Thursday, September 29, 2011

Apples


Monday was Johnny Appleseed's birthday.  This week we are going on a fieldtrip to an apple orchard.  We'll each get to pick one apple to enjoy! It is supposed to be chilly next week, so don't forget to bring your hats, jackets, & maybe even gloves.


Some apple ideas for at home:
  • Buy several varieties of apples and have blindfolded taste test.  Have each family member vote on which one they like best!
  • Make apple pie
  • or Baked apples
  • We love this apple tart recipe
  • Here's a really simple apple treat 
  • Or just enjoy fresh apples or apple cider.  Yum!
Be sure to read this excerpt about apples from the Handbook of Nature Study

Here's one family's blog post about apple nature study 

Lots of apple coloring page images

Apple poems and songs

Enjoy!  See you next week!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Week 4: It's autumntime

 Friday was the first day of autumn.  In a couple of weeks, we'll be gathering fall leaves!  For now, enjoy the last bit of summer weather.

"Maybe God gives us late summer air to fill up every pore, to be breathed into every cell of our bodies—sort of stocking up, so we can be happy still when the storms force us inside and make us yearn for the sunshine.  Maybe it is the balm that makes us feel satisfied with our spring/summer toiling in the earth.  Don’t miss it. Go out and walk in it, bike in it, sit under a tree and inhale it in. I’ll bet if it had a color, someone would bottle “Late Summer Air” and market it.  It is so good for you!" 
-Diane Hopkins, Late Summer Air

Song: It's Autumntime

I loved the ideas for autumn activities that Cami left in her comment on the previous blog post.  Let's continue sharing what we love about autumn with comments on this blog post - c'mon everyone, what do you love about autumn?

Last week in class, we talked about seeds, ate some popcorn, made some pictures using school glue & seeds, and went on a nature walk where we looked for seeds.  We found seeds from trees, seeds from weeds, seeds from flowers, pinecones, etc.  Little seeds, and big seeds.  I hope some of you are drawing pictures of seeds in your nature journals!

Remember, seeds need three things to grow into a plant:
Sunshine, water, and soil


This week we will be learning about flowers.  We need each of you to bring several blossoms from home - we don't want to be picking too many flowers in the CCC yard.  So, if you have flowers in your yard, please bring some to share.  We're planning on placing them all on a table, and then letting each child choose 2 or three for our activity.  (You can bring all of the same kind, if you want to.)  Weed blossoms are fine.  I know this isn't the best time of year for blossoms, so we'll have to make do with what we can find! 

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Week 3: Seeds!


This post is coming a little late, I had a busy week, and I was sick for most of it, so I got quite behind on all my "to do's".

We'll have pictures from last weeks class when I get our camera back from a house I left it at! Our weekly nature journal spotlight is a fabulous picture of the moon drawn by Fisher W.  


This week, we are learning about seeds.  Wikipedia definition

Once your children are made aware of seeds, they'll find them everywhere.

Some at home ideas for activities:
  • Pull up a weed & examine its roots with a magnifying glass
  • Pop a batch of popcorn (popcorn kernels are seeds!)
  • Plant a seed in some potting soil in a cup or small pot in your home.  Place it on a sunny windowsill and make sure it gets enough water.
  • Sprout some seeds & eat them. 
The "Handbook of Nature Study" blog has a section about seeds in their September 2011 newsletter.  It is full of great ideas.
Here is the outdoor challenge

Here's a printable "seed collection bag" to take with you on your nature hunts:
Seed collection bag

Some songs about plants/seeds:

Little Seeds Lie Fast Asleep - interactive music player

The Farmer Plants the Seeds (Tune "Farmer in the Dell")

The farmer plants the seeds. (put seeds in the ground) The farmer plants the seeds. High ho the derry oh, The farmer plants the seeds.
Second Verse: The sun comes out to shine. (make big circle with arms)
Third Verse: The rain begins to fall. (hands flutter to the ground)
Fourth Verse: The seeds begin to grow. (children begin to rise)
Fifth Verse: The farmer digs them up. (pretend to use a shovel)
Now we'll have some to eat. (pretend to eat)

Little Seed (Tune: I'm a Little Teapot)

Here's a little seed in the dark, dark ground. Out comes the warm sun, yellow and round. Down comes the rain, wet and slow. Up comes the little seed, grow, grow, grow!


This Week (Friday, September 23) is the first day of autumn.

Here are some autumn activities
Song - It's Autumntime (music player)

More:  For anyone who reads this post, can you please comment and tell us the things you look forward to in autumn, and/or any fun activities that your family enjoys in autumn?

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Here's a great page to learn more about the phases of the moon:
http://moonphases.info/moon_phases.html

We didn't get to see the "Harvest moon" on Sept. 12th (it was too cloudy), but we saw the waning moon tonight, and it was so bright, yellow, & beautiful!  My kiddos sat on the roof to observe it.

See you tomorrow in class!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Week 2: Sun and Moon

This week's nature journal spotlight:

Nature Journal - June Bug drawing by Carter H.

I had so much fun with each of your children this week!  I was amazed at how many different insects we found in our short nature walk!  We caught a praying mantis, a blue metallic beetle (anyone know what kind it is?), bumblebee, hornet, honeybee, ladybugs (ladybird beetles), a big caterpillar, ants, stinkbugs, and others.  Wow!  I loved the simple, sweet drawings that your children did.

Next week, we'll be learning a little bit about the sun & moon. Remember to observe the "harvest moon" on Sep. 12th (see week 1 for more info)

Here's some at home learning ideas:

What a fun activity!  Learn about the moon phases using oreo cookies:
http://www.sciencebob.com/blog/?p=828
(we're planning on using "Newman O's" for healthier ingredients)
We might eat our "moon phase" experiment as a treat while we watch the Harvest moon.

Nature Journal Challenge:
I am planning to draw pictures of the phases of the moon in my nature journal.
I'd love to see your drawings this week!

Learn about how the moon affects the tides:
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/moon/Tides.shtml

Here's a free printable book from NASA:  "http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Our_Very_Own_Star_The_Sun.html"

NASA's kid page about the sun:
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/external/http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/sun_for_kids_main.html