Category: Handbook of Nature Study

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Wednesday Flower Study #4 Pretty Pink Hearts

“The flowers of the bleeding heart are beautiful jewel-like pendants arranged along the stem according to their age; the mature flower, ready to shed its petals, is near the main stem, while the tiny unopened bud is hung at the very tip where new buds are constantly being formed during a long season of bloom.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 559

We chose the bleeding heart this week to take a closer look at during our afternoon outdoor time. We have one side of our house that is pretty much left in a wild state and it is full of bleeding hearts that bloom in the spring time. The mower comes close to this area but I have given strict orders that this particular stretch of the yard be left alone to do as it wishes.

We brought inside a vase full of flowers to examine up close just as the book suggested. Do you know what? We have never cut any of these flowers to bring indoors before this study. The other amazing thing is that we didn’t even know that they had a fragrance until we had the vase on the table and we were observing the flowers parts.

Once we pulled the petals back to look inside, the fragrance was almost overwhelmingly sweet….too sweet. My daughter thought they smelled like honey and I think that is a pretty accurate comparison.

The Handbook of Nature Study has a great explanation of the way this flower works and how the bees pollinate it by pushing apart the spoon-bowl shaped outer petals, pushing against the hinge works, then probing the nectar pitcher inside.

Here is the flower with the outer petals removed, exposing the inner petals and the heart shaped base of the stamen.

We would love to watch a bee gathering nectar so the next warm day we will be out and trying to catch that process happening.

Now you can pick your flower and join the Wednesday Flower Study. Choose a flower from your garden and look it up in the Handbook of Nature Study. Here is more information on how to get started. Join in during any week you have time. Wednesday Flower Study
Here is my original list and the flowers we are going to cover in our study.

Flowers Blooming Already or That We Can Study Right Now
Violet (page 476) Finished 3/18/09. Here is a LINK.
Buttercup (page 516)
Tulip (page 552) Finished 4/1/09. Here is a LINK.
California Poppy (page 531) Finished 4/8/09. Here is a LINK.
Petunias (page 581)
Mullein (page 537)
Dandelion (page 531) Finished 3/25/09. Here is a LINK.

Flowers that Will Study in Addition to Those Above
Bleeding Heart (page 558) Finished 4/15/09.
Bachelor’s Buttons (page 578)
Sweet Peas (page 588)
Queen Anne’s Lace (page 542)

We will be moving on to petunias next week. We have some really nice white and pink ones to study up close and to record in our nature journals.

https://naturestudyhomeschool.com/2009/02/announcing-outdoor-hour-challenge-ebook.html

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Tulips in the Garden: Wednesday Flower Study #3=Fresh Faces

Do you remember last fall when I was busy planting bulbs and sharing the process? I am now reaping the benefits of our labor….in the form of gorgeous tulips.

Breathtaking flowers that are amazing in color and shape. It makes me want to plant more!

We took the opportunity to do a little nature study using the Handbook of Nature Study.

“There are a great many varieties of tulips, and their brilliant colors make our gardens gorgeous in early spring….Water-coloring drawings may be used as helps in studying the tulip. The red varieties are best for beginning the study, and then follow with the other colors; note differences.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 553 and 555

We looked at all the parts of the tulip and here is a good shot of the pollen on the inside of the petals. We also looked at tulips just opening and noted the shapes. We looked at the sepals and petals, the buds, and the open flower. We are going to wait until the petals fall off and then observe the seed pod. The HNS suggests dissecting the seed pod and making observations then.

We sketched and painted in our nature journals to remember our first bloom of tulips in this part of the garden. Previously, someone asked me about painting directly into the journal and it has never been a problem for us. We just leave the page open for a little while and it dries very nicely. I do not paint on back to back sides though.

So my best advice is to paint only on one side and let it sit long enough to dry.

One last tulip photo….

Creamy, dreamy white tulip.


Lurking in our garden at all times is the fearless Cocoa. This is her “Ferdinand the Bull” imitation….resting among the chickweed and the alyssum. Photo taken by my middle son….thanks Mr. A.

So that concludes our tulip study for this week. We now have three flowers completed and are on track to study poppies next week.

Now it is your turn. Pick a flower from the Handbook of Nature Study or from your garden and make your own flower study. You do not need to pick tulips….pick something you have in your area. Here is the first entry in this series to explain more about Wednesday Flower Study day.

https://naturestudyhomeschool.com/2009/07/new-outdoor-hour-challenge-ebook-garden_27.html

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Wednesday Flower Study #2-What Are You Going to Study This Week?

This week we studied the dandelion. This cheerful flower/weed is found all over our yard and our neighbor has a whole crop of dandelions for us to study.

Here are some interesting facts we found out about the dandelion.

*In the sunflower family-No wonder I think they are happy little flowers.
*Grows from 2″ to 20″ tall.
*It has a hollow stalk.
*Common name comes from “dent de lion” which is French for “lion’s tooth”, referring to the teeth on the leaves.
*The flowers open and close.

You must read the introductory pages to the dandelion study starting on page 531 of the Handbook of Nature Study. Anna Botsford Comstock writes in such a narrative style that you will enjoy reading the information and I am sure you will remember much of it to share with your children.

“Professor Baily once said that dandelions in his lawn were a great trouble to him until he learned to love them, and then the sight of them gave him keenest pleasure.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 531

I couldn’t agree more. I always hate it when my neighbors use the weed eater to remove the thousands of dandelions from their property. I would much rather look at the cheerful yellow flowers than a bare piece of ground.

The Handbook of Nature Study has a great list of activities in the lesson for the dandelion.

Here are a few that we complete:
3. Sketch or describe a dandelion leaf.
4. Take a blossom not yet open. Note the bracts that cover the unopened flower head.
7. Note what hour the dandelions on the lawn close and at what hour they open on pleasant days.

We were able to work on all three of these ideas in our study today.


Here are the bracts covering the petals before the bloom opens.


Really short dandelion that practically is blooming flat on the ground…interesting how some are tall and some are not.


You can really see the “lion’s teeth” in this photo. 🙂

Another garden flower/weed is now recorded in our nature journals.

I think next week we will work on the tulips in our yard that are just starting to really bloom.

If you would like to join us, see the instructions in this entry: Wednesday Flower Study.

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Violets are Blue? How about Purple?

We began our study by reading the pages in the Handbook of Nature Study. Wow! If you are the least bit interested in violets and you get the chance, you must read the information in the Handbook of Nature Study, pages 476-479. This section is jam-packed with information about violets but also about more general ideas for a nature portfolio (we would call it a nature journal).

“To make this work of the greatest use and interest, each pupil should make a portfolio of the violets of the locality. This may be in the form of pressed and mounted specimens, or of water-color drawings. In either case, the leaf, leafstalk, flower, flower stalk, and rootstock should be shown, and each blossom should be neatly labeled with name, locality, and date. From the nature-study standpoint, a portfolio of drawings is the more desirable, since from making the drawings the pupils become more observant of the differences in structure and color which distinguish the species. Such a portfolio may be a beautiful object…..Each drawing may be followed by a page containing notes by the pupil and some appropriate quotation from botany, poetry, or other literature.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 478


The variety of violets that grow in our yard is extremely fragrant. It is hard to imagine that such a sweet, strong smell comes from such a delicate little bloom.


Our violets grow in a shady, moist area of our yard, mostly around the edges of our deck. They spread easily to other shady areas as well and it is always a joy to see them sprout up in new places.

We carefully observed whether our violets had the leaf stalks come directly from the underground rootstocks or if they came from a common stem as suggested in the Handbook. We observed that the leaves were smooth and glossy. We looked at the sepals and petals.

We looked into the opening that leads to the nectar-spur. We found the tiny undevelped flowers that will produce seeds down near the rootstalk that are meant for self-pollination. So many things we would have never thought to look for all on our own.

As I suspected, I was the only one who wanted to actually watercolor in their nature journal. I allow the boys the freedom to choose how to follow up their nature study.


We pressed a leaf and a flower for my son’s nature journal binder.


I love working with watercolor pencils….such an easy way to get a great effect in your nature journal.

It felt so good to be out in the garden this morning. The sun was warm and it was great to spend time with the boys. Our hands got a little dirty in the soil and that is oh, so good after a long winter. I look forward to seeing what you come up with for your Wednesday Flower Study.

https://naturestudyhomeschool.com/2008/05/green-hour-challenge-13-flower-parts.html

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Outdoor Hour Challenge #50 Mammals-Skunk and Badger

Outdoor Hour Challenge
#50 Skunk and Badger

This week there are some great videos to share with your children to capture their interest.

PBS Nature Skunk
This video series is excellent and we learned more than we ever wanted to know about skunks. You must watch this for yourself even if you don’t watch it with your children.

