Spring at last

Spring is late coming this year. We usually see our first dandelion pop up on the south side of the house sometime in April, but this year, we had to wait till May 2!

I bought my very first watercolour set not long ago. I'm trying it out in my nature notebook. I really have no clue what I'm doing when it comes to painting, but I'm having fun with colour. This is a robin I copied from Bateman's Birds of Eastern North America.

All the green things bursting out stir a great wonder and longing in me, and when these are turned toward God, I believe it is prayer.

I desire the the fountainhead of life.
I desire the breath behind the wind, the green that kisses the new blades of grass, the master of the robins' symphony.
I desire the heat of the eastern sun, and the whisper that sends the kingfisher north again.
I desire the gravity that pulls the world toward spring.

~Lindsey

February Nature Study Plans

I am presenting our plan for February Nature Study in retrospect, so you can see what we actually did, and not just what I hoped to do. :)

Getting Outside

February is cold here, and I don't even try to spend hours outside everyday! Though I do make a point of getting the kids out at least once a day (if they're not sick). We've had a fair amount of snow, and that makes it easier. Snow is fun! They've been sledding down our little front hill and building various forts. They are spending an average of half an hour outside mid-morning, and some afternoons they go out to play again. I confess to letting our  morning school schedule slide on days we've had a good snowfall and they want to stay out. I figure an hour outside on a winter's day is just as good for them as anything else on the schedule! Some days I'll make up the time in the afternoon while the littlest one has her nap.

I personally have not done a stellar job of "taking them out." I probably make it out 2-4 times a week right now, usually for 10-15 minutes. Once a week I am making an effort to go out for longer to play with them, lay in the snow, or walk around the yard making observations. I'm not scheduling that in, because it really is weather dependent.

Nature Journal

This month I determined to get myself in the habit of daily nature journalling. I've been studying up a little bit on Charlotte Mason's method of nature study and journalling. Right now I am focusing more on keeping a written diary of observations and occurrences. Jotting something down is easy! Drawing or painting takes a bit more time and thought, which means I often don't get around to it.

Perhaps it's ambitious to try to implement this in the middle of winter, when we have fewer opportunities for extended outdoor time, but I figure, why not give it a try?! I planned 2 things to help us all get into the habit of more regular journaling.

1. Bird feeder

I bought more birdseed! So easy yet so rewarding. The bird feeder is right outside our dining room window. I had the kids make a page for February Birds, and they have been writing down every bird we see this month, whether at the feeder or elsewhere in our travels. It's making us more attentive to the birds in general. I keep the binoculars and the bird book handy beside the window.

2. February Moon Chart

Our "special studies" this term is astronomy. I saw an idea somewhere about keeping a moon chart, and thought that would be a great way to observe the night sky and also have something to enter daily. We made a calendar-like grid spread over 2 pages, one box for each day. Most days we are looking outside after supper. Somedays we actually go out to look, and some days we are just looking out a window. In each box, the kids are recording their observations, including:

• The shape of the moon (drawn)
• Location of the moon (direction it is rising, or which window we see it from)
• Other notes about weather and temperature 

If there is no moon, or it's overcast, we're recording that too. If we miss a day, we simply write "unobserved" and pick up where we left off. Some evenings the kids make their entries then and there. Other days we've left it till the next morning. (To be honest, there have been days when I've only remembered about the moon after they are all ready for or even in bed. Those days I've got them up to look out the window, then we record in the morning. It doesn't have to be perfect to be valuable!) 

I'm not sure what we'll do for March to keep things going on an almost daily basis. Any ideas?!?! 

Special Studies: Astronomy

We are using two books right now to go along with our astronomy theme. (We generally follow AmblesideOnline's nature study schedule.) We are focusing mainly on the moon and stars, though we are also getting an overview of space in general and our place in the universe.

Exploring the Night Sky by Terence Dickinson

Scheduled once a week. While this book is slightly dated (Pluto is still a planet, for example), we've been enjoying it. We're not attempting to do the whole book. We average a page or two a day, skipping around where I see fit. 

