Isn't Spring Here Yet?

A little snowbird

Winter time has been a hard time for us to stay motivated to observe God's creation as a part of our school day. It's too cold! Just this week after a week of warming temperatures, we woke up to more snow on the ground. Sigh. I have to admit, as much as I want spring here and the snow gone, the snow was beautiful!



Grant took this picture of his feet/tracks and places in the snow where bird seed had dropped.
Snow in Albuquerque doesn't stay around long. You can see it already starting to melt in this picture.
I found a great site that I've been reading through to help me get motivated about nature studies again. Jimmie's blog is wonderful, and her Squidoo lens on nature study is fabulous as well. Be sure and check it out!

Nature Journaling Birds

We've been observing birds since December when I received a bird feeder for my birthday. My binoculars and field guide have been our best friends in our quest to identify the birds coming to our backyard.

I was brave and attempted to draw a little Junco in my nature journal, but

the kids are a little intimated by drawing birds, so I found this great coloring book of birds and printed off some of the birds that we are seeing for the kids to color, cut out, and paste in their nature journals.

Snickers likes to observe the birds too, but for a very different reason I think! Good thing for the birds that she's an indoor cat!

The Trick May Be Water

We read somewhere recently that birds have a hard time finding water in the winter. They can eat snow if they have to, but people can help the birds by putting out a little water for them. Clean feathers keep birds warmer than dirty feathers, so they need water to bathe in as well as to drink. This morning, Grant and I put out a container of water. In less than 2 minutes, we had around 7 or 8 robins fighting over the water! Until this morning, we had not been able to attract the robins to our backyard. Water did the trick! If you are trying to attract more birds to your yard, try putting out a little water. The birds will thank you!

Winter/Snow Reading

We are enjoying a few "snow" books this winter season. Chloe's favorite so far is Blizzard by Betty Ren Wright. Grant is using The Story of Snow to write a report about how snow crystals are formed. My favorite book is Snowflake Bentley. Mr. Bentley spent his life photographing snowflakes and gave scientists much of the knowledge they have today on the subject of snow. We keep hoping for some snow here in ABQ, so that we can try our hand at taking some pictures of snow crystals like we found here. Check them out. They are awesome!

The Birds are Lovin' It

We wondered when we put up the new feeder if the birds would like the food it had to offer.

I think they like it!

Bird Watching

Now that our holiday break is over, we are ready to resume our study of nature. We have some dark paper in our freezer all ready for catching and observing snowflakes, but wouldn't you know it---no snow in the foreseeable forecast. So, we are turning our attention to birds!

Allison got a great picture of a pelican on Galveston Island right after Christmas.

I got a great birdfeeder for my birthday, and we've been watching birds with the binoculars I received for Christmas. I decided to try and keep track of the ones we see by listing them on our calendar when we spot a new bird.

One of my favorite birds to visit us so far is the spotted towhee.

We also have lots of dark eyed juncos.

We're beginning to see some little house finches with their bright red heads and chests, but getting good pictures is a challenge!

I really like this field guide because the birds are grouped by color, so we can easily look up and find a bird we have just spotted in our backyard.

What birds are visiting your feeder this winter?

Making Snowflake Crystals

In our study of snow, we learned that snowflakes are formed from snow crystals. As the crystals fall from the sky, they clump together to form snowflakes. The kids and I did an experiment to see how crystals form. First, I had the kids make "snowflakes" from white pipe cleaners.

Any shape will do, really.

Next, we floated our snowflakes in a solution of Borax and boiling water by attaching them to a ruler laid over a large Tupperware bowl. For every 2 cups of boiling water, dissolve 1/4 cup of Borax. Add more Borax until a slight amount has not dissolved in the water.

Allow your snowflakes to grow crystals overnight or longer.

It took our solution about 24 hours to start hardening into some really sparkly crystals.

Winter Nature Notebook Entry

Yesterday's snow and the coming of Christmas made us all realize that winter had arrived. We took our nature walk yesterday afternoon after the snow clouds began to break up to see what the weather had left behind . Today, we worked in our nature journals to record our walk, and Grant and Chloe were inspired to try a little experimentation with the freezing point.

After learning the freezing point is 32 degrees, and knowing that yesterday's temps were below that, Grant and Chloe decided to see if water would freeze in a little cup when placed outside.

They were rewarded with solid blocks of ice this morning!

After reading in the Handbook of Nature Study about snowflakes, we learned a few fascinating facts about snow. Most people know that no two snowflakes are alike, but did you know that all snowflakes have 6 points and 60 degree angles? Isn't God's creation amazing?!

This is Chloe's dictation to me about snowflakes.

I found a great art project that allowed the kids to create in their nature notebooks a scene much like the one we had out our window yesterday during the morning's snowfall. You can find that project at Art Projects for Kids. I love it when I can combine art and nature study!

The kids drew with oil pastels in their nature notebooks and then sprinkled watered down white tempera paint over the finished drawing. I thought the effect was snowy and beautiful!

Cold Day Nature Walk

Psalm 147:16 He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes;

Cold weather makes me feel like a hibernating bear. I want to sit on the couch wrapped up in blankets reading a good book while sipping a hot drink. But kids need to be outside. My kids need to be outside, and I know that we all have better attitudes after a little time outdoors. Even though the temperatures haven't gotten above 34 degrees today in ABQ, and light flurries of snow fell softly all morning long, I decided that this afternoon, a nature walk was in order. I figured we'd find more interesting things to study today than tomorrow when the sun comes out and melts the ice and snow. We bundled up warmly and braved the cold.

A break in the snow clouds over the mountains gave us courage.

The kids decided to make their own tracks in the snow.

Wow! We discovered icicles on the roof of our house.

We thought snow on a desert cactus was a funny sight.

As we walked around our front yard checking out signs of winter, Chloe remarked, "I guess all the bees are gone now." I said, "Yes, where do you think they went?" She replied very matter of factly, "South".