Here is a video about badgers.

Wow! Those critters can dig!

1. Read pages 245-247 in the Handbook of Nature Study.
Resources for the skunk
Resource for badger

2. Supplemental reading in The Burgess Animal Book for Children: Read Stories 22-23. Use the illustrations on pages 135 and 110 to prompt a narration your child’s narration if needed.


3. This week during your 10-15 minutes of outdoor time, keeping an eye out for signs of mammals as you walk. In our area we many times will smell a skunk but not see him. If you have the opportunity over the next few weeks, point out the fragrance of a skunk to your children.

  • Another idea this week is to carry a small pouch or bag to collect any nature items you find while you are outdoors.
  • Start or add to a nature collection. (see challenge 6)
  • Did you find any animal tracks this week? Take photos or make a mental note of how they looked for further research.

4. After your walk, take a few minutes to discuss anything your child found interesting during their outdoor time. If they collected items in a bag, pull those objects out and take a closer look with your magnifying lens. Use a Mammal notebook page to record what you learned about skunks and badgers this week. Complete the Seasonal Weather Study notebook page and file it in with your autumn observations. You could talk about the differences between what you observed in autumn and those things you recorded this time. How is the scene you drew this week different from the autumn scene? How are the temperatures different? Is there a difference in the number of hours of daylight?

Additional resources for this challenge:

ns_ultimate

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Outdoor Hour Challenge #45 Mammals: Squirrels


Here comes this week’s challenge. I happen to have a squirrel that visits my backyard and from time to time he gives us a little show. You can be sure we will be doing some direct observation this week. We also noticed some signs of squirrels on our last Winter Wednesday walk so we will be looking up some information about that too.
Outdoor Hour Challenge
#45 Squirrels
(You may also like to use the Autumn Series Challenge for Squirrels for additional information.) 


1. Read pages 233-237 in the Handbook of Nature Study. Use your highlighter to mark the sections with facts you can share with your children. There are plenty of observation suggestions in Lesson 57 on pages 236 and 237. Keep these ideas in mind as you take your nature walk this week.

“The squirrel’s legs are short because he is essentially a climber rather than a runner; the hips are very strong, which insures his power as a jumper, and his leaps are truly remarkable.”

“The squirrel has two pairs of gnawing teeth which are very long and strong, as in all rodents, and he needs to keep busy gnawing hard things with them, or they will grow so long that he cannot use them at all and will starve to death.”

“During the winter, the red squirrel does not remain at home except in the coldest weather, when he lies cozily with his tail wrapped around him like a fur neck-piece to keep him warm.”
Handbook of Nature Study, pages 234 and 235

Here is an additional fact sheet on squirrels:
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/eastern-gray-squirrel/#eastern-gray-squirrel-closeup.jpg

2. Supplemental reading in The Burgess Animal Book for Children: Read Stories 4-6. Take a few minutes after reading each story to have your child narrate to you some interesting points from the story. Use the illustrations on pages 30, 36, and 41 of the book to get the narration going if they are having trouble getting started.

3. Spend 10-15 minutes outdoors on a nature walk. As you walk, discuss where you might find a squirrel in your neighborhood. Remind your child where a squirrel lives and what it eats. If you know you have a squirrel in your yard or at your local park, take along some nuts or seeds to put out and observe the squirrel eating. Never feed a squirrel by hand. Don’t worry if you cannot observe a squirrel this week. Enjoy your outdoor time and observe any mammals that you come into contact with during your walk.

4. For your nature journal you can write out your observations from your squirrel watching. Use the observation suggestions for ideas to include in your entry: describe the color of the fur, how the eyes are placed, what do the paws look like, how does the squirrel climb up and down a tree, the sound the squirrel makes as he expresses himself, show the tracks that the squirrel makes in the snow. If you did not observe a squirrel, you can use any of the additional resources to include in your nature journal this week.

Would you like a printable notebook page to use along with your squirrel nature study?

Squirrel or Rodent Nature Study

Rodent+Notebook+Page+image.jpg

Note this is an Amazon affiliate link to a product that I have used and loved for many,many years.

 

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Outdoor Hour Challenge #43 Molds, Puffballs, and Morels

As we finish up our mini focus on flowerless plants, I need to say that I have personally learned more than I ever anticipated. I hope that you have learned something too or that you are better prepared to study flowerless plants as you will eventually come into contact with them in the near future. At the very least, I hope that you have gained confidence in knowing a few facts, gleaned from the Handbook of Nature Study.

Edit to Add: Here is a link to another post with additional ideas to get you started with growing molds: Additional Help with Challenge 43 Outdoor Hour Challenge #43 Molds, Puffballs, and Morels

1. Read pages 727-729 in the Handbook of Nature Study. Included in the reading are instructions for growing your own mold on bread so you will have some mold of your own to observe. I highly recommend this activity and your children will be amazed at the results. Although some might find mold repulsive, try to keep a positive outlook as you grow and then observe your very own mold.

2. Read pages 720-725 in the Handbook of Nature Study and learn about puffballs and bracket fungi. Read pages 726-727 in the Handbook of Nature Study about Morels. You can underline and highlight any sections you find in these pages that you find interesting. File away the facts until you come across some of these interesting subjects during your nature study.

3. Do your best to spend 10-15 minutes outdoors this week with your children. View this time as the opportunity to enjoy whatever you have available for nature study this week. If you find some mushrooms, ferns, moss, lichen, mold, bracket fungus, morels, or puffballs, you are equipped to observe these subjects more closely. If you have snow or ice to deal with, why not review challenge #39 on water forms and spend a few minutes talking about the water cycle?

4. After your outdoor time, spend a few minutes reviewing your outdoor experience. This step will help you identify any additional interests your children have so you can answer any questions or help identify any objects they observed outdoors. Are they curious about clouds or a bird they saw? Did you find any flowerless plants at all during your outdoor time? Use this time to follow up with the Handbook of Nature Study and don’t forget that you can look things up in the index.

5. Give an opportunity for a nature journal entry or provide a notebook page to complete together. Remember that a nature journal should be the child’s expression of something they found interesting during their outdoor time. You are helping them make a memory.

https://naturestudyhomeschool.com/2009/02/announcing-outdoor-hour-challenge-ebook.html

Ultimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

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Outdoor Hour Challenge #42 Moss and Lichen

Outdoor Hour Challenge #42
Flowerless Plants-Moss and Lichens

Inside Preparation:
Read about mosses on pages 709-714 of the Handbook of Nature Study. The information on mosses is limited in the book so I found a link about moss for you to preview and then share if you would like with your children: Life Cycle of Moss (animated and narrated- a real gem!)

There also is limited information in the Handbook of Nature Study on lichen which I think we should study along with moss. I actually like the information on Wikipedia, especially the photo gallery at the end of the article.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichen (As always preview any material you wish to share with your children.)

Or you can try these links for a simple, child-friendly explanation and some photos:

Use the descriptions and photos on pages 712 and 713of the Handbook of Nature Study to see if you recognize any mosses that you have locally. Make sure to pay attention to the diagram on page 710 that labels the different parts of the hair-cap moss so when you are outdoors you can look for the spore capsules and stalks.

I found this printable pdf with lots of specific lichen types to be helpful.

Crustose Lichen (crusty)

Foliose Lichen (leafy)

Fruticose Lichen (shrubby)

Outdoor Hour Time:

  • Find 15 minutes to take a walk outdoors and look for some mosses or lichens. Mosses are found in all habitats and if you look hard enough you might be surprised where you find moss growing. Look in sidewalk cracks, along the edges of buildings, and on stones in the garden. Lichen will be found on tree trunks or branches or on rock faces.
  • Bring a hand lens along with you on your walk and use it to examine any moss or lichen you find. See if you can find the spore capsules and the places where the spores sift out. Children will want to touch the moss to observe how soft it feels. If possible, use a few minutes to compare samples of mosses and lichens.
  • If you don’t find any moss or lichen, use your observation skills to find something new to look at during your fifteen minutes of the Outdoor Hour.

Follow-Up Time:

  • If you are able, try sketching any moss or lichens that you find during this challenge while you are in the field. If you are limited in your time outdoors due to weather conditions, decide if you can bring a small amount of moss or lichen indoors to put on your nature table or in a terrarium. Use this sample and a hand lens to draw a sketch into your nature journal. Make sure to observe how it feels and smells as well as how it looks and record these thoughts in your nature journal as well.
  • If you were not able to find any moss or lichen for this challenge, keep your eyes open as the seasons progress and perhaps you will find some moss to draw in the future. If your child is very young, skip the nature journal this week and have a discussion about what you saw during your Outdoor Hour time.
  • Update your list of mushrooms and ferns if you discovered any new kinds during this challenge. Start a list of mosses and lichens if you wish. You can document each item with a photo for later identification if necessary.

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Ultimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

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Outdoor Hour Challenge #41 Flowerless Plants Overview

Outdoor Hour Challenge #41
Flowerless plants-General Overview

This week you need to familiarize yourself with the section in the Handbook of Nature Study that discusses flowerless plants. Turn to the table of contents and in Part III, go to the list of flowerless plants and skim down the list of topics covered. The suggested readings for this challenge will be in the following categories:
Ferns-read the overview on page 693 and then turn to page 695 to see the parts of a fern labeled. Pages 704 and 705 show photos of several kinds of ferns.
Mushrooms and Other Fungi-read the overview starting on page 714 and continuing to page 719. Page 719 shows the parts of a mushroom with labels.

I found a video to watch to prepare you for your study of mushrooms. This video is very well done and will help your children understand how a mushroom grows.

The ideal study of ferns, mushrooms, and fungi would be to experience them outdoors in their natural habitat. Use your 15 to 20 minutes of outdoor time this week to enjoy a search for a fern or some kind of mushroom. Your particular area may not have these subjects readily at hand but let your friends, family, and neighbors know that you are studying ferns and mushrooms and with more pairs of eyes looking you may be able to find something to study up close. Enjoy your time outdoors whether you can find this week’s subject or not. Remember to look at the sky and comment on the weather. Take time to notice your tree from your year long tree study. Collect a few items to take inside to sketch into your nature journal. Just because the topic of this challenge is flowerless plants, you do not have to limit yourself to that narrow focus during your 15 to 20 minutes of outdoor time.

Spend a few minutes once inside to discuss your experiences you had on your nature walk. Are there questions that need to be answered or items that need to be identified? Make a note of any topics that come up that you can research further in the Handbook of Nature Study or at your local library.

Make an opportunity for a nature journal entry. Start a list of flowerless plants in your nature journal. The diagrams on pages 695 and 719 could be sketched into the nature journal as well.

“Since mushrooms are especially good subjects for watercolor and pencil studies, it would add much to the interest of the work if each pupil, or the school as a whole, should make a portfolio of sketches of all the species found. With each drawing there should be made on a supplementary sheet a spore print of the species.”

Handbook of Nature Study, page 718
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Outdoor Hour Challenge #40 Seasonal Weather Study

Autumn weather nature study @handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com
Last week we read through a large section of the Handbook of Nature Study on water forms and hopefully everyone was able to go outside and observe the weather conditions in your particular area of the world. 

We went outside on several days to try to catch some clouds and it just didn’t happen. I am going to save our official entry for last week’s challenge until we can draw some clouds in our journals.

This week we will start a year long, four season weather observation study. This challenge will be to make a record of some sort of your record during the current season….autumn. I have put together a simple weather study notebook page if you want to use it for your records or you can simply record the information in your a nature journal.

Outdoor Hour Challenge #40
Weather Challenge #2
Seasonal Weather Observation-Autumn

1. Read pages 790-791, sections on Thermometer Scales in Use and Distribution of the Temperature and Pressure, in the Handbook of Nature Study. Read the sections with a view to finding a few facts to share with your children this week about what influences the temperature and the atmosphere around us.

“The heat received on the earth from the sun is the controlling factor in all weather conditions.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 791

2. Pick a day this week to spend 15-20 minutes outdoors observing the weather and recording the conditions using the My Seasonal Weather Notebook Page. We will be completing a weather study challenge during each season in the coming year and the more detailed you get in your observations, the easier it will be to compare the weather from season to season.

My Seasonal Weather Notebook Page

3. To follow up your outdoor time, spend a few minutes discussing what you experienced with your children. Find out if they have any questions about the weather that you can research together this week. The Handbook of Nature Study on pages 812-814 lists numerous specific weather related activities that will help demonstrate weather concepts for your children. Please complete any of the activities that interest your family and that you have time to complete.

4. For your nature journal this week, fill out the My Seasonal Weather Notebook Page. If you prefer to record you observations into your nature journal and not on a notebook page, look to the sample blank chart on page 791 of the Handbook of Nature Study for a basic record keeping idea.

 

weather lapbook
You may also be interested in purchasing a complete weather lapbook from my daughter over at Hearts and Trees. The lapbook includes: a winter nature journal, kinds of clouds, moon log, weather words, wind scale, weather record, weather forecasting, and space for your own weather poem. All for $2.95.