Before the weather got too chilly, we gathered on the deck and made nature journals. Using needle and thread we sewed together brown packing paper (recycling).
We read about trees and identified some of the trees in our yard.
Josiah really enjoyed doing this.
Hannah had picked up a Junior Ranger book when we went to the Indian Mounds and has been doing some of the activities in it.
She began entering things in her nature journal right away.
Then we had the opportunity to go on a field trip with an expert. The weather had turned colder, but we headed out anyway.
She taught the kids how to identify trees by their shape, bark, leaves and fruit. They learned about conifers, animal homes, and got to play a game.
Josiah has to get to know the tree while blindfolded, then find the tree again after taking off the blindfold. It's harder than it looks. Then the kids gathered leaves to identify using field guides.
All of the kids seemed to like the cottonwood leaf. It was big and almost heart shaped. The second most chosen was the sweet gum, probably for its star shape.
On our walk, Josiah spotted these bugs on a pine tree. Do you know what they are?
Next we made plaster casts of tree bark, starting with pressing
clay into the bark.
The edges of the clay were turned up and plaster was poured in. We took it home to let it harden and then we peeled the clay away. Alot of fun things for a nature study day!
