Handbook of Nature Study Notes 5 - on Trees

    I've decided our focus this term will be Trees. Here are a few of the things I've learned by reading the introductory section in the Handbook of Nature Study:

• Parts of the tree:
• The head, or crown, is composed of the branches as a whole, which in turn are composed of the larger and smaller branches and twigs.
• The spray is the term given to the outer twigs, ..which bear the leaves and fruit.
• The branches are divisions of the bole or trunk, which is the body or stem of the tree.
• The bole at the base divides into roots, and the roots into rootlets, which are covered with root hairs.
• The roots:
• First, they absorb the water and minerals from the soil (through the root hairs)
• Second, they hold the tree in place against the onslaught of the winds.
• There is as much of the tree hidden below ground as there is in sight above ground. 
• The trunk, or bole:
• First, it holds the branches aloft...to expose the leaves to the sunlight.
• Second, it's a channel by which the sap surges from root to leaf and back again.
• The branches are divisions of the trunk and have the same work to do.
• A trunk cross-section:
• First, there is the outside layer of protective bark.
• Next comes the cambium layer. It builds on its outside a layer of bark and on its inside a layer of wood around the trunk.
• Then there is a lighter coloured portion of the trunk called the sapwood, because it's filled with sap, which moves up and down its cells in a mysterious manner. The sapwood consists of the more recent rings of annual growth.
• Within the sapwood are concentric rings to the very centre or pith; this portion is usually darker in colour and is called the heartwood; it no longer has anything to do with the life of the tree, but simply gives to it strength and staunchness.
• Leaves:
• A leaf would be of little use unless it could be reached by the sunlight.
• It's made up of the petiole and the blade, or widened portion of the leaf, which is sustained usually with a framework of many ribs or veins. 
• The petioles and the veins are sap channels like the branches and twigs.
• The leaf is a factory; the raw materials are taken from the air and from the sap containing minerals from the soil; the finished product is largely starch, which is plant food. The starch is then stored in sapwood to be used for the growth of the next year's leaves. 
• By midsummer most of the tree's work is done. The chlorophyl in the leaf cells has been safely withdrawn and secluded in the woody part of the tree. The autumn leaf which glows gold or red has in it only the material which the tree can no longer use.
• A thin, corky layer develops between the petiole and the twig, and when this is perfected the leaf drops from its own weight at the touch of a slight breeze. 
• Growth:
• Each year the tree pushes higher, deeper and wider through the tips of the twigs and rootlets.
• There is also a layer of growth over the entire tree - roots, trunk, branches and twigs - each year, as if a thick coat of paint has been put over the whole tree. 
• Prevailing winds cause the tree to grow more luxuriantly on the leeward side. 

Handbook of Nature Study Notes 4

The Uses of Scientific Names (pp 10 - 11)

    "My own practice has been to use the popular names of species, except in cases where confusion might ensue, and to use the scientific names for anatomical parts."
    "The child should never be required to learn the name of anything in the nature-study work; but the name should be used so often and so naturally in his presence that he will learn it without being conscious of the process."

The Field Notebook (pp 13 - 15)
"To make the notebook a success the following rules should be observed:

1. The book should be considered the personal property of the child and should never be criticized by the teacher except as a matter of encouragement..
2. A graphic drawing is far better than a long description of a natural object.
3. The spelling, language, and writing of the notes should all be exempt from criticism.
4. Outlines [designed by the teacher] for observing certain plants or animals may be placed in the notebook previous to the field excursion so as to give definite points for the work. 
5. No child should be compelled to have a notebook. 

