We have been on "summer break" since the start of June but that doesn't mean I don't take advantage of "teachable moments." This week we have learned a LOT of science.
We have 2 goats and are hoping to have babies this spring. They have to reach a certain weight in order to be bred this fall....they are getting close. And prompted a conversation something like this.
Me: I think Betty and Lois will be ready to have babies this fall. And goats commonly have twins. Yay.
M: That's awesome. We could have 4 baby goats.
Me: Yep.
M: who will the daddy be?
Me: Well, we will borrow a billy goat.
M: If we want 4 babies though we need to get 2 billies, Mom.
Me: well, honey, we can just borrow 1 billy and he can be the daddy for both. It isn't like with people.
M: cool. So we can have a bunch of girl goats and borrow and billy and he can just mate and mate and mate and we can have a bunch of babies?
Me: Yes, I guess that would be true. (Not going any further down that path just now)
little while later.
M: how are baby goats born?
Me: well, they grow inside the mama for about 150 days. Then the muscles in her belly start to cramp and she pushes the baby out. It looks like the baby comes out of her butt, but it doesn't. People babies are born the same way.
M: Will we have boy or girl babies?
Me: I don't know. But if we have boy babies, we won't be able to keep them boys.
M: Why not? What will we do?
Me: well, a boy baby can't make more babies with his mama and goats don't know that. Plus boy goats get mean and stink really bad. Remember Andy (the donkey) and Ben (the mini horse) and how they were mean and the vet came out and did surgery (the boys all watched as much of this as they wanted-which was all of it). We will do it differently but that keeps them from being mean. We will use a special rubberband on his testicles and they will come off.
M: On his testicles? You mean his balls mom?
Me: yes.
G: (piping in from the back of the van) Can we stop talking about this please?
Me: SURE!
Whew!
Then at dinner the other night we talked about genetics. That although L is our sister/daughter, her genetics are different from ours. We drew a family tree on the board and figured it all out. That cousin Nae has dimples like Nanny. But L's dimples come from somewhere in her genetic line. That Cousin Nae is darker skinned like her daddy but Cousin D has our lighter skin and hums while she eats like her mom did and crinkles her nose while she smiles. (our cousins are visiting so they were good examples-HA!) Also that although A has some similarity in looks to MY uncle J, that he could not have gotten those characteristics from Uncle J becuase there is no direct line between A and Uncle J on the family tree.
Then this morning at breakfast we learned this....
M: Dad you are awesome but not nearly as awesome as me.
Dad: Well, that's just not true. With each generation there are 200 more mistakes in the genetic code....so you can't be more awesome than me. You have 200 more mistakes in your very make up than I do. So I am the most awesome.
M: {crickets chirping} ....I still think that would make a good coffee mug "My dad is awesome. But not as awesome as his kids".
Science OVER!
