This dogwood tree nature study is a wonderful addition to your spring homeschool. Enjoy time outdoors as a family and learn together.
“But when spring comes, these bud scales change their duties, and by rapid growth become four beautiful white or pinkish bracts which we call the dogwood flower.”
– Handbook of Nature Study
Dogwood Nature Study to Enjoy Indoors
- Read pages 680-682 in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 188). Read through the lesson for suggested observations for your outdoor time.
- View this video for more information: Briar Patch: The Dogwood Tree.
Your Dogwood Nature Study Outdoor Hour
- Enjoy your outdoor time for this challenge looking for blooming trees. Spend a few minutes observing the colors of the blooms and look for any insect visitors. If appropriate, gather a leaf and a blossom to sketch in your nature journal.
- This is the perfect time to begin a year-long tree study. For ideas on how to get started, see this entry: Year-Long Tree Study.
- If you have a dogwood to view up close, use a few of the lesson ideas to make careful observations. Look at the bark, the flowers, and the arrangement of the flowers on the branches.
- Advanced study: Bring along your sketching supplies and sketch or watercolor the bracts and flowers.
Follow Up Dogwood Nature Study Journaling Activities
- Take a few minutes to sketch your tree, the flower, the leaf, the bark, or fruit of your tree. You can use this website’s images as a reference for your drawing: Identifying Dogwood Trees (They call the bracts “petals” but otherwise this is a very good page.) Homeschool Nature Study Members: There is a notebook page and two coloring pages included in the ebook curriculum for your dogwood study. There is also a notebook page for any flowering tree.
- Advanced study: Complete a nature journal entry for your dogwood or other blooming tree. Homeschool Nature Study members: There is a notebook page to complete using a field guide or the internet.
- Advanced study: Pick a tree from your local area and do additional research. Record your findings in your nature journal.
Dogwood Sketching with Chalk Pastels
We had been noticing the dogwood blossoms for a full week as we went back and forth, in and out of the neighborhood and thought it was time to take an up close look. It was time for a dogwood nature study and chalk pastel sketches.
Additional Dogwood Nature Study For Your Homeschool:
- Clare Walker Leslie’s Guide to Sketching Trees –Excellent printable resource
- Find out when Arbor Day is in your state: Arbor Day Foundation
- Other Blooming Tree Ideas: Spring Blooming Trees
Outdoor Hour Challenge by founder, Barbara McCoy. Additional resources by Tricia. Tricia and her family fell in love with the Handbook of Nature Study and the accompanying Outdoor Hour Challenges early in their homeschooling. The simplicity and ease of the weekly outdoor hour challenges brought joy to their homeschool and opened their eyes to the world right out their own back door! She shares the art and heart of homeschooling at You ARE an ARTiST and Your Best Homeschool plus her favorite curricula at The Curriculum Choice.