Skip to main content

Nature Walking

This school year our science has been about all things botany.  Admittedly, it was a bit hard through the winter because studying botany just makes you want to get outside and that doesn't work so well when everything is in its dormant stage.  However, since the weather has gotten nice it's so much fun to go outside and really get hands-on with our lessons.  

Yesterday we hit the nature trails at our local environmental center, Jeffers' Bend.  I had printed off a fun botany scavenger hunt list from this site and we grabbed the nature journals and water bottles and set off!  

I love handmade signs.

The kiddos examining the different kinds of leaves on their list.

This list went so well with our Apologia Botany study!

Lovely flowers, not sure what kind, but so vibrant.

We thought this tree bark was unusual from most others.

Getting up close with pollination.

Hitting the trails!

Daddy found a good grapevine for swinging.

The Princess taking a swing.

Mr. Be getting ready to take off.

Nothing like crashing through the woods on a grapevine.

An unusual grapevine.

The sighting of a "five-lined skink".

Looking through the treetops.

It was fun identifying all of the different kinds of leaves we had studied.

Pausing to toss in a rock or two.

{wild} lace-capped hydrangeas--beautiful!

More lovely wildflowers.

The biggest dandelion we've ever seen....or something else??

Examining those giant seeds and discussing wind-dispersal.

More wildflowers--I can't resist!

It was a great morning, enjoying God's creation and just hanging out as a family.  Can't wait to do it again soon!

Popular posts from this blog

The Making of an Egyptian Death Mask

We are learning all about the ancient world this year with Story of the World I and loving it! We've been learning a lot about Egypt, of course, which is completely fascinating. Most recently we have studied the New Kingdom of Egypt, which includes the story of King Tut. So we decided making an Egyptian death mask in the style of King Tut's would be a fun project. First since it was too cold at the time to paper mache in the garage (it probably would have frozen instead of dried-ha) and it was too messy to do it in the house, we decided to pick up a couple of cheap craft masks at Hobby Lobby. Next we cut out cardboard shapes to complete the shape of the death mask, attaching them with hot glue. Vince even put a little detail on the *beard* with the hot glue per The Princess' request. Then the kiddos started to paint them with this metallic gold tempera paint. It worked okay for the cardboard, but would not coat the plastic of the mask. We thought maybe a second coat ...

Door Hanger Chore Charts

My kids have had a chore chart for a while.  It's one of those magnetic boards and they share it.  However, it's not by their rooms and often they (and I) forget to update it.  Plus it's a little bulky.   When I saw the concept of a door hanger chore chart on Pinterest, I loved it!  It was compact, right there were the kiddos could see it coming out and going into their rooms, and it costs almost nothing to make.   I headed over to one of my favorite stores: Hobby Lobby, of course.  They  have these little wooden door hangers for .79.  I also grabbed a couple of packets of decorative buttons for $1.99 each.  I already had the clothes pins and the paint so those cost me nothing.   I began by painting the door hangers (I used tempera paints because that's what I had).  Then I grabbed a fine point Sharpie and the clothes pins and started writing chores on them, making sure to write them correctly so they will ...

Fun With 4th of July Crafts: Part 3

I love my new patriotic front door wreath!! I had fun putting this together, although I must admit this is more of an adult craft than one for kiddos. I was inspired by this article in Family Fun magazine. I didn't have quite everything I needed for this one, but all I had to purchase was a few sheets of scrapbook paper and some double-sided tape. Then all I had to gather up were some scissors, regular Scotch tape, a ruler and some cardboard. First I cut four (5"x 6") pieces of each paper. Then by placing a piece of double-sided tape on one of the short ends of the papers, I rolled them into cones, pressing the seams together well. Then I cut a 10" circle out of cardboard and began to stick the cones on it. I used another piece of double-sided tape to stick the cones on, arranging them in a circular pattern. Next I used regular Scotch tape to attach them on the back to the back of the cardboard. After getting all the cones on, I was ready for my centerpiece. He...