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SeaStar
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| Posted: March 05 2013 at 11:50am | IP Logged
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OK- so I'm not the insect lover around here.
Ds received an ant farm for Christmas from a relative- but it was too cold then for the ants to be shipped (  says mom).
But they came yesterday- no escaping now. For me, that is. The ants have already escaped twice this morning and the farm had to be removed from the lunch table under protest.
But- this is all good and educational, and I will be so glad we have this ant farm, right? 
Now we need some good books about ants. For some reason our farm came minus the instruction booklet which tells all about them. It must be Lent!
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: March 05 2013 at 12:19pm | IP Logged
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Are you kidding???! Ants are some of the most interesting critters around, so easy to care for, and so easy to experiment with!
First off, here is a basic ant care sheet from Carolina Biological supply:
Ant Care Sheet
Second, ant fact file from National Geographic about ants in general.
Third (my favorite)Fun ant experiments from ASU ask a biologist. That site also has some ant-related coloring pages, worksheets, and quizzes if you are into that sort of thing.
Just a few things to get you started!
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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Mackfam
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| Posted: March 05 2013 at 12:19pm | IP Logged
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We've had an ant farm for several years...not always with ants in it though. But your post is timely for me, Melinda because my older son just asked to restock it with ants so ours are on order.
I have some great picture book suggestions, but I don't have time to post links right now. Hopefully, I can come back later unless someone else recommends them first.
But....I did want to recommend Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study in case you already have that on your shelf. She has a nice long section in there on ants.
Good luck with ant escapes! We have a firm rule about NOT EVER moving the ant farm from its safe location on a shelf!!! For this very reason!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
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SeaStar
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| Posted: March 05 2013 at 12:28pm | IP Logged
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Thanks. ladies. Our ants arrived last night about 6 pm, which took me way off guard. I was tired, and not having an instruction manual did not help.
I do have the Comstock book, which I plan to break out today, and I will check out those links, too.
But what happens to the ants eventually? Do they just die of old age in there?
Does the gel last forever or does it have to be renewed?
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: March 05 2013 at 12:29pm | IP Logged
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You've actually got me inspired to dig out and revive our old ant farm as well! (The mealworm culture we have going right now is just not that exciting, folks.) I wonder if they will ship ants here yet?
And here is another experiment idea for you from Nat Geo Kids:Try to make and ant get lostcc
UPDATE: appears USDA regulations forbid the shipping of harvester ants to Alaska. Hmph! I will have to see what else I can do.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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Mackfam
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| Posted: March 05 2013 at 1:04pm | IP Logged
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I really like the Uncle Milton Ant Q&A site, Melinda. I think it will answer a lot of your questions...and I see that it has an instruction book for you to download.
We have the sand based farm, Melinda...so I'm not sure what to say about the gel farm. But click around on the Uncle Milton site, because they do sell them, and they offer some really good informational resources on their products. In fact, here's a whole section on the gel farm.
Our ants usually die within a couple of months. I suppose if you didn't want to keep them that long you could always set them free???
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
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SeaStar
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| Posted: March 05 2013 at 1:07pm | IP Logged
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This is all so good!
Too bad I am off to the dentist in a few minutes... more ant exploration will have to wait.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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Mackfam
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| Posted: March 05 2013 at 1:24pm | IP Logged
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Ant picture books:
The Life and Times of the Ant
Ant Cities (Let's-Read-And-Find-Out-Science) *Favorite*
Are You An Ant? (Backyard Books - this is really good series)
Two Bad Ants
Inside an Ant Colony
Little Black Ant on Park Street (Smithsonian's Backyard - be aware I linked to the mini-book version, but you can find the full size book) *Favorite*
For older students (late middle/high school):
Journey to the Ants: A Story of Scientific Exploration
Adventures Among Ants
You can also find a chapter on red ants in Jean Henri Fabre's The Mason Bees. (I linked to the free ebook on project gutenberg) This is a very scientific and technical discourse, but if you have a science-passionate kid, they will probably enjoy this.
You can view a NOVA program: Ants: Little Creatures Who Run the World - be warned, you may want to preview this NOVA program depending on age/maturity/sensitivity of your children.
That's all I have for book resources for ants. Hope this is a start anyway. 
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
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SeaStar
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| Posted: March 05 2013 at 5:34pm | IP Logged
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That is a great start- thanks. My library has all but one of the titles. 
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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MaryM
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| Posted: March 06 2013 at 4:35pm | IP Logged
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And have you seen the Ant Farm Cam - your own ant farm via the internet - no escapes in the house... 
Or Antland, the virtual ant farm video game
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Mary M. in Denver
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MaryM
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| Posted: April 17 2013 at 2:12pm | IP Logged
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Questions and Answers About Ants by Millicent Selsam a favorite OOP author of nature/science books we have discussed here before. Just ran across this book.
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Mary M. in Denver
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Kathryn
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| Posted: April 17 2013 at 10:53pm | IP Logged
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Funny timing on this post as my DS just asked for an ant farm last week. Uh...no. Not now. He already has the anole lizards (3) he captured outside and have set up on one side of his dresser and then his (11+?) fish in a tank set up on other side of his dresser and now 6 baby chickens we've got in the garage that are growing ever so fast and need a coop soon! We're good on the animal thing for now.
Sorry that didn't answer your question but interesting topic.
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Kathryn in TX
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Help me love our ant farm...
