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

A good January school day

Maybe it was the sun shining after so many days of cloud and storm, but today felt like a good school day. There was nothing particularly special about it, and we didn't even get to everything on "the list." But we took life as it came to us and made the most of the learning opportunities around us.

First off, with the sun breaking through the clouds, the girls got started with their morning paper...

For school this morning, we brought out the Cuisenaire rods (part of our regular math program) and Base 10 blocks to build number bond towers, increasing in height with every level. I got the idea from this video. Jack got his all the way up from 1 to 10!

Meanwhile, Ivy worked happily on puzzles while Arden did her geography reading and map drills. (She made her own tower later.) It was just a peaceful yet productive time.

This afternoon, during Ivy's nap, Arden and Jack and I went outside. After a lovely snowy January, we just had a big rainfall. I have mixed feelings about these January thaws, since they seem so out of place. And yet, they uncover some of that world waiting for spring.

We checked what the swollen river washed up after the rain and thaw, and took a general walkabout to see what we could see. As always, the little details bring the most joy - green ground cover that smells like a field of ripe summer grasses, tiny larch cones, and taking time to stop and smell the oak leaves...

Every single time I make time to go outdoors, I am glad I did. Every single time we make the time to observe and delight in nature, I am glad we did. I can't help thinking it's worth reordering our lives (and even school schedules) to make sure these connections with creation are being made.


~lg

Snap Joy :: Winter Lover

Here's our littlest winter lover. She only cries when she has to come in. 

Imagination and Getting Outside in Winter

Winter so far this year has been a sloppy, schizophrenic mess. We've had a mixture of snow and rain, freeze and thaw, and all the varied precipitation in between! We go from wonderland white one day, to soggy brown the next. It's not our ideal as far as winter goes (we like lots of snow that stays around!), but it hasn't stopped the kids from getting outside.

Yesterday they had a blast making a whole kingdom of castles and houses out of the wet snow. They spent a good 2 hours out there, and were quite thrilled to show me all they had done. I took a few pictures with my phone.

Since the colder weather began in the fall, we've managed to get a consistent habit of outdoor play in place - one slot in the morning, and one in the afternoon.

Jack's best castle, stocked with pinecones for small animals in need.

Every morning around 9:00, I send Arden and Jack outside to play. The goal is one hour. I've sent them out in pretty much everything. Blizzards, rain, snow, -20C, mud, wind, you name it. The key is the right outer clothes! We've kept full snowsuits and head-to-toe raingear handy. On the coldest and windiest days, I've shortened the time to 20 minutes. Lots of days they've come to the door asking to come in early, but if it didn't look like they were in danger of frostbite, I just sent them back out! They know where the sheltered parts of the yard are.

The great thing is this morning time has become a true habit now. They don't resist, they just expect it, and most days they are excited to go out. Sometimes I'll go out for a few minutes and take Ivy with me, but that might depend on her nap time and if there are chores I have to finish up.

Arden, the main castle, and the pinecone forest.

On afternoons that we are home (which is most days), I also send them outside for another hour or so. This doesn't necessarily happen at the same time each day, but the kids have also come to expect this, and know that if they don't head on their own accord, I'll send them at some point. If I haven't got out in the morning with Ivy, then I make an effort to go out in the afternoon. She loves going outside, which I love to see, and is quite put out if she doesn't get to put her snowsuit on when the big kids do.

I think this time is so important for their development, in many ways. Besides the obvious benefits of fresh air and exercise, they are making consistent, long term connections with nature. It doesn't always look like formal "nature study," but they are forming a relationship with nature nonetheless.

Charlotte Mason says in Home Education, 

"[T]here is no sort of knowledge to be got in these early years so valuable to children as that which they get for themselves of the world they live in. Let them once get touch with Nature, and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight through life. We were all meant to be naturalists, each in his degree, and it is inexcusable to live in a world so full of the marvels of plant and animal life and to care for none of these things." (pg. 61)


Time outside also gives them space, time and freedom for imaginative play. I don't think it was a coincidence that we read a few wonderfully rich bedtime stories the night before this snow kingdom creation.

Stoking their imaginations with great images and ideas through literature fuels both their desire and enjoyment to "go out and play." Outside they have the freedom to explore and enact the worlds in their heads. Its the science of relations at work. The snow halls they make might just house Urso Brunov and his little bears.


~lg

A new term, a hungry hawk, and January thaw

We getting settled back into routine again after our Christmas break. The weather has been wild this week. We've gone from -20s earlier this week to +13 today! The kids are loving this January thaw, but I just wish it would stay cold and snowy.

The kids are making good use of their MEC rain suits anyway! (We use them for 4 seasons here!)

My outdoor life goal for this term is to get the kids outside twice a day, aiming for an hour at least each time. (On the really cold days, I've cut it back to half an hour.) And I am also trying to get out for one of those times with Ivy as well. She wants to be outside with the big kids whenever she can!

We've had quite the week for nature study. This bird of prey made an appearance in our chicken coop! We think it is an immature red-tailed hawk. It must have been hungry, because it chased one of our chickens into the coop and killed it there, where we found them both. While we feel sorry for the chicken, it was fascinating to observe the hawk.

For this term in school, we've started a few new books, which is always exciting, including The Little Duke for Arden (her favourite subject is history), and The House at Pooh Corner for Jack.

In other exciting news, Arden has really picked up with her reading. She read the first two books in the Imagination Station series and has just started The Boxcar Children by herself! She is also participating in the Read-Aloud Revival 31 Day Challenge this month, which is proving to be great motivation.

Happy new year, and here's to more semi-regular blogging! :)

January Winter Fun

Here are a few shots from this past January.

Inside . . . 

A window on the wintery world

Books!

We had a several day puzzle marathon. I think we did 7 in total. 

Outside . . .  

On a cold, sunny day we went on a walk on the old pier in North Rustico. This is one of our favourite (and closest) beaches in the summer, and we get a lot of mileage out of it in the winter too!

It was a windy day, and the waves were really crashing up over the walls.

Taking cover from the waves. I got hid hard in the back with one of them when I wasn't paying attention!

This one loves rock climbing.

And this one loves sliding down the frozen dunes face first!

Ok, just to let you know, all the kids were enjoying this particular moment! Everyone knows snow is insulating, right?!

Rescued by Daddy!

Happy winter to everyone!

~lg