Ladybugs

So, I did forget to take my camera to Madeline's dance class today.  I will have to remember next week!  I did, however, get some pictures of the girls doing the nature study today on ladybugs.  They were really interested in watching the ladybugs walk, and studying them.  Some of the ladybugs were very anxious to fly away, while others were very content to stay and let the girls pick them up and observe them.  When I was first considering adding nature studies to our curriculum I really though Madeline would be the most fascinated by them.  It has been Isabella, however, who has shown the most interest during the two nature studies we have done thus far.  She has even really wanted to extend them further.  They really have been a hit with all of the girls, however!

Here is Madeline drawing in her nature study journal.  She must include the sky, sun, and grass in all of her pictures.

Isabella really got into the nature study!

Even Hailey wanted to participate in the activities.

This is Isabella's finished journal entry.  I was impressed that she accurately had 6 legs and showed wings.  She had to follow Madeline's lead on the sky, sun, and grass.  

As you can see, we did not get to add any words to our work today as I had planned.  We just ran out of time.  Maybe next time!

This Week's Nature Study

I really did plan to follow the Outdoor Hour Challenges for our nature study, however it seems that the girls have other ideas.  This week they have been fascinated with all of the ladybugs (ladybird beetles) that they have found outside, as well as inside, our house.  So, I have decided that our nature study this week will be on ladybird beetles.  We will gather some information from Anna Botsford Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study, pages 364-366, and maybe some other sources, and we will go out in search of ladybird beetles. Although it should be rather easy to find them (unlike those woolly bears that we have yet to find).   I do think, however, that we will include the assignment from Outdoor Hour Challenge #2: Using Your Words while we do this.  I am looking forward to it!

Nature Study

I have decided to add a weekly nature study to our homeschool curriculum. The girls really enjoy exploring outside and finding treasure, and I wanted to find a way to let them develop that. I found information on nature studies based on the book "Handbook of Nature Study" by Anna Botsford Comstock. 

I was a bit concerned about using the book since its copyright is 1939, but as I read it, I found that it to provide a great background for nature studies. I also found a website that provides weekly challenges based on the book and only take 20 minutes or so. It is located here .

So, I intended to just start with the first five challenges, as the website suggests, and then move to whatever the current challenge was. However, as I read the book I came across information on the woolly bear caterpillar, which becomes the Isabella tiger moth in the spring. Well, I know the woolly bear caterpillars are around now, and how could we pass up exploring something that has Isabella in its name. So, today we set off to find some woolly bear caterpillars. Well, we did not find any (yet), but we did find some great spider webs.

This one was on our swings. It was interesting because it had one part that was quite thick.

This one was on the corner of our monkey bars. It was difficult to get a good picture of it, though.

Isabella was very excited to start drawing in her journal. She drew both of the spider webs as well as a squirrel and butterfly that she saw while we were outside. She even "wrote"about them.
After drawing and writing a bit, we thought we would go check the woods behind out home for woolly bears. We did not find any, but the girls did build some homes for some fairies while we were out there using sticks, nuts, bark, flowers, a feather and leaves that they found. Isabella used an old log as the base of hers.
Madeline included "beds" for eight fairies in hers.
And she made a roof and a slide from bark.
While they were collecting items for building the homes, Madeline found this garden snail. We brought it back, added drawings of it to our journals, and learned lots about snails.

Did you know garden snails actually have mouths with teeth and a tongue? Or that the ate apples? Or that those long "antennae" actually have eyes on them? Or that they fold up and go back into their shells head-first?

There is just so much to learn!