Outdoor Hour Challenge
Bird Study – Chickens
“The purpose of all these lessons on the hen are: (a) To induce the child to make continued and sympathetic observations on the habits of the domestic birds. (b) To cause him involuntarily to compare the domestic with the wild birds. (c)To induce him to think for himself how the shape of the body, wings, head, beak, feet, legs, and feathers are adapted in each species to protect the bird and assist it in getting its living.” Handbook of Nature Study
Inside Preparation Work:
- Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 27-31, 38, 40-42, and 47-50 (Lessons 1, 4, 6, and 8). Create a list of suggested observations from each lesson. There is a lot of information in these lessons on the chicken so pick the most interesting or relevant topics to cover one at a time with your children if needed.
- Youtube videos: Breeds of Chickens and Backyard Chickens (I found these one very peaceful to watch).
- Advanced study: Plan on creating a comparison of the chicken and the duck using Lessons 5 and 6 in the Handbook of Nature Study. Read through pages 39-42 and use the suggestions in the lessons to observe the differences and similarities of the chicken and the duck. There is a notebook page in the ebook to record some of your results.
Outdoor Hour Time:
- Use your outdoor time this week to observe a chicken up close if possible. Make sure to note the main parts of each lesson you prepared from the Handbook of Nature Study.
- Basic Observations Ideas:
Observe the feather’s three parts as illustrated in the Handbook.
Make sure to look closely at the chicken’s eyes.
Look for the scales on the legs and feet.
Note the ways a chicken uses its beak.
Follow-Up Activity:
- Create a nature journal page or two for the chicken and include any information you found interesting, your observations if possible, and a sketch of the hen.
- If you collected some chicken feathers, look at them closely using a microscope. Sketch the three parts of the feather in your nature journal.
- Advanced study: Create a nature journal entry that explains and illustrates how a hen oils her feathers.
If you want to purchase the Autumn Nature Study 2015 ebook so you can follow along with all the notebooking pages, coloring pages, and subject images, you can join the Ultimate or Journey Membership Levels. See the Join Us page for complete information. Also, you can view the Autumn Nature Study 2015 announcement page for more details.
