OHC More Nature Study Book #4: Turtles and Duckweed

More Nature Study Book #4 
Summer Pond Study: Turtles and Pondweed 

Inside Preparation Work:

• Read in the Handbook of Nature Study about Turtles on pages 204-209 (Lesson 52). Also read about Pondweed on pages 498-500 (Lesson 130).
• Ebook Users: Use the Pond Study Cross-section Notebook page as a way to generate interest for this challenge. You can complete the page during your outdoor time if you would like. Here is a link to something similar online: Pond Habitat.
• Advanced Study: Pond Life– Watch this YouTube on Wetlands/Ponds. View and read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 400-403 (Lesson 102). Use this information as you make your observations at your local pond. Here is another idea for the field: Guide to Pond Dipping.

Outdoor Hour Time:

• Look for opportunities to spend your outdoor hour time at a pond. Ponds are a center of many nature study opportunities. Let your child lead your pond time (with your careful supervision).
• Use the ideas from the lessons in the Handbook of Nature Study to observe closely any turtles or pondweed that you find. Make sure to keep an eye out for anything of interest that you can follow up with in the Handbook of Nature Study (see the box below for more ideas for your pond study).

Follow-Up Activity:

• Follow-up with any interest that you found during your pond study. Use the Handbook of Nature Study as a reference for any additional subjects that came up. Make a nature journal entry for your turtle or pondweed. Ebook Users: There are two coloring pages to use in your nature journal: Pond Turtle and Box Turtle.
• Advanced Study: You can research individual turtles for you nature journal. Use this website for more information: Turtles and Tortoises of the United States.
• Advanced Study: Use the information from the Wetlands/Ponds video and create your own pond life images. You can record any pond dwellers in your nature journal. Ebook Users: There is also an additional notebook page to use if you have more to record.

Additional links:

Western Pond Turtle Project on YouTube.com
Painted Turtle Digging a Hole to Lay Eggs on YouTube.com
Painted Turtles in a tank habitat on YouTube.com—Nice way to see the turtles eating...just like a field trip to a zoo.
My Pond Study page on Squidoo.com.

Free Printable Notebook Pages

Summer Pond Study and Pond Grid 

As a bonus for this challenge I am including the Summer Pond Study notebook page and the Pond Study Grid from the August 2011 Newsletter!



All the summer challenges for 2012 are included in the new More Nature Study Book #4 Summer Sizzle ebook. The challenges in the ebook are the same challenges that will post every Friday here on my blog. If you want to follow along with notebook pages and coloring pages, click over and learn more about the ebook.

Our Mallard Duck Study - Unexpected Place and Time

We have been on the lookout for an opportunity to study ducks this month as part of the Outdoor Hour Challenge newsletter suggestions for August. Our local pond is usually a good spot but we cruised by there earlier in the month only to discover that there were in fact no ducks on the pond right now, only geese. We were a little discouraged and trying to brainstorm another pond in the area to visit. As if they knew we were looking for some ducks to observe, a small group found us while we were out on a near-by lake having some fun with our boat.



We were out on the lake taking a break from our water sports activities (wakeboarding for Mr. A and water-skiing for the Dad) when a mama and some juvenile mallard ducks came up to visit. There were six smaller ducks that we are assuming were the babies of the female in the group. The water was very clear and we could easily watch them use their specially designed feet to paddle around in the water. We noted that the little ducks had fluffy feathers on their backs and were not as smooth yet as the adult female in the group. We observed the flat long beak that they were dipping into the water. 



I am pretty sure they were inquiring to see if we had any crumbs or goodies to share with them. They were very bold and came right up to the side of the boat...not really quacking but making a sort of peeping/squeaking sound. We didn't see any males out on the water. We did read later that it is the females that incubate the eggs and take care of hatchlings so this fits in with our observations.


Here is what the AllAboutBirds website says about the female mallard (love the word dabbling):

• Large dabbling duck


• Streaked brown and tan overall


• Dark blue patch on wing


• Dull orange and black bill

We wondered as always why the females are not as colorful as the males....she does have a pretty blue spot on her wing which really is her only decoration.

We enjoyed our encounter with the lake ducks and it was fun to observe them from the waterside instead of from the shore. We could really see their swimming and paddling abilities in action. We could also note the way the water does really run off the feathers on their back, making them appear water resistant. Maybe next time we will observe some ducks flying....giving us another glimpse into this beautiful creature.

Make sure to submit your entries to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. Tomorrow afternoon is going to be the deadline for entries since I need to finish it up early this month. You can submit your entries by following this LINK.

Frogs of the Sierra Nevadas and the Handbook of Nature Study

I was given the opportunity to purchase a 1911 version of the Handbook of Nature Study....with all its well worn pages...all still intact and in very good shape. I jumped at the chance to have as a keepsake the volume in its original form. Thanks Anna Botsford Comstock for caring enough to write these lessons down for all of us that follow you.



My new Handbook is very similar to the current version that I use but what makes it nice is the layout....only one column on a page, original clipart, diagrams, little extra references to books and brochures that probably no longer exist. The charm of this book is how it is still relevant today.....one hundred years later.

Frog Pond

We had the chance to visit Grandpa's pond last week and since the weather has been so dry, the creek fed pond is getting a little low. There is still a spring underneath keeping it wet enough for the critters that depend on it for water. We were surprised to see all the frog heads with bulging eyes sticking up above the water. They really do blend in except if they move....the duck weed is thick on the top and it makes the frogs look like they have beards.

Where's the frog?

You need to move slowly or they plop under the water very fast. I was able to zoom in and get a few images of the frog heads for us to look at on the computer screen. We consulted our favorite frog and toad website: California Frogs and Toads. We are fairly sure it is an American Bullfrog.... we are going back later this week and we will take our field guide to confirm the identification.

In the Handbook of Nature Study in lesson 47, the suggestions are all things that we would need to really spend some time investigating and perhaps even catching one and taking a closer look. We decided to narrow our study down to a few things:
#3 Describe the colors and markings of the frog on the upper and on the under side. How do these protect it from observations from above? below? How do we usually discover that we are in the vicinity of a frog?
#4 Describe the frog's ears, eyes, nostrils, and mouth.
#6 How does the frog feel to your hand? Is it easy to hold him?

Those seem like logical questions to keep in mind when we go back again next week. We will update this entry when we answer the questions.

I look forward to seeing some of your pond studies or any other nature studies you have completed this month. Make sure to submit your entries to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. You can submit your entries by following this LINK.

Handbook of Nature Study - August Newsletter: Pond Edition

The August edition of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Newsletter is ready to be downloaded! The theme for the newsletter is Ponds and Pond Creatures....one of our family's favorite topics to explore this time of year. I have included some new features in the newsletter and hope you find it useful.

Please note that you are encouraged to try to use the topics suggested in the monthly newsletter but if your family finds another topic of interest...always follow your interest. You can still submit the entry to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. You can submit more than one entry to the carnival. The deadline for the next Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival will be August 30, 2011.

Here is the August 2011 Outdoor Hour Challenge Newsletter. 

Exciting Features:

• Summer Pond Study Notebook Page


• New Nature Journal Idea


• Pond Links


• Newsletter Specials - Autumn Series - Outdoor Hour Challenges


• Pond Nature Study Grid


• Marsh Pastels Tutorial


• Interviews with Outdoor Hour Challenge Families


• Guest Post Opportunities

I also have put together a new Pond Study page on Squidoo:  
Pond Study Using the Handbook of Nature Study.
I hope you find it helpful!

(If you have trouble downloading the newsletter and you have Mozilla Firefox, right click the link, save it, then try to open it from your desktop.)

I drew a random name from those that participated in the July Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival and Susan from Learning All The Time is the winner of A Kid's Summer EcoJournal. I want to thank all of the participants in yesterday's blog carnival....what a great bunch of entries! Congrats to Susan!

Pond Study: Fish and Insects

It was a pond study day for our family and we enjoyed spending some time at Grandpa's house poking around in his pond. His pond is very low at the moment so it was easy to scoop up a tub of fish to observe.



We have been using a new critter habitat that has made our pond study so much more enjoyable. We also purchased a new net to do the actual collecting of samples and it has made a big difference in our success in catching these little guys as well as snails and aquatic insects.


My son loves to incorporate humor into his nature journal entries and since I consider the entries to be his own, I don't say much about it. Actually, in creating the humorous illustration he is demonstrating his understanding of the web of life that exists in a pond ecosystem. How can I argue with that?





He did observe some dragonflies at the pond and he made this journal entry for his nature notebook.
Later on that day at our home, we found this damselfly in the backyard. We think it is a California Spreadwing but there appeared to be something wrong with this particular insect. I don't know if it was old or if it had some other issue but it never did fly away.

If you haven't had a chance before, read over the section in the Handbook of Nature Study on fish. The study of any fish can be done using the observation suggestions on pages 147 and 148.

"Almost any of the fishes found in a brook or pond may be kept in an aquarium for a few days of observation in the schoolroom. A large water pail or a bucket does very well if there is no glass aquarium. "
Handbook of Nature Study, page 145

We will be taking a few more trips to the pond before the season is over. Boys and ponds....water and mud....just can't beat the combination.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Here is the book we like to take along with us when we go to the pond. It has a little bit of everything discussed and so far it has been easy to identify the things we find at our pond. It is also a small pocket sized book that easily fits into your pocket or backpack.