Friday Sprog Blogging: science in pictures and words.

The Free-Ride offspring have been wary of extended conversations with me lately (maybe since most of them eventually come around to, "Surely you'd like to help your mother grade these papers!"). However, I was able to extract some pictorial evidence that each of them has been thinking about science.

From the younger Free-Ride offspring, some basic things you ought to know about phases of matter:

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Also worthy of note: vocabulary from the most recent science unit was included with this week's spelling words. (Hurray for viscosity!)

Sure, we haven't yet integrated the discussion about intermolecular forces and their connection to phase changes. However, that might have required a larger piece of paper.

From the elder Free-Ride offspring, the workings of the human heart:

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You'll notice, of course, that the elder offspring includes at the bottom a sketch of a bird:

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I don't know if this corresponds to an actual kind of bird or a fantastical one. The birders in the audience are invited to weigh in on this question.

As well, near the top of the page, the elder offspring has drawn two humanoid figures, one exhorting us to "have a heart!":

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It's a bit hard to see under the legend distinguishing oxygen-rich blood from oxygen-poor blood, but I have confirmation of the other humanoid figure's utterance:

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"Or I'll eat yours!"

I am fearful now that, when the Free-Ride offspring start dating, suitors might be at risk of losing their hearts in a rather more life-threatening way than is standard.

More like this

Since we're trying to get out of town for the weekend, Casa Free-Ride is a hive of activity. (As we seem to be passing another cold back and forth, it's also a hive of mucus. Ew.) But we have time to update you on recurrent topics of conversation this week around the Free-Ride kitchen table.…
Elder offspring: Blood is cool. Younger offspring: (Covering head with blanket) I hate blood, because I hate owies! Dr. Free-Ride: But your blood does all sorts of good things for your body. You know that you're filled with blood, right? Elder offspring: Actually, your body is two-thirds water.…
OK, it's time for another science-y post. Usually, I take on something very relevant to my specialty---it's a helluva lot easier to write about stuff I already know. But some basics are just really cool, and worth exploring, even though I'll have to step a bit outside my comfort zone. In this case…
Of course, we don't really think the sprogs are dumb. Sometimes they just remind us that some of the things their parents find intuitive are not intuitive to them. Dr. Free-Ride: (arriving home after an evening seminar) How were the kids tonight. Dr. Free-Ride's better half: They were fine. But,…

The sprogs aren't part Aztec or something?

Also, that is an awesome bird. But I am confused by mammal hearts ("and the warm blood flows through the large four chambered heart/mammals, mammals..."/singing) and birds. Must be a fantastical bird to have mammalheart.

As I understand it, and could be wrong. Bird hearts are very much like mammal hearts, except reversed. The left heart is the pulmonary heart rather than the right, as in mammals.

By Jim Thomerson (not verified) on 21 May 2010 #permalink

Is Sprog the Elder into Pokemon? Because that looks like one that shows up from time to time on an art site I frequent.

By Rick Pikul (not verified) on 22 May 2010 #permalink

Definitely a Pokemon. Looks like a Pigeot to me.

By choebacca (not verified) on 28 May 2010 #permalink