The end of the semester was rolling around and I thought I had found the perfect farewell project to make with my kindergardeners: a do-it-yourself miniature ant farm -- you know, the nifty kind where you can watch the ants dig tunnels and carry their food around... Not only did the online directions make it look easy-to-assemble, it would be an easy-to-keep classroom pet that could survive straight through Christmas break and into the next semester! 
The supplies were easy enough to find:
* two glass jars, one slightly larger than the other
* a glue gun to secure the smaller jar inside the larger one
* pebbles to fill the smaller jar and a lid to cap it off
Then all that remained was the small space between the two jars -- the space where the sand and the ants would go just as soon as I found them!
So I set my supplies aside and began looking for ants. I kept an eye out for them on the way to the mailbox. I looked for them when I swept the back porch. I even thought I spied an ant pile while I was driving... but when I pulled off the road to check it out, no ants seemed to be home. And one day I found about a zillion tiny ants on a partially-chewed-up sandwich on the ground at a gas station... but I guess I didn't want an ant farm that badly!
We had a cold snap a few days later. Frost laced the windows and a bitter wind blew in. It was the last I saw of any ants. I figured those that weren't dead must have traveled deep into the ground for warmth. Disappointed, I gave up my hope for my kindergarden-classroom-ant-farm and instead helped the children finish their construction-paper Christmas ornaments on the last day of school.
And then the other day -- just as I was starting to put my ant farm supplies into a pile that would go out next time the trash truck came -- Eric began acting rather unusual. For instance, the doorbell rang at my parent's house as we were eating dinner, and he practically leaped out of his seat to answer it. "Stay right there!" he called to me, already halfway out of the dining room. Later, Eric informed me that he was planning to give me part of my Christmas present early. When I said I didn't mind waiting he explained vaguely that "it will be bad for your gift if I wait." "What?" I joked, "Is it going to die or something?!" He just looked at me mysteriously. Soon afterwards, he handed me a small brown packet and inside I found a tiny vial... of live ants he had apparently ordered from an online ant-farm-supply company! (Who knew?!)
Truth be told, I was thrilled! I'd gotten so excited about my ant farm project and put so many hours into planning it and designing it and (most of all) searching for the ants. With everything all ready and waiting for the ants, it was just moments until I had the little insects into their new home. They soon began crunching on cracker-bits we'd thrown into the sand and after not too long they even started digging their tunnels.
No, I didn't get to end the semester with a cool project for my students... but I guess Eric and I have our first pets now!
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