After Sunday’s snow, it is hard to believe we are at the first day of spring for 2012. We have had a crazy weather year but it is going to be fun to record our spring thoughts today..perhaps even taking a long walk this afternoon.
Here is a printable notebook page to inspire some springtime nature study or at least some looking out the window time today on this first day of spring.
I would love to hear how you incorporate a little nature study or outdoor time into your first day of spring. Leave me a comment or send me a blog link!
We woke to snow this morning….the first real snow we have had this winter. What a delight to get out and feel the quiet moments before the world really comes alive on a snowy morning. The snow was falling so softly….like being in a snow globe.
The snow didn’t last long with afternoon showers washing it away but for the first few moments of the morning it is picture perfect.
Look at these little beauties! What a great way to showcase the purple of the grape hyacinths. The snow didn’t completely cover the blooms and their peeking little faces promise us that it really is spring…even with the snow.
The daffodils are waiting to burst out in bloom after the snow melts and the sun returns. I am very ready for it to be daffodil time and then the slide right into summer. Yes, I am a summer girl and I am anxious for the long hot garden days of summer.
For now, I will be content to have a snow day…steaming cup of coffee in my hand and fresh baked cookies on my plate.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s special First Day of Spring post…and a fun printable for your family.
“The Field Lesson. When planning a field lesson, three points should be kept in mind:
First. The aim, to bring the children into sympathy or in touch with nature, through the study of that part of nature in which they have been interested.
Second. The conditions out of doors, where the children are at home, where they must have greater freedom than in the schoolroom, and where it is more difficult to keep them at definite work, and to hold their attention.
Third. The necessity of giving each child something definite to find out for himself, and of interesting the children so that each will try to find out the most and have the greatest number of discoveries to tell.” Nature Study and The Child, Charles B. Scott, 1900.
I am finding that for my high school aged son there needs to be a different sort of follow-up to our observations…more than just a nature journal. He is using his past experiences with nature study and making some connections. This has led me to going back to the internet to research more closely how nature study develops into upper level science. I am finding it fascinating. I am excited to share my findings and show how I am implementing the ideas learned with my son as we go along (see the printable below).
“But true science work does not stop with mere seeing, hearing, or feeling: it not only furnishes a mental picture as a basis for reasoning, but it includes an interpretation of what has been received through the senses.”
Nature Study for the Common Schools, Wilbur Samuel Jackman, 1891
This is the part of nature study I find most meaningful for my son. When he can take something he already knows and build on it with new information, he develops an interest. If I am merely telling him a fact, no matter how interesting the fact is, he is not as impressed. He needs to find the answers to his questions.
“Adults should realize that the most valuable thing children can learn is what they discover themselves about the world they live in.” Charlotte Mason, volume 1 page 61
My research found that this pattern – observation, reasoning, expression – is nothing new or unique to nature study. This pattern is the process that all science is built upon. Watching my son work through the More Nature Study ebook challenges has brought this into focus for me. I wrote the challenges to include advanced study and just happened to present it in this three step pattern.
If you haven’t yet downloaded and read my Nature Study-Three Steps To A Better Experience, I invite you to now. It outlines in simple form how to build a lifetime habit of meaningful nature study.
What a splendid time to be out in the garden! Our neighborhood is coming alive with spring blossoms and the birds are flocking to our feeders in record numbers. We have an abundance of house finches this year and they vary in color from light pink to purple to almost orange. Amazing display of creation!
The early spring bulbs are all up and many are blooming. The daffodils and the grape hyacinth are blazing with color. The forsythia is starting to blossom and the lavender has new flowers for our bees to buzz in. The tulips and iris are all up but just showing lots of green leaves so far.
We arranged dozens of flowers in the house and our kitchen table is so cheerful and happy. I got out all my vases and dusted them off for the season. I seem to collect pretty vases and I love it even more when they don’t match exactly. Even my hubby had a smile on his face when he spied the colorful flowers on the table.
So our pansy study consisted mostly of admiring them and recreating them in artwork since we have studied them closely in the past. Mr. B and I had pansy art time on a rainy afternoon. There really is no better way to make yourself examine a subject better than to apply your attention to an art project. Slowing down to discover the shapes, form, and patterns makes a big impression.
Mr. B always chooses to work with markers if given the choice but I am still working on feeling comfortable with acrylics. I think these pansy creations are going to be framed and hung in my bathroom vanity area. I have a small collection of floral artwork done by children there already so it will be a perfect fit.
I played around with the acrylics and a small canvas panel I had from Michaels. I tried not to take myself too seriously and just have fun. Art therapy….even for moms.
