Making a List Assignment Number 5 of the Green Hour Challenge

Have you decided on a focus area yet?

Yes! Cameron chose wildflowers as his focus.  I skimmed through the Handbook of Nature Study and found the different wild flowers that we have already found or ones that I thought we might encounter.

Pick one item in your focus area to study, turn to those pages, and read to your child about that subject.

Cameron chose the Mayapple

Follow up your nautre walk with a discussion. Did you see anything new to add to your list of focus items?

Yes.  We found several wildflowers to add to our list.

Wild Blue Phlox

White violet

Virginia Blue Bells

Squawroot

Golden Ragwort

Dwarf ginsing

Common Fleabane

Buttercup

False Solomon's Seal

Jack-in-the-pulpit

Foamflower

Canada Mayflower

And a few unknowns that we couldn't find in our field guide.  (Still searching for them though)

Did you complete any of the suggested observations?

We did complete a few of the observations.  Cameron remembered parts of what I read to him about the May apples.  The information that was most interesting to him was that most May apples have 7 lobes but there have been 9-lobbed ones found.  He was determined that he was going to find one.  We didn't find a 9 but we did find an 8.

We were both amazed at how sturdy the bud of the May apple was.  The corollas (petals) were very thick and not at all delicate.

Do you need to do any further research to answer questions?

We barely scratched the surface of the great observation questions.  We are going to note where a good patch of May apples are and try to observe them in early Spring next year to see how they emerge from the ground.  We also are going to keep an eye on these flowers throughout the summer and note their cycle.

Give an opportunity for a nature journal entry.

We took a break on our nature hike in a patch of May apples.  We took that opportunity to sit and sketch.

We did not get any nature study in this last week due to rain, rain, and more rain, and Cameron having a bad cough.  But the week before that, we got in two nature walks.

Green Hour Challenge #4 "It's Coming Into Focus"

I am going to suggest that you pick a focus area for your nature study. Taking into account what you have close at hand, what season it is, and your child’s interest, look through the table of contents in the Handbook of Nature Study and pick one section that you will focus on for the next six to eight weeks.

Follow up with discussion and research in your focus area if you have chosen one. If you have chosen a focus, begin a list of items that you have observed that fall within that subject.

Cameron chose wildflowers as his focus.  May is the perfect time to study wildflowers in our area.  We took a walk around my mother's property and found a few.  We found a few more on the trail close to our house.

Cameron loved to explore off trail.

We knew a few from last year when my mom took us to Wolf Creek Narrows

Yellow violet:

Mayapple

Trilliums:

Garlic mustard:  Cameron took this picture. Not bad.  We have a bunch of garlic mustard in our yard.  It does have a very garlicky, onion smell when you break off the leaf or stalk.

Then we found ones that we had forgotten or had never noticed before.

Wild geranium

Bluets (they are so pretty and delicate)

Celandine:  This was one of the flowers that we had to research more.  We were both excited when we found in the book.  It's almost like finding a treasure or figuring out a secret.  Celandine is poisonous to chickens and was brought over from Europe as a treatment for liver disease, warts and freckles.  LOL

Oxeye daisy: I knew it was a daisy but didn't know what kind. 

Wintercress

Our list of wildflowers so far:

• Dandelions
• Violets
• Wild Strawberry
• Trillium
• Wild geranium
• Bluets
• Mayapple
• Garlci mustard
• Oxeye daisy
• Yellow violet
• Winter cress
• Celandine

He chose to journal about the dogwood blossom he got from Grandma's tree instead of one of the wild flowers.

Green Hour Challenge #3: Now is the Time to Draw

This week take your 10-15 minute nature walk.  Follow up with discussion and the opportunity for a nature journal entry.  Discuss your nature time with your child and again try to draw out some words from your child’s experiences. You should explain that you would like them to start making a book of with their experiences from their nature study. If they make a page for the book each time they have nature time, they will have a whole book filled with their own words and drawings to look at by the end of the year.

This week, we started in on drawing.  We have made some attempts at this before.  I had a few loose sheets here and there but wasn't keeping them organized.  So I made a nature journal.

Our drawing wasn't exactly from our nature walk.  We both sat outside in our back yard to draw the same flowers.  But now that I have the journal, it will become a bigger part.  He was so excited to start in on it. 

There weren't any bees near the flower as we were drawing but he was so excited about journaling that I told him that he could.   I should have gotten a picture of him drawing, he was so intent.  I think it is a great first entry.

Our nature walk this week was pretty exciting.  I have lived in this house for 24 years and in this town for 28.  Not even 1/2 mile away, there is a nature trail!  It has apparently been there for a very, very long time.

At first Cameron wanted to run ahead and I told him that we were here on a nature walk and it was about taking our time and observing nature.  We saw many great things. Stink cabbage, decomposing trees, trout lillies, numerous little streams flowing into a larger creek, and quite a few other trails for later exploration.  We didn't make it to the end but we did find out that it ends at a park that we've been to many times.  Who knew?

Optional assignment for parents:
Take a look at your attitude towards outdoor time. Has it changed since starting these challenges? Are you committed to keeping up your Green Hour time because you see the benefits stacking up in your family? Have you started keeping your own nature journal or photo album of your experiences outdoors with your children?

I've always enjoyed nature but I really like this taking a much more conscious approach.  The challenges have changed this for me.  I love the times Cameron and I spend just exploring and making our own observations.and having to look up things we don't know about.

I have started keeping my own nature journal because of the challenges.  I'm still learning how I want to do it and what I want to do with it but it has really become a pleasure and a joy.  The details that suddenly jump out at me because I'm trying to put it down on paper is amazing. Here are a few pages.

A forsythia branch and my daffodil.

An unknown plant found on a different nature walk.  We tried to figure it out but still haven't come up with what it was.  A twig from a budding tree and on the opposing page a tree at a park that always fascinates me.  I am pretty sure that it is a shagbark hickory.

A closer up of the sugar maple (I think) bud,

OK, so these challenges are supposed to be one a week, not one a month.  Even if there are several weeks in between, I'm going to stick with it.  Maybe eventually I'll get more consistent.  Even if it has been a month since our last nature entery, we ARE out in nature more often.  I am much more mindful of it and pointing it out and I have noticed Cameron's growing interest and knowlege. 

Green Hour Challenge #2

"After your walk, challenge your child to come up with words to describe the following things."

One word to describe something we heard:

• Cameron: Drumming (woodpecker)
• Danielle: Scolding  (Blue Jays)

Two words for something we saw:

I've been very inspired to get more nature study into our school week.  We haven't been very faithful in this area and this was just what I needed.  (Notice all the nature posts lately)

We finally got started on the challenges found  at The Heart of Harmony blog.

First, we had reading homework!  Handbook of Nature Study.  It is something that I'm supposed to be reading for school this year anyway but it is such a big book that I didn't even know how to tackle it.  Another great plus of this challenge. 

Then we were to get out in nature, together, and just explore. 

We went out to my Uncle's home.  He has a couple of acres of land so it was perfect.  Perfect but cold.  We found so many interesting things!

There were quite a few deer trails across the yard.  I was surprised that he knew that this was a deer without me even telling him!

There were also a lot of cat tracks.  After I told him what to look for, he spotted a lot.  We even followed quite a few trails.  One led us across the road to another field, that is where we left it.

I learned a fascinating fact on another blog but can't remember which one.  Cats put their back legs in the same spot that their front feet were in. It almost makes their tracks look like one continuous line of feet.  I had never heard that before and noticed it right away as soon as it was pointed out to me.  This was the best of the cat tracks because of the snow.  They were mostly long lines of dots.

Then we went off on a rabbit trail. 

We followed one until it disappeared and we weren't sure where it went.

Warning.  This next picture may gross some of our more sensitive viewers.  View at your own risk.

I don't know if it is a boy's fascination with all things gross, but then again, this mama was pretty interested in our next find.  Along one of the deer trails was this pile of droppings!

We found quite a few more dropping piles. 

The next track is one of the things that we are going to explore further. (Part of our assignment)  I thought right away that it was a raccoon, but Cameron thinks it can be an opossum.  That didn't even cross my mind.  WTG son!

We've actually taken two different nature walks.  So we found some VERY interesting tracks on day two.

The very interesting "Mama" tracks.  Notice how this creature walks with the toes pointed out.  I never noticed that before.  Does this creature waddle?  I hope not.  I would like to think that the out turned toes are evidence of previous years of ballet experience.

The next tracks are easy to distinguish from the Mama tracks.  They are somewhat smaller, do not have the graceful ballet toes and show a lack of picking up the foot completly.  Something of which he is hounded on often.  Notice the skid marks behind the print before this wonderful creature actually sets his foot down.

Here Cameron is under a LARGE evergreen.  All the little bumps are hoof prints from the deer.  He found it interesting that there wasn't much snow under the tree.

We found other things in the snow. 

Cameron's find.  He says it is a mushroom.  This is one of the things that we are going to investigate further.

Even though it has been cold and we still have snow, there are signs of spring.

Dog wood buds

Moss

We thoroughly enjoyed our time outside, despite the cold. 

Today we experienced an unexpected nature adventure.  We were tracking a bird today to try and figure out which bird it was.  It was pretty exciting. 

And what made it all the more interesting was that it was inside the Lowe's store. Which is a good thing it was indoors, because it was a SLOPPY mess outside today! 

We were at Lowe's today to take part in their kids hands on project.  Our store offers it twice a month and it is totally free!  Cameron gets to go and put things together with hammer and nails.  We really enjoy this handicraft and experience.

When we first came into the store, we heard the birds chirping and decided that after we did the project, we would investigate the birds. 

As best we can tell, they are sparrows of some sort.  We followed the birds around the store for a good ten minutes. 

Next time we go, we'll maybe take a camera and binoculars to see if we can't figure out what the bird is. 

A key part of the Charlotte Mason philosophy is to be out in nature.  Experencing it.  Observing it.  Learning from it.   I have sadly been lacking in this area.  I keep meaning to get out there and explore but the day always seems to get away from me.

But today I was determined that we would go out and have a look around.  It had snowed a couple inches last night and when we went out it was now raining.  But we perservered and did some tramping around.

I don't know what this little guy was doing out and about.  At first we thought the wasp was dead but then he moved. 

These wasps are starting to pop up all over the house as well.  I've killed a total of 5 in just the last few days.

Then we investigated what was making the snow look a rusty brown.  We think it was some type of berry.  They have seeds in there.

See the big holes from the rain? 

Even with the rain, we had a good time.  We threw some snow balls and observed what happened when he put snow into the big puddles.

Actually, we WENT to the zoo on Christmas Eve.  I had four free tickets that had to be used by 12/31 and it happened that Monday was the only day that really worked for FIL and BIL who were going with us.

It was COLD.  But we had all dressed warmly and it wasn't unbearable.  It wasn't windy, or raining, or snowing.  There weren't that many people there and that made it awesome.  There were no lines or jumbling for a place to see.  We could take our time

We saw a few animals that we normally don't see because of the cooler weather. 

• We got to see the tigers up close.  They were gorgeous and it was funny to watch them watching all the ducks.  Just like a big house cat.  But, boy do they have a LOUD cry.
• The elephants, which are normally out in their field and you can see at a distance, were in their house and we got to admire them up close.  They were fascinating to watch.  Their trunks are amazing. 
• The gorillas weren't outside either so we were able to see more of them.  Well, the leader man had his back to us all but his women were quite entertaining and interesting.
• The polar bears were in their new enclosure but weren't doing anything interesting.
• I never realized that sea otters were so LARGE.  They were comical.
• The sea lions are always a favorite of mine.  They were swimming around and around and just generally showing off.

There were a few animals that we didn't get to see because of the weather but it was still a GREAT day at the zoo.

Where are all the pictures you ask?  I was so frustrated.  I had brought what I thought were 4 freshly charged batteries.  I either grabbed the wrong  batteries or they had already lost their charge.  There were quite a few photo opportunities. 

We have caught a few caterpillars to observe.   Monarchs are our favorite. 

We will have a butterfly in less than 2 weeks.

While looking for monarchs on milkweed we have also found a very interesting caterpillar.  I haven't researched him to find out what he is or what he will become.  Meet "Fluffy"

Need I say more?

Tues 8/1: Herbie was found eating a pepper plant in the garden of my friend Lisa.  We were all fascinated with him and after looking through Lisa's bug books, we were able to determine that Herbie, as Lisa named him, was a tomato hornworm.  He measured right around 4 inches.

(picture from http://insects.tamu.edu)

Thur 8/3: After reading up on tomato hornworms I found that he would need dirt.  So we created a habitat for him with tomato slices, tomato leaves dirt and rocks.

Fri 8/4: Herbie spent most of the day going around and around in the container.  He was not the brilliant green color anymore but more gray and dusty looking.  He was also shrinking in size. 

Sun 8/6: Herbie buried himself partially in the dirt.  The part that was exposed was reddish brown and crunchy looking while the buried part looked soft and supple and still had the grayish green color. Now he measures an inch and a half.

Soon his whole body was not buried in the dirt but sitting on top of the dirt.  He was in his cocoon.

Mon 8/21: Took pictures of Herbie and Curbie (we got another hornworm) to show them in their cocoons.

We were supposed to spray them with water every few days or so.  The segmented parts wiggled every time we sprayed them. 

Sat 9/2: Herbie hatched from his cocoon.  Was actually going to spray the cocoons and found something extra in the dirt. Herbie was in his cocoon for just under a month. In the wild they can stay in their cocoon until spring.

Herbie is now a sphinx moth.

Wed 9/6: Curbie, our other hornworm hatched.

We left Curbie in a safe place to dry out and fly away.  But we are sad to report that Herbie's wings were underdeveloped and he didn't make it.

Ok this is try 345 of putting my 2 videos of Teeny up on my blog.  That is a slight exageration but it really doesn't feel like it.  I had them working with the help of my friend but then when I asked different online friends to check them they weren't working.  It has been very frustrating.  So, as a last ditch effort, I deleted the entry and am starting from scratch.  I'm also not going to do any formating of fonts etc because I'm thinking this might have been why they stopped working.  I was trying to fix the font and add my lines that I always have on each entry and it messed with something.

Video one is Teeny making his chrysalis.  He was hanging in his J formation and then his black, yellow, and white skin split with the gree showing through.  The black stuff that falls off is that skin.  The string like things were his antenna

Video two is Teeny emerging from his chrysalis nine days later. 

This picture was taken around 10:45 am.  I brought him back inside so that I could still watch him but get some things done.  We were actually looking up centipedes on the internet (we caught one) when I looked and he was starting to emerge right around 12:21 pm.  I quickly got some video of him actually coming out of the chrysalis and then started snapping pictures. 

Here he is at 12:23.  Look how tiny Teeny's wings are and how huge his abdomen looks in comparison.

This next picture was taken at 12:30.  That shows you how fast they get straightened out.  Teeny is still very wet at this stage and we aren't touching him.  Him?  Yes!  He's a BOY!!  We were so excited to be able to see both male and female butterflies.  You can sort of see his scent glands from the underside.  The males use this to attract females for mating.

We then put him carefully back in the jar to let him dry himself off. About 2 hours later we had to leave to get our errands done.  But had to get his picture first.  Wonderful picture of the scent glands.

We put him on a flower so that we felt we could leave.  But he was still there almost 3 hours later.

What a wonderful experience.  I have never done anything so cool in all my years. I am now working on my notebook to chronicle our monarch journey.  Cameron is making a booklet about the life cycle of a butterfly that we printed off from Enchanted Learning. I also printed out a few other work sheets from there to help us study butterflies more closely.

Now we are just waiting for our tomato hornworm cocoons to hatch.  I'll blog about them later.

We didn't name these two caterpillars.  They have always been referred to as #1 and #2 and that kind of stuck.  This was #1's chrysalis.  We took those pictures around 11 am in the morning and our first butterfly hatched while we were doing school.

It's a girl! You can tell by the lack of a prominent dot in the middle of the wing.  The book we have said that it takes about 2 hours for their wings to dry and not to touch them.  She was dripping "juice" still here so we were very careful in how we handled her.

After more than 2 hours, she had her first photo session.

Here she sits on my pinky finger.  She very shortly flew away after this picture. She was in her chrysalis for 9 days.

#2 was very black when I came down to get ready for church on Sunday.  I should come up with a name that means stubborn or difficult or obstinate.  #2 is the caterpillar that went missing from the box for a while, decided to make a chrysalis on the side of the jar instead of on the top, and decides to hatch on a Sunday when I'm not home all day. So we took it with us.  It's another girl.  She hatched on the drive to church so we missed this one too.

We put number 2 in the freezer for less than a minute to "stun" her so that she wouldn't fly away quickly. The freeze lasted for a good 30 minutes or so.

On my sunflower.

She flew away shortly after this picture.  #2 was in her chrysalis for 9 days as well.

If Teeny follows the pattern of 9 days, it should hatch sometime on Thursday.  I'm hoping to catch Teeny in the act.