The Mud Wasp Or the black widow killer

The Mud Wasp

Or the black widow killer

by Shila Shrestha

On the afternoon of 24th January, 2020, we found a cockroach. We collect insects when we find them so we can continue our entomological studies. As we were putting cockroach inside the plastic container where we save our samples, I saw a beautiful blue green wasp inside! Someone had found it and put it in for us to learn about!

We have studied the cockroach several times and we were going to study a different aspect of it this time but we have never ever done the mud wasp. So we were excited and asked if we could do the mud wasp study the next day. I was asked to look up the insect and do some online research beforehand.

January 25. In the morning, our teachers made ready for the wasp experiment. Our tool box was taken out along with the microscope. A teacher put the wasp on the circular glass plate. We looked the wasp which was very blue, green, black and sparkling in color. What an amazingly beautiful insect or arthropod.

While we were doing artwork Pallav sir researched more about the wasp. We wanted to know the name, where it lives, its different body parts and so much more. Sir gave us a well-researched print out to study, discuss, and make notes on.

We wrote about the details of the wasp. The wasp we had was a mud wasp, and it is also a black widow killer.

When we took wasp outside in the sun, it looked very shiny due to ray of sunlight. It sparkled like jewel. So we took photos of the mud wasp, it was so very beautiful. I had researched the taxonomy of the wasp.

We talked a lot about the mud wasp and what it does, how it lives, how it helps and why it could sting. It lives on its own, mostly! We looked at the wasp under the microscope. We looked at the body as well as the head. Little Zoya who is 14 months old also looked at the wasp through the microscope!

Classification
Scientific name: Chalybion californicum

Kingdom: Animalia (Animal)

Phylum : Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum: Hexapoda (Hexapods or with six legs)

Class: Insecta (Insect)

Order: Hymenoptera (Ants, bees, wasps and sawflies)

These are things that we wrote in our copy. It was a long class but very interesting. Then we continued on to our unfinished artwork. We drew the wasp very nicely, taking a lot of time. We were learning shading, cross hatch, circular hatch, soft blend in art class and we got to use these technique in our science class. We wanted to color the artwork! After finishing our artwork we finished to make notes.

Our experiment class went very smoothly. It was a lot of fun.

Chini Paratha

Chini Paratha

by Shila Shrestha

At 2 o’clock, we were ready to make chini paratha. These are triangular layered rotis with sugar in them. I had eaten paratha before. At school, Anita didi makes paratha better than anyone else including our teachers and cooks. And today I was going to help her make the special chini paratha which is sweet and I can imagine, very tasty.

When we cook something, first we have to wash our hands. Especially before we eat or cook after coming from outdoors. 

Sabita didi had already made dough. She had made a huge spherical dough. Then all of us sat around the dining table and around Anita didi. Anita didi taught everyone how to make chini paratha. She especially helped the small ones. Palistha ma’am and I took photos. 

Photography is an important part of what we do. Since we do so many exciting things at      Spiny Babbler, we need group as well as individual photos involving everyone participating. 

Sabita didi and Anita didi took out smaller lumps of dough from the big ball of dough and made round circular pieces and gave one each to all the children. Everyone flattened the round balls and got a chance to make roti. While rotis are supposed to be perfectly round, obviously, many of them were not so! We, the children, have a hard time making circles on our copybooks so we cannot make wonderfully round roti. 

Sabita didi and Anita didi helped everyone and made their rotis round. Then Anita did started folding the rotis into halves but before doing that, she spread a bit of oil and sprinkled sugar in the roti. Then she again used the rolling pin to make it bigger. Then she folding the roti again so there was a triangle. Then she added some more oil and sugar. 

Sabita didi cooked the roti. The children are allowed to use the rolling pin, spread the oil and sprinkle the sugar, but they are not allowed to go the fire and cook because the pan is too hot and can burn them. 

All the kids were very happy to make chini paratha. Now the chini paratha was ready to eat but still very hot. As soon as they cooled, the kids ate the chini paratha. They loved the chini paratha and wanted more and more. I cooked my own paratha, the shape came out quite well, I thought. It was very yummy

Acrobatic class, Circus Kathmandu

Acrobatic class, Circus Kathmandu

By Shila Shrestha 

Every Sunday and Thursday, there is an acrobatic dance class. Our new sir Bijay Chaudhary from Kathmandu Circus take classes from 1 to 2 pm.

