On Skin Color

On a bike ride, while stopping for water:
Nicholas: What do black people do?
Me: What do you mean?
Nicholas: You know, black people, with black-colored skin. What do they do?
Me: What do you mean by 'what do they do?'
Nicholas: What do they do like during the day and stuff?
Me: It really depends on the person. People of all different colors do all kinds of things during the day. Some people work at jobs, some people are at their houses like other kids and mommies. It just depends on the person, but black people work as engineers and teachers and lawyers and doctors and artists and police officers. All kinds of things.
Nicholas: Are there really detectives?
Me: Yes.
Nicholas: Do you know any?
Me: Yes. Alexa's dad, George, works as a detective for the FBI.
Nicholas: What do they do?
Me: They investigate things...mostly crimes.
Nicholas: Oh, like Carmen Sandiego.
Me: Yes, like Carmen Sandiego.

1000 miles

Nicholas: Where do you go if you are 1000 miles from here?
Mom: (doing very quick math in her head) Maybe the very southern tip of Florida
Evan: Which direction do you mean Nicholas?
Nicholas: (points out window)
Evan: No, Nicholas, you have to say "North, South, East, or West."
Mom: That way (out Nicholas' window) is east. You mean east Nicholas?
Nicholas: Yes, east.
Mom: Let's guess. I guess somewhere in Europe. Maybe France?
Evan: I guess the U.K.
Nicholas: I don't know.

Answer: Middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Caterpillars

Are caterpillars worms?


Appparently, a worm is a legless animal with a slender, soft body. True worms are made up of many cells. But they do not have a backbone. Most people think of the worm-like larvae (young) of butterflies and other insects as "worms." But scientists who study animal life consider only certain adult animals as true worms.


So, I guess the answer would be no. Caterpillars have lots of legs.

Snakes

On a couple of recent hikes, we have come across some slithery snakes. While I detest snakes and my skin crawls thinking about them, the boys (especially Jon) love them. They take pictures of them while I walk the other way. So, here are two snakes we recently identified.
We think the one on the top is a timber rattlesnake and the one on the bottom is a black ratsnake.

Sticks

Nicholas likes to sit at the top of the slide at the park and collect sticks as "payment" for going down the slide. Then, when we leave the park, he tells me he has a stick collection. I call it
the "lazy man's stick collection." Upon leaving the park today, an argument ensued in the car.

Evan: Mom, do sticks come from rocks?
Mom: What do you think?
Evan: (with confused expression on his face) No...they come from trees.
Mom: That's true. They are parts of branches, usually.
Evan: See, Nick, I told you so.
Nicholas: Then why do trees have circles around them.
Mom: You mean the landscaping dirt piles?
Nicholas: Oh. That's not a rock.

How far

Hunter and Nicholas while digging a big hole at Dinosaur Park:
Maybe we can dig to China. How far is it to the middle of the Earth?

(Note: Adults had to figure it out. It's approximately 4000 miles to the center of the Earth.)

Would You Rather...

Their game...

Would you rather be hole-punched to death or be eaten by a ferocious lion?

On bees

Nicholas: Do bees have brains?


(Note: Bees do have very small brains with very terrific memories to be able to perform their
hive duties)

On toilets

Upon looking at a great book called, "Material World," which explores exactly how people live in various parts of the world. Yes, there is a whole page devoted to toilets around the world.

Evan: Some people have toilets made out of just clay? There's no top? Is that just a hole?

On Ladybugs

Not so much a question as an answer:

Nicholas: We can't kill ladybugs. Ladybugs eat aphids that are in our garden and if we don't have ladybugs to eat aphids then we have aphids. Can you buy ladybugs? Can we buy ladybugs? How much do you think they cost?

On God...

Nicholas: Can you really live until 250 to 251 if you obey God?

(note: I assume this was in reference to the long lives of some of the strong figures in the Old Testament, including Moses, Abraham, and Noah)

Questions

With this new homeschooling venture, I'm finding we have lots of questions to answer about how life works...from the perspective a 6 and 8 year-old. This will be a blog to record their questions. Sometimes the questions demand answers...sometimes not.

We'll begin with questions or the last few days.