Homeschooling my 2

Our BWCAW Camping Trip - The good, the bad, and the ugly!

2008-08-02T16:15:00.006-05:00

The Bad:
Mosquitos. Everywhere. ALL the time. I'm talking 24/7.
And-
The bug spray that I brought did not work. At all. In fact, Tyler thinks it attracted them!

The Good:
During our trip to town for boat gas one day, I found a new kind of bug spray in the little grocery store there. And it worked! I think we have found our new fave bug spray! Its called Natrapel.

The Bad:
Tyler got his first ever bee sting during our trip. The bee must have been on his sleeping bag and it stung him when he laid down. I think the entire island knows he got stung... he yelled pretty loud... something about thinking he was going to die. ;o)

The Good:
We now know that Tyler is not allergic to bees like his Daddy!

The Bad:
The sun rises in the East. Our campsite was on the Eastern side of the island... therefore it was VERY hot in the morning and early afternoon.
And-
We had very little shade.

The Good:
I was able to keep us all lathered in sunscreen so that none of us got burned!
And-
We had our own personal beach right at our camp so we could hop in the water to cool off whenever we wanted!

The Bad:
Wood Ticks. We saw 4 of them during the trip. I found 2... and our friend, Octavious, found 2.

The Good:
Only 1 of them was attached. And it wasn't to anyone in my family. :o)
Actually I think that is pretty good odds for 5 people spending 5 days in the woods.

The Bad:
We left a few fish on shore on a stringer while we tried to catch a few more for our lunch. A swarm of Crayfish came along and chowed down on our fish. Ruined them.

The Good:
Tyler had fun catching the Crayfish to use as bait. That'll teach them! :o)
And-
A local Seagull came along and ate the remains of the fish, which was interesting to watch.

The Bad:
We wanted to see a Moose. We did not. We even went for a nature walk one day to try to spot one but the BUGS (have I mentioned the bugs?) were so bad that we didn't make it far before we had to turn back.

The Good:
We saw quite a few really fresh Moose tracks on the trail before we turned back. Something we hadn't seen before.

Our Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Trip

2008-07-29T10:43:00.010-05:00

We decided to take the "scenic" route up to the BWCAW... along the North Shore of Lake Superior. Our friend was joining us for the trip and he had not seen the wonderful scenery that is the North Shore. Not to mention there is a little shop along the way that has THE BEST smoked fish ever!

The drive brought back memories of when we used to live "up north". We would drive in to Duluth, MN for our monthly shopping trips... of course we would have to hit a fast food joint while we there. The seagulls would always swarm us hoping we would share some fries with them. This was always a hit with Tyler. Well, the seagulls didn't disappoint us this trip... and they were HUNGRY! See? They ate them all!

Once we finally arrived at Fall Lake we had to make two trips to our island campsite to get all of our supplies there, so the kids and I hung back at the access catching frogs while the guys made the first trip with a boat load of supplies.

Daddy came back for us and off to the island we went...
Once we arrived at our campsite the kids were thrilled to see that we had our own personal beach! They didn't waste any time digging in!

Our first day was spent getting things set up and organized. An early bedtime was in order since we were all worn out from the early morning drive up. Emily had other ideas though... she had a hard time falling asleep in the tent. This was to be expected though, since it was her first camping trip, and she became an old pro by the second night.

Here is Octavious trying to soothe our uneasy, tired little girl...

Our second day was filled with, what else, more sand play and swimming!

Tyler and our friend, Octavious, made a cool bow and arrows from sticks and fishing line. I helped Tyler decorate it with colored electrical tape and feathers. He had a lot of fun with it and, to my surprise, it actually shot the arrows quite well!

No trip to the Boundary Waters would be complete without a Loon photo. I just love waking to these guys calling in the morning. So peaceful...

On our third day we had to make a run back in to town to grab gas for the boat, so we decided to make it a group affair... we all loaded up in the boat and rode back to the access, got in the van, and took a little ride around to see the sights. Sights like this...

And a group of Grouse we saw along the road...

And this local park that we stopped at so the kids could play...

I know. Those are some BIG kids, but what can I say.

Our campsite on Fall Lake was on an island called Mile Island, due to the fact that it is a mile long. There are MANY other islands on the lake though, and we especially liked this teeny little one...

Our fourth day was filled with more of the same... sand, swimming, and playing. I got to do a little shore fishing while the kids played...

I ended up catching two real nice Perch. It was so relaxing to be sitting there looking out over the lake while the kids played away in front of me. They really enjoyed the sand and water so much. I think it was the highlight of the trip for them.

In the meantime the guys were out fishing in the boat and Octavious landed this 14 inch Crappie. Wow!

We also attempted a nature walk on our fourth day. It was a flop due to the BUGS. BUGS everywhere... buzzing you, stinging you, sucking your blood... you get the point. We were really hoping to spot a Moose... that didn't happen, but we did get to see a few good sized (and fresh) Moose tracks.

Speaking of those BUGS... They seemed to like poor Tyler best. he spent much of the trip doing this...

Needless to say, we used a ton of bug spray and itch cream during our stay in the Boundary Waters. Tyler was also lucky enough to get his first Bee sting during the trip. The good part is that we learned that he is not allergic to bees like his Daddy.

We left pretty early in the day on the fifth day. A little more fishing...

And some Peek-A-Boo...

And it was time to head out.

All in all it was a good trip. Things would have been a teensy bit more fun if it wasn't for the BUGS.

Did I mention the BUGS? :)

We're Boundary Waters bound!

2008-07-22T01:03:00.006-05:00

We are leaving early Wednesday morning for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. We'll be camping on an island in the middle of Fall Lake near Ely, MN for 5 days. Sounds heavenly, huh? Wish us luck though, this will be the first real camping trip either of the kids of been on. I think it will be fun for them. Lots of fishing, playing, hot dog roasting, swimming, sand castle building, nature walking, smore eating, scavenger hunting... We're hoping to see some wildlife... moose, bears, deer, loons, wolves...

I'll take lots of pictures to share!

Book reviews and recommendations...

2008-07-07T17:18:00.005-05:00

I thought I would share a few of the books we have been enjoying recently...

We just finished reading A Bear Called Paddington as our bedtime story. Tyler really loved this story about a silly bear. His favorite part was when Paddington was trying to perform a magic show and he smashed Mr. Curry's watch with a hammer... only he forgot to read the instructions through, which would have told him to have a spare watch before doing the trick. Oops! I enjoyed reading this with Tyler as well, it really brought back memories of my childhood when I was reading this very same book.

Tyler read a couple of Reader books as part of our Toad Study...

First up was Frog and Toad Are Friends. His favorite part was when Toad came out of the water wearing his bathing suit. He also giggled over Toad trying to come up with a story to tell Frog when he was sick... he tried everything, including standing on his head and banging his head on the wall! Tyler loved this one so much that I went ahead and got him a couple of the other books in the series... Days with Frog and Toad and Frog and Toad Together. They just arrived today, so he can't wait to dig into them later.

He also read Toad Makes a Road. His favorite part of this one was the very end when the truck came down his road with all of his friends in it.

As for me... I am plugging away at Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschooling Series. I'm almost finished with Volume 1, Home Education. I am really getting a lot out of this book. It pertains so much to regular life as well as school life. I am looking forward to moving on to Volume 2, Parents and Children. It may take a long time for me to get through all 6 volumes, but I have a feeling it will be worth it!! Charlotte Mason was so wise... so wise.

I am also reading Watchers at the Pond as part of a book club on one of the Yahoo groups that I belong to. This book is simply amazing! It is a glimpse into pond life that you could never get elsewhere. From the skies to the land to the pond itself... and all year round. Since we got our microscope we have developed an interest in pond life. This book is teaching me a lot of what I need to know to help Tyler learn about the amazing things that go on in and around a pond. I highly recommend this book.

