Live and Learn
Sep. 13, 2006
I'm a bird watcher
 Part of our Friday schedule includes time for observing nature. Ideally we'll spend about 20-30 minutes outside just seeing what we can see. Once the weather cools, I hope to fit in a "nature walk" and/or a visit to a local park (see here, here and here) a few times a month. For now, though, we mostly hang around in the backyard. On this particular day we took over the "tall tower" of the kids' playset (built by their dad I say w/ much admiration and pride) as a lookout spot. Much to our delight, a woodpecker, almost as if on cue, flew to the tree in front of us. We watched him hop up and down the tree pecking away in search of food. On our way inside we also observed a dragonfly by our shed. Once inside, and after we'd cooled down w/ a drink, we got out our field guide (National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds), identified our new little friend and read about him. We got out the colored pencils and the boys drew the woodpecker in their nature journals. (Didn't think to take a photo of their journals - will do that and add them in here later) We also looked up dragonflies in Florida's Fabulous Insects and did some reading about them. By the way, if you're looking for a pre-made nature journal, I heartily recommend the "Nature Notebook" found online at The Tanglewood School. Once you've paid through paypal, you're given a code that allows you to download it onto your computer (and print). It's just beautiful, well thought out and a steal for $5.25 (especially since one purchase allows you to print out all you need for your family's use). Here's a link to the order page for the nature notebook The Tanglewood School Curriculum. As an aside, although they no longer sell curriculum, their site is a wonderful resource for history and classic literature ideas. It felt so good to have this time back in the schedule. Of course, we can (and do) take the time to observe nature every day but it's also really nice to have a time set aside each week specifically for nature study and learning. I look forward to many more days of fresh air, observing God's wonderful creation and learning. |
| • Post A Comment! • Send to a Friend! |
Comments