This week was the third week in the Green Hour Challenge we are participating in at Barb's Heart of Harmony blog. Be sure to click on the links if you are not familiar with Barb's fantastic blog or the Green Hour Challenges. You will be sure to find treasures!
Anyhow, this week's nature study was pretty much "Magnus Lead". I had plans of going to the local park to hike the trails, but Magnus had a different idea. I loved that he was taking responsibility for his own learning and did not in any way want to stifle that. He put on his "adventure clothes" and gathered up his "adventure gear" and off he went to explore our yard.
(I just think that is the sweetest picture!)
This week was about recording your findings in your nature journals. The boys and I have sketch books we are using along with nice carbon pencils, colored pencils, and watercolors. I asked the boys if they would like to draw a picture of the boxelder bug they found and they both eagerly got their materials and started drawing. Here is their first entries in what I know will become treasured journals...
I decided to sketch the cotton I brought home from a previous nature walk. I am by no means an artist but that doesn't matter. I am holding true to what Anna Botsford Comstock wrote on page 17 of the Handbook of Nature Study...
"Too much have we emphasized drawing as an art; it may be an art, if the one who draws is an artist; but if he is not an artist, he still has a right to draw if it pleases him to do so."
She goes on to say, "We might as well declare that a child should not speak unless he put his words into poetry, as to declare that he should not draw because his drawings are not artistic." (I like her!)
This book is for me to record my love of nature. Who knows, maybe my drawing will improve! However, I am not able to share my sketch this time. Collin took the camera to CA, therefore leaving me camerless (Which has been a little difficult. He did, however, leave me with his laptop which was a sacrifice for him! Thanks, Honey!)
Also this week, and every Thursday, we go to our local park and attend a nature class designed for homeschoolers. We meet for an hour and half with a handful of other kids. A biologist/naturalist leads a discussion about a topic pertaining to nature and then we go on a hike and put that knowledge to use. This week they talked about different habitats. As they went on their walk, they had to complete a scavenger hunt. They needed to look for things like a cap of an acorn, a decomposing log, moss growing on a tree, insects, ect. The boys enjoy attending programs there. Once swim lessons end, we'll be able to go back to attending the other nature program they have on Tuesdays. Oh, and we might participate in planting and attending the butterfly garden on Wednesday afternoons at the park too.
Be sure to check back next week to see our discoveries!
Our new gentle approach to homeschooling has been going well. The boys and I have really responded positively to it. Learning has always been the atmosphere of our home, but it's just feels different now. I truly think more learning is taking place. Well, with the exception of math. This seems to be the one subject that gets pushed to the side. Right now I have our book work scheduled as the last subject of our school day. It's not working. So, I have decided to revamp our schedule and try this out for the next few weeks.
Tuesday
1. History (both)
2. L.A. (Magnus; directed play for Thane)
3. Tea Time (Nature Reading)
4. L.A. (Thane; directed play for Magnus)
5. Math (Magnus)
Wednesday
1. Math (Magnus)
2. History (Both)
3. Tea Time (Poetry Reading)
4. L.A. (Magnus: directed play for Thane)
5. L.A. (Thane; directed play for Magnus)
Thursday
1. L.A. (Thane; directed play for Magnus)
2. Math (Magnus)
3. Tea Time (Nature Reading)
4. History (Both)
5. L.A. (Magnus; directed play for Thane)
Friday-"Fine Arts Friday"
1. L.A. (Magnus; directed play for Thane)
2. L.A. (Thane; directed play for Magnus)
3. Tea Time (Picture Study)
4. Math (Magnus-review with Math games)
5. Fine Arts (Magnus-Artistic Pursuits book 1; not sure yet for Thane...maybe AP too)
Like I mentioned, we are going to try this out and see if it works. I am still tossing around the idea of learning a variety of subjects everyday, but only for about 20 minutes at a time. This is how Charlotte Mason scheduled her schools. I am not convinced it would be a good choice for us, but I might try it out for a few weeks if the schedule I just posted doesn't work out well.
I have been having a little trouble getting on the ball this week. Things just don't "click" when an important part of our family isn't around. Collin has been in Davis, CA sizing up the University. He has had nothing but great things to report so that is encouraging. He is flying up to see his family in WA today and then will finally be home on Monday. We'll be back to "normal" next week.
As far as lessons go, it was a light week. Magnus continued working in his new Language Lessons for the Very Young book. The copywork included a Robert Frost poem. He enjoyed the poem so much, he has started memorizing it on his own! He completed some pages in his dictionary skills workbook and reviewed his spelling words.
Thane is doing well with his Get Ready for the Code workbooks. He asks to do them. When he takes his time, his handwriting is very good. Magnus has been teaching him how to read the Bob books and he is doing well! Thane is very excited to be blending the phonics sounds he has been learning into words.
We've been keeping busy with our handicrafts (knitting, melted bead craft thingy, drawing, ect.), playing games, reading, hiking, playing outside, and cooking. Lots of learning has taken place without the use of our textbooks and I feel real good about that!
I will say this, Math has not been being done as consistently as I would like. I have had it planned as the last subject of the day, so I am going to change it up a bit and see if that helps. I'll post our new schedule soon.
Thanks for checking in with us. Hope you have a great weekend!
We are on our second week of Barb's Green Hour Challenges. This was a bit of a challenge. The weather was not cooperating with us when we first went out. Magnus is learning that when mom says to dress warmer, she means to dress warmer. We were out for a total of 4 minutes. But, during that time we, well Thane and I, were able to collect some cotton off a cotton plant in a field. It is patiently waiting for me to sketch it in my journal.
Saturday was beautiful and we were determined to spend some time exploring. So, after spending an hour at REI buying me some new hiking boots (a birthday gift from those who love me!) we headed for Radnor Lake in Nashville.
This park hold special memories for us and we try to go there whenever we can. While we were there we saw duck, squirrels, lots of birds, some turtles, and a red tail hawk! Oh, and lots of people which explains why we didn't see any deer or otters this time.
We also saw evidence of recent beaver activity.
We heard many finches, cardinals, and even a barred owl with his distinct "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?" call.
I have to admit, I failed to follow up our walk with the probing questions that were to get them thinking about what they see, hear, and feel. I am determined to do a better job of this in the coming weeks.
I did, however, complete the reading in The Handbook of Nature Study. I am thoroughly enjoying this book. It is packed full of great insights and information. It gets me thinking and asking questions. As I review the notes I wrote in the margin, you'll see what I am thinking about now...
"Should I be doing a "formal" science program in addition to this or wait until they are older? Is "digging deeper" and doing some hands-on activities enough? I am so in the mind set of following specific, laid out curriculum. This is a huge challenge for me, but one I am ready to face. I don't want to be a slave to a curriculum or even to a schedule. I want to use them as a tool. I want them to work for me and my boys."
I am going to be giving this more thought, but so far I think I will just continue down this path and maybe follow Ambleside Online's science schedule. I may add a unit study of sorts during the winter months when it becomes more difficult to get outside. I do plan on using Apologia Science (or something else) around fifth grade as a spine.
I will leave you with some more photos of our nature walk...
Be sure to check back for my post this week on Green Challenge week 3! Thanks for virtually exploring God's creation with us.
Collin is flying somewhere over the central part of the US on his way to the University of California at Davis. It is very exciting as they have shown tremendous interest in him attending their University in pursuit of his PhD. He will be there for 3 days and then he is heading to WA to visit family.
I don't like it when he is gone. Something is missing. The dynamics are all wrong. I miss him already and am impatiently awaiting his arrival in 6 days.
So, I have a feeling I will have a few more blog entries this week than I have previously. No pictures though, since he has the camera. Stay tuned....
