I have really committed to using our nature study this year to improve our art skills and to learn more about some things the kids really enjoy. We've been driving around a lot this week listening to
bird call CDs. My kids love them and here's a fact for you...blue jays often mimic hawks- and very well I might add. That explains why we never see that hawk.
This autumn season my goal is to take the kids out every week to The Lab of Ornithology and observe the changes we see. This week was our first week and I brought the back pack of nature study. I brought The
Handbook of Nature Study and some
watercolor pencils. The little boys love the walk and the adventure and play along with the notebooking portion. R10 loves the art part!! E12 likes to learn more about the animals. There is something for everyone. Here's a look at our first trip.
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| I8 is suited up with his compass, bird watching binoculars, and his hat. He is all about getting a Tilly hat for Christmas. I love this kid. |
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| Can you see him? There is a downy woodpecker right in the center of the photo- our Digital Rebel Canon SLR camera needs a fixaroo so these are all taken with our Sony CyberShot. I miss my Canon!! |
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| Mushroom- anyone know what kind? |
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| We never leave without the hand lens for close up discoveries! |
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| The view over the meadow as we headed back for drawing |
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| J5 and I talked about what might be living in a spot like this. |
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| Black-Capped or a Carolina Chickadee? Either way...one of my all time favorites! |
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| There's that Downy Woodpecker again. |
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| We all drew some pictures of our choice from the walk with watercolor pencils. |
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| Later that day on the school playground, while waiting for E12 at soccer practice, the kids all took a moment to brush the water on their drawings. |
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| I am so not an artist, but I model for the kids the things I ask them to do. I have several book and some Squidoo lenses from Barb at The Handbook of Nature Study blog to use to improve our drawing. I'm looking forward to it. |
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| J5 drew a fern. He wanted someone to touch it while he was sketching to see if it was fuzzy. |
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| R10 did a fantastic job on her ducks near the water. |
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| We sure would like to know what this is...my guess is that it has a very short appearance in our world each year. |
All in all we had a terrific trip! The only thing I need to be mindful of is time. It took much longer than I had anticipated. E12 needs to finish his up and then I'll add it in.
5 comments:
What a great nature study time you had and I can totally relate to the fact that once you get started, it always takes more time than you think. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and your resources as well.
Can I use one of the photos of your children as the OHC Photo of the Week? Let me know: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com.
Coming over from HNSblog and I enjoyed seeing how much your kids got into their nature study. I love the photo that Barb posted on her blog. Great post.
Heather,
Great post, love all the pictures. I did want to ask you where you got the lapboards. I love the size of them, much bigger than a clip board.
Debi
Debi, these are portable drawing boards from Discount School Supply. 6 of them for 12.99. They are out of stock currently, but here is a link.
http://www.discountschoolsupply.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?product=26263&keyword=field%20trip%20boards&scategoryid=0&CategorySearch=&Brand=&Price=
They are really nice. And you are right- there's lots of space.
Heather
We do handbook of nature study with Barb too - I am really loving your blog!
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