Jan 19, Sunday

On Sunday our new teacher came. That day was our first day of acrobatic dance class from Bijay sir. 

First of all we all didn’t know our teacher's name so we played the introduction game. We had to enact something and we had to say our names. Bhagwati ma’am also played that game. Subigya, Bisesh, Anusha, Vidheha, Shuvam, Anita didi and I took part.

Afterwards we went outside and played an another game. That game was for the inter activeness of the student’s mind.

We did frog jump, frog walk, toe touch, chest touch, front rolling, squats, push ups, and plank, side plank etc. It was a lot of fun. 

In the middle of the exercise, again we played game called Sunday, Monday. It was a nice game. We will teach the little ones this game so they can remember the days of week using that game. Our new sir taught us in another way from which we can be entertained as well as different exercises. 

On the first day we had lots of fun. But we have to stop the games and we have to concentrate on exercises because of the limited time.

Koi carp, a scientific study

Koi carp, a scientific study
Cyprinus Carpio Linne
with dissections of Koi and common carps

Science in winter is just perfect, especially when the clouds are in the sky and threatens rain and makes things cold. Today we are going to study the Koi carp and the common carp. “I love science,” Adhijaya said when he learned that we were going to do some experiments.

The Koi carp was beautiful and orange. Pallav sir had brought it from Lagankhel. He had also brought a nice sized common carp. While we were going to study the Koi carp mostly, we were also going to dissect the common carp.

To begin with, we did a physiological study of the carps. There were two groups. Srijana ma’am took the smaller young: Kashi, Nirousha, Khayanna and Shourit. After the children had looked at the Koi carp, she had them sitting down and making artwork of studying the common carp as it was slightly bigger. Its scales were big and it was beautiful!

Sabina ma’am took over the older young: Shila, Vidheha, Anusha, Shuvam, Adhijay, Bishes. They too made artwork but Shila was busy with photography and supporting the learning. Anita didi was busy turning the research material into a readable hand out.

Once the study and the artwork was over, little 14 month old Zoya also came and we gathered around the table and started the dissection. First Pallav Sir again showed Koi has scales, skin, fins, operculum (gill cover), eyes, nostrils, barbels and lateral lines.

Pectoral, ventral, dorsal, caudal and anal fins help the fish move, he said. Pectoral and ventral fins are like hands and legs! A fin has bone-like spine, soft filament and membrane. The fin grows back if it is cut or damaged.

The barbels (which are like moustaches) help with taste as koi carp are bottom feeders that also eat food that floats. It is omnivorous. Koi carp has three rows of teeth in its neck and not in the mouth, funny! They filter plankton from water. Lateral lines are scales along the side from head to tail. They help hear the sounds. Five pairs of Saiko in the gills help the koi carp breathe.

The kois skin secretes mucus on the body which prevents parasites like worms from sticking and disease causing animals and plants. It also helps the fish swims. Koi carp is colourful because of four kinds of pigment cells. They react to light.

The scales form a circle that increase in numbers as the koi grows older. Counting the circles can help us tell the age of the koi carp. The koi does not have a stomach and the esophagus is joined with the intestines. The fatter intestine secretes the digestive fluid. They have one organ that does the work of the liver and the pancreas. The green gallbladder is connected to the liver. It has air bladder has two bubbles. The heart has pericardium, atrium, ventricle, and artery.

Anus is attached to the rectum, ureter and gonads. Gonads make sperm or ova. Koi carp lives in fresh water that is 8 to 30 degrees Centigrade. If the koi looks white, it is probably cold. Under 7 degrees, the koi carp hibernates and dies below 2 to 3 degrees.

 Koi carp eats insects, shellfish and plants. It eats everything twice, first swallowing it, then disgorges what is has swallowed when it is free and chews the food with the teeth it its neck. It lays 200,000 to 400,000 eggs that are externally fertilized and hatch average four days later. A koi carp usually lives for 70 years.

A forest in the heart of Patan

A forest in the heart of Patan
by Shila Shrestha

We always do music in the mornings. Today Dhana Sir came to teach us, he comes on Mondays and Fridays. His class started at 9:00 and ended at 10:00. While we were playing music, the kids here for Winter Adventures ate lunch. They were going outdoors. I also had to go because I can take pictures and also help out with fun and hiking. 

I stopped the game they were playing and told them to get in the van as I ate lunch. All the kids were not going, school kids have to study hard and they do a lot of hiking anyways. We sat in the van. Little Zoya sat on my lap. She is so little, only 14 months. 

