“In nature study any teacher (parent) can with honor say, “I do not know”; for perhaps the question asked is as yet unanswered by the great scientists. But she should not let lack of knowledge be a wet blanket thrown over her pupils’ interest. She should say frankly, “I do not know; let us see if we cannot together find out this mysterious thing….She thus conveys the right impression that only a little about the intricate life of plants and animals is yet known; and at the same time she makes her pupils feel the thrill and zest of investigation. Nor will she lose their respect by doing this, if she does it in the right spirit…..The chief charm of nature study would be taken away if it did not lead us through the border-land of knowledge into the realm of the undiscovered.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 3-4
Fall Seed Walk – From Our World
On an absolutely beautiful autumn day, we hiked out to the river to enjoy the sunshine and fall colors. We were on the lookout for some fall seeds and we discovered a new flower!
I have no idea what this plant is but it was about four feet tall and was swaying in the breeze…waving us over to take a closer look. Aren’t these the prettiest little flowers?
Each branch ended with these delicate flowers and the stem of the plant was purplish red.
We also discovered a patch of evening primrose dispersed among the big boulders lining the river’s edge.
We also spied this massive mullein plant with its soft rosettes of leaves.
We were so distracted by the plants and flowers that we didn’t collect any seeds for our nature journal entry. I am thinking that it will take a change in the weather before I am inspired to collect seeds and sit down long enough to make a page for our fall seeds. Can you blame me?
Have you collected any seeds yet?
Meant To Be Naturalists
“It would be well if we all persons in authority, parents and all who act for parents, could make up our minds that there is no sort of knowledge to be got in these early years so valuable to children as that which they get for themselves of the world they live in. Let them once get in touch with Nature, and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight through life. We were all meant to be naturalists, each in his degree, and it is inexcusable to live in a world so full of the marvels of plant and animal life and to care for none of these things.”
Sweetgum Tree – Our Witch Hazel Family Study
I just stumbled across some information that led me to learn that our sweetgum or liquidambar trees are related to the witch hazel, belonging to the same botanical family. If you are looking for an alternative to the witch hazel study, you might look in your area for a sweetgum tree to observe up close instead. Right now they are very easy to spot with their beautiful autumn colored leaves.
Our trees are beginning to form the sticker balls and are bright green. This are actually the fruits of the tree and will dangle down like little tree ornaments, turning brown as the season progresses. The information we found about the fruits says that each prickly point will eventually open up to release two winged seeds. We are going to watch and see if we can find those seeds this year!The leaves have five pointy lobes and a long stem.
The leaves of the tree have a nice aroma.
The sweetgum is native to many parts of the United States and you can see a map here on USDA.
Handbook of Nature Study – November 2014 Newsletter
November 2014 – Fall Seeds
Please read the following explanation outlining how to get this month’s newsletter.
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This month’s newsletter link will be available only during the month of November so be sure to download it before 11/30/14.
Remember! All of the archived and current newsletters are available as part of the Ultimate Naturalist Library…every level! You may wish to download and use the September 2011 newsletter with additional seed study ideas and printables for your family.
Contents of this edition of the newsletter include:
- 3 seed related nature activities
- November planning page printable
- November Nature Journal Topper and Study Grid
- Two printable notebook pages
- December preschool nature table ideas, printables, and coloring page
Please note that Ultimate Naturalist and Journey level members have access to members only printables each month in addition to the newsletter printables. You will need to log into your account and then go to the “Other Releases” section.
Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival – October 2014
October is a month of changes and far fewer chances for me to get outdoors..usually. This month we had ample opportunity to spend long days hiking and soaking in sunshine. My usual autumn blues have been kept at bay with activity to fill me up on the inside, gently easing into November and all its autumn-ness.
Thanks for sharing all your entries with the blog carnival this month since it is always fun to glimpse into your world too!
Our family’s October entries from this month’s study (in case you missed one):
- Yosemite National Park – Autumn Trip
- Lizards – our lizard observations
- Autumn Bird List – our hawk study
- Autumn Tree Study California Style
- Chinese Pistache – Sumac Family Study
Ash Tree, Witch Hazel, and Sumac Studies
Barbara from Schoolhouse on the Prairie has submitted their entry: October Challenges. They had some hawk observations, sumac study, and more.
Shirley from Under an English Sky also would love for you to pop over and see their OHC Sumac Shrub entry. They were able to find and identify this subject because of the OHC! Check out their lovely journals too.
Potpourri
Kerry from Keeping Up With The Kordishes has submitted their Hemlock Nature Study entry for you to enjoy. Lovely images! They also have another tree entry for you to look at: Elm Tree. You will enjoy seeing their Fall Color Walk images.
Michelle from Following Footprints shares their Walking Among The Autumn Trees entry (their Fall Tree Grid) to this edition of the carnival.
Angie from Petra School shares their OHC Teasel Study this month. They completed their study with observations and journals…two different styles. Take a look!
Janet from Pursuing Joy in the Journey would love for you to hop over and read their two entries this month: Chillis and Nature Journals and also Wildflowers in the Park. So many pretty flowers and some elderberries too!
Carol from Journey and Destination shares a beautiful and interesting entry with the carnival: Outdoor Hour-Nature Study at the Beach. What a wonderful glimpse into their world.
