We have some new pets. Ethan brought a frog home from cub scout camp, and has been diligently searching for (and finding) bugs to feed it. Andrew has a new pet spider, but this one isn't kept in a cage.

Andrew checks on his "pet" every morning and afternoon, making sure it is still alive. Yesterday, he found it's molted skin:

I'm not sure we have identified this spider yet, but that leads me to the boys' current obsession... field guides. Our school library has many, and Ethan and Andrew are intent on bringing every one available home with them. Last week, we had two reptile guides, an insect guide, and a mammal guide. This week, we have these gems:

and I think there are a few more stashed in their backpacks. I'm pretty sure that shells guide is going to come in handy here in the middle of Indiana!
I just wish there was less homework, and more time for Ethan to memorize the mammal field guide he has been sleeping with. He is learning the meaning of all kinds of words having to do with nature and the world we live in, which is more than I can say for the assigned vocabulary he gets from 2nd grade. We are supposedly one of the most challenging school districts in the nation, but you wouldn't know it from Ethan's word list. (*stepping off my soapbox-sorry!*)
Anyway, Ethan has determined he wants to be a naturalist, which I always assumed was the equivilant of a nudist, but apparently it is someone who studies nature. You go, boy!