Ah I Love Going To The Pediatrician

Today got off to a not so great start. DJ had his annual physical this morning. Since my husband has to go to work, I always make our appt the very first one of the day. So we were there at 8 AM sharp when they opened the doors. There was no other patients but us. Two walk ins came in, that got taken in right away. If you know anything about the doctors office walk ins do not go in ahead of appointments. So after 45 min of still sitting in the waiting area, and an angry call from my husband, I asked the receptionist if something was wrong, we had already been waiting 45 min and there certainly was not a room full of patients. She said no it is only 8:30 and your appt was at 8:30. So I looked at her with an odd look, since the clock right on her very own wall said 8:45 and the watch on my very wrist said 8:45. I said why did you tell me to be here at 8 then? She said because you had to fill out the paper work, and we need to scan your card. It is a new system. OK fine, but we have been coming here six years, have had the same insurance for four, and the paper work only took five minutes. It takes 40 minutes to scan an insurance card, and why did the others go right in? Again the ugly looks ensued. But obviously it worked because I didn't even get to sit my backside back in the chair and we were called in. Normally I do not let these things bother me. But don't tell me what time it is when I can very blatantly see the clock. And please don't tell me to be here a half hour early for five minutes of paper work. And please don't make an appointment for my child to see the RN for a yearly physical, when we only come once a year. I will see a doctor that is what my insurance pays for. Plus the RN did not ask any of the routine questions the doctor would ask. She was too busy getting on her soap box about video games. So I left all this on their advice form they give us every year to fill out, and went home.

Since school didn't actually begin until almost eleven, after all that nonsense, we watched Miracle Babies, and did some other relaxed schooling. If you have never seen the show, it is on Nat Geo and is about endangered animals that scientists are trying to save. They featured this episode the panda, some monkey, and the Indian rhino. I love Pandas they are so sweet and cute, but I am of the opinion that if the species is flawed and does not show interest in breeding, then maybe the species was not meant to be, it is nature after all. The amount of money spent on these animals is amazing, just to get them to breed. That got me a round of boos from my children, and angry looks from my son. Then came the monkey. This particular monkey is endangered due to loss of habitat in the Amazon. OK I can understand why we would want to stop that behavior, we need our trees and I am probably a tree hugger. But the female featured had for some reason attacked her babies after they were born. Now anyone who knows animals, knows that animals of all species do this. There is a reason, and it is a part of nature. So of course they take the babies away perform surgery and feeding by syringe. I don't know, again this is not natural, and I think it should be left to be natural. The Indian rhino was the only feature that bred normal and gave birth normal, though in captivity for protection. No artificial insemination, or forced breeding, just nature doing what nature does best. My son and I had a deep discussion about all this. Though we don't agree with each other on all parts, we agree that we love animals and wish them all the best. What do you think about all this stuff? Maybe tomorrow will be a normal school day. I wonder what that means sometimes, LOL! By the way the National Zoo, has an awesome section with free curriculum most of which is on the Giant Panda. DJ is doing them this year for school. Take advantage of their great resources, and the live animal cams are fun too.

Panda Bears and Bamboo

Besides being incredibly cute, there is an actual reason that I am talking about Panda Bears today. I am hoping someone who has some knowledge on the subject will enlighten me. This has nothing to do with school, but is more of something that has peaked my thought process. So I am going to say what I know about Pandas and Bamboo and you can either tell me I am right, wrong, or add more details to the statements as needed.

This is what I know about Panda Bears and Bamboo. Panda Bears are extremely endangered species. Their only source of food that they eat is the Bamboo plant. The Bamboo plant in and of itself is an endangered plant. Panda Bears are not very good at mating, making it harder to re-establish the Panda population.

Those are the things I know. I would really like to know if Bamboo comes in other varieties other than the kind the Panda Bear eats, or is it a one source, one type only plant?


Tomorrow is the first playdate with our homeschool friends, of the new school year. We will be doing History in the morning which is Chapter 2 of Ancient Times, with activities. Caitlin is on week two of Community Helpers. Plus map skills for DJ. Then after lunch it is all playtime. I have learned something about 4H. There is not a whole lot for the younger learner. I purchased the Butterfly curriculum for Caitlin thinking it was age appropriate. It was not. It was for fourth graders threw 8th grade. So I had to go back to the site to find something for her. I was able to find All About Animals, and All About Soil. These were free to download, so I was happy about that. We will beginning the curriculum's next week. They will be incorporated into Science lessons for the school year.