I recently acquired a copy of Drawing with Children. I have just started with this book, but it looks promising. Tyler struggles with drawing and gets a bit intimidated when I ask him to draw things. I am hoping that by doing some of the exercises in this book he will become more confident. He has a wonderful imagination.

I've also been flipping through Project Wild and Aquatic Project Wild. These two books have some wonderful nature activities and experiments in them. I think I will be referring to these quite often in the coming years.

Another one worth mentioning for nature activities and experiments is Botany for All Ages. Lots of great ideas in that one as well.

I think that's all we have on the burner right now. I will let you know if we find any other winners in our search for great reading material! Also if you have any suggestions please fell free to comment here or email me. I have been trolling the blogosphere for book reviews and recommendations... I would love it if a few would come right to me!!

P.S.
Don't forget about PaperBackSwap.com when you're looking for books. I have found a lot of great books there... in fact most of our little library is from there! Its fun and its recycling too!

Happy Belated Fourth of July

2008-07-06T18:34:00.009-05:00

Hope you all had a wonderful and SAFE holiday!

We've had a lot of fun the past few days. We went to see the fireworks at the Red, White, and Boom celebration in downtown Minneapolis on the Fourth... after dinner at Old Chicago. Then last night we ended up at one of our regular catfishing spots... which happens to be right across the river from the Taste of Minnesota where they set off fireworks every night! So we got to enjoy fireworks TWO nights in row! Fun stuff. Add in a little fishing, friends, food, and sparklers and you have the makings for a great time.

Tyler has been at his friend's house ALL day today for a play date. I'm sure he is having a blast but, to tell you the truth, Emily and I are missing him big time! I'm sure he'll have lots of stories to tell us when gets home about his fun time. I know they ate lunch and then went to the Dog Park to see the dogs and catch bugs... and now they are eating supper before I go get him. Not sure what else they had on their agenda. I'll let ya know!

UPDATE:
Well, Tyler had a ton of fun today with his friend and his Dad. They ate hot dogs and chips for lunch and then they headed over to the off-leash dog park where they petted dogs, caught some bugs, and swam in the river. They also stopped at Dairy Queen for cones while they were out. They played at the house a bit, inside and out in the yard. They had sausage, eggs, and toast for supper before they brought Tyler back home. He got back home around 7:30pm!! Talk about a full day of fun! Tyler said he had a lot of fun... he also said he didn't miss Emily and I. In fact he said he forgot all about us! :( Oh well, I guess that means he truly did have an awesome time. *sigh*

Just thought I would share...

2008-07-02T14:38:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note:
I have been working on a few printable resources for our schooling. I thought maybe some of you could use them as well, so I have started a list in the sidebar to the right over there ---> where you can download the things I have made so far.

Summer Nature Scavenger Hunt for the Senses - A really fun scavenger hunt where you use your senses to find the things on the list. See, feel, hear, and smell Nature. (Note: I created this for our homeschool group to use at a park, but I think it will work for nature walks in the woods as well.)

Birds We've Seen - 2008 List - I created this to keep an inventory of all of the birds we see during our Nature Study. You could also keep a separate one for your backyard feeder birds.

Venn Diagram - Double - A nice looking Venn Diagram for comparing two things.

Venn Diagram - Triple - A nice looking Venn Diagram for comparing three things.

Keep an eye on that list... it will be growing!

Fun and Learning at the Zoo

2008-07-01T22:53:00.009-05:00

The kids and I had an errand to run near the Minnesota Zoo yesterday, so I decided to make the most of the gas and pop in at the Zoo while we were there. They remodeled the Zoo recently and added a play area with sprinklers for the kids to play in. Tyler was excited to get to play this time... last time we weren't dressed appropriately.

As a part of the remodel, they also added a new exhibit called Russia's Grizzly Coast. This is the second time we have visited the zoo since it opened and the crowds are horrible! Its really hard to get close enough to see the animals. I am hoping things will change as the newness wears off.

We did find this interesting bubbling mud pot without a crowd though...

It was illustrating how, since the area is alive with volcanoes, sometimes cracks and heat just below the surface mix with volcanic ash from recent eruptions and cause these boiling mud pots. Interesting!

This photo is from a couple of weeks ago when I was able to crowd and stretch my way into the crowd to get a photo of one of the stars of the exhibit, the bears... I didn't even try this time.

We were excited to see that the Butterfly Garden is open now (its a seasonal exhibit). Tyler loves to go in here and see all of the beautiful butterflies and moths. They give you a card with photos of all of the species in there and the names so that you can identify them as you walk around.

Julia

Queen

Zebra Butterfly

Spicebush Swallowtail

Ailanthus Silkmoth

They had signs throughout the exhibit telling interesting facts about butterflies. Here are a few we thought were neat:

Butterflies taste with their feet!
Butterflies can't hear but they can feel sound vibrations.
Adult butterflies typically only live two to four weeks.

Tyler was fascinated by how they feed the butterflies...

We also visited the Tropics Trail and the Minnesota Trail while we were there. Tyler was really happy when he saw the baby American Toads... he has a fondness for them since we did our Toad Study. He also thought the baby Painted Turtle was cute!

We had a great time at the Zoo... fun and learning. What more could you ask for!?

Mississippi River Fishing

2008-06-28T20:13:00.004-05:00

We are a family of "River Rats". That's all there is to it. And we're proud of it too! There is nothing better than sitting on the banks of the River with friends. Chatting... eating... fishing... We spend many a night doing those things. We've been frequenting the River since before Tyler was born. Once he came into the picture we got him a little tent so that he could play and sleep in comfort. But once he was able to hold a fishing rod he started spending most of his time out fishing with us. He started out fishing for regular River fish... Sheephead, Walleye, and such. Then once he was a little older he moved on to Catfish with the rest of us. We have lots of fond memories from those days.

"River Rat" Tyler got his first Flathead Catfish of the year last night. He was having a silly giggly moment, so we had a hard time getting a decent photo...

It brought back memories, so I had to dig up a photo of his very first Flathead EVER, back in July of 2005, at the ripe old age of 4.

Now don't let that small fish fool you. He wasn't messing around, even back then. Here's a Channel Catfish he caught the week before...

I've enjoyed my little stroll through memory lane. I can't wait to see Emily catch her first fish!!

Thursday at the Park

2008-06-26T19:03:00.002-05:00

Today was our weekly playdate with the SMpls-HUG (Home/Unschool Gatherings) group at Lake Nokomis Park. Once again a fun time was had by all! After playing at the park for a bit we ended up hitting the beach. The kids had a blast swimming and splashing. Tyler and some of the other boys found a huge log and they floated around on it a bit, pushing each other around on it. Even Emily enjoyed her first visit to the beach by wading and sitting in the water. My guess is we'll be spending more time at the beach over the Summer... it was THAT much fun!

Here are a few photos that I snapped with my cell phone...

Homeschool Carnivals

2008-06-24T21:37:00.004-05:00

I've been busy with gathering materials and making plans for our schooling next year. I almost have it all figured out, just a few loose strings to tie up. These Blog Carnivals will certainly give me some ideas! Both were just posted today. You should check them out! I love seeing what everyone else is up to and how they "do school".

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival (posted June 24th)

Carnival of Homeschooling (posted June 24th)

The other Carnival that I check out each month is Learning in the Great Outdoors. The June edition is right here. It was posted on June 1st.

All three of these Blog Carnivals are in my sidebar if you want more info about them... or if you would like to submit one of your posts to them. That would be great. The more the merrier, ya know!! :)

Starting new - Our school plans for next year

2008-06-22T23:06:00.008-05:00

I am SO excited about the changes we are making with our schooling this Fall! Some of you may know that we have been doing the virtual school thing with MNVA for the last 2 years (K and 1st). I have found this to be a great fit for us until now because I was new to homeschooling and I didn't have any friends or connections to help me. But now that I have found my "niche" in the homeschooling community I am ready to go solo! Tyler and I are very excited to be doing our own thing instead of what the school system wants us to do. He was a bit frustrated with the curriculum this past year... a lot of it he already knew and the rest of it was a bit dry for him. I just know he is going to thrive with this.

Anyways, I have been having a blast gathering our materials and supplies for next year. We are going with a Charlotte Mason inspired school. Lots of Living Books.... lots of Nature Study. We will most likely do a few unit studies as well. I think this is going to be perfect for us! I am still reading Charlotte's books and piecing it together in my mind and on paper, but here is what we have planned so far... (I'm hoping if I put it out there in print for the world to see that I will be able to get things finalized! Or maybe think of something I'm missing. Or maybe you all have some suggestions! Please? :) )

US History: (Explorers to Pilgrims 1629)
This Country of Ours (H.E. Marshall)
Along with a few other Living Books and Readers.

World History: (Medievel/Early Renaissance - 400AD to 1600AD)
A Child's History of the World (V.M. Hillyer)
Along with a few other Living Books and Readers.

Geography:
Paddle to the Sea (Holling C. Holling)
Tree in the Trail (Holling C. Holling)
Seabird (Holling C. Holling)
Minn of the Mississippi (Holling C. Holling)
Or some combination of these.
There are lots of things to branch off and study in these books as well... Geese, ponds, iron ore, copper, Buffalo, trapping, Snapping Turtles, locks, dams, and canals... We will work in other Living Books and Readers to study some of these things. This is where some of the unit studies will come in, I think.

Literature:
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain)
Little House in the Big Woods (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)
Pippi Longstocking (Astrid Lindgren)
I think our Literature will be our bedtime stories.
Plus lots of other Living Books and Readers for independent reading.

Copywork: This encompasses handwriting, spelling, grammar, and writing
We will do our Copywork according to our studies that day... sometimes a passage from a book... sometimes a poem... sometimes a sentence or paragraph about something we studied...

Math:
Miquon Math - Blue and Green Books with Cuisenaire Rods
As well as some other supplements, Math Readers, and real life Living Math.

Nature Study / Science:
Handbook of Nature Study (Anna Botsford Comstock)
Pagoo (Holling C. Holling)
Lots of Field Guides too!
We will do weekly nature walks and study a couple of things from those each week (birds, plants, trees, etc). We will keep a Nature Journal, which we have already started.
We will also study weather, how things work (electricity, light, motion, etc), and how things are made (paper, glass, etc)... and do some pond study with our new microscope. We will use Science Readers and other Living Books.

Throw in weekly Poetry, Art, Music, and Handicrafts... and I think we have a curriculum!

This is the schedule I am thinking of going with... sort of a 4 day school week with Friday, Saturday, and Sunday pretty relaxed. Part of Charlotte Mason's concept is a lot of free time.

Monday
Literature
Copywork
Math
US History
Independent Reading

Tuesday
Literature
Copywork
Math
Geography
Independent Reading

Wednesday
Literature
Copywork
Math
World History
Science
Independent Reading

Thursday
Literature
Copywork
Math
Art - Picture Study and some reproducing. Leaning toward Cassatt, Renoir, and DaVinci (?)
Independent Reading
(Weekly park playdate with homeschool group)

Friday / Saturday / Sunday
Nature Study / Walk
Handicrafts / Life Skills
Music worked in to our day(s) - Leaning toward Gershwin, Tchaikovsky, and Beethoven (?)
Independent Reading

Math was a hard decision. Daddy thinks we should just go by the Scope and Sequence for 2nd grade and do our own thing. I am not so fond of this idea though, because I am not very confident with my math skills. SO I found the Miquon stuff through PaperbackSwap and the CMcurricula Yahoo group and we will see what works for us.

Speaking of PaperbackSwap. Have you all used it?? You HAVE to check it out. The link is in my sidebar over there -->. Its a swap site for books of all kinds. There are over 2,000,000 books listed right now!! You list books when you are finished reading then, then when someone requests one of your books they send you a "credit" that you can use to request another book for yourself. You can also buy credits for $3 or so. Don't miss the Discussion Forum too... you can find deals there 2, 3, or more books for 1 credit! I have become addicted to PBS... I admit it. But I have found most all of our curriculum there! Its awesome.

So that's what we have so far. Its not written in stone... and its a dang good thing it's not because I have worn my eraser out getting this far!! We have already started to implement some of Charlotte's ideas into our days... Living Books and Nature Study. We love it! It can only get better from here...

Farewell, Toad - Toad Study: Part 4

2008-06-20T10:25:00.010-05:00

"Whoever has not had a pet toad has missed a most entertaining experience. Toad actions are surprisingly interesting; one of my safeguards against the blues is the memory of the thoughtful way one of my pet toads rubbed and patted its stomach with its little hands after it had swallowed a June Bug. Toads do not make warts upon attacking hands, neither do they rain down nor are they found in the bedrock quarries; but they do have a most interesting history of their own, which is not at all legendary, and which is very like a life with two incarnations."

Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock - Page 170

They say all good things must come to an end and our Toad Study is no exception. We released our dear Toad back into the wild last night, ending his week-long stay with us. Tyler decided that Wood Lake Nature Center would be a great place to live if he were a Toad. So that is where we released him. Daddy helped us choose the perfect place to let him go... near the woods and a really nice grassy area (where lots of bugs live) and not far from the pond.

Tyler was feeling both happy and sad as we watched our little Toad friend hop away... sad to see him go, but happy that he was going to live is such a wonderful place. He thinks our Toad will be much happier at Wood Lake than in the urban yard where Daddy found him.

We joked that he was probably glad to have something besides Crickets to eat! And judging by the mosquito bites on Tyler's legs, I think he will be plenty satisfied in his new home!

Farewell, Toad!

Maybe we'll meet again one day on the trails at Wood Lake. Tyler hopes you will hop over and say hello if we do. :)

You can read all of our Toad Study posts HERE.

There will be one more installment coming, when we add our Toad to our Nature Journals.

Also, if you have found our Toad Study interesting, you may enjoy Melissa's Amphibian Study over at In the Sparrow's nest. Her kids collected some Toad eggs at a nearby pond and they got to study them as they hatched and transformed. She has lots of photos and videos of their journey from egg to tadpole to Toad. Check that out here.

Wood Lake Nature Center - Our First Pond Study

2008-06-18T19:41:00.005-05:00

The kids and I decided to take a walk at the Wood Lake Nature Center this afternoon. We have been itching to get a pond water sample ever since we got our Microscope.

I'll tell you about our walk, but first a little celebration...
Emily fell asleep in the van on the way to Wood Lake (of course). When we got there I got her out of the car seat, into her Ergo carrier, and onto my back. And she stayed asleep! Yay me!

Ok, back to the walk, sorry about that interruption... it was just a big deal for us!

We love Wood Lake. You just never know what you might see there! And this visit was no exception. We got to see a couple of mama Mallard Ducks with their babies in tow. This one was watching over the chicks as they took a rest in the sunshine...

We saw one other mama Mallard standing on the trail. As we walked up I told Tyler to stop for a second, and sure enough up over the bank came a chick. Mama escorted it across the trail and then we continued on our walk. I told Tyler that must be the Duck Crossing. :)
We wonder why we didn't see any male Mallards?

We saw a lot of other birds as well... Red-Winged Blackbirds, Robins, Grackles, a Cardinal, and a Canadian Goose... We also saw a couple of Mourning Doves in the trail ahead of us at one point. This was our first time seeing this bird species. I will have to remember to add it to our Bird List.

There were Dragonflies everywhere! Well, at least we thought there were Dragonflies everywhere. It turns out they weren't all Dragonflies. These Blue Ringtail Damselflies were all over the place there. So beautiful...

We walked onto the floating boardwalk and it was time to gather our pond water sample. Tyler picked a good spot and dipped our jar into the pond...

Looks like he got a good pond sample... we got water, critters, and seaweed! See?

As soon as he stood up and we peeked into the jar of water we could see two little "bugs" swimming around. They were bright RED... their bodies were perfect circles with little legs sticking out all around. These were fun to look at under the microscope when we got home. We found out that they have really hairy legs! We have identified them as Eylais using a book I got from PaperbackSwap called Adventures with a Microscope. Great book, by the way! It turns out they are a water-mite... and those hairs on their legs? They use them for swimming.

The other two creatures we found in our jar haven't been identified yet...

The first one was also visible with the naked eye. It appeared to be a tiny little black water beetle of some sort. When we viewed it under our microscope, though, it looked quite odd! It still looked like a beetle, but it had a long elephant-like nose!! Very strange looking!

The other creatures were very interesting and we found ourselves observing them for quite some time. There were two of them together on our slide. They were a worm of some sort, we think. They appeared to be a clear jelly-like substance that we could see through. We could see several spots on them, like something was in the "jelly". Some of the spots were black and some were reddish in color. Their appearance wasn't the only interesting thing about them though. They were on (or maybe even attached to) opposite sides of a piece of seaweed, and they would stretch out once in awhile around the edge of the weed and bump "noses" with each other. We have no clue what exactly they were, but they were very fun and cool to watch.

Tyler thought it was all very cool looking. I think the pond creatures look like something from outer space or a science fiction movie or something!! Its so strange to think that there are millions more like them, and some even odder looking, swimming in that pond!

As I was checking these things out I was so wishing I had a way to share what we were seeing with you. I began to wonder what would happen if I took a photo through the microscope lens with my digital camera. Hmmm... I decided to try it. They didn't turn out real great, but its sort of interesting. There might be a way to play with it and get them better too. Here are the photos of the "elephant-nosed beetle" and one of the "jelly worms"...

We had a fun time with our microscope (Thanks Dad!) today. We can't wait to look at more interesting things with it!

Natural Behaviors - Toad Study - Part 3

2008-06-17T14:55:00.012-05:00

This is just a quick update on our Toad Study...

We've been having fun watching our Toad's natural behaviors. Eating, soaking in his water dish, kicking the ground cover around...

Feeding time is always a fun experience. Yesterday we picked up another bag of Crickets for him as well as a container of Wax Worms. He seems to like the Waxies! At feeding time today Tyler threw a couple of Wax Worms in for him and then I put in some Crickets... and a funny thing happened. One of the Crickets ran over and started eating a Wax Worm!

A peek around the aquarium found quite a few of the other Crickets chowing on pieces of leaves in the chipped bedding that we spread on the bottom of the tank. These Crickets are quite a bit bigger than the first batch were, and they seem a bit more active as well. And aggressive. And hungry.

AND

Did you know that Toads don't have ribs?

"The toad has no ribs by which to inflate the chest, and thus draw air into the lungs, as we do when we breathe; it is obliged to swallow the air instead and thus force it into the lungs. This movement is shown in the constant pulsation, in and out, of the membrane of the throat."

Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock - Page 174

This is another natural behavior we have been able to witness. The constant in and out pulsation of the throat swallowing air. Pretty neat... although it looks tiring!!

The one natural behavior that we would love to witness, and haven't gotten to yet, is the Toad's call. This guy is a silent one. We're hoping to hear his voice before we release him.

AND

Tyler read Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel yesterday. Of the five stories in the book he liked The Story the best. He laughed out loud at all of the things that Toad tried to help him think of a story to tell Frog. Standing on his head, pouring water on his head, banging his head against the wall, and all sorts of silliness.

I hope you are enjoying our Toad Study and that you are learning some things along with us. I'm not sure how long our friend, Toad, will be with us, but we will keep you posted!!

Not really Toad related, but also in the feeding department...
When we first researched what Toads eat we also came across a fun tidbit of info. Hamsters will, and like, to eat Crickets! A Cricket each week is actually good for them, adding protein to their diet. Well, we just happen to have a pet Hamster named Killer who got to enjoy a fun treat last night!

Come and get it! - Toad Study - Part 2

2008-06-13T19:58:00.012-05:00

"The toad's tongue is attached to the lower jaw, at the front edge of the mouth; it can thus be thrust far out, and since it secretes a sticky substance over its surface, any insects which it touches adhere, and are drawn back into the mouth and swallowed. It takes a quick eye to see this tongue fly out and make its catch."

Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock - Page 173-174

Have you ever seen a Toad stalk its prey? Well, now you can say you have! Here are a couple of videos of our American Toad eating his Crickets today. Watch closely... not only is his tongue super fast, but Toads swallow their food whole so there is no chewing going on here!

Toads are smart! Did you see how he watched the Cricket in the first video... kept his eye on it until it was in the perfect spot for him to strike? I noticed that he seemed to know where the Crickets were even if he wasn't looking right at them. When he had the chance he would silently turn his body toward it. Pretty neat! The second video was the very last Cricket in the tank and I think he was getting impatient. He ended up running right up and snatching it! Did you know that one of the differences between Frogs and Toads is that Toads can walk and Frogs only hop?

We did a little research on the Toad's body parts and learned that they have nostrils, which are pretty easy to see. Their ears are flat , oval spots behind the eyes and a little lower. They are actually eardrums... they don't have external ears like us. I am guessing these body parts help him know where his prey is and exactly when to strike. Here is our Toad showing off his nostrils and eardrums for you.

After he chowed down on all of the Crickets in the tank, he hopped into his water dish for a soak.

He was in there for a couple of hours. We noticed after a time that the color of his entire body had darkened considerably and his skin appeared to be more moist than before.

"The toad never drinks by taking in water through the mouth, but absorbs it through the skin; when it wishes to drink, it stretches itself out in shallow water and thus satisfies its thirst; it will waste away and die in a short time, if kept in a dry atmosphere."

Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock - Page 174

More Toad Study to come! You can also see all of our previous Toad Study posts HERE.

We have a critter! - - Toad Study - Part 1

2008-06-12T18:09:00.002-05:00

Weeks and weeks ago we rearranged our aquarium situation here so that we could have a larger aquarium for fish and a small one for critters that we may find during our nature walks. We thought it would be fun to bring something home once in awhile, study it for a week or so, and then release it back into the wild. Frogs, Toads, Snakes, Salamanders, Newts... anything cool and interesting.That was our plan... BUT the problem was that we couldn't find a critter to save our lives!! Well, Daddy came through for us today! He found us a critter while mowing a lawn this afternoon.

Meet our new friend the American Toad...

Daddy carefully captured him and put him in his minnow bucket for us. Meanwhile we were at the park playing with our SMpls HUG friends... so he delivered the Toad to us there and then went on with his work. After we all peeked in at him, I made sure he was in a safe, and shady, spot while we finished playing at the park and then we loaded him up for the ride home. After a brief stop at the pet store for some crickets we quickly got him inside and set up his new temporary home. Here are a few things we learned about Toads just in researching how to set up his habitat...

Toads need a place to hide... a shelter made from driftwood or rocks will work fine. We grabbed a shelter from the pet store that is a half of a hollow log. Toads like to hide and lie in wait for their food. We bought some crickets for him to eat.

Toads need dirt or some sort of material in the bottom of the habitat. They like to bury themselves, so the material should be about as deep as they are high. We used some chipped wood that we had from a fallen tree that we ran through our wood chipper. I'm not sure if this was a good idea now that I read how they like to bury themselves, if he seems unhappy we'll switch to dirt.

Toads need a bit of water... not a lot like frogs. They need a dish of water big enough for them to sit in. They absorb water through their skin, so you will not see them actually drinking the water. Never us tap water since it usually contains chlorine. Use distilled water... or you could boil tap water to remove the chlorine. We used bottled water and a spare food bowl that we had here for our Hamster.

Sort of off topic, but we also learned that Hamsters can have crickets once a week or so as a treat. Most really like and enjoy them... and they are a good source of protein for the Hamster. Looks like our Hamster, Killer, might have a treat coming later this evening!!

Learn more about American Toads and listen to their call HERE.

So that is the start of our Toad Study. We hope you learned a bit about Toads. They seem to have been given a bad, creepy, name... but I don't think he's all that bad!!

To be continued...

Check out all of our Toad Study posts HERE.

Sharing our view...

2008-06-09T19:29:00.000-05:00

live in the basement so our view is a bit limited. We also live in the city, so wildlife is a bit sparse. But I thought I would share a few of the things we see from our window on a regular basis. (Keep in mind these photos were taken through the screen on our window.)

This is a normal, and fun, sight from our window. Tyler and Daddy made this funny Squirrel feeder that looks like a table and chairs. We have had lots of fun watching these cute guys this year. This particular Squirrel is one of several babies that were born in our eaves earlier this Spring.

These little House Sparrows are plentiful outside our window. There always seems to be a crew of them nibbling on the seeds in the feeder and on the ground around it. Tyler and Daddy made this bird feeder as well.

We also have plenty of these guys outside our window... in a wide array of colors and patterns. Pigeons galore!!

That's about it for our view.... other than a glimpse of a Cardinal now and then. I hope you enjoyed looking out our window with us!

In other news:

Our socks did not sprout. Disappointing, but we'll try it again in the Fall!

We got our microscope today!! So far we have looked at paper, salt, human hair, tap water, cheek cells, a dollar bill, and a penny. I can't wait to get out and get some pond water to peek at! Until then we'll be running around the house like crazy people looking for things to look at under our microscope!

We discovered Minneapolis Public Radio today. They have a Classical music station! If you live in the Twin Cities it is at 99.5 FM. We are loving it in the car!

Sprouting Socks - Part 1

2008-06-04T15:49:00.002-05:00

Today we decided to try out a fun experiment that I found in a book called 365 Nature Crafts & Activities. Basically, you put a pair of old socks on over your shoes and walk around in the tall grass and weeds. Then you bring your socks home and put them in a shallow pan and keep them moist. After a few days any seeds that got on your socks when you walked in the grass should begin to sprout. Sounds fun, huh? The book says the best time of year to do this experiment is in the early Fall, but we decided to try it anyway. I think we'll do it again in the Fall... in the same spot so that we can compare.

So here is Tyler walking in the tall grass and weeds in his socks...

I took a couple of pictures of some of the things growing there so we could compare them to our sprouts when they start popping up...

and

And lastly, here is our pan of grass stained, dirty, and wet socks. The things we'll do in the name of education....

I'll let you know when (and if) we see sprouts!

UPDATE 6/9/08: We are sorry to report that our socks did not sprout. :(
Discouraging, I know, but we will try again in the Fall!

Meet Mr. Question...

2008-06-02T11:24:00.000-05:00

Let me introduce you to Mr. Question...

Yes, that's my Tyler. Here are just a few of the questions I have had to ATTEMPT to answer out of the blue over the last couple of days...

Why are Flamingos pink?

Why do things cost money? Its just paper.

How do Chameleons change colors?

Why do girls shave their legs?

How do things look different through 3D glasses?

How do fans make air?

Yard Sales, here we come!

2008-06-01T19:35:00.001-05:00

The kids and I were able to get out yard saling today, for the first time this year. I love sales! We didn't find a whole lot though. There were a ton of sales yesterday but not today, figures. We were able to find this shelf though. At $3 I thought it would make a nice plant shelf below our window. We live in the basement so I figured the only way to successfully grow a few plants would be to have them right in the window.

The two little plants on the shelf came from the sales today too... one is a Spider Plant and the other a Bloodleaf (or Chicken Gizzard). Eventually there will be more plants, but these little guys are looking cute up there for now.

Those are Nature Prints made from Sculpey Clay hanging down from the quilt rod. We made those with our homeschool group a few weeks ago. I got the idea from Melissa over at In the Sparrow's Nest.

Now to decide what else to grow!

Happy Hail Day

2008-05-31T19:26:00.000-05:00

We've been hanging low this week because I haven't been feeling well. Soon after we got home from our Nature Walk on Tuesday I began feeling the crud... achy body, stuffed up nose, headache, all that fun stuff. So I spent lots of time resting. I also got a lot of thinking and planning done for school next year. Its so fun to be putting it all together. But today I was feeling a bit better so we headed out to Wood Lake Nature Center to check on our friends, the Red-Winged Blackbirds. They were there and singing their songs for us. What struck us as strange though is that there were absolutely NO ducks or geese to be seen. Not a single one. Normally they are all over the place there. I guess they may be hiding out nesting? We just thought it was weird not to see any since we usually see many species of ducks along with lots of geese. But we had a nice walk anyway. My camera was having a hard time with the sun for some reason, but I did manage to get one ok photo of Tyler and Emily together...

We got home just in time to hear the sirens going off so we headed to the basement and waited for the storm to hit. We had some thunder and lightening... and heavy rain... and small hail. Hail! Tyler was excited over the hail. I think this is the first time he's seen it. Daddy even brought him in a handful to check out. He kept it in a bowl until it melted. I snapped a couple of photos while it was coming down. These were taken through our basement window, so they're not the best but I think they turned out cool...

They were about pea size, some more like dime size. We were lucky, some places in MN had hail up to golf ball size!! The storms have moved past us now, but they are still going to the southeast of us... some growing stronger. Hope everyone stays safe in the path!

Nature Walk at the Quaking Tamarak Bog

2008-05-27T19:20:00.000-05:00

We went for a nature walk with my CM Nature Study in MN group today at the Quaking Tamarak Bog in Theodore Wirth Park, right here in Minneapolis. I am constantly amazed at the little hidden away oasises of nature we have right here in the City. There were 14 of us walking today... 5 Moms and 9 children. It was so fun to meet some new friends!

We met a couple of ladies along the trail who brought our attention to some fairly loud bird sounds coming from a nearby tree. We were able to pinpoint it to a small round hole in the tree quite a ways up off the ground. I tried to look in the hole using my binoculars, but I couldn't see anything. As I was looking, though, a Woodpecker came along... it landed on the tree and walked over to the hole. It stuck its head in the hole for a few seconds and then flew off. I am certain we were watching a Downy Woodpecker's nest!

"The downy's nest is a hole, usually in a partly decayed tree;
an old apple tree is a favorite site and a new excavation is
made each year. There are from four to six white eggs, which
are laid on a nice bed of chips almost as fine as sawdust.
The door to the nest is a circle about an inch and a quarter across."
~Anna Botsford Comstock - The Handbook of Nature Study - Page 72~

It was nice to have Amanda join us for this walk. She is very knowledgeable about Wildflowers and the likes. She helped us to identify quite a few of the flowers we saw along the trail...

Wild Calla

Star Flower

Wild Columbine

She even introduced us to a Wild Edible... Garlic Mustard. It is an Invasive Species, so we picked a leaf to try it out. When rubbed it smells like Garlic. It has a salad green, lettuce, leafy flavor. Tyler says he didn't like it! :)

Garlic Mustard

Our new friend, Heather, brought her microscope along! She grabbed a sample of the water from the Bog and the kids took turns looking at it under the microscope. They really liked this part.

Tyler decided it would be cool to have a microscope... I was telling my Dad this over the phone and he said that he has one at his house that he never uses and he will send it to Tyler! Yay!

We had a really fun walk and enjoyed spending time with all of our friends, both old and new! We hope to get together again real soon!

A different kind of Bird Study

2008-05-26T20:12:00.000-05:00

We spent the day at the Minnesota Zoo today. There are many many types of animals there of all shapes and sizes but ,once again, the birds stood out for us. So we took the opportunity to work in a little Bird Study. First stop, the World of Birds Show...

East African Crowned Crane
Found in eastern Congo, Uganda, and Kenya to central Tanzania.

Red-Tailed Hawk
(this one is half Albino)
Found right here in MN, as well as around the U.S.A

King Vulture
Found from southern Mexico to northern Argentina.

Red Junglefowl
From NW India, through Assam, Burma, Thailand and Malaya to Indo China, South China, Hainan, Sumatra and Java.

