Tag: magnifying lens

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5 Ways to Use Your Magnifying Lens in Homeschool Nature Study

Looking for ways to encourage your child to explore things in nature? Using a magnifying lens in homeschool nature study is not only fun for children but it helps them see more clearly the wonderful world of objects we have all around us. Try one of the ideas below to help your child get started making careful observations of natural items.

Looking for ways to encourage your child to explore things in nature? Using a magnifying lens in homeschool nature study is not only fun for children but it helps them see more clearly the wonderful world of objects we have all around us. Try one of the ideas below to help your child get started making careful observations of natural items.
photo by Amy Law

5 Ways to Use Your Magnifying Lens in Homeschool Nature Study

“Adults should realize the the most valuable thing children can learn is what they discover themselves about the world they live in. Once they experience first-hand the wonder of nature, they will want to make nature observation a life-long habit.”

Charlotte Mason, Volume 1, page 61

#1 – Nature Station With a Magnifying Lens


Create a magnifying glass station with natural items either indoors or outdoors. Collect a few things to have on hand to start but them encourage your child to find a few of their own while outdoors playing or during a nature walk.

Looking for ways to encourage your child to explore things in nature? Using a magnifying lens in homeschool nature study is not only fun for children but it helps them see more clearly the wonderful world of objects we have all around us. Try one of the ideas below to help your child get started making careful observations of natural items.

#2 – Square Foot Nature Study


Use your magnifying lens in homeschool for a square foot study. There are plenty of ideas here on my blog to help you get started. You can follow-up with this entry: Small Square Study-Living vs. Non-Living.

Examine Insects with a Magnifying Lens

#3 – Examine Insects With a Magnifying Lens

Collect a few insects to examine close up with your magnifying lens. Look for dead insects in window sills, in the garden, or in spider webs. If you can capture a live insect and put it in a clear container, use the magnifying lens to get a closer look. Have your child observe closely the wings, the legs, the antennae, or the eyes of insects using a magnifying lens. Another tip is to place the insect on a mirror and then you can see the underside easily.

Looking for ways to encourage your child to explore things in nature? Using a magnifying lens in homeschool nature study is not only fun for children but it helps them see more clearly the wonderful world of objects we have all around us. Try one of the ideas below to help your child get started making careful observations of natural items.

#4 – Create a New Level of Tree Homeschool Nature Study

As part of a tree study, use your magnifying lens to examine the bark, the leaves, and the cones or acorns of a tree in your yard or neighborhood. You can also use the magnifying lens to compare two trees with careful observations.

For more ideas to use with your magnifying lens and my recommendations for products, you can see my Squidoo Lens: Best Magnifying Lens Plans and Activities.

Outdoor Hour Challenge Homeschool Nature Study Lens Activity

#5 – Use the Outdoor Hour Challenge Homeschool Nature Study Magnifying Lens Activity

Discover the wonder of ordinary objects using this magnifying lens in homeschool nature study activity. Use the suggestions on the page to spark some ideas for objects to collect and observe. There is a place to record a few sketches and some follow-up thoughts if your child is interested in keeping a record of their magnifying lens activity.

Homeschool Nature Study Activities

Find this activity in Challenge 8 Getting Started in Homeschool Nature Study Guide available in membership and HERE.

A magnifying lens in homeschool nature study is fun and helps children see more clearly the wonderful world of objects we have all around us.
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Outdoor Hour Challenge #8 – Up Close and Personal in Summer

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Outdoor Hour Challenge #8 – Up Close and Personal in Summer

From the Archives and from the Getting Started Ebook

One of the most important aims in offering nature study to our children is to increase their curiosity in the world around them. In our family, every time we got out the magnifying lenses, the kids would immediately be looking for things outside to see up close. The magnifying lens brings your children in close contact with things they might not otherwise notice! Suddenly, they can see tiny insects in detail, pollen on a flower petal, or the texture of bark on a tree.

 

Summer Nature Study Tip

This Outdoor Hour Challenge is a favorite “go to” activity whether you take the magnifying lens outside or add it to your nature table. Give your children unlimited access to this simple tool and see where their interests take them.

Additional Ideas for Using a Magnifying Lens during Nature Study

Magnifying+Lens+in+Nature+Study+@handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com.jpg

5 Ways to Use Your Magnifying Lens in Nature Study: Use the ideas in this entry alongside Outdoor Hour Challenge #8. There’s also a free printable in this entry to use with your magnifying lens!

Rock Study With Magnifying Lens: I love a good rock study and using the magnifying lens will take your investigation a step further! There’s a free printable activity in this entry too!

 

Getting Started Outdoor Hour Challenge ebook

If you have access to the Getting Started ebook, there’s a custom notebook page that you can use alongside Outdoor Hour Challenge #8 if you wish, or a number of blank pages you can print and use instead.

Ultimate Naturalist Library September 2017 @handbookofnaturestudy

The Getting Started ebook is included in all levels of membership here on the Handbook of Nature Study, including the Discover Level.

 

Benefits by Level Updated size 500

See this page for all of the benefits of membership.

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Insects with a Magnifiying Lens

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Outdoor Hour Challenge
Insects with a Magnifying Lens

“In elementary grades, nature study deals with objects which the children can see with the naked eye. However, a lens is a help in almost all of this work because it is such a joy to the child to gaze at the wonders it reveals.”

Handbook of Nature Study, page 9

Let’s face it. Sometimes we need to add a little special interest into our nature time. We can be doing everything “right” by making time for outdoor exploring with our children but it can fall flat if the children get distracted. One of my secret weapons is a magnifying lens. Tuck the lens in with your nature study items when you go on a hike or even when exploring your own backyard. Pull the magnifier out if you see the attention of your children wandering. Model how to use the lens with something simple and then see if you can challenge your children to find an insect to view. Even better, for advanced students, challenge them to find an insect wing to observe up close.

You also may be interested in reading more ideas and suggestions for a Magnifying Lens Study that I wrote a for my readers.

Here is the original Outdoor Hour Challenge for a magnifying lens: Outdoor Hour Challenge #8 (from the Getting Started ebook). The ebook provides the challenge as shown above as well as custom notebook pages for your follow up nature journal if desired.

This challenge is found in the Getting Started ebook which is included in every level of membership.

Handbook of Nature Study Ultimate Naturalist Library

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Cat Nature Study

Outdoor Hour Challenge:

We are going to have some fun with cats this week! Make sure to read the section in the Handbook of Nature Study for loads of ideas to try with your family cat or a neighborhood cat.

  • Spring Mammal Study – Cats: Make sure to use the free mammal notebook page linked in this entry and also check out the free cat unit on Homeschool Share.
  • You will also find a Nature Journal Topper prompt in the May 2014 Newsletter that will give you an idea for studying cats.
  • If you have access to the November 2012 Newsletter, you will find additional ideas for a mammal study, including the printable mammal study grid.

Printable Notebook Pages

Printable Notebook Pages

Getting Started Suggestion:

If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #8. Use a magnifying lens to example your cat. Look at the various parts suggested in the Handbook of Nature Study and then record your observations in your nature journal or on the accompanying notebook page.

Handbook of Nature Study Ultimate Naturalist Library

Note: You can find the Getting Started ebook in all levels of membership here at the Handbook of Nature Study.

 

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – December Extraordinary in the Ordinary

 
Outdoor Hour Challenge
Extraordinary in the Ordinary – December Edition

Find the Extraordinary in the Ordinary I challenge you to find five ordinary things in your backyard or in your everyday life that you can study and learn something more about. Find something extraordinary in something you have come to think of as ordinary and usual, so usual that you may not even notice it anymore.

You may remember that we have done this challenge in the past two times. Please be inspired by both of these entries to complete your own extraordinary nature walk this month with your children.

Additional Printable Notebook Page

Notebook Page: Extraordinary in the Ordinary – December

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #8. Take along a magnifying lens on your Extraordinary in the Ordinary walk. Find something to examine more closely…even ice, frost, water from a puddle, the bark of a tree, or snow. Find something to be amazed by and then complete the notebooking page in the ebook.   

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Outdoor Hour Challenge- Seasonal Milkweed Study


Outdoor Hour Challenge:
We are going to revisit a challenge from the archives this week. 
Milkweed (from the More Nature Study Autumn Ebook)
Use the information in this challenge to get you started looking for milkweed in your own area. 

Need help in finding milkweed? Here are a couple of links: Showy Milkweed and Common Milkweed
  

Seasonal Milkweed Notebook Page Printable

Use this printable page to record your seasonal milkweed study in each season. Start with your summer milkweed and then revisit it each season to observe the changes. 

Milkweed Seasonal Study Notebook Page 

 

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, completeOutdoor Hour Challenge #8. Take along your magnifying lens when you observe your milkweed. Use it to get a really good look at the milkweed’s leaves, flowers, stem, and any insects you see on the milkweed. Record your observations on the notebook page in the ebook.

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Use discount code = discount5 to save $5 on your $10+ purchase at NotebookingPages.com

Please note I am affiliate for NotebookingPages.com and I recommend them after years of using this wonderful product with my family.

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Rock Observation Chart


Outdoor Hour Challenge:
This week try to find at least one specific rock to collect and observe. If you need to, pick a rock from your collection and use that as your subject. Use your outdoor time to slow down and really look for rocks or if you have snow on the ground, try to remember where there are rocks in your neighborhood and plan for a future rock hunt when the weather is more agreeable.

You may wish to complete the granite or the quartz challenge that were previously posted here on the Handbook of Nature Study:
Granite Study
Quartz Study

You may pick any rock to study that you have on hand. There are several other rocks listed in the Table of Contents for the Handbook of Nature Study that you may wish to use in your study. 
 

Printable Activity:

Rock Observation Chart: Use this printable chart to examine several of your rocks carefully. This is a little more advanced activity using vocabulary that may be unfamiliar to you. The activity is meant to be a simplified exercise in learning how to use deductive reasoning to identify your rock sample. 

 

You may find these links helpful: Identifying Minerals and Mineral Field Tests.

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #7.  We are focusing on rocks this month so you can start your own rock field guide using the directions and notebook page in this challenge. You can record your observations from the printable activity above on your rock field guide card if you wish. 

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Outdoor Hour Challenge- Rock Study With Magnifying Lens


Outdoor Hour Challenge:
Now that we have all started our rock collections either by gathering rocks during our outdoor time or finding rocks we had already in the house, let’s take a closer look using a magnifying lens. This is where you are going to learn just how interesting rocks can be when you slow way down to take a careful look at them. Use the printable below to help you get started.

Rocks Up Close Printable Activity
Print the Rocks Up Close activity page and use it to guide a careful study of your rock. Sketch your rock carefully using colored pencils or markers.


Rocks Up Close Printable

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #8. This challenge is perfect to go along with the Up Close and Personal challenge using your magnifying lens and the notebook page from the ebook.Have fun and learn as much as you can by looking carefully at your rocks.
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Quartz Study – Rock Collecting Gone Crazy

Rocky Shore - American River
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.

Collection of Rocks - American River
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.

Sunny Afternoon at the American River
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.

Quartz Study with Pyrite

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.

River Rock - American River

We are still not sure if the shiny gold is actually gold or pyrite….probably pyrite flakes.

River Sand on a Microscope Slide
We placed a little sand on a microscope slide…our rocks all had small amounts clinging to the nooks and crannies.

Quartz Study 4
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. 🙂

Quartz Study 3
Amazing world down there…who would have thought?

Quartz Study 2
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.

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OHC More Nature Study Book 2 – Quartz Study

Quartz samples

 “Quartz is the least destructible and is one of the most abundant materials in the crust of the earth as we know it. It is made up of two elements chemically united—the solid silicon and the gas oxygen.” Handbook of Nature Study  

More Nature Study Book #2
Rock Study – Quartz Crystals
Inside Preparation Work: 

  1. Read pages 754-755 in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 213). This short lesson is packed with information and the lesson suggestions will give you some careful observation ideas.
  2. If you can locate some quartz samples to have on hand, do some close up observations of quartz. Even little ones can describe with words their quartz sample. Compare quartz with some other rocks in your collection.
  3. If you do not have samples, make sure to view the images of quartz with the additional links provided below.

Outdoor Hour Time:

  1. If the weather allows, take your outdoor time in a place that has rocks to pick up and handle. Be on the lookout for quartz crystals. Do not be discouraged if you can’t find quartz in your neighborhood but take the opportunity to observe and describe any rocks you see.
  2. Collect a few rocks to bring home and either start or add to your rock collection.

Rock observation 
Follow-Up Activity:

  1. After your Outdoor Hour time, take a few minutes to follow-up your outdoor time. Bring out your quartz samples and compare them to other rocks you may have collected. Set up a rock observation spot on your nature table. See the image above for ideas.
  2. Give time for a nature journal entry or ebook users can complete the quartz notebooking page and/or the coloring page to follow up this study.
  3. Advanced study: Research more about quartz on Geology.com. Use a printable Mineral Chart for additional information and identification. Learn the identifying marks of quartz. Record your information in your nature journal or a notebook page.

Additional Links: 

You can see how our family completed this challenge here in this post: 
Quartz Study – Rock Collecting Gone Crazy.

More Nature Study Winter Wonder

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