We reached the forest, Zoya was sleeping but woke up fast. Her mum carried her for a bit so she wouldn't cry. We climbed the stairs. They were long. I took some pictures of everyone. We walked and Zoya also walked. She was very good.

The forest was made up of pine trees. The trees were very tall and beautiful. Even though this is mid-winter, there were a lot of greenery. After we got to the top, we played games. They loved to sing and play ring-a-ring-a-roses. They had lots of fun falling on the floor. Then they wanted to play another game. The game was Ice and Water. They played for a long time and then. They played hide and seek. It was very nice.

Usually, when there are a lot of older kids we take on challenging hikes. This time around there were mostly three and four year olds. After playing in the grass in the big clearing, we were so tired so we sat on the bench. All the kids drank water. Then they felt energetic again and said they wanted to run so they ran and ran and again they were so tired. We all drank water so our mouth was not dry. 

Then Sabita didi and I took them on a hike. We went down and climbed up the grassy uphill. I saw the trees, the city below us, the green grass of the forest floor and I loved taking photos of the children. It was now time to go. What a wonderful afternoon it had been!

Balkumari Temple

Balkumari Temple

by Shila Shrestha

 Built in 1622, this temple’s main god is the child Kumari along with the warrior god Ganesh who head is that of an elephant and the angry god Bhairab. It was wonderful to be there at the Balkumari temple because when Vidheha cannot, I help teach the living goddess Kumari of Patan on Friday afternoon.

Today we were visiting the temple with the little ones: three to eight year old Shourit, Adhijay, Siddhant, Khayanna, Anusha, and Nirosha. The temple is away from the main city. The temple is built in the pagoda style and has three tiers. It is very interesting that the main priests of the temple are from the Pode cleaning community.

 Sabita didi and I led the group with Bhagwati ma’am also there. Just as we got there, we saw people were making fresh donuts. All of us looked at the donuts being made and we all felt hungry! So we bought donuts and Balkumari temple is a great place to sit down and enjoy ourselves. We sat down, relaxed and enjoyed our donuts.

It had been rainy and cold and cloudy for a few days but not today! The sun was shining beautifully on the temple, the courtyard and the statues as well as on us. Sabita didi bought us some bananas. We were all hungry and we ate bananas.

Now that we were well fed, it was time to enjoy and learn at the temple. We visited the main temple. We put tika on our foreheads. We rang the bells. There was an old stone and water was coming out from that stone! There were beautiful stone lions and other statues. There were many many pigeons. The children loved running after them and making them fly. They pigeons also seemed to enjoy playing with the children.

We also took the photos. My main job today, besides being on the trip, helping out with the children was to take wonderful photos!

Zoya and her mum also had a lot of fun. After running and playing and laughing, it was time to go to Spiny Babbler. We entered the van and as soon as we sat on the van we fell asleep. We had already reached the school when we opened our eyes. When we go outdoors we always wash our hands and faces. Today was a fun day for us.

Trip to Santaneshwor

Trip to Santaneshwor 

by Subigya

We went to Santaneshwor temple on 8th January 2020, Wednesday. We went there by the school van. In the van we were singing songs, listening to songs and talking with friends too about the songs. I sat in the back seat. Beside me there were Krit and Arhat. In the back seat Shila didi, Krit, Arhat, Sidhanth, Abhik, Shuvam, Saurhit and I were sitting.

We left the school right after eating lunch which was around 12:30 PM. When  the van stopped and we went out the van, Pallav sir forgot something in the van so he made Arhat run to the van and get the hiking stick, Vidheha's woolen hat and Vidheha's bag.

Then we started climbing stairs up and up. Arhat and I decided that we would let everyone go in front of us and we would run all the way to the top but our plan kind of failed because we got very tired. When we reached the top we were very tired and decided to sit. After sitting for a while we rang almost all the bells there.

Then Arhat and I raced on who had the most steps. Then we went down in another way. Me and Arhat raced on who could get down the fastest. Then we ended up in a jungle. Then we clicked a group photo. Shila didi played the flute at jungle for a while. 

After that, we had to go down from a cliff to some stairs. When we got to the stairs, some people helped us to get down. Then we clicked some more photos and Saurya climbed a cliff. After me, Arhat and Saurya got up, Pallav sir told us to get down because all of us couldn't climb it. We went down the stairs and got in the van. Then we went back to school. We enjoyed a lot.  We had a lot of fun.