Hyacinth Macaw
Found in only three areas of Brazil and the eastern border areas of Bolivia, and in extreme NW Paraguay.

Bald Eagle
Native to MN... they range throughout the 48 contiguous states, Alaska, and Canada.

Also making appearances:

Green-Cheeked Amazon

Rose-Breasted Cockatoo

The Zoo's pond was a beehive of activity... a pair of Trumpeter Swans were nesting along the shore. A Canadian Goose wandered a little too close to the nest and the male Swan made quick work of chasing him off! I also saw a couple of tall white birds in the distance that I think were a Crane of some sort.

We spent some time on the Minnesota Trail where we were able to get up close and personal with some native birds... both on display and in the wild at the bird feeders.

Pileated Woodpecker

Great-Horned Owl

Bald Eagle

Chickadees

Grackle

Hummingbirds

The Tropics Trail always has a variety of very colorful birds to enjoy... and they were out and showing off for us today!! Flamingos, Bali Minah, Greater Indian Hornbill, Green Aracari, Ducks of many shapes and sizes and colors, and lots of others that we couldn't identify!

We even found birds at the Family Farm. Chickens galore! Chickens in fences and Chickens running wild! There were also Chicks and hatching eggs in the barn to observe.

After our stop at the Farm, we had a pretty heated discussion trying to figure out the answer to that age old question... which came first, the Chicken or the egg?

Weekend Update from Aquarium City

2008-05-19T19:47:00.001-05:00

This weekend has been a fairly calm one. Tyler had his best friend over for a sleepover Friday night and he was here most of Saturday as well. They had fun and got to go for a nature walk. Last night we ran to the store for a few things we needed. I found the cutest little "Ladybug Playground"... basically a little plastic cage to keep a few Ladybugs in to study. Oh and we got some new colored pencils too! Yay!

Today we put into action something we've been planning for awhile. I wanted to switch our aquariums around to allow for a "critter tank" so that we could bring home a critter every now and then to study. We decided to get a bigger "fish tank" and use our 10 gallon one for a "critter tank". I came across a bigger aquarium today on Craigslist, so off we went!! But first we had to stop and drop off Daddy's gas can and weed trimmer where he was. Tyler decided to "help" Daddy out a little while we were there...

In the meantime Emily was checking out the Dandelions in the yard...

But back to the aquarium situation.... I have a plan!

So our little 10 gallon aquarium has been cleaned up and it now has a screen cover on it so that we can put critters in it to study. Snakes, frogs, toads, turtles, salamanders... whatever. Just for a few days and then we go release them and get somebody else to study.

The big 29 gallon aquarium that we picked up today is going to turn into a Mississippi River scene, with fish found in the River. Sounds cool, huh?

We also have a 10 gallon aquarium here with our Hamster, Killer, in it.

Talk about aquarium city! But I am excited about the changes and looking forward to the fun we will have enjoying nature here.

I'll leave you with this...

Hope you had a "cool" weekend!

Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden & Bird Sanctuary

2008-05-17T20:48:00.001-05:00

"A tree with its delicate tracery

of leafless branches

is a thing of beauty to eyes

that are adjusted to see it."

~ Eloise Butler

Tyler's best friend, Jacob, joined us for our nature walk today. We decided to check out the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden & Bird Sanctuary. It turned out to be a gorgeous afternoon, despite some sprinkles during the drive there. The kids really enjoyed themselves and got to see a lot of neat things in nature. I took quite a few photos so here is a little slideshow...

We also worked on our Outdoor Hour Challenge #5 today... Keeping a List. Our focus area right now is Birds, so we are creating a list of all of the birds that we see during our walks. I used Melissa's Bird List. I have added all of the Birds we have seen so far to it as well as the two we saw today (Black-Capped Chickadee and American Redstart). I have it clipped in the front of my Nature Journal so that we can update it as we return from our walks. I also grabbed a little spiral-bound notebook today. I thought I could keep that in my pocket when I don't bring my Nature Journal on our walks in case we want to jot down the things we see along the way for adding to our Journals and Bird list later.

Squirrels, Cardinals, and Loons! Oh my!

2008-05-16T22:42:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we noticed that a Squirrel had built a nest in the eaves of our house. At that time we were seeing the babies poking out here and there, but not venturing far.

Well, they have done some growing these last couple of weeks and they are ready to explore the world. Mama Squirrel is not so sure about this idea though. We have seen her carrying babies back up to the nest from the ground on several occasions. Its a bit comical, but poor Mom, she must be a nervous wreck trying to keep them in that nest!!

This morning one of the babies was even scratching at our window (we live in the basement). It was cute, but I hurried and found the screen for our window!! I had been just propping it open when we wanted some air... no more of that!

This afternoon I was outside helping Dave with some things in the driveway and we noticed Mama Squirrel and a baby in the tree. It seemed the Mom was teaching the baby "the ropes". You know, how to jump from limb to limb and such. He was actually doing well! I pulled my cell phone out and snapped a quick photo of the baby. See him on the trunk of the tree?

Then all of the sudden Mama grabbed him and carried him away. Squirrels carry their young by the belly, which is interesting. I'm not sure how they can see where they're going with that fluff of a tail waving around in front of them! I watched her run up the tree and jump onto the neighbor's roof and over to the corner and into a hole in the peak of their roof. We thought she must have 2 nests or something... or maybe she moved them there because it would be more difficult for them to get out of there. But I was just now thinking, and I bet that was a different family of Squirrels. I think we may have a Squirrel nursery going on over here!

We saw a beautiful Cardinal in the tree as well. We have a bird feeder in the yard as well as a Squirrel feeder... but it seems the only birds who visit it are Pigeons and House Sparrows, so it was a nice treat to see Mr. Cardinal. I hope he comes back again soon.

I also wanted to share a link with you.

LIVE Loon Cam

This is the second year we have followed this cam. Be careful, its addicting!!

Its put on by Kare 11's Minnesota Bound. The man who runs the cam lives on the lake that the nesting platform is on, and he has a Daily Log where he posts about what is going on in the nest and behind the scenes. We have learned a lot about Loons from him.

There are 2 eggs in the nest as we speak. The were laid on May 10th and 12th. They should hatch in 3-4 weeks. Then we can watch the babies. But for now its interesting to watch how Mom and Dad care for the eggs.

Meeting the HUGgers

2008-05-16T10:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday the kids and I met up with our SMpls HUG (Homeschoolers/Unschoolers Gatherings) Group for the first time over at Powderhorn Park. What a fun group they are! Tyler and Emily both had so much fun. They can't wait till next Thursday so they can do it again! We plan to make this group part of or weekly schedule. It felt good to get out and meet some people... and the kids LOVED playing with all of the other kids. Here's a little photo mosaic I made with a few of the photos I took...

Tyler got to play Baseball (Thanks, Peter, for working with them on that). Emily got to swing a little. Some of the kids showed Tyler how to play their version of Dungeons & Dragons. Emily made a little friend and they had fun teeter tottering, playing in the sand, and playing with a big ball in the grass. We also made some Nature Prints in Clay like Melissa over at In the Sparrow's Nest did (Thanks, Amanda, for organizing this!). We painted ours and they are drying right now... we plan to make a mobile out of them. I will post a pic when we get it all finished up.

We also had a little visitor at the park...

This Little Brown Bat came to show off a bit. We thought it was sort of odd that he was out during the daytime... and so close to people. He sat on the tree for quite some time while we checked him out. I guess maybe he knew we hadn't been out for a nature walk yet this week and decided to bring a little bit of nature to us. :)

A new Nature Journal entry & Outdoor Hour Challenges #3 and #4

2008-05-14T13:34:00.000-05:00

We finally took the time to journal our Nature Walk Marathon today.

Tyler really wanted to journal about the Green Heron we saw but he was a bit intimidated with drawing it, so we opted for a Notebooking page about it. He colored the picture at the top with colored pencils and then did some Copywork telling what we learned about the bird. "The Green Heron uses bait to catch its food. Its nest is made of sticks. Its eggs are green." We also added a printed copy of a photo of the Green Heron that I took on our nature walk that day.

