh!
So, mother and son were in for an education.
Don't get me wrong. I am not an "all living things are equal to or more important than humans" kind of person. The Bible is clear on that. I have no hesitancy in squashing a spider who is invading my territory inside the house (unless one of my guys is around to do it for me). But something commonly called a "killing jar" by insect collectors still pulled on my heartstrings a bit, and I couldn't bear to watch the twitches of the creatures' final seconds. So I didn't. A mom has the authority to firmly adhere to those kinds of boundaries! lol
I do understand, especially after working through the bookwork part of the project with Little Mister, the importance of studying insects--there are solid reasons that even the most self-described tree-hugging-animal-activist-leftist-liberal people would have a hard time disputing. For me, the squeamishness caused by helping my son with an insect collection has little or nothing to do with my ideals.
Bugs are just gross! It's as simple as that! lol
That's my opinion, of course. Little Mister doesn't share it. That's fine! We respect each other's differences. :)
Anyway, it was a very hectic time. It was soooo much more involved than even LM had imagined, and we had not been given the correct manual to start with, so we got off to a bad/slow start until we had the correct information. When we had the correct materials, we found we had even more to do and catch up on, and, coupled with a drought that made it harder to find insects, it was bug craziness here for a couple weeks!! My wonderful hubby helped LM with the parts that were just too gross for me (like pinning and stuff--ugh!).
I took some pics along the way. Somehow that camera lens between my eye and the situation helped me to be a bit more neutral in my feelings about the whole thing. ;)
One thing I will always remember, and am glad to have the pics to help me never forget, is the battered, duct-taped net my dear son insisted on using. It wasn't until his project was complete that he bought a new one at the dollar store. The boy cracks me up!
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| LM was fascinated to look at some of the insects under the microscope. |
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| He had to pin the bugs on Styrofoam first to get the legs in "natural position." |
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| Lots and lots of pins were used! |
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| He stained the wooden collection box. |
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| Making labels |
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| Pinning insects into collection box |
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| Father and son working together. :) |
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| Inside of finished box (Styrofoam square was removed! lol) |
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I love knowing what's on your heart and mind! Your thoughts, opinions, questions and ideas are welcome here anytime. Differences are respected as long as they are written respectfully! :)