Joshua's Mouse
This was an e-mail I sent out to our homeschooling friends. You know, the girls who encourage me to make the most of every learning opportunity. This was written on August 6, 2003.
I moved a dog house to cut the grass around it. It had a nest of field mice under it. The babies were full grown about to leave the nest. They appeared very healthy. In truth, they looked better than some I've seen in the pet stores.
I let the older children catch one of the little babies to bring inside to observe for a while as a learning experience. We got a kick out of seeing the little nest of grass the mother made and the tunnels she had dug. She was a good mother and waited for all of her babies to hide before she did. Now I know why the cats have been hanging out in that area!
Well, Joshua (3) hit the
large jar with a broom, knocked it off and the baby mouse
got out. I asked him what happened and he said:
"I hit the broom. It hit the jar. It fell on the
floor. The lid came off. The mouse ran around and around
and around and around (he said while making fast, small,
circular motions with his finger....fall must have
rattled it's poor brain) and then went Pfffwooon!!!"
(with this he drew a fast straight line indicating the
mouse took off with great haste).
My oldest two just THRILLED me to pieces (sarcasm) when they looked it up in the field guide and discovered mice breed 8 times a year and have about 12 babies each time. Yeah, I wanted them to learn, which was the whole point of letting them catch one, but I could have done without that particular tidbit right now. :-)
I let them catch two
more, but I put the large jar 6' off the floor in a room
where there are no brooms!! They took the mother some
crackers and got to see her eating them which made
their day. (We released them back to their mother
shortly after.)
Well, having a mouse loose is better than when Joshua put
3 tadpoles in my drinking water!!! And, it was less
problematic than when the three praying mantis cases
hatched in my kitchen.
Ah, the adventures of a homeschooling mother!
~Blessings to you and yours, Wendy
Update 2005-I am happy to report the mouse must have made his way back outside because we never saw him again.
