What are ossicones, and what is this blog about?

I have to admit that I didn't know what an ossicone is until this year.  Until I was asked by my toddler what the funny horn things are called on a giraffe and had to Google it!  The giraffe in question wasn't even a real giraffe, but his baby brother's toy that bears little resemblance to the real thing.  "Gerald" the giraffe is white and green, doesn't have a long neck, but bizarrely it does have ossicones.  In fact, I think that's the only defining feature that makes Gerald a giraffe at all.  So to save you a Google search, ossicones are the "pair of bony protuberances, covered in skin and hair, on the head of a giraffe".  For anyone who really wants to read more about ossicones, try the Giraffe Conservation Foundation website.

Gerald the giraffe

I've included ossicones in the name of my blog as I'm going to try and capture my boys' interests as they grow and learn.  I'd have never thought about ossicones if I hadn't been asked about them!  In fact, giraffes don't really feature much in the average adult's life but oddly they are everywhere in children's fiction and toys.  I'm going to record some of the activities we do as we try to pursue their interests - both those that succeed and those that fail miserably.  Good intentions often result in something they aren't interested in or a huge mess, but which might be worth returning to at a later date (possibly modified!) which is why I'm writing them down.  Our ideas may be of interest to others which is why I'm putting it somewhere that you can read it too.

So what about the oxygen?  Well, that's another word my toddler has learnt, inspired by Maddie's Do You Know on CBeebies (a brilliant programme in my opinion).  He's got a lot to learn about oxygen though, and hopefully he and his brother will learn some of that through things we do together and be inspired to learn more about the world around them too.  My background is in molecular biology, although I've studied a fair amount of other sorts of biology, chemistry and a bit of physics and maths.  I am endeavouring to find things to do to let my boys have fun playing, but also to draw a bit on my slightly rusty knowledge to find activities that help them to understand aspects of science and maths.

I hope you enjoy reading and my ideas spark some of your own!  Do leave a message if you have any thoughts, positive or negative!