Forcing Spring Buds - Leaves and Blooms Update

Have you tried forcing twigs to blossom? It is the perfect easy late winter nature study project for any family.

This is an activity that we enjoy every year.  In February, we cut and bring in forsythia twigs to force the buds to bloom indoors. This year we added some additional twigs and buds to our collection and they are starting to unfold. The project is so easy and it is not too late to try your hand at some twigs from your yard.



This birch leaf is from our Twig Study earlier this winter. It has little spring green leaves opening...love the texture and the shape.


We also collected twigs from one of our hiking trails and even though they all looked a little different at the beginning, we realized now that they are opening that they are all from buckeye trees.


It is such a simple project with some fascinating results. We cut the twig, placed it in a jar of water, and then set it in the window sill. After that, you just need to be patient.

We have had such amazing results that we are going to cut some more twigs today. I think the plum tree would be a great candidate for this project. I will post our results when we see some blossoms. :)



So did you start a tabletop garden of your own? We have been watching our carrot first grow roots and now it is putting lots of energy into making leaves. This is another simple and fun project that your family can try at any time.

• You can find instructions and a notebook page on my daughter's blog: Hearts and Trees Tabletop Garden.
• Instructions for forcing forsythia 
• Twig Study in More Nature Study Ebook #2

The Play of Light - Changing Landscapes

Leaves Bathed in Light

Autumn is a time for colors and textures...and this year autumn is featuring its light side. The sun has ushered us through the season, bathing us in warmth and cheerfulness. The usual seasonal sadness did not arrive and I am grateful.

"Call attention to the changing beauty of the landscape. Let the children tell what they enjoy in it. Point out more, if they are old enough to appreciate it. Show them the play of light and shade, the harmony of the colors, the subdued hues, the neutral tints of forest and meadow, of mountain and fading perspectives."
Nature and Children

Piles and piles of colors to behold.

Early December yard chores

"Hey mom, look how many leaves came down in the wind! Why do you think only one tree still has its leaves? Now it seems like winter."

What a wonderful way to teach about the cycles of life: the growing and dying, the green and the brown, the fullness and the bareness. One just leads to the next, round and round. He notices. We notice.

More light to capture

Today I am reminded of how my season in life is changing, grateful for sons who remind me to stop and notice things that I might have otherwise missed, filling up on the light they bring to the day.

Our Fall Leaf Study - A Lesson in Teen Nature Study

Pressed leaves going into my nature journal (See the November Newsletter for instructions.)

We are finally starting to see some fall colors all over our neighborhood. With our autumn color words in mind, we try to challenge each other to find just the right color words as we drive around town...noticing the crimson, the indigo, the mahogany, and the bronze of the leaves. (Download your own Advanced Fall Color Activity from Hearts and Trees.)

As part of the Leaf Close-Up challenge, Mr. B was happy to come along to gather fall leaves but not too excited about doing the follow-up for this one. His teen attitude was that he knew all there was to know about leaves. I let it go for that day since we had enjoyed spending time together outside and I did not want to spoil the mood.

I waited until another day to try the advanced study work suggested in the challenge which was to make our own slides using the leaves we gathered, looking closer at them using a microscope. As much as I want my teen to continue his nature study, I know that pushing him too hard takes the joy out of it and that is the opposite of my aim in continuing nature study through high school.

It can wait.

Fall leaves with larvae.

So, even though a leaf study was not a great fit for Mr. B, I tried to finish the challenge myself this week, hoping he would join me. Well, right off the bat I needed his help with the microscope. It did not seem to be working so he took a look at it for me but he could not get it going either. That ended another day of trying to get this challenge done.

Then on Friday, Mr. A (my older son who has graduated from high school) was home and I asked him if he wanted to finish up the challenge with me. He actually was eager to participate. He brought his own leaves in and got to work. The image below is a glimpse at his notebook page from the More Nature Study ebook. He ended up using the hand lens instead to view the leaves up close.

Advanced Study notebook page from More Nature Study ebook

This challenge led to a light bulb moment for me.

• Mr. B was not interested in this particular challenge but we did enjoy our time together outdoors viewing the trees and leaves. For Mr. B, that was enough.
• Mr. A *was* interested in taking a closer look with me at the fall leaves even though he has graduated from homeschool.  

Lesson? I am succeeding in keeping my teens interested in nature study. As always, I need to learn to be flexible and allow for personal taste and styles of learning.

For more on that topic make sure to read the article in the November edition of my Outdoor Hour Challenge Newsletter from Ellen Crandall (available to all subscribers to my blog-see the sidebar to sign up). She has a few teens in her home that she is encouraging nature study with each month.

OHC More Nature Study #8 Fall Leaf Study - Close Up

"Make the lesson an investigation and make the pupils feel that they are investigators…….The ‘leading thought’ embodies some of the points which should be in the teacher’s mind while giving the lesson; it should not be read or declared to the pupils……..The outlines for observations herein given by no means cover all of the observations possible; they are meant to suggest to the teacher observations of her own, rather than to be followed slavishly….If the questions do not inspire the child to investigate, they are useless.”

Handbook of Nature Study, page 23

More Nature Study #8
Fall Leaf Study - Close Up

Inside Preparation Work:

• Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 9-10 (The Lens, Microscope, and Field Glass As Helps in Nature Study).
• Have on hand a magnifying glass to use as part of this leaf challenge. You can see more ideas on my: Squidoo Lens on Magnifying Lenses.

Outdoor Hour Time:

• Spend your Outdoor Hour time in your own backyard or neighborhood. 
• Look at the various kinds of leaves and have your child point out several that capture their interest.
• Choose four or five leaves to collect and bring home to look at with the magnifying lens.

Follow-Up Activity:

• Use the hand lens to make careful observations of your leaves. One at a time have your child describe what he sees as he looks at the leaf carefully. Record your results in your nature journal (or use the notebook page in the ebook).
• Press your leaves to add to your nature journal at a future date. You can watch my YouTube video to learn how to do this with simple household items.

• Advanced Follow-Up: Use this LINK and scroll down to the section, “Taking a Closer Look At Plant Cells”. Make your own leaf slides to look at under your microscope. Here is a LINK to view many leaves up close. Ebook Users - Use the Leaf Morphology page and the notebook page to complete your study.
• Advanced Follow-Up: Read this article on Wikipedia: Leaf. Read this page that illustrates Leaf Margins and Shapes (love this page with the clear images).

It is getting very close to the end of the month and the next edition of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. Outdoor Hour Challenge entries that were written in the month of October 2011 are all eligible and are due to me no later than October 30, 2011. The carnival is posted on the last day of each month. You can enter at this link: Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival Submission Form.

OHC More Nature Study #5 Fall Color Walk

 It finally feels like fall here in Northern California. We had a really big rainstorm that knocked out our power for a short time and brought down a shower of leaves along with the raindrops. I was so glad that we had brought in the chair cushions, tucked away the lavender that was drying, harvested the last of the dahlias, and mowed the grass one last time. There is a nip in the air this evening that means autumn has arrived.



How about your part of the world? Are you feeling like autumn or is it lingering summer? Whatever your world looks like you can take a fall walk and discover some fall color...maybe not your leaves but look for berries, nuts, and weeds that are changing color.

Working on some fall leaf watercolor nature journal entries..

OHC More Nature Study #5
Fall Color Walk

Inside Preparation Work:

• Read in the Handbook of Nature Study page 14, “The Field Excursion”. The reason I want you to read this section is so you have a better understanding of how to prepare you children for a short outdoor excursion with a purpose. Let them know ahead of time the reason you are going outdoors, have them gather their supplies, and then make the excursion outside to look for fall colors.
• You may wish to review a previous Autumn Colors/Leaf Challenge.
• You can view this video on YouTube: Why Leaves Change Color.
• Make sure you have several shades of fall colors in your colored pencil collection: reds, yellows, greens, oranges. 
• You can also use the Nature Study Grid from the October Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter to enhance your Fall Color Walk and leaf observation.

Outdoor Hour Time:

• Spend some of your Outdoor Hour time looking for fall colors in your own backyard. If your children are older, have them choose carefully their colors. Not all greens are the same. Not all yellows are the same. Try to match your colors by choosing your colored pencils to match as best you can.
• Gather several leaves to collect for the up-coming Leaf Study (#8). You may with to press these so they will not be dried before you can examine them. You can watch my YouTube video to see how to do this with simple household resources.
• If your children are very young, just point out the fall colors or you can use Monica’s idea to use color word cards.
• Advanced Study: Take your watercolors outdoors along with your brushes and pad. Use watercolors to make a record of your fall scene. Look for complementary colors: yellow leaves and blue sky, red berries and evergreens, etc. Capture autumn color in your local area….make the painting show the mood of the change of season. 

Follow-Up Activities:

• If you didn’t complete the Fall Color Walk notebook page (ebook users only) during your outdoor time, you can complete it now. An alternate follow-up activity could be to make a list of all the colors you saw and record them in your nature journal or to use the Hearts and Trees Advanced Fall Color Activity.
• Advanced Follow-Up: Read these websites: The Chemistry of Autumn Leaf Colors. And The Chemistry of Autumn Colors. Write a summary narration for your nature journal.
• Advanced Follow-Up: Complete the Upper Level notebook page included with this ebook (ebook users only).

Make sure to share your entry with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. Please jump in even if this is your very first OHC. All you need to do is share the link to your blog entry. Easy as pie.

Leaf-Miner Study Updated and Some Acorns Too

Today we hit the jackpot with leaf-miners while we were taking a hike with the dog. We found a whole bunch of leaves with signs of leaf-miners...how exciting!
(Original post HERE and the OHC Challenge HERE)


We were amazed at how crazy the path is on some of the leaves. Curls and swirls and then along the edges, there seems to be no rhyme or reason.

The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

We also were fascinated with the furry, fuzzy tops on these acorns. I like how they grow like twins on the branches of the oak tree.


I found a few on the ground along with some moss for a cute little acorn photo.

Just wanted to update our study with our latest finds.

Barb

Searching for Leaf-Miners and Leaf-Rollers

We found quite a bit of leaf damage on the oaks in our backyard...nothing that really looked like leaf-miners though. We looked carefully which is part of what this challenge (More Nature Study #2 Leaf-Miners and Rollers) was all about.Taking time to really look and see the leaves opens up lots of interesting thoughts and ideas.  Who caused the damage? Were they nibbled by insects or something else like the birds that frequent our yard?

The preparation work from the Handbook of Nature Study really helped us with this challenge.



We went around to the garden side of the yard and started to look at the shrubs there and we think we found several leaves that had been rolled up by insects. This one looks close to what we were looking for so we are going to assume it is our subject for this challenge. Amazing that I never noticed this leaf-rolling in our own backyard until now! What else am I missing?



Now in the front yard we have a different kind of oak and we were able to see clearly some damage done by some insect...perhaps a leaf-miner. We couldn't find any leaves that had insects working on them currently but these looked promising enough to bring a few inside to look at under the magnifying lens.



Here is one image (through the magnifying lens) that was super pretty, almost looked like stained glass.When you hold the leaf up to the light as suggested in the Handbook of Nature Study it is even more beautiful. My husband was wondering what I was looking at and I had to share with him too. He was fascinated by our topic and since he spends lots of time outdoors as part of his job, he is going to keep an eye out for some more leaves to look at with the hand lens.



Another image up-close at what we think may be what we were looking for this week.

So there you have it...our leaf-miner and leaf-roller study in our own yard. Amazing that we could find it right under out noses. I think that is the lesson I learned from reading the entries to the Blog Carnival for this challenge from different families.....total amazement that they could even find this subject so close to home.

If you haven't taken the time to give this challenge a try yet, there is still plenty of time to do so. Make it an investigation after reading the information in the Handbook of Nature Study. Take your magnifying glass with you outdoors to look at the suggested plants (see Lesson 77 in the HNS).


We also observed some oak galls which are covered in Lesson 79 in the Handbook of Nature Study. These are interesting to observe as well and surprising to most that they are actually signs of an insect.

Make sure to submit your Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival entries soon. The deadline will be this coming Thursday, September 29, 2011. The carnival will be posted on Friday.

More Than a Gesture...Priceless

My son left me a gift....he knows how to cheer me up.

I have been busy doing some second term planning and this means a few hours a day sitting at the desk and computer. My boys have noticed that I start early and push myself to just get it done. They have been working on their favorite projects like waxing snowboards, playing basketball, working on model airplanes, taking long walks with the dog, and visiting with family.

I came out to work on chemistry planning and found this beautiful leaf sitting on the text, a gift from my seventeen year old son. Priceless....

I think nature study has made a special bond in our family and I love the way my teenage boys can see beauty in the simplest of things. I hope that in my way that I am helping your families to build that bond and love in nature study.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom