How a chicken hatches from an egg

I love sharing things with my children that I think will peak their interests and possible teach them something. As most of you know, our oldest son has a couple chickens we raised from babies last spring. This year he is joining 4-H as a clover bud and will be taking a chicken to the fair. We are so excited for him. He really does love chickens.

He knows chickens come from eggs, but I am sure ANY time now the questions are going to start as to how that chicken grew in there. Well thank goodness for our friends over at Fresh Eggs Daily on Facebook!! They have a blog and started a new project that we will be following closely to get some of these answers. It is the The Great Egg-scape. They are hatching eggs in an incubator and you can follow along on the great adventure.

Like today I learned that on day 6 of incubation wings and legs of each embryo are almost complete!! How cool is that!!!

from Fresh Eggs Daily

Live, learn, love

One of the greatest things (in my opinion) about being a parent, is the chance to share the world with my children. I love exposing them to nature and teaching them to be caring and compassionate. Maybe that is why we have a house full of critters!

Nothing makes me prouder then when our 5 year old sees the dog is out of food and stops long enough to feed him. Or when he lets us know the chickens are low on water. The fact that he cares enough about the animals to be nurturing is an amazing things. I think these are skills all children should develop. Whether you give them a horse or just a goldfish, that responsibility helps them realize they are NOT the center of the universe and to have caring feelings for others even if they are “just” animals.

Now I am not advocating everyone run out and get a new puppy! But might I suggest a new fish or hermit crab? Or if you already have a pet at home, why not let your child take the lead on caring for it. You will, of course, have to make sure they do it, but let them be responsible. Explain to them that the animal can’t feed itself. Express how happy it makes you when you see them stepping up. It will in the long run do a few things:

1.) Teach your child to be responsible

2.) Teach your child to be compassionate

3.) Bring a little more fun into the family by having a pet

4.) Move one of the many chores YOU do, to the capable hands of your child, allowing you to have 5 minutes to yourself.

Meet Alex!

Our little "surprise" baby!!! Meet Alex, who joined MAD on 2-8-12 at 10:36 a.m. While we were not planning on having more children, we were not preventing it either. So I guess we shouldn't have been that surprised!

Alex was 7lbs 6oz and 19". He is such a tiny bundle of love. He has added a whole new dimension to the fun here at MAD and we are so looking forward to sharing the world with another amazing child.

Bean sock bunnies

Now we do not (since we have boys) have such cute socks around here, but I am willing to go buy some just for this craft! These Sock Bunnies are simple and sooooo cute! Why not make a whole litter of them!!!

Get ready for spring visitors

Spring will be here soon, so it is time to get ready for those spring visitors! Here is a wonderful craft that combines teaching your children about nature and recycling. These bird feeders would make a great afternoon project!

Yummy!!!!

Peanut Butter Fudge!!! Yummy! Why not make some up with your little ones (or for yourself!) This recipe is from Horizon Organic, but you can always use regular milk.

Happy Platypus Day!!!

March 3rd is Platypus Day!!! Have some fun with Phineas and Ferb!