No, not THAT Romeo and Juliet! I'm talking about our parakeets. We've had them for several years and they've become as much a part of our family as a pair of birds possibly can. Often they can be a distraction to our homeschool. If you've ever spent much time around parakeets, you know that they can be rather "chatty".

Romeo is the green one and Juliet is the yellow one.

For the most part though, they have been an asset to our homeschool. Even if it's only comic relief! They can be quite the clowns!

Fashionista is learning the responsibility of caring for something/someone who is helpless to care for themselves. It's her daily chore to make sure that Romeo and Juliet have food and fresh water. It's also her weekly duty to make sure that they have a poop free cage even though I can't bear to keep them cooped up in it all the time. There have been many times when I've had to step in and make sure that my 'babies' have adequate food when Fashionista has forgotten. Then Fashionista has to face the consequences of her forgetfulness.

When we did a science study on 'flying creatures' it was wonderful to have our birds right here to watch. We learned about the nesting habits of different kinds of birds, the make up of their feathers, the physics behind how they are able to fly, migration patterns, and tons of other cool things.

I've often toyed with the idea of letting Romeo and Juliet mate and reproduce. From what I understand, the only reason they haven't yet, is because they don't have a 'nest' for the babies. If I were to provide one, it's possible that they would decide to make babies. I've always shied away from doing this for fear that due to my ignorance the babies might not make it. We could make it a homeschool project and all of us learn about how to care for baby parakeets. We could also take turns feeding them round the clock. I can see tons of lessons in this project! Hmmm, something to ponder!