Mouse Hunt

So we had an interesting morning today! We had recently discovered the presence of a mouse in our kitchen so Jeff and I had been working towards a humane way to remove the intruder. Jeff spent some time sealing up the holes in our kitchen cupboards around the pipes, and picked up some humane mouse traps. Last night was our trial run, and low and behold we had one trapped by morning.

Thinking all was well, I was moving through our morning until I spotted a small mouse (very cute) standing on the stairs. The girls were immediately intrigued, and after a discussion about why the mouse was not allowed to live with us, helped me to contain the little guy. I myself am not scared of mice, but I do find the speed at which they run startling, so being my brave self, I hopped onto the couch for a better vantage point, and directed the girls in our plan of attack. We managed to follow the mouse to our front closet, and the girls proceeded to place our peanut butter enhanced traps nearby in order to tempt our new housemate to enter.

Once we realised the mouse was not likely going to take the bait in a quick and orderly fashion, we decided more drastic measures were to be taken. The girls slowly emptied all the coats and shoes from the closet- to offer us a clear view- as I opened the front door and stood at a respectable distance with the broom at the ready. After an impromptu wall of Lego containers to persuade the mouse to choose an easier path,we deemed ourselves ready. With cheers of encouragement, I gently persuaded the mouse into motion with the broom, and after a few tense moments, he choose the path of least resistance and flew out the door. I leapt to close the exit and the girls and I savoured our victory with a phone call to Jeff to brag of our bravery and skill in extermination.

All in all our adventure lasted at least 1/2 an hour, and we felt a well deserved snack was in order (after we replaced the closet's contents).

Unschooling at it's finest- an up close encounter with a mammal, a discussion on its proper habitats, a chance to study it's flight patterns, an introduction to the mechanics of a mouse trap, a lesson in cooperation, and practise in the retelling of an event step by step.