Handbook of Nature Study Notes

In combination with the first outdoor hour challenge, here are some of the interesting points that I noted down from pages 1 to 8 of the Handbook of Nature Study:

• The object of the nature-study teacher should be to cultivate in the children powers of accurate observation and to build up within them understanding.
• What nature-study should do for the child:
• give practical and helpful knowledge
• cultivate his/her imagination
• cultivate a perception and a regard for what is true and the power to express it
• cultivate a love of the beautiful
• give a sense of companionship with life out-of-doors and an abiding love of nature

• If nature-study as taught does not make the child love nature and the out-of-doors then it should cease (!!)
• Out-of-doors life takes the child afield and keeps him in the open air, which not only helps him physically and occupies his mind with sane subjects, but keeps him out of mischief.
• Out in this, God's beautiful world, there is everything waiting to heal lacerated nerves, to strengthen tired muscles, to please and content the soul that is torn to shreds with duty and care.
• In nature-study any teacher can with honour say, "I do not know; let us see if we cannot together find out this mysterious thing. Maybe no one knows it as yet, and I wonder if you will discover it before I do."
• In nature-study the work begins with any plant or creature which chances to interest the pupil.
• Nature-study does not start out with the classification given in books, but in the end it builds up in the child's mind a classification which is based on fundamental knowledge.
• The nature-study lesson should be short and sharp and may vary from ten minutes to half an hour in length. There should be no dawdling; if it is an observation lesson, only a few points should be noted and the meaning for the observation made clear.
• The lesson should not be repeated unless the pupils demand it. It should be done so well the first time that there is no need of repetition.
• In nature-study, the observation of form is for the purpose of better understanding life.

I like the last point. Nature study is not just about identifying and naming things. We identify them so that we can better understand their life and purpose.

Starting the Outdoor Hour Challenge - Week 1

We've just completed our first week of homeschooling for this new academic year (yippee!). Friday mornings are going to be our nature study mornings, and I'm planning to base them around the Outdoor Hour Challenges found on the Handbook of Nature Study blog.

Today we were supposed to just find a couple of things that interested the children that we could investigate further. Charis (3) said she liked the pretty blue flowers we saw. I think they were chicory - I've looked them up before. Sophie (5) liked all the tiny crab apples we came across on the path.

I forgot to take our camera with us, so there are no photos, unfortunately. I'll try to remember next time!

We did also see a dead dog in the lake, which led to a conversation about how dangerous water is and how important it is to learn how to swim, but I'm not sure that that comes under 'Nature Study' per se!

Learning more about Birds

Here's the next section of the reading in HONS, pp 35 - 47:

1. Describe something you learned about Migration by reading this
section.

I loved reading about the Artic tern, who nests in the Artic and winters in the Antartic, making a round trip of 22,000 miles each year and has more hours of daylight than any other animal on the globe! Migrants are either summer residents in our area or winter residents, or 'visitors' if just passing through. Some species have a different migration route south than the return one north.

2. Do you have any unusual birds who migrate through your area?
Describe.

I'm not aware of any yet.

3. How does a bird’s eye sight compare to a human’s?

All birds have much better eyesight than humans. Birds such as hens cannot see the same object with both eyes at the same time, which is why they often turn their head to look at us with their other eye. However, she can see all around her all the time.

4. Does a bird have a distinguishable ear?

Birds' ears are usually just a hole in the side of the head, covered with feathers.

5. Compare and contrast the hen’s beak and its uses with the duck’s bill
and its uses.

A hen's beak is sharp and pointed so that she can use it like a pick on the soil and like a pair of nippers. The duck's bill, on the other hand, is broad and flat and much softer. It's used like a sieve to strain out the water leaving the food in the birds mouth. Both birds use their bills for cleaning and oiling their feathers and also for fighting. They also use them to turn over their eggs and make nests.

6. Where are a bird’s nostrils and does a bird smell well with them?

A bird's nostrils are situated in the beak near the base, but we don't believe they have a very keen sense of smell.

7. What is the danger of “teaching” too many details during nature study
for elementary school students?

The danger is it may take out the life and spirit of the work for the child.

8. How many toes does a bird have? Describe anything new you learned
about chicken or duck feet.

A bird has 4 toes, 3 in front and 1 behind. Ducks' legs are shorter and placed further back than that of a hen, which is why ducks walk more awkwardly when on land.

9. Which sex of bird sings most often? Are there certain conditions
which must exist for the bird to sing?

Usually only the male bird sings. Birds prefer to sing in spring and early summer, usually early in the morning, and often from a particular place in their territory.

10. Does anyone recommend a particularly good resource for learning bird
songs?

I don't know of any yet.

11. Do you have any plans to attract birds to your yard this year? If
so, how?

We put up a bird feeder during the winter, but our young dog often barks at the birds and frightens them away. I'm hoping to put up a bird bath table on one of the trees. Our garden does seem to attract a few birds, particularly since we have a lot of trees and places to perch.

12. In what ways are birds useful to humans?

Birds bring us delight, through their songs, their colourful plumage and their interesting habits. Birds are useful in consuming insects that might harm our plants and trees, as well as weed seeds. Birds of prey regulate the numbers of small pests, and other birds like vultures and gulls help to dispose of corpses and other rubbish.

13. List the main points of inquiry when studying birds’ nests.

Nests should not be examined in the summer while the birds are still using them, lest they be frightened into abandoning them. Empty nests can be documented by noting where it was found, in what kind of tree and how high from the ground.

