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.

The Trumpet of the Swan

The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White is one of my all time favorite books. I read it to the girls when they were elementary school age and Grant was about four. Chloe was too little to enjoy it. I decided we needed to read it again, and I'm so glad I did! White's fictional story about a boy named Sam Beaver who lives in Montana has already taught us quite a bit about trumpeter swans. Sam watches quietly while a cob and his mate hatch their eggs on a pond in Canada. Sam befriends the swan family and notices that the littlest male cygnet, named Louis, cannot say "Ko-hoh!" for the cygnet is mute. Louis later finds Sam in Montana and goes to school with him. Since nature has not given Louis a voice, he wants to learn to read and write in order to communicate. White has done an excellent job of blending a wonderful fiction story with facts about trumpeter swans living on Red Rocks Lake in Montana.

Facts About Trumpeter Swans

1. Trumpeter swans get their name from their trumpet-like call.
2. The mute male swan is typically found in city parks and is native to Eurasia.
3. Males are cobs. Females are pens. Babies are cygnets.
4. Cygnets are born gray in color and by the time they are one year old, they are pure white with black feet and black bill.
5. Male trumpeter swans can weigh anywhere from 21 to 32 pounds.
6. Trumpeter swans can be found in Yellow Stone National Park.

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".

The Pumpkin Challenge

This challenge was fun and messy! Since we completed the first ten challenges over at the Handbook of Nature Study, I thought we should at least try to do one of the autumn challenges. We decided on the pumpkin challenge, which involved cutting up our pumpkins.

First, we estimated how many seeds we thought might be in each pumpkin.

At the bottom of the board are the kids' estimations and words they used to describe the experience of digging out the seeds of a pumpkin.

Let the scooping begin!

We rinsed the seeds,

drained them, and counted them.

Grant's pumpkin was the winner with 545 seeds!

Challenge #10!

We made it through the Handbook of Nature Study's first ten challenges! Challenge 10 instructed us to enjoy nature and have a picnic! I wasn't sure the weather would cooperate with us since today is November 20th, but the Lord blessed us with a beautiful day. We went to a new park, and everyone had a great time.

We noticed the trees have lost most of their leaves, and Grant had fun trying to shake the remaining few out of the tree.

One of our favorite things about late fall is the crunch sound the leaves make when you step on them!

Now if this isn't an example of enjoying nature, I don't know what is!

The playground at our new found park has great equipment to play on.

We brought home a new collection of leaves and twigs and will work next week on identifying the trees the kids climbed at this park.