White Tailed Deer

photo courtesy of www.hiltonpond.org

When I woke up this morning, the thermometer was reading 58 degrees. It was gray and overcast, but 58 degrees! Normally, I would jump on this and quickly declare a "Park Day". But, with this being Thanksgiving week with a long weekend, we are already only doing lessons three days this week. I was torn. Should we just buckle down and stay inside for lessons or should we make the most of one of the last warm days left?

Eventually, my inner Charlotte Mason devotee won out. We packed into the van :)

When we've been very regular with lessons and are having no trouble getting the AO readings in, I don't hesitate to throw all caution to the wind and take off for a long day outdoors. It's the weeks that are already a little tight that make me wonder if I'm right to spend so much time outdoors. Wouldn't it be better to read our Aesop and Paddle-to-the-Sea? The more we spend these long days outside, though, the more I am coming to see them as necessary components to my children's educations. They learn so much! We were at the arboretum today for four hours, and, by the end, I was completely convinced I had made the right call when I decided to take everyone outdoors for the day.

There were more "nature moments" than I can blog about in just one entry. Gathering Sassafras leaves, figuring out how to gather Spruce cone gum, playing with fallen leaves in a creek with sticks. There is one moment that stands out, though. Enough for me to post on my woefully neglected little nature blog ;)

The girls and I were walking along a path toward the back boundary of the arboretum. I was pushing Little Dude along in the stroller and enjoying the last of the autumn leaf changes. I glanced to my right and froze. Immediately, I put my finger to my lips and shhed the children. They knew what that meant. Nature was somewhere nearby :)

Today, that nature was in the form of three white-tailed deer. They were maybe twenty feet away from us, grazing contentedly on the newly sprouted grass. We all squatted down low to keep from frightening them. Even my little Punkin was quiet, squatting there in the grass beside the stroller. One doe looked up at us for a moment, then moved on to find more grass. The three deer walked on together, eventually stopping by a meadow's edge for a moment to nibble some dried grasses before disappearing into the adjoining woods. We had been able to quietly follow them and watch them for nearly a full five minutes.

I was actually glad to not have my camera. This was a sweet moment to enjoy with the children, not to grab a shot for the blog ;) I did, however, use a bit of that moment to help the children see the deer more closely  - to really observe them. I tried to space the questions a bit, giving the children plenty of time to look and consider. What are their ears like? Can you see their noses? What about their noses? Which of their legs are bent and which are straight? Oh, look! I think that may be a yearling fawn. See how she's smaller? How do they behave when we move? One doe skitted off when my 5yo daughter raised a stick just a bit (she was trying to keep her balance). The doe came back after just a short while. Although we were sorry we had startled her, we were also glad we had gotten a good view of her tail's white underside.

I was just thinking the other day that we had seen plenty of nature so far this term, but precious few mammals in the wild. Mammals are supposed to be our nature study focus right now. Well, there you go! Mammals :) I'm certainly glad we got out there today.

Blessings,

Jacci

P.S. By the way, we did still do Aesop, Paddle, and handwriting when we got home ;)