Nature Detectives

Let me just say that I am glad we did not pay for the program today. It was a complete waste of time and energy. Very disappointing. We basically did Ms. Anne's work for her. The paved trail has markers along the side that lists and points to different trees in the woods. They have two sets of "cards"...one for Autumn and one showing the characteristics of that tree for summer. We walked along the paved trail and switched out the signs. No lesson. No nothin'. I did, however get some good pictures, the boys did get outside, and they got to put into practice: "Righty tighty, lefty loosey", so I guess it wasn't a total waste of time.



We'll just have to wait and see what the program, 'Boro Wild, is like today...

Nature Detectives

The boys participated in a program at our local nature center today. This program is set up to teach the kids how to look for things in nature. The instructor took to kids on an hour long hike playing "I Spy". She would say, "I spy something Mother Nature's fury created." Magnus found it right away...

(This log was struck by lightening)

Or, "I Spy something that looks like a dull green sponge."

She called this "Reindeer Moss".

She gave other clues to things that made to kids think about where to look. She is trying to get them to become familiar with their surroundings. These programs are invaluable. Here are some more pictures of our hike...

The "Boro Wild

We have some great nature programs organized and taught by the local nature center where we live. On Thursdays we attend a program for homeschoolers called The 'Boro Wild. This program is concentrating on habitats. The class is 1 1/2 hours long and includes teaching (not done by me!), an activity, and a hike to put our new knowledge to use. This past Thursday we discussed the four things needed within every habitat...shelter, food, water, and space...and how those pertained to backyard habitats. For our hike and activity, we walked around the Nature Center and looked for those things. Here are some pictures...




We are very fortunate to have programs like these offered in our area. We do not take them for granted yet take advantage of them when we can. There is also a Nature Detectives program meeting on Tuesdays that we will attend when swim lessons don't coincide and on Wednesdays we may go help out with the butterfly garden. I encourage you to try and locate programs like these where you live. The kids enjoy them and you get a break from teaching!

Loving Nature Our Way

The last few weeks our house has been buzzing with talk of nature. This, however, is not too out of the ordinary for us since we like to hike, feed the birds, throw rocks in the water, look for signs of wildlife, ect. What makes this different is it has been constant. A constant stream of questions. A constant pull to be outside observing and experiencing God's creation. A constant desire to learn more. It's fantastic! I talked more in detail about this on my other blog, King Alfred Academy, if you would like to read about it.

I am going to continue blogging our Green Hour Challenges and other nature things at King Alfred Academy and use this for all the "over flow". The purpose of this blog is to show more pictures from our nature walks and to go into more detail about things we encounter. So be sure to check both places to read about our adventures!

So without further ado, enjoy these pictures taken during a hike at Radnor Lake in Nashville.

There are lots of deer in this park and since there are so many people who visit, they are pretty tame. These guys didn't hesitate walking across our path.

The boys found a large vine and pretended to be Tarzan.

This is the lake. It's full of ducks, geese, beavers, turtles, and even otters!