Find the Constellations (2nd Ed.) by H. A. Rey 

Scheduled once a week. We are moving more slowly than I had anticipated (quite a few sick days this month!), but it's still good. This is the one the kids ask for. The layout is simple. I had envisioned the kids drawing the constellations right into their nature journals, but for some reason they were resistant to that. 

So instead, we've done a few other things. We've made the constellations by poking holes with needles into a piece of black construction paper. That was fun! The kids also asked for a special book to put their astronomy related things in. I had some basic exercise books, so I gave them each one of those. They've been drawing some of the constellations in there, and other things from the books. I'm not really requiring anything in particular, but just letting them put in what interests them.

We'll keep going with astronomy as a special study till the end of March. 

Nature in Community

So far this term we've gotten together twice with another homeschooling family to do some activities related to our special study. (They are following the AO schedule as well.) We picked a few out of this book:

It was a lot of fun to get the kids together and share in our astronomy study. I loved when they were all sitting around the table after our activities drawing and writing in their nature journals. Seeing others' nature journals inspires them in new ways too!


All in all, February was a good month for nature study. The kids got sick toward the end of the month, and some of this fell to the wayside. Many days of the moon journal were missed. But we picked up where we left off. It doesn't have to be perfect to be worthwhile, I tell myself, when things don't go as planned.

Nature study is doable, and fun, even in February!


~ Lindsey

Outdoor Life Challenge: Week 4 Log

More catching up to do! Last week we still had one sick child, so we weren't operating at our best. I didn't get outside with the kids every day, although they played outside every day.

Monday

We found our very first dandelion of the season! It was on the south side of the house. We decided that was nature journal worthy, so we brought out our supplies and each made our own entry. Funny how such a common little flower can bring so much joy.

Mom's and Arden's journal entries

I think the passing cars may have been wondering what we were doing lying beside the house staring at the ground!

This is Arden's shorthand for dandelion! She was careful to observe and replicate the colour of the stem. 

Jack's entry

We also had our afternoon snack outside!

And dried some winter outdoor clothes on the line, with the hopes that they can be put away for the season. . .

All together: 90 min in the afternoon

Tuesday

No entry!

Wednesday

We were in town in the afternoon, but once we got home we all did some yard work together. That's always fun. :) We even did a bit of garden weeding. Arden was delighted with all the worms she found in her little plot, particularly with a big, fat one that she decided was the grandma of them all!

All together: 60-90 min in the afternoon

Thursday

It rained in the morning, but the kids have been making good use of their MEC rain gear so far this year! I decided last year that if we were going to be spending more time outside "whatever the weather," that we would need the right kind of clothing. The one piece rain suits are great. On chilly days the kids put warm layers underneath. So far, so good! They played outside by themselves in the morning.

By afternoon, the clouds had moved away and things were dryer. While the baby napped, we snuggled together on the front porch swing under some blankets and read a few chapters of Farmer Boy.

All together: 60ish min?

Friday

No entry, and I'm drawing a blank on that day! I keep thinking I'll remember what I did on what day, but if I don't write it down, things get foggy.

Goals

1. Spend a portion of our day together outside

This didn't happen every day this week. However, I went out at least 3/5 days. The times we did spend outside were good.

2. Have a snack or lunch outside

The kids had a few afternoon snacks outside.

3. Nature journaling 

We all made an entry on Monday - the humble dandelion!

4. Make outdoor play our default play

This is slowly progressing. This week Micah got out the baseball bats and we rounded up various balls. The kids spent quite a bit of time with their dad hitting balls in the backyard. I love to see them playing together! With warmer and lighter evenings, the kids will often head back out after supper for awhile.

The weekend was also great for family time outside! Weekends aren't technically part of my challenge, but we're making more of an effort as a family to get out together too. On Sunday, Micah had the older two off for an expedition, and I took Ivy for a walk down to the pond. She is getting used to crawling around on the grass now, but it still spooks her a bit! I'm looking forward to her discovering so much for the very first time this year.

