Science Sunday - A Few Last Thoughts On Studying Paleontology With Children, From a Creationist Perspective

We ended our "official" dinosaur study yesterday, with a trip to the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana, where we posed with Big Mike for a quick photo...


...before wandering into the museum to see the Wankel T. Rex, Big Mike represents. Before Sue, it was the most complete (90%) T.Rex skeleton ever found.


We touched fossils of dinosaur bone, and a woolly mammoth tooth.


We viewed real maiasaura eggs, fossilized of course.


And, we got to take a peek into the femur of B.Rex, to see the medullary bone, that led Dr. Mary Schweitzer to announce, "It's a girl, and she's pregnant!"


Then, we moved on to astronomy in the planetarium, biology in the hall of frogs (so cool!), history on the living history farm, and just general fun in the children's Explore Yellowstone room.

With an eight year old boy in the house, we won't be completely leaving dinosaurs behind, but for now, as a family we're ready to move on.

Before we do though, I have a few last thoughts on studying paleontology with children, for my fellow Christian homeschool mothers.

• Whenever possible stay out of the creation vs. evolution debate. The science has become so detailed, and field specific, unless you have a doctorate in paleontology, geology, zoology, micro-biology, or some such thing, you're probably going to be in over your head.


• When you do have to jump into the debate, remember the old saying - "It's better to keep your mouth shut, and be thought a fool, than to open it, and remove all doubt." Or, if you want a verse, there's James 1: 19-20

19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

• Instead, if you want to cast doubt on the theories of evolution, or secular paleontology, take the path of the historian. There's nothing like taking a look at what scientists believed with the utmost certainty 10, 20, or even 100 years ago, to make you question the validity of their present claims. Much like giving birth to six children, over ten years will shake your faith in the knowledge of the medical community.


• Keep in mind the metaphor of the duck and rabbit, taught by philosophy professors to their freshman classes. Sometimes, we can look at the same evidence and see a rabbit, while others will see a duck. Our perceptions are just different.

Jack Horner, in his book How to Build a Dinosaur, quoted Mary Schweitzer as saying science is like a football game, and those studying creation science are trying to play basketball on the field. I would prefer to say evolutionists are trying to play a game of football on the basketball court.

Either way, I agree with Dr. Schweitzer, that the whole thing can get kind of messy.

Still, it is a lot of fun to take a look at paleontology, especially if you like mysteries. We found going to the museum, and actually getting to see, and touch some of what we've been reading about, was fascinating, even more so, since almost all of the fossils we've been reading about have been found right here, in our own state.

But, just in case you really, really like debate, and want to jump in yourself, let me suggest checking out this You Tube video, of Dr. Marc Surtees (PhD in Zoology), refuting some of the current theory being put forward by a segment of paleontologists, that modern birds (or avian dinosaurs) evolved from what we used to call dinosaurs, and what children are now being taught to call non-avian dinosaurs.

For more science themed ideas and projects for children, check out this week's Science Sunday link-up, hosted by Adventures in Mommydom.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

What My Child is Reading - Family Reading Stations

As I was glancing around, making a mental list of the books we've been reading this week, I realized we've fallen into reading stations. Do you do that?

By the T. Rex, books about dinosaurs:

Sara Gilbert's Age of Dinosaurs: Tyrannosaurus Rex,
and Digging Up Dinosaurs by Jack Horner.

Both are from an evolutionary slant, but with some fun facts. Like, did you know the scientific name for fossilized dinosaur droppings is Coprolites (KAHP-roh-lites)?


Next to the butterfly pavilion:

See How They Grow, Butterfly from Dorling Kindersley,
and Elaine Pascoe's Butterflies and Moths from the "Nature Close-Up" series.


Audio books, near the CD player:

Peterson Field Guide, Western Birding by Ear by Richard K. Walton and Robert W. Lawson, a personal favorite of mine, right now.

A T.Rex Named Sue produced by Mike Himelstein. C, and I listened to it again, while putting together the dinosaur puzzle craft.

Robert D'Amours Rapanese Japanese, Music and Comedy Method of Learning Foreign Languages. We've been listening to this at lunch, at G's request. It's good for auditory learners.

Edward Eager's, unabridged, Half Magic, performed by The Words Take Wing Repertory Company, for our breakfast-time listening. We enjoy this one at the beginning of summer.


In a cozy chair:

Len Walsh's Read Japanese Today - T's reading choice of the week.


In the windowsill:

Our ongoing, family favorite, Stan Tekiela's Birds of Montana Field Guide.


That's about it for us this week, but you can find more children's book reviews and recommendations at this week's What My Child is Reading link-up, over at Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

3D Chocolate Butterscotch Chip (Not Sugar Cookie) Dinosaurs

So, I was making chocolate, butterscotch chip cookies, today. Basically, they were just a chocolate chip cookie dough, with baker's cocoa added, and butterscotch chips, instead of chocolate chips. I decided to experiment with a little of the dough.

You see, after I posted about our 3D, sugar cookie, dinosaurs, I received a couple of comments from people who don't really care for sugar cookies. I have not always been a great lover of sugar cookies, myself. They are kind of an acquired taste. But, they are so easy to shape into almost anything you can imagine, that I have learned to appreciate them. And really, with a little chocolate added in, or with a nice hot cup of coffee, they're quite tasty.

All the same, I wondered what could be accomplished with chocolate chip dough. And since I had a big bowl of something similar all mixed up, it seemed like a good time to find out.

I shaped the pieces by hand, but other than that, everything was done pretty much the same as for the sugar cookie dinosaurs.







It's not the most beautiful of beasts, I'll admit. But, I think with a little tweaking, it could work. I'll leave that to you haters of sugar cookies, though. All I wanted to know was if it was possible.


It's great to be a homeschooler.

Folk Toy Fridays - Flying Saucer Spinning Tops

Okay, flying saucers aren't really folk toys. But, spinning tops are folk toys, or at least incredibly old toys. And, the simple tops we found in Mary Blocksma's Action Contraptions: Easy-to-Make Toys That Really Move, remind us of a flying saucers, as they spin across the floor.

To make one of your own, you need:

• A round, plastic lid. We used one off of a coffee can.


• A ping-pong ball. Any smooth ball might work. We made one with one of those play-place type balls, and it worked even better, especially for small hands to grab, and spin, than the ping-pong ball.


• A quarter, or something round, with a slightly smaller diameter than the ball you want to use, to trace around.


• A pen, that will write on plastic.


• Scissors.


• And tape, though this one is optional. It is meant to keep the ball in place, but we found they fit tightly enough, that it wasn't necessary.

Trace around your quarter, or other round object, in the center of the lid.

Cut the circle out. You might need to enlarge the hole some if the ball won't fit into it at least 1/3 of the way through. We found a milk cap was closer to the size needed for a ping-pong ball, than a quarter.


Push the ball somewhere around 1/3 of the way (or not quite half-way) through the hole. Tape it in place, on the bottom side, if desired.


Spin the ball between your thumb and first finger to start the top. The children liked the larger ball better, because they could spin, and drop it from above the table. The ping-pong ball top had to be spun right on the table.


According to the book, you can make a larger version, using a paper plate, and add a ring of clay around the outside edge to make it spin even longer. I thought we'd try that too, but we were having so much fun with the simple version, it didn't seem necessary.



It's great to be a homeschooler.

Dinosaur Puzzle Mosaic Craft

C (age 4), wanted to work on our dinosaur puzzles tonight, and she wanted to do a craft with glitter. She pretty well always wants to do a craft with glitter. But this time, I thought the two things might actually work together.

So, first I helped her piece the puzzles together. Then, I gave her four large pieces of cardboard (recycled packaging material, the Man of the House brings home from work, from time to time). She painted them, one at a time, with glue.


I helped her arrange the puzzle pieces onto the glue, so there was a small, glue filled gap, between each piece.


She sprinkled on glitter, silver on two, and gold on the others.


After tapping the excess glitter into a pan, I trimmed off the extra cardboard from around the edges, and laid them out to dry.


I had been planning on centering them in contact paper place mats, but I think I might frame them, and hang them in the children's playroom, instead.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

B.C. Bones Skin Dinosaur Model - Parent Review

Since weather prevented us from making it to the Museum of the Rockies, last weekend, we decided to stop by the toy store, to pick up a 3D Tyrannosaurus Rex model (B.C. Bones Skin Dinosaur T-Rex, by Toysmith, to be exact), in an effort to bring the museum, or at least the museum gift shop to us.

The puzzle was fairly reasonably priced, as far as "educational" toys go. I think you can find them online for between eight and twelve dollars.

The pieces are wooden, laminated with a dinosaurish skin sort of design. So, the put together dinosaur still has a skeleton look, but is not too creepy for younger children to want in their rooms.


Some of the pieces fit too loosely to stay together, so we glued them, according to the instructions, with school glue. The model stays together now, but that does mean we won't be able to take it apart, and put it back together again.

That, however is just as well, as my one "bone" of contention with the kit, is the extremely difficult to follow instructions. According to the box the model is for ages five, and up, but there is no way a five year old could put it together.


My youngest four (ages 4-10) started out putting it together. When they ran into trouble, my oldest (age 13) joined them. Finally, they turned it over to the Man of the House, who after much mumbling to himself, and quite a bit of griping about unreadable directions, deciphered the code, and managed to assemble the dinosaur.

We decided the box really should say ages 12 and up. But then, it's not a realistic skeleton, just a cool looking model, and I would think by 12, if a child is still interested in dinosaurs, they might want a more scientifically correct model.

So, I have a mixed review. We probably won't buy another one of these. But, the one we have, makes a very nice centerpiece, for our dino-week.


It's great to be a homeschooler.

Bible Alive! Tuesday - Cereal Box Dinosaur Puzzle Mix-up

To pass some of our time stuck inside, on the rainy long week-end, I drew dinosaurs, attempting to follow step-by-step, drawing instructions from DragoArt.com (not the prettiest of sites, but they have very good beginning drawing instructions). And yes, I know the triceratops' legs are too long - an artist I am not.


But, that was not the point of the exercise, anyway. I drew the pictures on the back of cereal box cardboard, for the younger children to color, before I turned them into puzzles.

I did this by trimming the cardboard pictures all to the same size, along with a piece of paper. I drew the puzzle pieces out on the paper, and then laid it on top of each puzzle, on the printed side of the cardboard, and traced over it with a ballpoint pen.


That left an etching of the puzzle shapes on each piece of cardboard, to cut out, into four separate puzzles, all with matching shaped pieces, more or less.

I gave the children a few pieces from each puzzle, mixed together, and asked if they could sort them out, and figure out the pictures from them. It was impossible.

Even with all the pieces, it was very difficult to sort them out, and get them put together, too many pieces were identical, or very close.

But, when I gave them the paper pattern, flipped over, they could pretty easily find where their pieces fit.


It was still possible to make mistakes, but it was much easier to see, and correct them.


It occurred to me, as the children were working, that it was a lot like science, and the Bible. When scientists try to piece together scientific evidence, it can be extremely difficult to sort the pieces out, and find where they fit. Mistakes are easy to make.

But, when they use the map of the Bible to lay the pieces on, while it's still possible to make mistakes, it becomes easier to piece the picture together.

The Bible is not a science book, and like our blank paper map, it doesn't show us the scientific picture. But, when we use it as a guide to put the pieces on, the picture becomes clear.


For more Bible themed projects and ideas, be sure to check out the Bible Alive! Tuesday link-ups hosted weekly by the Fantastic Five.

It's great to be a homeschooler.