Here he is working on the sky... made up of many shades of blue...

And here is his finished Nature Journal page...

Now, Tyler says his page is much better than mine, but I'll show it to you anyway. Don't make fun of it, ok? ;o)

So that is our Outdoor Hour Challenge #3 assignment. I am also combining it with Challenge #4 (We technically did 3 nature walks that day, so I say its ok to combine two challenges!), which is to pick a focus area for our Nature Study over the next 6-8 weeks. We are choosing to focus on birds, since there are a lot of them out and we seem to be noticing them the most and are very interested in them at the moment. Now this doesn't mean that the only thing we will study is birds for 6-8 weeks. We will learn from whatever intrigues us during our time in Nature.

Fishing with Daddy - Fish Tails

2008-05-10T16:03:00.000-05:00

Tyler and Daddy headed out Carp fishing again last night. Tyler's first catch was pretty normal...

The fight:

The fish:

Nice catch, huh?
But his second fish came in ... a little short on one end.

Strange, huh? I am guessing it got attacked by another fish. Tyler thinks a Snapping Turtle got him. Daddy thought it may have even been born this way since its scales seem to be perfect around the end and it seemed healthy. Who knows, but it sure was an interesting catch! It swam, or rather waddled, right away when they released it!

Nature Walk Marathon - Part 2

2008-05-08T17:44:00.001-05:00

Here we are at Part 2 of our nature walk marathon with Dave.

Nature Walk Marathon - Part 1 can be found HERE

Our next stop was Father Hennepin Park over by St. Anthony Falls. I hadn't been down this trail since before Tyler was born, so this was fun. Again, this trail goes right along the Mississippi River. Very pretty country.

We got to see a Great Blue Heron carrying a long stick in his beak. We think he must have been nesting somewhere nearby. Daddy got a kick out of calling it a Pterodactyl to make Tyler look. He's a funny guy. :)

We also got to see some trees that a Beaver had been chewing on. We even noticed the wood chips on the ground around the tree. It was neat to compare the recent one he is working on with the older ones that had been chewed and fell down awhile ago.

You can see pictures of the Heron and the Beaver tree in my Flickr Photostream up at the top of the blog. But I want to devote this post to this next guy. Check him out...

That, my friends, is a Green Heron! Isn't he beautiful!?! I saw him from a distance as I walked down the trail and I thought he looked interesting, so as we got closer I found a spot that we could observe him from. He sat on the log for us for quite awhile, then he flew over to a nearby tree for a bit and then back to the log. We think he is probably nesting in the tree.

These birds are amazing. It is pretty uncommon to see them because they are nocturnal and also very secretive and they nest singly, not in flocks like most birds. The nest is a basket of sticks in a tree, usually over water. They lay from 2 to 6 eggs, 2 days apart... the eggs hatch in about 19-25 days. Both the male and the female Green Heron incubate the eggs and feed the young. They eat fish, insects, and other invertebrates and water arthropods. A couple of other interesting tidbits... the Green Heron can hover for short periods to catch their prey. Most often, though, they sit very still on a log or in shallow water and wait for their prey to come to them. They sometimes even put a worm or twig on the top of water as bait to lure fish to them!! They are one of very few "tool using" birds in existence. Isn't that amazing?

Here are a couple of links in case you want to know more about these awesome birds...

Green Heron on All About Birds

Green Heron on Wikipedia

Green Herons on the MNDNR's Young Naturalists site

Our 3rd stop was at Meeker Island Historic Lock & Dam. The path was flooded here so we didn't get to walk too far, but it was still beautiful right down along the Mississippi River. We saw some wildflowers and flowering trees here. The history behind this place was interesting. It was the first Lock & Dam on this part of the river. It was open for 5 years and then Lock & Dam 1 was built in 1917 with hydroelectric power. It was able to handle the job of both facilities, so this one was closed and demolished. There are still some remains of it there to be seen though.

That concludes our Nature Walk Marathon.... we learned a lot, saw some very cool things, experienced some history. We had great time too! What more could we ask for?!

THE END

Nature Walk Marathon - Part 1

2008-05-08T17:22:00.002-05:00

Dave took us for a ride today and decided to show us around a few nearby spots along the Mississippi River that he thought would be good for nature walks. And boy did he!! We ended up walking at 3 different spots today and we got to see some really neat things out there!

First stop was Boom Island Park. We are not new to this park. It is one of our local fishing spots. We had never really taken the time to walk the trails though, so this was a fun walk. Right away we were greeted by this little guy...

I have decided that I think it is a Yellow-Rumped Warbler. If anyone thinks differently, let me know please. I originally thought him to be a Yellow-Throated Warbler, but this little guy had a bright yellow behind when he flew away. So pretty.

As we continued along the trail we ran into a young boy and his dad. The little boy was carrying a net and Dad was carrying a pillowcase. Hmmm. So I said to Tyler I wonder what they're catching?? He said he had no idea, and went over to ask them. They were catching Garter Snakes. They had one in their pillowcase and even took him out for Tyler to see and pet. Tyler was giggling after because its tail wrapped around his finger. We ran into them a couple more times as we walked and they had caught a couple more. They got one out a second time and let Tyler hold it. Great nature study if you ask me! We also found out that they do this often... they catch critters and take them home and keep them for a week or so and then bring them back and release them and catch something else. Sounds fun! I told Tyler we would watch Craigslist for a used aquarium and try doing this. I think it would be fun to have a little revolving pet thing going... frogs, toads, snakes... We did a little tromping around in the grass to see if we could stir a snake up, but no luck!

We also came across this tree that had fallen over and ripped its roots right out of the ground. Tyler thought it was pretty cool...

And then there was this...

Goes to show that you never know WHAT you may find in nature!! LOL

(NOTE: That is NOT a real animal. Someone obviously has a sense of humor and decided to share it with us. :) )

We also saw a Cardinal, a Goldfinch, a bunch of Grackles, and a Rabbit during our walk here. We found a couple of cool rocks as well that we think might be Agates.

That concludes Part 1 of our Nature Walk Marathon... Part 2 will follow shortly. We saw something at our next stop that deserves its own post!

TO BE CONTINUED

Continued here - - Nature Walk Marathon - Part 2

Fishing with Daddy

2008-05-07T21:22:00.000-05:00

Common Carp Nature Snapshot from the MNDNR

Common Carp on Wikipedia

Shared Fun - Handicrafts and Experiments

2008-05-06T20:42:00.002-05:00

I love it when other homeschoolers share their handicrafts and experiments on their blogs. Here are a couple that we came across and had fun with recently...

Sprite over at Sprite's Craft Corner shared a fun handicraft on her blog last year... I just came across it last week and Tyler is loving it. He's been weaving little rugs. Sprite has step by step directions there to make these. They are the perfect size to use with toys and dollhouses. Of course his first one HAD to include red. Everything in his life has to be red.

Next he made one with pink for his sister...

Emily is really enjoying her new rug... and her brother's too!! :o)

Just tonight I came across this cool Tie-Dyed Milk experiment at In the Sparrow's Nest. Her daughter had done this one before so she made us a fun video to walk us through it. Check it out here. They also have some white Daisies in food coloring at their house that I can't wait to see turn colors!! Anyways, Tyler wanted to try this experiment right away and here is our result...

Evidently the fat in the milk reacts against the dish soap. The minute you touch the toothpick with soap on it to the milk the colors just explode.

Fun times! Now I'm off to see what else I can find out there in Blogland!

Happy May Day 2008

2008-05-05T12:52:00.001-05:00

This year the kids and I had the chance to experience the amazing May Day Parade that In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre puts on every year. They work on this parade literally all year round. And it shows! This year's theme was A New Bridge...

A New Bridge

Infrastructure for the Future Beings

On August 1, 2007, we witnessed the fall of the 35W bridge.