Learning about Birds

We're starting a reading group on Ambleside Online Year 0, reading through the major sections of Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study. I thought it might be helpful to post my answers here for future reference:

Birds (ppgs. 26-35); Introduction & Lessons 1, 2 & 3

1. What discoveries are the goals of a true ornithologist?

The goals of a true ornithologist are not just to identify birds but to know their life habits.

2. Which birds should you start with when teaching your (Year 1 & up)
children?

Comstock suggests starting with chickens, pigeons, canaries, robins and bluebirds. After that she suggests studying birds that remain during the winter months, such as the chickadee, nuthatch and downy woodpecker.

3. What is nature’s method of shingling? Describe, please. (I guess
this means we have to do nature study in the rain sometimes!!!)

A bird's feathers overlap on its back and breast so that the rain, finding no place to enter, drips off, leaving the bird dry underneath.

4. What are the 3 parts of a feather?

The shaft or quill (the central stiff stem of the feather), the barbs (which towards the end join together to make a smooth web) and the fluff (which is at the base, near the bird's body).

5. What is down? What is a pin feather?

Down is a feather which doesn't have a quill. Young chicks are covered in down. A pin feather is a feather rolled up in a sheath, which will later break and allow the feather to unfold.

6. Where is a hen’s oil gland?

The oil gland is on her back, just at the base of the tail feathers.

7. How often does a hen shed her feathers (if at all)?

She sheds her feathers once a year.

8. What is the “leading thought” of the purpose of feathers (as
clothing), which will drive your study of them?

Some feathers act like raincoats, protecting against rain, wind and snow. Others act like underclothing, keeping the bird warm.

9. Comstock’s book gives a description of why birds are coloured as they
are from an evolutionary perspective; if you are a creationist, explain why
God may have created them the way they are.

Male birds are brightly coloured, since the female chooses the most beautiful to be her mate. Females are drab in comparison because they must hide their nest and young from predators and not attract attention. The young are also dull for this reason. The male birds sometimes use their colours (and songs) to distract attention away from where their hens and chicks are nesting.

10. Comstock gives several examples of beautiful birds. Are there any
birds you are particularly fond of for their beauty which are local to your
area?

We have turkey gobblers in our village who like to show off their plumage. There are a couple of male peacocks in the zoo too. I like the chaffinches in the park, as well as the woodpeckers and jays, which are also very beautiful to look at.

11. What do you have to teach a child about air before you teach him how
a bird flies (this might make a good Year 0 informal study)?

A child needs to understand that air is something that we can push against, or that can push against us. This can be done with a fan or an umbrella.

12. How are feathers on a wing especially suited for flying?

When the wing is open the wing quills overlap so that the air cannot pass through them. The wing is also slightly curved, as is each individual quill (so that it pushes against the air better). The wing feathers are also designed such that the barbs on the front edge are almost parallel with the quill (and therefore not offering resistance) whilst those on the back edge are more perpendicular, so as to form more of a web for the air to press against. When the wing pushes upwards for an 'up stroke' the quill bends at the joint so as to offer less resistance.

13. What is the leading thought about Feathers for Flying? Is Comstock
missing anything in her description of flying?

A bird flies by pressing down on the air with its wings, which are made specially for this purpose. The bird's tail acts as a rudder during flight.

Drab Hens

I've just started a reading schedule with my Ambleside Online Year 0 group that hopes to read through the major sections of Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study. We've started on the section about birds. I was really struck when I read about how the female bird is deliberately drab so as not to attract the attention of predators. It has often grated on an old feminist nerve of mine when the kids have noticed in the zoo that the male birds are so much more beautiful than the female birds (especially the peacocks), but now I understand the reason why God designed it that way. I see a parallel in my own life too. As a stay-at-home mum I sometimes feel like the drab partner, whilst my husband continues in an exciting job that I also used to do once. But now I'm encouraged to remember how important it is to be drab sometimes (lol!). Also, the idea that the chicks are also drab like the mother before they reach maturity just reminds me of the great privilege I have to be the biggest influence in my children's life right now, and what a responsibility it is to know that they're imitating me whilst they follow me around!

Why I should educate myself about nature

"Mothers and Teachers should know about Nature.––The mother cannot devote herself too much to this kind of reading, not only that she may read tit-bits to her children about matters they have come across, but that she may be able to answer their queries and direct their observations. And not only the mother, but any woman, who is likely ever to spend an hour or two in the society of children, should make herself mistress of this sort of information; the children will adore her for knowing what they want to know, and who knows but she may give its bent for life to some young mind designed to do great things for the world."

Charlotte Mason, Volume 1

Labelling

My original title for this blog was 'Unless the Lord Builds'. When I was just embarking upon my homeschooling journey I read somewhere that it was good to ask the Lord for a special 'homeschooling verse'. I did so, and the reply was Psalm 127v1. It's very fitting for me because I naturally want to do and control everything myself, so God doesn't often get a look in. And then I wonder why I burn out, or things seem to melt down around me! I do need a constant reminder that, in bringing up my children and educating them (education is a life, a discipline, an atmosphere!) then I need to make sure that God's the one in control and that I'm doing everything in His strength.

However, I also love Romans 12v11,12, and I want to aim towards the label of 'joyful in hope' in my own life. I'd love to be joyful in all aspects of my life, and to be full of hope for the future and all that God has in store for me and my family. Since this blog is primarily just to inspire and encourage myself then why not have an inspiring title!