Guarding our Hearts

    I've just finished reading 'Waking the Dead' by John Eldredge. I really enjoy his books - I seem to really connect with what he's writing about, like it's exactly what my heart and mind are wondering about and are in need of hearing. In 'Waking the Dead' Eldredge tells us that our hearts are good, not sinful and wicked like we think we're supposed to believe. God has given us new hearts. Yes we still have old, sinful habits and the enemy attacks are disguised like the thoughts of our own hearts, but basically we need to believe that our hearts are good, that they matter to God, that they are the treasures of the Kingdom and that we desperately need to look after them if we're going to live out the life of joyful abundance that Jesus came to bring us.
   Eldredge really brought home to me the reality of Satan's attacks on my heart and his desire to steal my joy. I'm going to try to pray through his daily prayer for freedom for the next couple of weeks and try to be more alert for enemy attacks. Recently I've been feeling quite depressed, discourage and depleted. Perhaps life is not meant to be like that! Perhaps having three small children at home doesn't mean inevitable drudgery and an endless succession of mundane, thankless tasks. Perhaps someone is trying to crush my spirit and steal my joy. Perhaps someone is jealous that I reflect the glory of God because I am made in His image. Perhaps someone is trying to make me miss out on the reality of eternal, wonderful, joyful life in Jesus.
   The other day, when I was living out this new understanding, someone commented that I looked more beautiful, more radiant. I want to look like that every day! I like the images Eldredge has in his book taken from Epic stories and films. I too want to be like Eowyn and Arwen in Lord of the Rings - beautiful, warrior princesses, whose lives make a difference for the kingdom. If you're a follower of Jesus and reading this post, perhaps I can encourage you to join me in guarding our hearts and living out the joyful, Spirit-filled lives that were meant to be ours.

Outdoor Hour Challenge Week 4

    Since Autumn has just begun I decided to choose 'Trees' as our focus area. I'm looking forward to watching the leaves turn colour and making collages of sycamore leaves with the girls. There are so many different trees in our local park, and I'd love to be able to identify them better.
   I forgot this week to get the girls to stop and be quiet and tell me what they could hear, see and feel. Sophie reminded me when we got back home - it seems she really enjoys that part of the nature walk.
    Once we got to the park I asked the girls to choose a tree each that interested them. From their chosen tree we looked for leaves on the ground that had fallen nearby, any seeds or berries, and we also did a bark rubbing, as well as jotting down in a notebook any other interesting features.

Sophie's Tree

  
  
    Sophie chose this tree. Its leaves had barely turned at all so we couldn't find any on the ground. We noticed they were growing in groups of five. We thought at first it didn't have any seeds or berries but then we noticed a few long seeds and were able to take some for our nature journal. The bark was fairly smooth and almost orange in colour, with little bits of green moss growing on it. Later on when I looked it up in our tree book I decided it must have been some kind of ash tree, although I'm not sure exactly which type - possibly a Narrow-leaved Ash, although the leaves didn't look that narrow.

Charis's Tree

    Charis chose this tree. The bark was quite rough and there was more moss growing on this trunk. The leaves on this tree had nearly all turned brown and fallen off. There were red berries on the ground that belonged to this tree too. We decided it was probably a Common Hawthorn tree. (By the way, the leaves in the photo are from another type of young tree that was growing right next to the Hawthorn).
   We enjoyed the rest of our nature walk. We found lots of acorns, pine needles, pine cones, conkers and various leaves. Sophie noticed some white 'stuff' on the pine trees, and we discovered it was sticky sap. We scraped some onto our fingers and smelt it. The girls also pointed out mushrooms and clovers and a little squirrel, which got chased up a tree by the stray dog that followed up all the way around the lake.

Playing Pooh Sticks

We stopped to play Pooh sticks on the little bridge, but the water was flowing quite fast from all the rain we've had recently. We didn't see any dead animals this week, although the girls felt very sorry for the stray dog, who was very thin and eagerly gobbled up all the crackers that we threw at it. We talked about how stray dogs and cats have to find their own food from amongst the rubbish or from people's scraps. Unfortunately there are a lot of stray dogs in this part of the world and there's nothing we can do to help.

When we got home I updated our family nature journal, writing up our findings, pasting in the bark rubbings and sealing in the leaves, seeds and berries with clear, sticky film. The girls weren't that interested in helping me. Perhaps they're still too young - neither of them can read yet. I did read the entries to them later and asked them to help me remember what we saw, but I think I just have to model nature journalling to them for now. When they're older I'd love to try doing some sketches together, but Charis and Nathaniel have very short attention spans when we're out and about!

