More Nature Study Book #2
Flower Study – Pansy
Inside Preparation Work:
- Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 555-558 (Lesson 152). Pansies are a flower children love and once you point out the “face” in the flower they will never forget this lesson. Highlight information as you read the narrative so that you can acquaint your child with the details of this pretty flower.
- See if you can find some pansies at your local garden center to purchase and bring home for observations this week as part of your nature study time.
- Watch these videos for good information on growing pansies: Learning About Pansies. Planting Pansies.
- Advanced preparation: Read the Wikipedia article on pansies.
Outdoor Hour Time:
- If you were able to purchase some pansies, use your outdoor time to plant them in your garden or in a container. Follow the directions that come with your pansy for proper placement in the garden.
- Observe your pansy using the suggestions in Lesson 152. For younger students you should complete suggestion #1. For older students you can add as many of the other ideas as you have time.
- If you do not have a pansy to observe, spend your outdoor time looking at any spring flowers you have available. See this past challenge for observation ideas: Early Spring Flowers: Tulips, Daffodils, and Crocus.
Follow-Up Activity:
- The pansy is a wonderful flower to watercolor in your nature journal. Get out the paints and let your children give it a try. You can use watercolor paper cut to the right size to fit in your journal or notebook if you don’t want to watercolor directly onto the journal paper.
- Sketch your pansy, write a description of your pansy just like a scientist would do in a journal, and then use your words to make a pansy poem. You can copy your poem to fresh paper and decorate it for your nature journal. Ebook users: Complete the notebook page included in the ebook and/or the coloring page.
- Advanced follow-up: Use the questions from Lesson 152 to summarize your pansy observations (Ebook users: notebook page provided).
Make sure to sketch your flower and label its parts. You may find these two pages helpful: Pansy Flowers and Standard Flower. You can also press a pansy and then include it in your nature journal. You can see my short video tutorial: How To Make a Flower Press for ideas.
