Tag: Sheep

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Sheep and Wool

Outdoor Hour Challenge Sheep and Wool @handbookofnaturestudy

 

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Sheep and Wool
From the Archives and also found in the Winter ebook

We are going to look at something a little different this week if possible, sheep! As an alternative, do the reading about sheep, view the videos and links with your children, and then focus on wool which is something you can touch and observe in person. I personally love doing these background challenges so when we do have the chance to see the subject in person we have a few things to observe. I hope you find it informative!

sheep and wool study @handbookofnaturestudy You can read our original study here in this entry: Learning About Wool.  These notebook pages are in the ebook reference below.

Outdoor Hour Challenge Winter 2016 More Nature Study

If you are interested in purchasing an Ultimate Naturalist Membership at this time, you will gain access to the custom notebooking pages that go along with each of the challenges in the ebook.

Ultimate Naturalist Library June 2016 @handbookofnaturestudy

Note: You do not need to purchase the ebook to participate but they are handy to have for planning and for the regular and advanced notebook pages included in each one. Click the graphic at above to go over to check out the Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Spring Plans!

We will be working through a new series of wildflower challenges starting in April using a new ebook that will publish sometime in March. The new wildflower ebook will also be added to the Ultimate Naturalist Library so if you purchase a membership now, you will have the new ebook as soon as it is available. I will posting details about the new ebook soon.

 

 

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Learning About Wool – More Nature Study

Sheep Nature Study Notebook page

More Nature Study Book 2 – Sheep/Wool Study

Since we don’t have access to a sheep to observe up close, we opted to study wool instead. Mr. B was not all that excited about this particular challenge but once we started we had some fun with it. We did notice some sheep in a pasture over the weekend but that was about as close as we got to a real sheep.

  • We started off with the video on YouTube showing how wool is made and we also watched a few videos on shearing sheep. This led to a few more videos on spinning yarn from the wool roving. Now we have more of an appreciation for the wool yarn that goes into our hats and scarves.
  • With new interest, Mr. B completed his research into the Artiodactyla order and Bovidae family of animals, finishing off with a written narration of his investigation. Links found in the original challenge. If you want an interesting discussion, try to find some information online that discusses the Artiodactyla order and whales. It led to some interesting thoughts in our home. (You can Google “Cetartiodactyla”.)
  • Lastly we looked at wool under the microscope…amazing to see up close. I encourage you to give it a try if you have a microscope.

Sometimes our nature study is not of the outdoor variety but I knew that when I included sheep in this series of challenges. We chose a rainy day to complete this study and it was fun to think about wool when we were out on our snowshoe hike recently. Nature study can connect many real life experiences if we give it a chance. I look forward to seeing if any other families took this challenge and found a way to make it successful with their family.

If you want to look at other mammal using the Outdoor Hour Challenges, you can find a list here on this page: Outdoor Hour Challenges – Mammals 

You may also be interested in another Winter Mammal Challenge found here on the Handbook of Nature Study.
More Nature Study #2 button

Posted on by — 3 Comments

OHC More Nature Study Book 2 – Sheep/Wool

Wool roving - Sheep

More Nature Study Book 2
Sheep and Wool Study

Inside Preparation Work: 
1. Read pages 270-274 in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 66). Since most of us do not have access to a real sheep to study up close, use this information as preparation for any future encounters with sheep. For this challenge you can spend time learning about how man uses the sheep’s wool to make fabric. Make sure to have at least one item made of wool for the children to observe (or a ball of wool yarn will work as well).
2. View these videos on YouTube.com: Sheep Dogs in Training and How It Is Made-Wool.

Outdoor Hour Time: 
If you have the ability to observe a real sheep and make direct observations, this is the best way to learn about sheep. If you don’t have access to sheep, there are several alternative ideas.
1. Take a walk outdoors wearing a wool hat, sweater, mittens, coat, or scarf. Enjoy the warmth and be grateful for sheep.
2. Observe another mammal and compare it to the sheep: size, fur/hair/wool, feet, teeth, eyes, tail.

Follow-Up Activity: 
1. Spend a few minutes after your outdoor time to review your experience. If you found anything of interest, make sure to talk about it and look up any additional information in the Handbook of Nature Study or at your next library visit.
2. View wool and hair with a hand lens. You can sketch what you see in your nature journal or on the back of the sheep notebook page. Ebook users: Complete the sheep notebook page with information from the Handbook of Nature Study.

3. Advanced study: The Handbook of Nature Study suggests writing about the method by which wool is made into cloth. Research at the library or on the internet and then give a summary.
4. Advanced study: Research the Artiodactyla order and Bovidae family of mammals (links below). Use resources from your public library or the internet.

Additional Links: 

You can see our family study here: Wool Study. 

More Nature Study Winter Wonder

Ultimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy