This spring unit is similar to ones we did in the past. We collect an assortment of nature science books in botany and zoology, coordinate projects and hands-on activities, and round it out with some picture books and games. Sounds easy, but it’s not always so simple. This time around, I have several new books and a couple new kits I’m looking forward to trying. And as always, I don’t know how to squeeze it all in. It’s like being in a buffet. You have to make choices, and well, sometimes, I just want to have it all. Because this unit will overlap our history units (which should have been finishing up by now), we’ll have to take the first several weeks kind of easy on this unit. In a separate video, I’ll share my lesson planning process. I want material and projects for my 7 year old as well as my 11 year old. Sometimes it’s hard to find projects and books that fit that age gap.
This time around, I want to focus our lessons on the new books we got this year.
We also have some projects lined up that we did previously, so I won’t have new videos on the Pine Tree kit and Root Observation kit from Nature-Watch, but we will have on on the Herb Greenhouse kit. You can see all of the kits we’ve done from Nature-Watch here.
Since we’ve completed our Botany Main Lesson block last year, we won’t have duplicate videos of activities we did with that block, but you can see those lessons and activities from the previous year, and of course we’ll have new activities this year.
Since we have a couple pages left in our Math in the Garden garden journal, we’ll schedule two more projects. Plus we like that book. It’s packed with garden activities that incorporate math. It’s genius!
We’ve been doing nature units for several years and you can see the one we did when this channel was still brand new.
Last year we also did a mini unit on Honey + Bees.
I shared the game Wildcraft. I give a detailed review of the game. Now that it’s been two years since we’ve had it, I have more thoughts on the game. I realize I’m not a fan of cooperative games, but I find they are ideal for young children under 9 years.
I also shared Mikael’s and Becca’s channel. Check them out!
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Art and Science | Tips for Beginners
Although I’m not an artist, I still enjoy drawing, painting and other art expressions. But everyone has an inner artist we can all nurture. I wanted to share the tips that might help you enjoy the art process and help you be more satisfied with your artwork. These tips are pretty simple and maybe you already do some of them, but for me it was a learning process of discovery. But now that I know them, it’s so much easier to draw, and I’m happier with the results.
Nature Unit Games and Art | Into the Forest
After many of you saw these Into The Forest game pieces, you asked about the game, where to find it, and if we liked it. The thing is that at the time, we weren’t playing the game, we were only uses the beautiful cards for drawing inspiration for our nature studies. We would draw one of the cards into our nature journal, then write about the plant or animal. We did this for a couple of weeks, choosing 1-2 cards a week. During that time, we also spent a lot of time in the garden planting seeds and tending our raised beds. Finally one day, we learned how to play the game.
Our Homeschool Lesson
Here’s a little snippet of our homeschool day. We are working through our Live-Education waldorf inspired curriculum for our Botany Main Lesson block and took a little detour. We were inspired by the lesson on algae and seaweed and decided to do a little unit on ocean plant and animal life. We liked it so much, it’s becoming its own main lesson block for the late summer, just as we are starting our new school year.
We pulled a variety of resources which you can see on the table. We have books, games and hands-on activities. We completed our main lesson book entry to the day, then turned to other lesson enhancements like Professor Noggins Seashore game and a GeoCentral excavation kit.
How to Display Scientific Specimens | Nature Study and Appreciation
Self directed learning never looked so good! We got these samples from a Nature-Watch kit called Forest in a Box. It came with 20 forest specimens enclosed in zipper bags with cards describing each sample. We removed the cards and placed them in an envelope on the back of the display board and mounted each specimen using hot glue. We used heavy duty chipboard. As thick and strong as a hardback book as our display. I used a glue stick to adhere the watercolor paper to the display board. The finished project is 14″x11″ big and it is bordered on all sides with drywall tape to finished off the edges and give it a clean look. I penciled in the names of each specimen so the students can identify each sample on the cards and each the description about each.
This makes a beautiful classroom display. It has inspired the children to look at it and piqued their curiosity about the samples. Duration: 30 minutes Cost: minimal because I had these supplies Nature-Watch kit: $39.95 Supplies: Hot glue gun, glue sticks, forest samples, watercolor paper, drywall tape, twine, and heavy chipboard.
How to Compost for Beginners
There are two ways to compost: The right way and my way 😉 I don’t compost with the intention of balancing nutrients; I compost primarily to keep our kitchen waste from ending up in the landfill. In so doing, I create rich nutrient dense soil for my garden, but alas, I’ve been a novice gardener since I started gardening many years ago. I haven’t progressed in my skills or abilities, but I still love to prep the soil and plant seeds. Some grow, some don’t, but I still do it.
With some exceptions, I’ve been composting for as long as I’ve been gardening, and it’s worked every time. Let me walk you through the process and help you understand how awesomely quick and easy this can be…that is if you do it my way 😉
First, get yourself a compost pot. It can be fancy and pretty and sit on your counter. If can be a spare bowl you have. I use my nesting Tupperware plastic bowls I’ve had for years…like many many years. I put one on the counter when I’m cooking and toss kitchen scraps into the bowl. Then I put it in the freezer if I can’t compost right away. If I think I’ll compost in the next day or two (or three if it’s winter and the compost isn’t likely to get yucky on the counter and smell and decompose and attract flies), I’ll leave the compost bowl on the counter and sometimes, I may put a lid on it. Usually, I pop it in the freezer because that way, I can compost less often.
When I’m ready to compost, I dig a hole big enough for the compost and large enough to have a lot of soil to cover the compost completely. I put all the kitchen scraps in the hole and cover it thoroughly. If you have a problem with rodents getting to your garden or compost, you can add extra soil and then top the soil with a large pot or tile.
You can also compost in a large pot, too, and this may keep the rodents from getting into the compost. When composting in a large pot, just know that it may rot before decomposing if you don’t turn it once in a while. I’ve also composted it my EarthBoxes and in an IKEA trash bin with a lid. Nothing works as well as composting directly in the soil.
If you wish to turn the compost, you may do so. Just make sure that you cover it completely when you’re done. You can also compost in the same hole often, even if the contents aren’t completely decomposed. You also may need to wet the soil if it’s especially dry. That keeps the worms happy. I haven’t had a problem with the soil being too wet.
Once the soil is decomposed, you’ll find that the soil tends to be richer and more moist than non composted soil.
Flower Dissection | Botany | Charlotte Mason Nature Study
I had mixed feelings about the flower dissection we did for our Bee Unit Study. While I think this is a fabulous project for an older student (middle school and older), I had reservations about doing this project with my 8-year-old daughter. I wasn’t keen on us taking beautiful flowers and destroying them to examine the insides and to identify the parts. But we did it despite my feelings, and it turned out okay! It’s my opinion that when the children are young, we should marvel at what we see and behold its beauty rather than take it apart. There is a deep education in being able to be present with your surroundings and having wonder and curiosity in what you see without having to understand it on an analytical basis. I would rather save that analytical and logical and scientific approach for when the students are older. This activity was from the book Turn This Book Into A Beehive by Lynne Brunelle.