Tag: Sunflowers

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Great Sunflower Project

Today we did some observations as part of the Great Sunflower Project. We signed up earlier in the year to participate and they sent us some seeds to plant in our garden. Our job was to observe the sunflowers once they bloom and count how many bees visited our flowers. You are asked to observe until you see five bees or for thirty minutes.

We did not have to wait even a minute before we saw our first bee! We had five bees observed in less than five minutes.
unfolding sunflower
Here is one sunflower that is just unfolding its bloom. I love the way it looks.

lemon sunflower
I love the patterns in this sunflower. You can really see how it is a composite flower with its rays and florets.

bee crawling inside sunflower
This bee couldn’t wait for the sunflower to open…he had to push his way into the inside to reach the pollen.

bee with pollen on sunflower
Have you ever seen so much pollen on a bee before? I couldn’t stop watching this guy and his overloaded pollen sacs. Wow! He is one busy bee.

Mammoth sunflower with blue sky
This is my favorite sunflower in the whole garden. We grew it from a seed saved from last year and it is a Mammoth Sunflower. It is really tall and the bloom is huge.

Mr A with mammoth sunflower
This is my son who is six feet tall….he is dwarfed by this sunflower. Look at how large the leaves are!

finches eat the leaves
This is what the finches are doing to the leaves. They sit and nibble every afternoon. I guess there is enough to share.

This is a really fun and easy project. Check out the Great Sunflower Project for your family next year.

Gardens ebook Outdoor Hour challenge

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Late Summer Sunflower Study: Outdoor Hour Challenge #29

We studied composite flowers earlier in the year so it was fun to compare those flowers with the sunflower from our garden.

We also shared some of our nature journal entries with the sunflowers sketched in.

Now we were ready to go through Anna Comstock’s directions for a more intensified study of the sunflower. If you take the time to go through this study, you are going to learn many fascinating and amazing things about the ordinary sunflower. The design of the Creator is all over this flower…I think we could go through this study again next year and still find loads of things to be amazed by.

“…while at the center lie the buds, arranged in an exquisite pattern of circling radii, cut by radii circling in the opposite direction; and at the very center the buds are covered with the green spear-points of their bracts.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 576

“All this flower has to do is to hold its banner aloft as a sign to the world, especially the insect world, that here is to be found pollen in plenty, and nectar for the probing.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 575

“But the stems are very solid and firm, and the bend is as stiff as the elbow of a stovepipe, and after examining it, we are sure that this bend is made with the connivance of the stem, rather than despite it.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 576

“They finally become loosened, and as the great stem is assaulted by the winds of autumn, the bended heads shake out their seed and scatter them far afield.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 576

We followed the book’s directions and found examples of each of the kinds of florets as described on page 577 in the Observations section. We learned so much just by trying to find each of the different kinds and then really examining them. If you need more help, there is a diagram on page 575. We learned about the “community”of flowers that make up the sunflower heads.

Here is one of my nature journal entries that features my sunflowers. This summer has been filled with lots of sunflower times and I enjoy going back through my journal and seeing their progress.

It is a sad time when the sunflowers are finishing up their life cycle. I am going to be gathering a few handfuls of seeds to save for next year’s garden. The flower heads will be left out in the garden for the birds to feast on and then later this fall, we will do our garden clean up and pull out the remains. This is the first year that we have had finches all summer eating the leaves of our sunflowers. It is amazing that those tiny birds can sit on the leaves and the leaves don’t bend over. The finches must be truly lightweight to accomplish this.

I hope everyone else is enjoying their sunflower study this week. If you didn’t get a chance to do it this year, there is always next year! Plan ahead!

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Outdoor Hour Challenge #29: Sunflower Study

“ Probably most people, the world over, believe that sunflowers twist their stems so that their blossoms face the sun all day. This belief shows the utter contentment of most people with a pretty theory.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 576

I completely enjoyed reading this section of then Handbook. I actually learned many things that are now firmly implanted in my memory thanks to Anna Comstock and our own investigation of our garden sunflowers.

This week I hoped the challenge would be a follow up to our early summer’s planting of sunflowers. I know many of you have sunflowers happily growing in your yards so this challenge is for you.

If you didn’t plant sunflowers or they didn’t grow for some reason, check you local florist for a sunflower you can purchase and then observe in your kitchen and then dissect as the week goes by. I saw loads of sunflowers being sold at our local farmers market so be creative and see if you can find an actual sunflower to observe this week or next week.

“The sunflower is not a single flower, but is a large number of flowers living together; and each little flower, or floret, as it is called, has its own work to do.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 576

Outdoor Hour Challenge #29
Sunflower Study

1. This week we will complete a study sunflowers. Read in the Handbook of Nature Study about sunflowers on page 574-578. I can’t think of a better way to study sunflowers than to follow Anna Comstock’s suggestions in this section of her book. Read the narrative and then go over the observations suggestions and decide how your family will complete this challenge.

2. Make sure to spend 15-20 minutes of outdoor time this week with your children. If you planted sunflowers at the beginning of the summer, check on their progress. Observe your sunflowers in the garden. Afterwards, follow the directions from the Handbook of Nature Study for a study of sunflowers. Anna Comstock suggests bringing one sunflower inside for closer observation. If you do not have sunflowers in your garden, check your local florist, farmers market, or with your neighbors who may have a sunflower to share.

3. Give the opportunity for a nature journal entry. Your sunflower can supply the inspiration for this week’s journal entry. You may also wish to check out some of Van Gogh’s sunflower paintings for further inspiration.
Here is a link:
http://www.vggallery.com/misc/sunflowers.htm
https://naturestudyhomeschool.com/2009/07/new-outdoor-hour-challenge-ebook-garden_27.html

This challenge is part of my Garden Flowers ebook. This ebook has ten garden related challenges that will walk you through a study of garden flowers using the Handbook of Nature Study. In addition to the challenges already written, there will be more photos, nature journal examples, book lists, and totally new notebook pages designed to go with each of the Garden Flower Challenges.

Ultimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

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Sunflowers Everywhere Green Hour Challenge #16

Here are last year’s sunflowers starting to bloom. This year we are going to have quite a few more to share with you but last year these ended up producing an amazing amount of seeds for the birds.

For this challenge we were to plant our sunflower seeds but since we did it early in anticipation of the challenge, we are already enjoying the fruits of our labor.

We have some that are getting to be about a foot high already. I planted a mix of seeds so and in this garden bed they are all short so they won’t cover my window where I sit at my desk and look out.

I think they will look like these from a few years ago and will be multi-colored.

I sent both boys out with their nature journals to sketch some of the sunflower seedlings and here are their entries along with mine.

I think it is interesting to note how we each have our own style of recording things in our journals.

One chose to draw a more “scientific” style drawing looking at it from the side-view. One son chose to draw it by standing and looking down at it showing the leaves. Then there is my journal where I attempt to take in one whole garden box with the beans, the rudbeckia, the marigolds, the weeds, and the sunflowers.

Well, that is how we accomplished our Outdoor Hour Challenge #16. By the end of the summer we will have quite a few sunflowers to observe and draw and share with the birds.

https://naturestudyhomeschool.com/2009/07/new-outdoor-hour-challenge-ebook-garden_27.html

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Outdoor Hour Challenge #16 Growing Sunflowers

“Many of the most beautiful of the autumn flowers belong to the Compositae, a family of such complicated flower arrangement that it is very difficult for the child or the beginner in botany to comprehend it; and yet, when once understood, the composite scheme is very simple and beautiful, and is repeated over and over in flowers of very different appearance……The large garden sunflower is the teacher’s ally to illustrate to the children the story of the composites.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 574

Outdoor Hour Challenge #16  
Sunflowers-Summer Project

This week I am going to challenge you to start some sunflower seeds growing in your garden or in a pot. If you need some sunflower seeds to plant, take another outing to the garden nursery to let your child pick a packet of their own. The idea behind starting the seeds is to provide a “laboratory” for your child to observe and learn in all summer long. Even if you just plant the seeds in a pot and watch them grow on your front porch, this is a valuable activity. If you don’t have a sunny spot in your yard, ask a friend or relative if you could plant a few seeds somewhere in their yard. Be creative. Sunflowers take about 12 weeks to mature, depending on the variety you choose.


1. Read the Handbook of Nature Study pages 574-576-The Sunflower.

Find a sunny spot in your yard or on your porch to plant your sunflower seeds. These seeds will eventually sprout and grow and provide a late summer challenge all of its own. These sunflower plants can be subjects for your nature journal as well. After the seeds have matured, you will have something for the birds to enjoy. Follow the instructions on the seed packet and get your seeds growing this week. Make sure to keep your seeds moist as they germinate.

2. Take your 10-15 minute outdoor time to look for some garden flowers in your own area. If you already have some of your own garden flowers blooming, pick one to identify and see if it is listed in the Handbook of Nature Study.

3. Add any new garden flowers to your list in your nature journal.

4. Provide an opportunity for a nature journal entry. Practice your flower drawing skills that you worked on in challenge number 15. Record your flower seeds’ growth and/or record your sunflowers growth for the week. You may wish to sketch your sunflower seeds before you plant them, looking at them carefully with a magnifying glass.

5. Continue making field guide cards for your garden flowers.

6. Add flowers to your press from you nature time.
https://naturestudyhomeschool.com/2009/07/new-outdoor-hour-challenge-ebook-garden_27.html

This challenge is part of my Garden Flowers ebook. This ebook has ten garden related challenges that will walk you through a study of garden flowers using the Handbook of Nature Study. In addition to the challenges already written, there will be more photos, nature journal examples, book lists, and totally new notebook pages designed to go with each of the Garden Flower Challenges.

Ultimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy