Weekly Wrap-Up: Back At It

It's been a while since a weekly wrap-up post.

 There has been a short school holiday and now we are in the fourth and final term of the year.

 It feels good to be on the final stretch. 

Much of Keren's time has been spent on art and she had her grade 11 exhibition. 

 It was lovely to see her work on display and see what others in her class have produced too. 

She has also dedicated time to her practicals for consumers and has been baking delicious desserts, much to her brother's delight! 

Jam and chutney were made too.

The task of completing the terms work and final exams lie ahead. 

I have no doubt that she will continue to excel. 

Zak has been focused on his work and we have enjoyed some nature study too.

 It's wonderful to get outdoors and enjoy the fresh air and all that spring has to offer. 

Flowers of the fields, 

insects collecting pollen, 

birds chirping and long grasses dancing in the breeze...

all food for the soul!

A good start to the fourth term.

Frog, Toad and Tadpole Nature Study

This week we have been reading up on frogs, toads and tadpoles in "The Handbook of Nature Study". We enjoyed listening to various frog calls and we learned some amazing new things about these creatures. What fascinated me most was the fact that a tadpoles outer gills disappear, leaving a hole on the left side. Water passes through this hole as the tadpole breathes and finally the left front leg pushes out through that very same spot!

The children quietly coloured their life cycle pages as I read to them.

Our study culminated with a visit to a nearby river with our Nature Club today. Our Nature Club numbers have swelled and it was delightful to see all the children happily hunting for tadpoles. There were squeals and shrieks as they caught them.

K found herself a quiet spot and carefully caught her tadpoles, gathered mud, water plants and water.

The children found more tadpoles in the muddy puddles far from the river. Perhaps our noise frightened the frogs away as we didn't see any today.

K carefully set up her tadpole aquarium at home and hopes to raise them until they grow into frogs.

We saw this sign up in a nearby neighbourhood , warning motorists to be careful of the endangered Western Leopard Toads.

Once home, the children documented their outing for their nature notebooks.

Outdoor Hour

For the longest time, I have been wanting to do more nature study with the children. Charlotte Mason knew what she was talking about when it comes to spending time outdoors and discovering the riches of nature. In our modern and rushed lives it does the soul good to spend time outdoors.

Today we began the process by beginning with our own "Outdoor Hour". You can go to http:handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com to access this amazing site. There are various challenges to complete and one can slot in at any time of the year. We will use the "Handbook of Nature Study" by Anna Botsford Comstock as a text book and nature as the classroom.

For today, we had to go outside and the children could pick something interesting to them. It was a beautiful sunny day and there were splashes of colour here and there that attracted the children. K picked marigolds and Z picked Nasturtiums.

In the Handbook of Nature Study we found an amazing entry on Nasturtiums. We all learned so much about them!

"It is quite fitting that the Nasturtium leaves should be shaped like shields, for that is one of their uses; they are shields to protect the young nasturtium seeds from the hot sun and from the view of devouring enemies.....but they were never meant to shield the flower which thrusts its brilliant petals out between the shields and calls loudly to the world to admire it ."

In our veggie garden we have planted them to deter caterpillars from munching on our cabbages and broccoli. I know most regard them as weeds but I love the splashes of rich orange, red and yellows that they provide in the garden.

The children delighted in discovering that the long spur on the posterior sepal of the flower had a "delectable nectar well at its tip".



Z enjoyed making little boats of the leaves and discovered that the leaves turn silvery when immersed in the water. I love to see drops of water on their leaves, shining like jewels in the sun.

The children made entries in their nature journals. K enjoyed labelling her entry and writing about all the interesting facts she discovered.

"The Nasturtium is among the most interesting and beautiful of our garden flowers......its combinations of colour are exceedingly rich and brilliant."

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