Buds and Catkins - Our Spring Nature Study

We still have plenty of tree buds to use in our nature study this week as part of the More Nature Study Book 3 study of Buds, Catkins, and Blossoms assignment. We went out after dinner last night to observe and gather some specimens for our study. Can I just say that we were intrigued with the variety we have right in our own backyard?

Mr. B and I both sketched buds into our nature journal. There has to be no better way to really see what a bud looks like than to try to sketch it in detail. Picking the correct color and seeing the different ways that buds are shaped lead to really truly *seeing* the subject.

Advanced Study Notebook Page from More Nature Study Book 3

Mr. B used the advanced notebook page from the ebook to try his hand at sketching an enlarged bud using the grid paper. He thought this was hard.....I think he just needs a little practice.

Sweet Gum Tree Bud

What a glorious bud he chose to sketch! This is the sweet gum tree bud...it looks like it is ready to burst open at any moment. We placed it in a glass of water to see if we could get it to open up in our window sill.

The vertical twig hanging down has our string on it...still no leaves.

We also observed the birch catkins we have on our backyard tree. This was the same tree we used in our twig study and we found the branch with the string marker. Not much of a change yet so we will continue to watch our twig as the season progresses.

New leaves on this twig of the birch tree and some catkins too.

Currently there are no tree blossoms in our yard. The plum is done and the pear and apple are not yet blossoming. We found a few more interesting things to gather and bring inside for our bud study.

Walnut Tree Twig with Buds

The most interesting thing from our study is the walnut tree twig with its unusual buds...both color and shape. We had never taken the time to really examine the walnut tree bud before so it was a surprise. It was a fun exercise to try to get the sketch right in my journal. It helps to know a little bit about twig anatomy so you notice all the important parts like the leaf scars and the lenticels.

Silver Maple Buds and Key

The maple tree buds are all burst open and you can see the keys in the image above. If you are interested in doing your own Spring Maple Tree Study, you can look back to a previous study we had here on this blog. You may wish to use the free printable: Spring Maple Tree Notebook Page

Birch Tree Catkin - April 2012

So this was another wonderful study with my teen. He did a little grumbling at first about doing the study this week since he thought there wasn't much to learn but as you see above once we got started there were many things to be interested in. If all that he gleaned from this study was that all tree buds are unique and we can identify trees from twigs and buds, then I am a happy mama.


Don't forget to share your Spring Splendor Walk and Bud/Catkin/Blossom blog entries with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival.You can submit entries directly to me if needed: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

Nature Study - 3 Steps to a Better Experience

"The Field Lesson. When planning a field lesson, three points should be kept in mind:
First. The aim, to bring the children into sympathy or in touch with nature, through the study of that part of nature in which they have been interested.
Second. The conditions out of doors, where the children are at home, where they must have greater freedom than in the schoolroom, and where it is more difficult to keep them at definite work, and to hold their attention.
Third. The necessity of giving each child something definite to find out for himself, and of interesting the children so that each will try to find out the most and have the greatest number of discoveries to tell."  Nature Study and The Child, Charles B. Scott, 1900.

I am finding that for my high school aged son there needs to be a different sort of follow-up to our observations...more than just a nature journal. He is using his past experiences with nature study and making some connections. This has led me to going back to the internet to research more closely how nature study develops into upper level science. I am finding it fascinating. I am excited to share my findings and show how I am implementing the ideas learned with my son as we go along (see the printable below).

"But true science work does not stop with mere seeing, hearing, or feeling: it not only furnishes a mental picture as a basis for reasoning, but it includes an interpretation of what has been received through the senses."
Nature Study for the Common Schools, Wilbur Samuel Jackman, 1891

This is the part of nature study I find most meaningful for my son. When he can take something he already knows and build on it with new information, he develops an interest. If I am merely telling him a fact, no matter how interesting the fact is, he is not as impressed. He needs to find the answers to his questions.

Pacific Madrone 

"Adults should realize that the most valuable thing children can learn is what they discover themselves about the world they live in." Charlotte Mason, volume 1 page 61

My research found that this pattern - observation, reasoning, expression - is nothing new or unique to nature study. This pattern is the process that all science is built upon. Watching my son work through the More Nature Study ebook challenges has brought this into focus for me. I wrote the challenges to include advanced study and just happened to present it in this three step pattern.



If you haven't yet downloaded and read my Nature Study-Three Steps To A Better Experience, I invite you to now. It outlines in simple form how to build a lifetime habit of meaningful nature study.

I am submitting this entry to the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival and if you have any entries you would like to submit, you can send them to this email address: charlottemasonblogs@gmail.com. The official blog carnival site is not working so you will need to send them directly to this email.

Keeping Things Fresh with Electives

The challenge I am finding with my high school age boys is to keep our academics solid but balance that with some fresh ideas for "electives".

In our home, keeping our bodies fit has always been a priority. My sons all have a liver disorder that is an issue and their stamina is not always what it should be. One of the benefits of homeschooling chronically ill children is that we can go with the ebb and flow of their energy levels. When they were young that meant shorter lessons with time for rest when needed and now that they are growing in their teen years, we have returned to that sort of pattern again. It works well with homeschooled children and I am grateful every day for the ability to keep our activity levels even with their energy.

With that said, they are still normal teenage boys and they need to work on their physical strength and have some fun every week. I purchased the book Homeschool Family Fitness many years ago and we still use some of their ideas as part of the President's Physical Fitness Challenge goals. I test them at the beginning and end of every term as a way to track their progress.

Push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, sit and reach, jump rope, and a mile run are all things they continually work on together. The mile run they complete once a week and everything else they do daily.

I also have other expectations as part of their physical education requirements. They pick from a list of "once a week" activities: weight lifting, volleyball, basketball, swimming, tennis, walking trail, or the skatepark. They have "once a month" activities as well: longer bike rides, snowboarding, longer hikes, and other sports as part of social events with our congregation.

The newest activity to be added to the list is one that our family has never tried before. My youngest son had heard about this sport and saw the course at a local park. He asked if we could give it a try and he loved it!

Disc golf is something that never occurred to me to try with the boys before for some reason. We made a stop at the local sporting goods store where a friend works and he helped us pick out a couple of discs to get started with. (I am told that we can not call it a Frisbee....I made that mistake once and I will never make it again.)

We drove over to the park and it was a glorious day, warm even. We had no idea what we were doing at first or where to even begin.

Note: If you click the photos you will go over the Flickr where you can see the photos with notes.

The signs were all so confusing.

We just decided to jump in and go for it.

My son, it turns out, is a whiz at disc golf. After a few wild throws, he really got the hang of it and was making par on each "hole".



The challenge is that the "hole" is really far away from the starting spot (click over to Flickr for notes).



The goal is really a pole with a wire basket that you throw the disc into.



For me this meant that I spent quite a bit of time scrambling around under bushes to find my crazy disc that never seemed to go where I wanted it to go. See my yellow disc there in the bushes?


At the end of the afternoon, we had scraped knees and dirty hands from climbing up and down hills and searching for lost discs. This was a much more physically demanding activity than I originally thought. The verdict from my son is that this is a new sport he wants to pursue.


In fact, on the way to the parking lot we ran into my nephew (who is a criminal defense attorney and I was wondering why he was at the park during the afternoon of a workday...hmmmmm) who was there to play a round of disc golf with his friends. He offered to help Mr. B and they have since been back to run through the course without me in tow. Providence....thanks Adam!

I decided it was not a sport for an old lady like me but I am really glad that my son suggested the activity as part of his physical education since it turns out he is a natural player.

When we started homeschooling we were pretty hit or miss with PE until I realized it needed to be on the schedule and it needed to have a shape and form or we would let it slip. Many homeschoolers feel they have to enroll their children in organized sports as a way to provide physical activity for their children but we chose not to take that road. I offer our experience as a way of showing that PE can be a regular part of your week and without much effort keep your children physically fit. My boys *need* this time and it encourages them to spend time with their dad and older adult brother too, a little male bonding time.

It is refreshing to have time to be active and to have some fun outdoors. Physical education is one way we keep our high school schedule fresh and interesting.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Nature Study is Not a Drill: How I Learn to Be Flexible

"If nature study is made a drill, its pedagogic value is lost. When it is properly taught, the child is unconscious of mental effort or that he is suffering the act of teaching. As soon as nature study becomes a task, it should be dropped; but how could it ever be a task to see that the sky is blue, or the dandelion golden, or to listen to the oriole in the elm!"
Handbook of Nature Study page 6

I know our family would never keep up our interest in learning about the world around us if it wasn't something we enjoyed. I do think that it takes just one person to get excited about something and then everyone seems to catch the excitement.

I am sometimes that person but more and more it is the boys who are finding and exploring and drawing my attention to things that they see as they are outside. I have learned to follow their lead.

It is a little uncomfortable to just allow things to happen in nature study. There is always the risk that what interests your children will not be something you are interested in or that you know anything about. I can't tell you how many times that happens in our family. Gradually I have learned the value in allowing some leeway in the topics we learn more about because I can see the growth in my sons' love for and connection to the world they live in. I hear their appreciation for the complex system of life that was created for us to enjoy and benefit from.


Here is a real life example:
Most of you know we went to Oregon last month as a family vacation and as a way to learn more about marine biology. I had prepared these wonderful notebooks all about invertebrates that inhabit the tidepools of the Oregon coast. Great plan...or so I thought.

As the trip progressed I realized that the children were more interested in marine mammals than in invertebrates. Had I brought a book on marine mammals? Nope. I started to feel a rise of panic as we hit the third day and I was still fascinated by the sea stars and anemones in the tidepools and they were busy finding sea lion bones, watching sea otters play in the water, and sea lions on the rocks.

We decided to stop and go down into the sea cave along the Oregon coast where the Stellar sea lions winter over. The boys were excited to take the elevator down to this cave that is said to be one of the largest sea caves in the world, twelve stories high.

There were no sea lions in the cave at this time of year but pretty soon they will all be back inside after having time out at sea to bulk up for the winter. It was still a fascinating place and the boys were grateful we were willing to stop and pay the price of admission.

I could have made them go along with the original plan but it became clear that this was their experience on this trip. They had seen sea stars before and anemones were cool but they didn't do too much to really observe. What they wanted was to watch the playful antics of the sea otters and sea lions and harbor seals.

Switching gears happened and by the time we reached Newport and the Oregon Coast Aquarium, they were primed to actually stop and read the signs and information on the displays for the marine mammals. We had printed out the aquarium guide ahead of time and this helped them to go on their own through the aquarium. This was a first for our family. The boys went on their own and my husband and I enjoyed the aquarium by ourselves.

We met three times during the day and each time they were full of things they wanted to talk about and to actually take us to see. The last hour was spent with the boys being the tour guide through the aquarium showing us their favorite things.

Number one on their list were the sea otters. They could have filled a whole research report with the observations they had made watching the sea otters play and be fed and then groom themselves. It was a big lesson for me. They obviously had spent quite a bit of time at the sea otter tank just watching and joyfully getting to know this wonderful creature.

I hope that you will learn from my experience. Nature study can become totally driven by the teacher and become a chore and a drill or it can be a source of excitement and joy as you explore and learn together.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Just Thinking About Science Education

Does it ever boggle your mind that our children are expected to learn the names of the planets but not the names of the trees in their own backyard?

Does it surprise you that your children can learn all about volcanoes and know their intricate workings but they can't tell you the specific kinds of birds in their own birdfeeder?

How about dinosaurs? Many children could fill notebooks with drawings and writings about dinosaurs but they can not tell you the life cycle of the butterfly they saw at the park or the name of the lizard that sits on the rock in the sun.

It struck me this morning as we were sitting and watching our Scrub-jays in the backyard just how much enjoyment and satisfaction there is at knowing what is right in our every day life. This is real science. This is how God intended us to learn about his creation.

There is a time and a place to learn about more abstract science topics but first and foremost, we need to start close to home and then widen out.

I met a very interesting person last summer while I was in Yosemite. She works at the Le Conte Memorial and we had a fantastic time talking about kids and nature study. She gave me a handout with a list of questions that she uses as a tool in environmental education. I hope she doesn't mind that I share the questions with you on my blog because it has stuck in my mind ever since.

1. What kind of star is our sun?
2. Who developed the theory of heliocentricity-a sun centered solar system?
3. What are the 3 primary colors of the light spectrum?
4. Are Homo sapiens mammals or primates?
5. How many legs does a spider have?
6. How many weeks are in a year?
7. Name two oceans?
8. Name a river that flows through California. (or your home state)
9. Name three different varieties of trees?
10. What mountain is the tallest on the earth?
Bonus: What is the last name of your nearest neighbor where you live?

The point is not really the specific questions...the point in my mind is that we not only need to know some basic premises of modern science but that we need to know what is close to us in our own home town.

I have to admit that I don't know all the answers to the ten questions and I don't even get the bonus. I know probably two last names on our whole street of probably ten houses.

In our attempt to educate our children in the area of science, I hope we all remember that in the end it needs to relate to life, the life we live in our area of the world.

Our family is tackling a study of marine biology this year and I have found a few really good ways to tie into our everyday life. It has made it more enjoyable and less academic. It feels right for us and we are all learning.

Hope you take a few minutes to think about the questions and get the point of the exercise. It really impacted our science education.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Nature Study in the Teen Years

Just a word about nature study with older students.

Honestly, as my children are getting older, they are having to dig deeper to find something they are interested in learning about but the desire is still there. I am feeling the need to spend even more time with them outdoors as they reach their teen and teen+ years, stepping up the observations and learning.

They are becoming more confident in skills like using binoculars, using a field guide, knowing what plants grow in what environments, knowing what berries are edible, identifying birds by their flight patterns, making connections.

Last week we took our regular trip to the pond. Normally they get right to the business of scooping up water and critters and talking in excited voices about what they are finding. But this time I noticed a different atmosphere, a feeling of "we've been here and done that" sort of attitude. I had to quickly remind myself that this is their normal reaction anymore to just about everything. I think they are not interested in something because they don't appear to be too excited on the outside. But later on in the day when they are talking to their dad, they relate a the whole experience in a different light. Apparently the outside of a teenager doesn't accurately reflect the inside at all times.

So if you have older children and they appear to not be interested at first, don't give up. It may be that they just aren't showing it outwardly but inside the experiences are deeply affecting them. Don't give up. I am not going to stop offering time outdoors with my boys.

Not all of our time will be nature study but just time to spend exploring together and sharing experiences. Our two favorite outdoor activities right now are bike riding and hiking. It sort of evens out the field in my opinion. They can lead me along and find things to show me and I can follow along and see what their eyes see. It is a great way to get to know your teens better.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom