Posted By Melissa on March 9, 2010

Today we took a nature walk at a local park to hunt for early signs of spring. If you’d like to read more about that and see all our photos, head over to my post at Shining Dawn Books! But I just had to share this photo here of a beautiful Snowdrop flower we found. And if you look close you’ll see the rear-end of a little honeybee sticking out of the bottom. Now that’s a sure sign of Spring!

Category: Gardening and Flowers, Insects, Nature in Spring | 1 Comment »
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Posted By Melissa on March 8, 2010

Today was the first spring-like day we’ve had this year. The temperatures reached the upper 50’s and the sun was a welcome sight all day long. While I took my nature walk I was almost sure I could hear the sound of spring being called by the warm sun. I could envision the grass shining with it’s bright green spring color.

I could see the fields of white Daisies and yellow Sunflowers. I could hear the warm breeze whispering their names.

I could hear the Spring Peepers calling, squeak, squeak, squeak, and the American toad ringing a familiar call out.

I could envision the crocuses purple and white blooms opened wide. I knew that would be happening very soon.

I could see the think lush green of the canopy of leaves covering the woods and making them seem secret.

I could imagine the blooms on bushes bursting open.

And I could see Mama and Papa Bluebird making their nest.

Yes, Spring is definitely being called, and soon it will arrive.

Category: Nature in Spring | 3 Comments »
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Posted By Melissa on March 7, 2010

Click on the graphic below and head on over to Shining Dawn Books to check out our GREAT offer to celebrate spring!

Category: Nature in Spring, Shining Dawn Books | No Comments »
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Posted By Melissa on March 7, 2010

I’m just posting to let everyone know that I’ve updated my sidebar to list our March nature, art, music and poetry studies!

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Posted By Melissa on February 27, 2010

See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. – Song of Solomon 2:11-12

Ah, March is here! Don’t you know that March is the month that springtime comes? Well, officially spring comes on March 21st, but unfortunately I’m sure that there are many more cold winter days left. However, one thing is for sure, March means that spring is well on it’s way! And before long we will start getting those glimpses of warmer days. You know, the days where the bright sun is shining and a warm breeze is flowing, rejuvenating a winter weary soul.

And to jump start your spring, here are some March Nature Notables:

• The Big Thaw is on! Winter time is on it’s way out. What evidence do you see of this? Keep a daily nature diary through the month of all the signs of winter leaving and spring beginning to arrive. This might be a great time to start taking photos of the changes to include in your diary as well.  And don’t forget to learn about the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring) on March 21st!

• March, a time of new beginnings and of new birth, is a great time for Bible lessons on Jesus’ resurrection.

• The Iditarod begins on March the 6th. Use this opportunity to learn about this interesting dog sled race and learn more about nature in Alaska while you’re at it.

• At the end of winter is a great time to study erosion. Ice and snow have a way of creating lots of erosion whether is be on the banks of a creek or the potholes your car hits in the road.

• March is the time of the Full Worm Moon. As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. This moon is also known as the Full Crow Moon, Full Crust Moon and the Full Sap Moon.

• Speaking of sap, March is usually the month of tapping maple trees for their yummy sap. Read about it or check your area to see if there is a place you can visit to witness this cool process of turning sap into syrup. Celebrate by bringing a bottle home and having pancakes or waffles for dinner!

• St. Patrick’s Day is March 17th. Go out hunting for four-leaf clovers!

• “In like a lion, out like a lamb”, this is the way March’s weather is supposed to be. Keep watch to see if that’s true. Keep a weather diary. Investigate where this saying came from and why it tends to be true. While your at it investigate other weather-lore and decide if the sayings are true or not. Here is an article I wrote about using March to teach weather: Hear Me Roar: Using Weather in March to Teach.

• March is typically known as a great month for flying kites! Why is this? Of course it’s because it tends to be a windy month. Make sure to spend a day outside flying kites! And learn a bit more about the wind while you’re at it.

• Speaking of wind, the season of spring is famous for bringing what meteorologists refer to as “whiplash weather“. What is whiplash weather and why is it prevalent in spring?

• For many areas March marks the beginning of tornado season. Use this opportunity to study tornadoes. Map out “tornado alley”. Investigate why tornadoes are more frequent this time of year and more prevalent in certain areas.

• If your fortunate you may not experience tornadoes in your area. But at the very least you may have thunderstorms in the spring. Use this opportunity to study about thunder and lighting and what makes a thunderstorm. On a stormy day read the book Storm in the Night by Mary Stolz.

• March is the month you are likely to notice an increase in the birds singing. Therefore, this may be a great month to study the birds! Learn their calls and songs and why they sing more this time of year. Also, many migrating birds are beginning to return to their summer homes this month. Which birds are returning to your area that have been gone?

• Watch for buds on plants and trees and new growth starting to push through the soil! Those few warmer days may bring on the beginning of all these things in your area. Keep an eye out! Maybe bring in a branch with buds to force open by putting it in a vase of water.

• In our area, mid to late March usually brings on the emergence of the first wildflowers. Often these early bloomers can be found on the woods floor. Now would be an excellent time to begin studying flowers! Check to see what wildflowers bloom in March in your area and be on the lookout for them. Begin to keep a wildflower journal of your discoveries throughout the spring, summer and fall.

• Not only is March the month some wildflowers start returning but also some early garden bulb flowers will begin to push their way through the soil. One of the earliest in our area is the Crocus. The crocus is a wonderful sign of spring, even blooming sometimes through the late winter snow. Use this opportunity to study the Crocus or any other early bloomer bulb flower of your choice. The Handbook of Nature Study has a wonderful section on the Crocus.

• March is the month we start seeds indoors. Plan a simple garden or flower bed. Map it out, get the seeds, and watch them begin to grow!

• Pertinent Shining Dawn Books unit studies: Beautiful Birds, Everchanging Erosion, Wonderful Wildflowers

Happy nature study in March!

Category: Monthly Nature Notables, Nature in Spring | 3 Comments »
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Posted By Melissa on February 21, 2010

Lecia, one of my readers, recently emailed me to ask the following question:

Several moms in our homeschool group want to start a nature club but we have no idea where to begin with forming a club. Can you tell me a little about yours? Thanks for the help!

 

Thank you for your question Lecia and since this is a popular one I decided to write up a blog post entry about it.

This spring and summer will be my second time leading a nature club for our homeschool co-op, and I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am. Our nature club was a huge success last year and I truly loved leading it. As you probably know from my blog, I am very passionate about God’s creation and especially about sharing my love of it with others, and a nature club is an excellent way to do just that!

Here is my list of steps and recommendations for getting a club started:

Determine the interest level in your group. – Poll your group to see if you have a high enough interest level to make it worth officially forming a group. In my opinion, two or more families is great! These things have a tendency to grow quickly anyways once word gets out.

Determine a vision for how you want your nature club to be ran. – Would you like a more structured time including an appointed “leader/teacher” for each meeting and a focus topic for each meeting such as birds, wildflowers, etc? Or would you prefer a more relaxed club where you just meet and freely enjoy nature together? Again, you could poll your group to determine what the majority is looking for in the club. Determine if you want parental involvement to be mandatory at each meeting. I recommend this for a couple of reasons: parents will be responsible for their children and not the leader(s), and I highly believe in parents being involved with and connecting with their children in nature study.

If a more structured time is desired, appoint a leader or leaders who will steer the meetings, being sure the meetings stay on task to what is desired of them. – Perhaps all the members would be willing to take turns leading a meeting; however most often there are a small group of people who are “natural leaders” and/or are more knowledgeable on the subject of nature and will gladly do this. Or perhaps you will determine that having just one leader/teacher works fine too.

Determine the frequency of your meetings and the topics and locations. How many times a month will you meet? Will you meet year round or only in the warmer months? Where are the places you could meet? Make a list of local parks or other locations that your club could meet. After doing all of the previous, make a list of the dates you will be meeting and locations where you will be meeting. Decide what you will do in the case of inclement weather. Will you reschedule?

After determining this, and if you chose to make your meetings a little more structured, make a list of topics your group would like to see covered throughout these meetings. When you are picking topics, match appropriate locations that would work well. For instance, a particular park may have huge wildflower fields that would make it perfect for a wildflower focused meeting. Or another park may have a beautiful creek which would make it perfect for a creek focused meeting. When determining what to teach on the focus subjects that you will be covering keep in mind the NaturExplorers unit studies at Shining Dawn Books each have a section dedicated to giving you ideas of things to do with Nature Clubs and Co-ops. I use these for each of our nature club meetings.

After you have all these details, put the information together coming up with a calendar of dates, meeting topics and locations for your club.

Now you are ready to start implementing your meetings! It is helpful to send out weekly reminders to the group, perhaps via email or another online means. In the reminders it’s helpful to list all the basics (where, what when, etc.) and also any helpful information such as if the children should bring anything special (nets, containers, etc.) or wear anything special (mud boots, long pants, old clothes, etc.).

I have tried to be very thorough in these recommendations for starting a nature club, hopefully I have not left anything out. And hopefully I have not left you feeling overwhelmed. If done correctly a nature club will NOT be overwhelming and tedious to run. It will be well worth the minimal effort! Do not make it too structured and “textbook educational”, keep structured teaching time minimal and hands-on exploring maximal.

Lastly, here is how our nature club looks:

We meet only in the spring and summer, starting in April and going through July. We meet every other Friday morning from 10:00am to 12:00pm, having a total of eight meetings. Some of the families stay after the meetings to have a picnic lunch together. Parental participation is mandatory. We start our meetings with a 10-15 minute teaching session on the chosen focus. Then the remainder of the time is spent exploring and doing fun hands-on activities. I send out reminders at least 5 days in advance giving all the details and recommendations for the meetings.

I will be happy to answer any other questions that you may have. And may God bless you in the study of His creation!

Category: Charlotte Mason, Nature Club, Nature Study, Nature Study Inspiration, Organization, Shining Dawn Books | 3 Comments »
Tags: Nature Club, nature group, Nature Study