Nature Study–Outdoor Hour Challenge #1

I have been very guilty lately of staying indoors way too much with the kids. Maybe it was the HOT summer or the nausea of pregnancy, but I just did not feel like venturing outdoors! However, after debating on what more we could do with our Science studies, I was encouraged by a friend to just keep it simple…Get outdoors and explore. What more do Kindergarteners and preschoolers need than to touch, feel, and listen to learn about the wonderful world God created!

I downloaded the Handbook of Nature Study and decided to participate in the weekly Outdoor Challenges as a way to get us outside. The blog suggested to start with the first 5 challenges and then to join up with them when those are finished. So, we started with Challenge #1. It was simple…Spend time outside. There was no agenda or questions to ask. After coming back inside, we were to talk about all that we saw and decide on one thing that we’d like to learn more about.

Well, our one time outside ended up turning into multiple adventures this week. We spent time at a local park, at the cabin, and in the backyard. We had TONS of fun and had lots to talk about!

At the Park

Lexy loves digging in the dirt!

Of course, we had to make time for the playground!

A hollow tree…who could use this???

Watching and listening

Another hole…this time I think I see something!

Why would a tree grow like this? It’s a lot of fun to pretend like it’s a horse!

Climbing

After a good day of playing and exploring at the park, what could be better than an apple cider slushie from the orchard!

At the Cabin

There’s always plenty of time for just playing outside.

Hiking the trails and exploring the woods

What will we see if we take a boat ride?

THOUSANDS of FRESH WATER JELLY FISH!!!

Lexy wanted to hold one.

We took a little ride over to “turtle mountain.” Where are all the turtles? Have they already started digging themselves down in the mud?

Time for a little fishing

Lexy caught one!

It wouldn’t be Fall without a wagon ride!

Phew, this is exhausting!

In the Backyard

What’s this…Josiah needs to investigate it with a magnifying glass.

Wow, there are lots of them all over the yard!

It’s a black walnut! Let’s get the outer layer off first.

Then, we can crack it open to find the nut.

Some of them were too hard. We’ll have to let them dry out for a few days. We learned that black walnuts sure are messy!

Time to jump in the leaves with Mamaw!

Has anyone seen Josiah?

SO MUCH FUN!!!

SO…In Conclusion:

1. We decided that we want to learn more about fresh water jelly fish. Why are they there? Where did they come from…they weren’t there last year. How are they different from the jelly fish we saw at the beach a few weeks ago?

2. Nature Study is lots of fun! We will be getting outdoors much more often!

Be sure to see what others are doing at the Preschool Corner and 5K too!