Handbook of Nature Study Notes 3

Here are my notes from the reading from Challenge number 3:

The Correlation of Nature-Study with Language work (pg 16)

    Comstock observes that using nature journals will naturally encourage writing and spelling skills. However, this should not be overtly part of the purpose of the nature journal or else the child will object: "Nature-study should be so much a part of the child's thought and interest that it will naturally form a thought core for other subjects quite unconsciously on his part.....But there is something in human nature which revolts against doing one thing to accomplish quite another."

The Correlation of Nature-Study an Drawing (pg 17)

    Children love to draw things they are interested in! I've certainly observed this in my children. To quote Comstock: "When the child is interested in studying any object, he enjoys illustrating his observations with drawings; the happy absorption of children thus engaged is a delight to witness. At its best, drawing is a perfectly natural method of self-expression."
    However, as with the danger of forcing writing skills mentioned above, there is a danger in forcing drawing for drawing's sake too: "It is only when the object to be drawn is foreign to the interest of the child that drawing is a task." I guess my task will be to try to make nature journalling something spontaneous, creative and interesting and not a chore or something that has to be done.
    I was interested in Comstock's theory that, when left to their own devices, children will naturally choose the best medium for their drawings depending on the subject they're trying to capture: pencil, crayon or paints.

    Finally, I agreed with the sentiment that children should not be made to feel that they can't draw because they're not good artists: "Too much have we emphasized drawings as an art; it may be an art, if the one who draws is an artist; but if he is not an artist, he still has a right to draw if it pleases him to do so." Again, I need to be willing to let my child include drawings in our nature journal that I might not think are the best - something that troubles my perfectionistic tendencies!

Outdoor Hour Challenge Week 3

I've been wanting for a while to take the kids wading in the local river, so this week I decided to do that as our nature walk. I left the pushchair behind and strapped Nathaniel into the sling, put everyone into wellies and off we went. The girls were quite excited, especially because splashing about in water is something they don't always get to do.

The first thing Sophie and Charis noticed were all the snails. They were everywhere - on the sand, on rocks. They were rather concerned not to step on them. We carefully put two into our 'bug jar' complete with a layer of wet sand and a leaf and put it in the rucksack to take back with us.




The girls enjoyed poking around in the river weed with sticks, and we noticed a few frogs a bit further upstream. We couldn't get very close to them but managed to take a photo before they dived into the water.

Other things we saw: a lizard, lots of oak leaves and acorns and unfortunately lots of rubbish from people's picnics (a common sight in this part of the world where people don't think so much about damage to the environment.

We also saw this rather strange prickly plant.


On the way back to the car we saw about forty or so pond skaters on the lake. It was funny to watch them skating about on top of the water. We tried to take a photo but it didn't come out well.

Back at home we talked about our nature walk and what we might like to draw for our family nature journal (which we started a few months ago. Charis decided she'd like to draw a frog and Sophie drew the snails from our bug jar, which we later deposited near the sand pit in our garden - we hope they'll be all right there.

Oh, and our dead animal this week? A dead worm in one of the rock pools.

Handbook of Nature Study Notes 2

Here are my notes from what I've learned alongside the Outdoor Hour Challenge no. 2:

From page 15, 'The Field Excursion': A very efficient field trip may be make during the ten or fifteen minutes at recess, if it is well planned. The half-hour excursion should be preceded by a talk concerning the purposes of the outing and the pupils must know that certain observations are to be made or they will not be permitted to go again. (Not sure how to carry this threat through when you're homeschooling!!

From pages 23-24, "How to Use This Book":

• The teacher should have at hand the subject of the lesson. She should make herself familiar with the points covered by the questions and read the story before giving the lesson.
• The story should not be read to the pupils. It is given as an assistance to the teacher.
• Make the lesson an investigation and make the pupils feel they are investigators.
• The 'leading thought' embodies some of the points which should be in the teacher's mind while giving the lesson.
• The direct questioning method, if not employed with discretion, becomes tiresome to both pupil and teacher.
• The best teacher will cover the points suggested for observations with few direct questions.