So now we are officially finished with the More Nature Study Book 2 – Winter 2012 challenges and we will be going over a few of the suggested Charlotte Mason Exam Questions that are included in the ebook. The thing about Charlotte Mason style questions is that they ask the child to tell back in some way what they know about a topic and never to find out what they don’t know. I do not grade these assignments and look at them as a way for Mr. B to review what we learned and enjoy a little more time together discussing things that are fresh in our minds. I recommend you give it a try if you have the More Nature Study ebook and see how it goes.
Don’t forget to send me your Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival entries directly since the carnival website is not working.
harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com
As a reminder, we will be starting the new More Nature Study Book 3 – Spring Splendor series on March 23, 2012. Just in time for the first days of spring! I look forward to another season of nature study with all of you.
Remember back to when we started the Winter Wonder series of challenges? Your child filled out the questionnaire and came up with some things they were interested in learning about during this season of nature study. Pull that notebook page out and see if you have been able to find answers to your child’s questions. (Note: notebook page is in the ebook.)
Also, see if you were able to complete the three winter activities yet. If not, make some plans or add it to your Winter 2013 list. Nature study is something you can build on from year to year or maybe you can complete the activity in an up-coming season.
How did we do as a family?
We were able to find answers to all three questions and completed two of the three activities Mr. B asked to do during the winter season. One of the things he wanted to do was to hike to the river and we did that five times since we had such wonderfully mild weather during our winter. The best part of it was that we actually discovered two new hiking trails within ten minutes of our house so we are going to have a whole year of exploring as we watch the seasons change along these unfamiliar pathways. Just the thing to spark new discoveries and new subjects for nature study!
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.
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.
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.
I am going to combine two of the Outdoor Hour Challenge nature studies from the More Nature Study Book 2 series since we have been working on them over the last few weeks a little at a time. The topics have provided plenty to talk about during our walks and rambles around the neighborhood.
The compass directions were easy to determine in our yard after years of observation of sunrises and sunsets. We decided to test our sense of direction as we walked our regular trails and found a map of our local area to use as a starting point.
I will readily admit that I have a terrible sense of direction and live in a family of men who seem to never lose their way. This was a good exercise for me in particular. We would walk to a certain point and then try to determine north and south. We had the small map of the area in our pocket and we would check the actual direction after we made our guesses. I am happy to report that I have gained some skill in determining direction. 🙂
The moon has also been a subject of discussion and observation since it has been visible in the afternoons as well as in the evenings. Tonight it is HUGE in the twilight sky and we even saw Jupiter and Venus while we out there looking (opposite parts of the sky). You can read about them here: This Week’s Sky at a Glance.
Mr. B and I decided on our choice of names for the March full moon (instead of the official Full Worm Moon).
Radiant Moon (Mr. B’s choice)
Manzanita Moon (my choice)
The manzanita trees are bursting out in bloom over the last week so I picked that as the full moon name. The blossoms are so delicate and pick and almost look like ornaments that someone has strung on the branches.
Here is a photo from a previous year with a close-up of the delicate pink blossoms.
Do you want to know something? Even though it pains me sometimes to have a challenge to complete each week….keeping myself accountable on the blog…..I realize that if we didn’t have a focus of some sort we would miss out on some really wonderful and insightful discussions and time outdoors together. Even when we just complete the preparation and then the outdoor time with no real follow-up we are gaining something extra from our Outdoor Hour. If nothing else, it gives me an activity to enjoy alongside my teenage son.
We have one more challenge to go in the More Nature Study Book 2 series – Pansies! I am really looking forward to this last study of the season and I am planning on a watercolor project for me and hopefully Mr. B will join me.
I almost forgot to mention that we acquired some rare earth magnets for a project my husband is working on in the shop. We highly recommend these for advanced magnet work and for some awesome fun too. The men are trying to make a magnetic motor…a motor that runs continuously on magnetic power. It keeps them out of trouble. 🙂
Spring is upon us and now is the time to get outdoors with our families and really observe the wonders of nature all around our neighborhoods. Whether you make this series of challenges a part of your homeschooling week or you are a family who will complete these challenges on the weekends, the simple nature study ideas you find in this ebook will give you the tools to get started. We are going to have fun exploring our neighborhoods for flowering trees, press flowers for our nature journals, learn about a garden critter, and so much more together with this season of nature study.
The sample linked below lists the topics covered in this new series but don’t be discouraged if you look at the list and think you don’t have that particular subject close at hand. There are suggested adaptations that will allow any family to complete this series of nature study activities in your own backyard or neighborhood.
The More Nature Study Book #3 challenges were written for families with children of all ages.You can keep it simple and enjoy your outdoor time with your little ones using the basic challenge. If you have older children or find your child is particularly interested in a certain topic, there are ways to increase the depth of each challenge by adding in additional notebook pages or further research using ideas and suggestions in the ebook. Outdoor Hour Challenge: More Nature Study Ebook #3 Spring 2012 Spring Splendor
17 additional Upper Level notebook pages for advanced or experienced students
10 Charlotte Mason style exam questions
Complete list of supplies needed (nothing fancy or expensive)
Detailed instructions for each challenge, including links (including YouTube videos) and printables
Nature journal suggestions and examples
All the challenges will coordinate with the March through May Outdoor Hour Challenge Newsletters
Alternate ideas to adapt the challenges to your local area
74 pages
This is a huge library of thirty spring themed nature study ideas with fifty notebook pages! Also, there are spring themed art and music appreciation ideas to complement your nature study. Topics include:
Spring Weather (2) , Spring Tree (buds, catkins, and blossoms), Robin, Buttercups and Poppies, Ferns, Dogwood, Goats, Vines (Sweet peas, dodder, hedge bindweed), Garden snails, Iris, Spring Bird, Dandelions, Cattails, Apple Tree, Cats, Snakes, Earthworm, Ants, Seeds, Flower Parts, Pressing Flowers, Drawing Flowers, Leaf Parts, Pollen, Weeds, Sunflowers.
See the Spring Nature Study tab on my blog for additional specifics for each ebook and a sample.
Our quartz study has stretched on for weeks. We have had numerous rock collecting hikes and each time we come home we develop new questions to be answered. The supply of quartz in our area is seemingly endless. Once your eye starts to look for it…you see it everywhere.
Our family lives in the gold country of California. The gold rush started practically in our backyard. We drive by the American River every day…as the crow flies it is about 3 miles from our house. This area is full of old gold mines and many people still today make a living by mining and panning for gold (or using a sluice box). Where there is gold, there is quartz.
We collected milky quartz for the most part at the river, along with a variety of other “pretty” rocks. I have a special place for pretty rocks in my heart. It may be the hunting for them or the spotting of a particularly nice rock that keeps me coming back for more.
Mr. A shares my love of rocks and we enjoyed an afternoon this week at the river with the Kona dog. Kona likes sticks more than rocks so we occupied her with fetching sticks while we looked for something interesting along the rocky shore.
The sound of rushing water always seems to welcome a good thoughtful sit..even on an uncomfortable rock. This day we sat and enjoyed the warmth of the sun after a freezing morning. Our jackets were slipped off on the hike back to the car which was nice.
At home we started off with a magnifying lens, looking carefully at the surface of each rock. This can quite addictive once you get started and there really is a lot to see.
We noticed a colorful collection of sand on the surface of one rock and we had the bright idea to place it on a slide and look at it under the microscope.
We are still not sure if the shiny gold is actually gold or pyrite….probably pyrite flakes.
We placed a little sand on a microscope slide…our rocks all had small amounts clinging to the nooks and crannies.
Now this is where the study becomes even more interesting! We spent the next hour or so taking turns finding things on the slides to share with each other. It was like discovering a new dimension.
We now have a larger collection of quartz and pretty rocks, a growing understanding of what “sand” is after looking at it under the microscope, and an appreciation that we don’t know everything about everything. 🙂
Amazing world down there…who would have thought?
It is not too late to do your own study of quartz using the Outdoor Hour Challenge. You may be as amazed as we were.
After the children have spent fifteen or twenty minutes at work in the field, it may be well to gather them together there, ascertain what they have discovered…The general review of what they have learned can, however, be conducted much better in the schoolroom than out of doors…..Encourage them to tell all they can about what they have seen, with as few questions as possible…..After the oral review, what has been learned in the field lesson can be fixed by a blackboard reading lesson. The statements should be obtained from the children, and should embody the important facts or thoughts gained out of doors This will not only review and clinch what the children have learned out of doors, but will give them practice in expressing their ideas clearly and exactly, and in relating ideas, or putting their statements in sequence or order. Nature Study and the Childby Charles B. Scott
Nature study does not need to take a lot of time and can be accomplished in a relaxed and natural way.
For young children, start off with just an oral review of their experiences out of doors.
As they get older, you can write some of their words on a white board for them to copy into their nature journal.
Eventually, after much practice, they will be able to complete all the review of their field work on their own.
Use the three steps to better nature study as outlined in my nature printable and your family will enjoy years of satisfying outdoor time.
Now a little blog business:
I forgot to announce the winner of the blog carnival/newsletter giveaway. All participants in the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival were entered to win a copy of my very new More Nature Study Book #3 ebook that will release next week. I used Random.org to generate a winner.
The winner is Diana from Homeschool Review and Crafting Too. I will confirm with you your email address and send your copy on March 5, 2012. Congratulations!
Thank you to all who participated in last month’s carnival!
