More Nature Study Planning

Here is the 2nd part of my notes on our Nature Study plans for the coming year.  (You can find the first part here.)

More Spring ideas.... 
Praying Mantis and Ladybug

“Nature teaches us that in life it is necessary to wait.”

Ants
“My child, behold the cheerful ant, 
How hard she works each day; 
She works as hard as adamant 
Which is very hard, they say.”
               ---- Oliver Herford

Sunflowers - Plant sunflower seeds in cups, then transplant. Draw the sunflower plant in stages of growth. Like a growth chart.

Investigate what Thomas Jefferson planted in his garden.

Pansies are fun to draw because they have flat, colorful faces. Tulips are easy to draw by silhouette.

Tulips - history of... plan field trip to Pella, IA for their annual Tulip Festival?

For our yard.... Creeping Phlox make a good ground cover. Plant some.

Where there are flowers, there are insects. How many different kinds of insects can you find in 1 hour during a “backyard hunt”?

Good nature poetry source is Robert Louis Stevenson.

Draw your pet for your nature notebook.

Lupines - read Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney. This is based on a true story.

Excerpt of Wordsworth poem, “To the Daisy”.... 
“With little here to do or see
Of things that in the great would be,
Sweet daisy! Oft I talk to thee,
For thou art worthy.
Though unassuming commonplace 
Of nature, with that homely face 
And yet with something of a grace, 
Which love makes for thee!”

What kinds of wildflowers grow in your area?

Look through a large poetry anthology to find poems about nature. Read a biography of John J. Audubon.


Summer Nature Study Notes
Cloud study - drawing. Keep a cloud chart for a few weeks. Lay on your back in the grass and watch the clouds.

Rainbow - when you see one, draw it! Use a prism at a sunny window to make a rainbow on the wall.

“Gather ye rose-buds while ye may, 
Old Time is still a flying;
And this same flower that smiles today 
Tomorrow will be dying.”
             ---Robert Herrick

Fireflies - catch in jars to observe and draw - then set free. 
“And lavishly to left and right,
The fireflies, like golden seeds,
Are sown upon the night.”

Tomatoes 
Lamb’s Ear 
Roses 
Crickets 
Frogs

Listen to the sounds of nature both at daylight and at night. What are the similarities? What are the differences. Investigate.

Read Swiss Family Robinson. 

How can you tell the difference between a moth and a butterfly? Leave the back porch light on at night and in the morning identify the moths that rest near the light.

“The little cares that fretted me, 
I lost them yesterday,
Among the fields, above the sea, 
Among the winds at play; 
Among the lowing of the herds, 
The rustling of the trees, 
Among the singing of the birds, 
The humming of the bees.
The foolish fears of what may happen, 
I cast them all away
Among the clover scented grass, 
Among the new mown hay.
Among the rustling of the corn,
Where drowsy poppies nod,
Where ill thoughts die and good are born - 
Out in the fields with God!”
             ------ Elizabeth Barrett Browning 

Ideas for Fall to come next!