5. Continue my own nature education

I read a little further in "Home Education."

A few random thoughts . . . 

I can't tell you how refreshing and almost healing it is to hear the robin song again. There was one evening in particular where Mr. Robin was singing right outside the dining room window. It must have been about 8:30, because it was almost dark. I opened the window and sat in the dim light and just listened. There were many things competing for my mental attention that night, but the robin song seemed to cut right through all of that. We live in an age of distraction and mental stress. I think God has a way of calling us back to more natural rhythms, if we have ears to hear.


Happy outdoorsing!

~ Lindsey

Outdoor Life Challenge: Week 2 Log

I am posting this a week late. Last week I was still under the weather, and then we had Easter weekend and a birthday on top of that! Whew! This week has been a catch up week in many ways.

I didn't record our time everyday, and now looking back things are a bit of a blur. The kids went out every morning by themselves. I think I got out a few times with them, and they stayed out for longer when I came back in. The weather has still been up and down.

Goals

1. Time Outside Together

The kids are helping me out with this by asking me when I'm coming out with them! It's a good thing, especially on days when I don't "feel" like going out. Or when the weather is less than "fine."

One day when I wasn't feeling great at all, I went out and lay on the little hill in our front yard while the kids played. It was windy, but the sun was out. We tried a session of "Sight-Seeing." I called the kids over and said we would play a little game. I told them to go down to the big stump by the river and find out everything they could about it. I told them they could look, listen, touch it, smell it, and even taste it. "TASTE IT?" they said. "Yep!" I laughed, pretty sure there wasn't anything poisonous growing on it. "You can lick it if you want." Well, they thought that was grand, and off they went. They spent a few minutes down there, then ran back to report. My 5 year old wasn't interesting in telling me anything (no big deal), but my almost 7 year old gave me quite a detailed report about how the new branches were growing out of the stump, the condition of the buds, the exposed roots, and that there was a white fungus that was both squishy and firm growing near the ground. (Ok, maybe there was a poisonous fungus, but they had the good sense not to lick that part of the stump!) I was quite impressed with her little "narration."

2. Eat Outside

One morning we took our snack and Morning Time out to the sunny front porch. We read the Bible and our poetry outside. I hope to do this more when the weather improves. It's just a few steps from our dining room where we normally have our Morning Time.

3. Nature Journalling

I did one entry this week. We've been learning how to spot the difference between a raven and a crow. I have no problem if they're side by side, but sometimes from a distance it's hard to tell. I can almost always tell the voice of a raven though. It's part of the soundtrack of my northern upbringing. We have more crows than ravens around here. One day a few months back I was out for a walk, and I heard the distinctive and rather comical croak of a raven in a tree right above me. It made smile, because they have such an interesting vocabulary!

4. Default Outdoor Play

This is still a work in progress. One day the kids brought a bunch of toys out to the front porch, which is not exactly what I have in mind by outdoor play, but it still got them in the fresh air and sunshine, so that was good!

5. My Own Nature Education

I didn't have the energy for reading of any kind this week. But I do feel more solid in my raven vs. crow characteristics. I find it very satisfying to know these things. I can't help but feeling like the birds are my friends somehow, and I like to know about them!




~ Lindsey

The Outdoor Life Challenge Begins!

Yes, April is here, and with it the beginning of my Outdoor Life Challenge!

(In case you missed the original post, click here to read my initial thoughts on the challenge.)

And yes, it was snowing here today. And there's more in the forecast for tomorrow. Not exactly how I was hoping to begin April, but we will forge ahead anyway!

Here's a recap of my goals for the next three months:

1. Spend a portion of our day together outside

I'm going to start by trying to do this in the afternoons. I'm liking our current morning routine, and since it's taken a lot of effort to create consistent mornings over this year, I don't really want to mess with that. The kids do usually go outside for between 30 minutes to 1 hour before we begin our morning lessons. They go out and play while I put the baby down for her nap, do a few of my chores, or finishing getting ready for our lessons. I will add this to the kids' total tally for the day, though it won't count for my time.

I'm still working out how to structure our afternoons to go out together, especially with this tricky early spring weather. It's not quite "fine" enough to be eating outside, or for the baby to be crawling around yet. I think I'm going to keep the baby's nap time the same for now, at least on most days. The other thing I need to work out is how to schedule in the kids' quiet time, which is my daily sanity saver!! This usually happens during the baby's nap as well, which is around 1:30-2:30. We also have a read-aloud time that usually happens after quiet time, which is a highlight of our day. I can anticipate eventually moving that to our front porch once the weather warms up, but for now we might need to keep that indoors. I have a feeling things will be shifting around a lot as the weather changes over the next few months.

I'm also going to start small. My humble goal, at least here in the beginning of chilly April, is to go out with the kids for one hour in the afternoon. I hope it's doable enough to get some momentum going! And maybe we'll surprise ourselves with more, who knows!

In addition, I want to plan one "full" afternoon outside a week, whenever possible. (This may be a trip to the pond down the road, or a hike/bike ride once the trails are clear of snow. I'm also waiting on some new inner tubes for my stroller. We have a great backyard, but I'd like to try going just a little further afield if we can.)

2. Have a snack or lunch outside on fine weather days

Hmm, we'll see about this! The temperature range for the next week is between -3 and +4 celsius. Maybe we'll try a snack this week! I do have a little picnic table outside that is great for snacks and small meals. It's currently in a mud/slush puddle. Again, things should shift as spring becomes warmer.

3. Dust off the nature journals and make regular entries

We did this last week! It was great. Our goal will be at least one entry a week. Eventually I hope to move some of the actual journaling outside, but for now we may need to bring some nature inside for drawing purposes, or draw from our guide books.

4. Make outdoor play our default play

I know this will become easier as the sun gets warmer and beckons us out. I can see this being a challenge at the beginning. A lot of outdoor play this time of year means an awful lot of mud too. Besides finding some more splash pants, I think I will have to designate a set of "mud clothes" for each child that can be permanently stained "island red."

5. Continue my own nature education

What are these?

Right now I'm reading through "The Out-of-Doors Life for the Children" section of Mason's Home Education (volume 1 in the pink set).

Our "special study" area for nature study this term (following Ambleside Online's schedule) is fish. I'll have to read up on this in my Handbook of Nature Study. I must say, I don't know a lot about fish at the moment. I'm sure that will change by the end of June!

A few more things. . . 

• Every day I will keep a tally of the kids' total time outside, and our time outside together. I'll post this at the end of each week, hopefully with a bit of a recap of our time outside. 
• Once a week I will try to post a few thoughts from my reading in Home Education. 
• I want to pay special attention to what sparks joy in our time outside! I hope to capture at least one moment a week, whether in words or in a photo, that I can share. Joy is a big part of why I'm taking on this challenge. :) 

If you'd like to join in this challenge and share your own outdoor journey, please chime in in the comments, or link to any blog posts you may have! I'm not tech-savvy enough to have hashtags and link parties and all that, but perhaps we can encourage each other in some small way. 

Happy Outdoorsing! 

~ Lindsey

Winter Nature Journaling from The Burgess Bird Book for Children

We've been slowly reading through The Burgess Bird Book for Children. I think we started last spring when the birds began to return! We often read it during our afternoon snack time. I think we're about halfway through. (We're not reading it according to any schedule, as you can see.) Last week we decided to pull out our neglected nature journals and draw a few birds from recent chapters. We used Peterson's field guide to draw from.

On a side note, this was the first time Arden understood that the pictures in the field guide were actually painted by Roger Tory Peterson. I think she thought they were photographs. She was amazed! I think it inspired her.

"Twitter"

Arden chose the purple martin ("Twitter," the largest of the swallow family), and I chose the barn swallow ("Forktail," with his distinctive tail). We used watercolours. Arden did her drawing and colour mixing very carefully, and was quite pleased with how it turned out.

"Forktail"

This is something we both enjoy doing, and I'm hoping we can do more regularly this spring!

A busy day of living and learning together

~lg