Outdoor Hour Challenge
Rock Study- Calcite, Marble, and Limestone
Inside Preparation Work:
- Read pages 748-750 (Lesson #210) in the Handbook of Nature Study. Make sure to highlight some of the main points to share with your child.
- If you have samples of limestone, marble, and/or chalk, have those on your nature table during the week of your study.
- Additional information: calcite, limestone, and marble.
- Videos: Simple limestone video and excellent detailed video about calcium carbonate.
- Advanced study: Limestone is sedimentary and marble is metamorphic. Research how they both are formed and create a nature journal page recording your information.
Outdoor Hour Time:
- There are a couple of ways of handling this nature study topic. The first is to research ahead of time a place in your local area that has limestone or marble to look at in its natural state. The second is to have on hand some samples of these rocks for your family to observe up close.
- Go on a rock hunt with your kids! Take your outdoor time this week and go exploring for rocks. Use the Rock Activity page in this ebook for additional observations.
- There are many places in the United States that have limestone caves. Plan a trip to visit one in the near future. Mammoth Cave National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park both feature limestone caves!
- Are there buildings in your town built of limestone? This may be an interesting way to learn about the usefulness of limestone.
Follow-Up Activity:
- Follow up your outdoor time with a simple nature journal page where you write a detailed description of a rock. This can be any rock your child finds during their nature walk.
- Advanced study: Research limestone caves, stalactites, stalagmites, and sink holes. (This is question #6 in the lesson.)
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.