Anne from Harvest Moon By Hand would love for you to view their nature study entries from October: Poison Ivy, Burdock, and Thistle. My favorite? The Burdock entry!
Janet from Pursuing Joy in the Journey has submitted their interesting entry: Recording Local Wildlife.
Angie from Petra School has submitted the entry First Heavy Rain – Mushroom Hunt for you to view and enjoy. I thoroughly enjoyed this amazing entry with all its great fungi! Wishing I had been along with them.
Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!
Don’t forget to share your blog entries with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. All entries done in November are eligible for the next edition. The deadline for entries is 11/29/14 and you can send them directly to me: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com.
Autumn Tree Study – California Style
Here in California we do not have a witch hazel to study up close. We decided to do a more general tree study and take a trip to the U.C. Davis Arboretum since it is just an hour drive from our home. For those that are not familiar with arboretums, they are botanical gardens devoted to trees. This particular arboretum has a three and half mile loop you can walk adjacent to Putah Creek.
Just a note: In doing some researching even after I wrote the Autumn Nature Study Continues ebook, I discovered that the sweetgum tree is in the same family as the witch hazel (Hamamelidaceae). Although it isn’t a late fall bloomer like witch hazel, we do enjoy our sweetgum trees and their autumn color. I will be creating a page in my nature journal for this tree instead of the witch hazel.
Back to our arboretum visit…
In several sections there are walkways on both sides of the creek with picturesque bridges connecting the two sides. On the afternoon we visited, there were few people and it was calming to stroll along taking in the beautiful surroundings.
Each section of the arboretum has a theme, a collection of trees from various parts of the world like Australia or South America. My favorite area was the Redwood Grove where there were many coast redwoods and sequoia trees planted like a small forest. There were benches and picnic tables at which there were people sitting and enjoying a quiet afternoon. I wish I could share with you the delightful aroma of the warm redwoods in the sun.
Many of the trees had small signs that gave you their name, family, and native habitat. I always like to know what I am looking at so this added to my enjoyment of the walk. The valley oaks are plentiful in this area and there were some majestic specimens to enjoy with their large sometimes colorful leaves and acorns scattered all around the trunks.
This made a perfect habitat for lots and lots of squirrels. Watch out for squirrels darting across the trail or sitting in trees above and chattering at you as you walk.
Here’s an image looking up at the valley oak…we wondered how old these trees were.
We truly enjoyed this afternoon at the arboretum. Not only the trees, but the ducks and turtles in the water. From the bridges you could get a clear view of the many Western pond turtles that were swimming and basking on this particular day.
I always find it interesting to take a few close ups of the ground in different places. Here are two of my images from our walk.
Can you tell it is autumn? Look at all those acorns!
Finally, I collected a few leaves to sketch into my nature journal….love the colors all together!
We continue to have warm sunny weather and we are trying to take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy walks to note the autumn trees.
Have you taken an autumn tree walk yet?
Chinese Pistache – Sumac Family Study
I was excited to learn that our Chinese Pistache tree is related to the Staghorn sumac tree, giving us a tree to observe and learn about as part of the Sumac Nature Study from last week.
This is a gorgeous tree in the autumn with its blazing red-orange leaves and bright red pea-sized fruits. We learned that only the female trees have fruit. Many of the resources we read about this tree said that it is not attractive to wildlife but we have found that we have birds visiting from autumn and on through winter that come and eat the fruit of this tree. Even in the winter when the limbs are bare and only the fruits are left, we see robins, starlings, and cedar waxwings visiting and feasting.
This is not a native tree to California but is a tree from China. We see them growing all over our part of California so they are a popular nursery tree that is commonly used for its autumn color. The red fruit is pretty this time of year and any left over the winter will turn a dark blue in color.
In comparing our Chinese pistache to the staghorn sumac, I see a similarity in the leaves and arrangement of leaves. Also, the color of the leaves is very similar.
We are always learning about the creation around us and this study helped us to take a deeper look at a tree we enjoy right in our own yard!
Have you found a sumac to study?
Nature Photo of the Week Recap – October
October was a great month to be outside and looking for those photo moments to capture!
Please feel free to join us over on the Nature Photo of the Week Pinterest Board.
Berries: The Pacific Dogwood has these berry-like fruits. We did some research and officially they are called “drupes” which are not really berries but still very pretty and interesting.
Simplicity: Our trip last week to Yosemite with our three boys was such a joy. Autumn is a very quiet time in Yosemite and this early morning walk along the Merced River was so very pretty.
Bridge: We had an absolutely spectacular walk today on the UC Davis Arboretum. What a fascinating place! This bridge, covered in grape vines, was over the little creek that was lined with the most amazing cattails I have seen.
I am getting down to the very last of the Nature Photo of the Week topics to find. Here are the things I have yet to do:
Crystals, fish, cold, refreshing, simplicity, energy, bubbly, sparkle, feather, self-portrait, Just do it!
New Printables for Members – October 2014
New Printables in the Member’s Library!
There are new printables for you to use with your family if you are a member of the Ultimate Naturalist or Journey level memberships. You need to log into your account and then check the “Other Releases” section for brand new printables to enjoy along with the Outdoor Hour Challenges in November 2014.