Nature Study: The Food Chain

This week's Nature Study was one that I knew Skylar would enjoy. The basis of the lesson was The Food Chain, but the main focus was on owls. Skylar loves owls especially since she saw the movie Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

She loves that movie. It's not for the younger crowd, so I only took Alexa and Skylar to see it when it came out last year.

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We gathered at the picnic tables at one of our local favorite nature spots. The mom leading the lesson this day began the discussion on the food web. It was very interesting. Then that led to the discussion of owls and some facts about them, how they live and what they eat.

Then out came the owl pellets.

I'll be honest. I cringed.

I am admittedly a wimp about "icky" things. I always have been.

I tried very hard to sound excited and not completely grossed out. I think I did a pretty good job.

The kids excitedly open their foil covered packets. They immediately began digging through the pellets to find the bones of whatever small animal that owl had eaten. In an odd way, it was like a treasure hunt, and the kids were getting excited over some of their bigger discoveries, like a rodent's skull, with teeth still in tact.Then we were off on a trail, with our scavenger hunt sheets in hand, to try to catch a glimpse of animals that the owl eats. We were also looking for holes up high in the trees, where an owl might live.

We didn't find a lot of what we were looking for, but it was still an enjoyable walk. (if you look closely, you can see the bird on a branch...that is one animal that an owl eats)

How can you walk on a trail through the forest in the Springtime and not enjoy it?

We found some unrelated discoveries.....tent worms....

And a little creek with tadpoles swimming around inside......

It was another great Nature Study Group meeting. I am so glad we are able to participate this Spring.

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Hope you are getting out there and enjoying your Springtime!

Have a great week!

Make some good memories for yourself and your children. :)

TTFN

~Tina

Nature Study Group: Wild Flowers

We began with our usual picnic lunch. Then the kids were anxious to get moving. We ventured down to the nearby creek to take a look. It was flowing much faster and seemed deeper than the last time we were here 2 years ago. The kids couldn't resist. Evan picked up some stones and began tossing them in the water. and Sky made a discovery (which she put back where she found it). This week's lesson was on wild flowers. The same very knowledgeable mom taught the children the parts of a plant and the parts of a flower. She also taught about pollination and how flowers grow and tied it in a little bit with the lesson last time on seeds. She had some great handouts, too. The favorite handout was a list of wildflowers we might find in our area, with little photos of each. So the kids were off on their Wildflower Scavenger Hunt. There were quite a few beautiful flowers to see and....... lots and lots and I mean LOTS of mud to contend with. But in the spring, at a park such as this, that is to be expected. We tried to stay on the boardwalks and dry-ish land as much as possible, though. Of course the most famous wildflower that this park is known for is it's Bluebells. They were everywhere, creating a sea of light blue.


We ended up at another part of the creek and, though it was deep, it wasn't as fast moving. And you can see the many Bluebells on the other side.

(I'll try to identify the ones above a bit later)

Just breathtaking! Evan and I had a moment alone as we walked and I asked him who made this beautiful place. He answered, "God". And I said, "He sure must love us a lot to give us a place as wonderful as this to visit.." Evan agreed. :)

The kids were able to spot many different types of wildflowers, but the Bluebells were definitely the most apparent.

My kids returned to the van tired, happy, thirsty (yes I had water with me) and well....

a bit muddy. But like I said, that's to be expected.

And well worth it!

Have a wonderful week everyone!

TTFN

~Tina

Saint Francis Nature Club: Seeds

On Monday, we met with our homeschool group's Nature Club. They ran this group in the Fall, but at least one of my children was sick for every meeting, so we never did get to attend that session.

We were excited to get out there and finally participate in this Spring session. This lesson was taught by a wonderful, kind and very knowledgeable mom. The talk was on Seeds. We learned 4 different ways seeds are planted and what a seed needs to grow. We looked at seeds she brought, right there under the pavilion, then went on a hike to see if we could find some. (Evan is sportin' the all-important walking stick.....a must-have accessory for every hike.)

Skylar found one pretty quickly. It was a black walnut (if I remember correctly). Evan found one, too. His was tiny and I'm amazed he spotted it. I'm not sure what type of seed his was.

We saw lots of other interesting stuff on this walk, too....like.......

this flower I have yet to identify.

Skunk cabbage

(no, I didn't just know that....the very smart homeschool mom that taught the seed lesson pointed this out to us).

Check out the roots on this tree. Very cool.

Now this is what we like to see after some time in the great outdoors.....very tired children. :)

On our way back, we came across these two.

They were just minding their own business, and so were we. We checked them out and "oooh-ed" and "aahhh-ed" a bit, then moved on.

We are looking forward to the next time the Nature Club meets. I'm not sure what the next talk is on, but there will be one coming up this session on the Food Chain.

The children (with as little help from me as possible) will be dissecting owl pellets. I'm glad we eat lunch before the club begins. I'll try to get loads of pictures for you on that day. ;)

Good night all!

TTFN

~Tina