During the profound Ecumenical Memorial Service for the 13 citizens who perished in the river, Hamdy El-Sawaf of the Islamic Jurisprudence Council of Minnesota offered these words:

“If a bridge made of iron, steel and concrete can fall down, then a human bridge of faith, trust, confidence and hope must be established.”

These words challenge us to receive the tragedy of the fallen bridge as an opportunity to consider the infrastructure we are building for the present and future beings.

Are we building toward depletion and collapse as consumers and conquerors, or are we building a path to sustainable, reciprocal harmony with the rest of the earth?

Let us turn together with trust, faith, joy and ingenuity toward the work of building a bridge for safe passage through our transition to a glorious, sustainable, healthy life for all the future beings.

Happy Mayday! Enjoy!

In The Heart of the Beast Puppet & Mask Theatre

Creator and Producer of the MayDay Parade, Ceremony, and Festival

One of my favorite parts of going to the parade, though, is the people watching. This event brings out people from ALL walks of life and it is so fun to watch and experience them all. While we waited for the parade to arrive we saw a lady juggling beside us and a man across the street with a huge parrot on his shoulder. Not to mention the variety of hairstyles... and the varied tastes in clothing! It was amazing.

Then there's the parade itself. So full of color and happiness. People on stilts, people riding unusual bikes... masks and amazing costumes... music of all genres. People just having fun and spreading joy. Here are a few photos...

Note: You can see bigger, more detailed, photos in my Flickr Photostream.

Now you may wonder how in the world this craziness could be educational... but it actually was. There was the multi-cultural experience... including Native American dance and costumes. The wide variety of music and dance. There was the display showing butterfly cocoons. There was a group of people marching holding endangered animals made from paper mache. There were anti-war groups, which prompted some discussion. One group handed out flowers along the way... we got Baby's Breath, which we looked up and identified when we got home. It is now being pressed so that we can enjoy it for a long time to come. So we did learn. I am discovering that everything in life can be a learning experience! There was a lot to soak in here... I'm sure discussions will spark for a long time to come.

After the parade we walked the few blocks to a nearby park. This is where the parade ended and they had a May Day Festival going on. The Festival may have been fun... if you could actually make your way through the sea of people to see anything. We were disappointed in the crowd, which made it impossible to have fun. We did get to see the canoes they had decorated for May Day... I believe they were doing canoe rides on the little lake there in the park. We probably made it a few feet before we decided to leave. We did stand in line long enough to grab a hot dog and a pop. We enjoyed watching a couple of guys do tricks with a frisbee while we ate. Then we headed out to play at our usual neighborhood park. All in all a fun day!

Outdoor Hour Challenge #2 - Use your words

2008-05-02T18:34:00.004-05:00

This was a really fun assignment that really got us thinking! Our assignment was to enjoy a nature walk and then use our words to describe some of the things we experienced. We used our nature walk on Wednesday for the assignment. Here are our words and journal entries...

Tyler:

One word to describe something I heard. Tweeting

Two words to describe something I saw. Brown worm

Three words to describe something I felt. Super soft petals

And here is Tyler's Nature Journal entry... he did some copywork and I let him have fun with the drawings.

Sherry:

One word to describe something I heard. Tweeting

Two words to describe something I saw. Purple flowers

Three words to describe something I felt. Slippery wet mud

And my Journal entry... I used it to teach us some of the parts of a flower. I added a little worm in the corner because this was Tyler's favorite part of the hike. He carried an earthworm around for quite a bit of our walk. I also added the date and location, and a list of the people who joined us for our walk.

Thanks, Barb (Harmony Art Mom) for hosting the Outdoor Hour Challenges! We are loving them! We can't wait to get started on number 3! Especially since I have new hiking boots now! After our 2 mile walk on Wednesday I thought my feet were going to fall off... actually I think it would have been a relief if they had!!! Obviously my cheapo hikers weren't going to cut it for our new Nature Study adventures. But I'm ready now!

Nature Walk at Eastman Nature Center

2008-04-30T16:29:00.003-05:00

Tyler, Emily, Dave, and I met up with Michelle and her boys today for a nice walk in the woods at the Eastman Nature Center in Elm Creek Park. It turned out to be a beautiful day and we had the chance to see lots of fun things in nature out there.

We saw our first wildflowers of the season... some pretty purple Hepatica.

We did a lot of looking under logs and digging in the dirt...

Where we got dirty and found lots of fun little critters...

We also saw some fun birds and animal tracks along the trails. The boys had fun picking up "treasures" along the way... although some of them were not so much treasured by us parents!! All of us had fun and enjoyed the weather, the nature, and the company.

We will be using this outing as our Outdoor Hour Challenge Assignment #2. I will post that separately, as Tyler and Daddy headed out fishing in the boat as soon as we got home from our nature walk.

Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrel

2008-04-23T21:49:00.002-05:00

Another little slice of nature in Downtown Minneapolis...

Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrel

Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrel Nature Snapshot from the MNDNR

Happy Earth Day

2008-04-22T19:50:00.002-05:00

Tyler's new baby Red Pine - Planted in observance of Earth Day 2008

It is true...

2008-04-21T14:51:00.000-05:00

Nature really is all around us.

Even in the city.

We are a big fishing family, and we have several regular fishing holes right here in Minneapolis. Close, safe, and easy. These photos were taken at one of those spots right smack dab in Downtown Minneapolis. This Goose has been there pretty much every time we fish there... every single year. Last night I told Tyler we were going to find out why he looks the way he does. I think we have pretty much decided that he is a cross between a Canadian Goose and some sort of farm Goose. Love his white head and orange feet. He has been dubbed "Ugly Goose", but he is really not ugly. Just different than the others. Hmm... sounds like a familiar story line!

It seems to be paired with this Canadian Goose. They were there together anyways.

Another Canadian Goose came to visit and these two were not happy. I guess three's a crowd! :o) We did get to witness lots of natural Goose behavior though... hissing and chasing. Emily really liked watching these two. We even fed them a few french fries. Funny thing happened while I was knelt down with Emily watching the "Ugly Goose". I turned around to check on Tyler and his friend, Jacob, who were playing in the dirt up towards the van. The Canadian Goose had wandered up to them about a foot away from them and was standing there watching them play! The boys hadn't realized it. I loved the look on their faces when they looked up and saw him. Eye to eye. Too funny!

I'm amazed at the nature right here in the city if you just open your eyes to it.

Our first Nature Journal entries

2008-04-19T01:32:00.000-05:00

Tyler and I completed the very first entries in our Nature Journals this evening...

I think it went well. Tyler really enjoyed it. Daddy even got involved coaching Tyler to get the bird shaped right. I can see how the Nature Journal will help reinforce what we see on our walks. It made Tyler concentrate on the shape and texture of the bird... and he drew it in its natural surroundings which helped reinforce that as well. Then the writing added to it all too. What a great exercise! Tyler is already asking when we will be going on another nature walk so he can draw in his Journal again. :)

Nature Walk at Wood Lake Nature Center

2008-04-17T20:32:00.005-05:00

Today was the first nature walk organized through my new Nature Group. We planned to meet up at the Wood Lake Nature Center. We didn't have a real good turnout. One mom was sick and one must have had something come up, so it was just me and the kids... but we had a great time enjoying nature anyways, and there was a ton of it to enjoy!

Here's Tyler doing a little pose for us at the beginning of our walk...

There were lots of birds and other animals out and about for us to enjoy today. This Mama Robin was busy building her nest...

Tyler thought it was silly that she was using pieces of plastic for her nest!

Meanwhile, Daddy Robin watched from a nearby fence...

These Red-Winged Blackbirds were all over the woods. They were really showing off for us... letting us get exceptionally close to them while they sang their songs for us.

The Waterfowl were out in pairs today as well. The Mallard Ducks...

The Canadian Geese. This one was eating...

This one was napping...

We saw a beautiful pair of Wood Ducks...

And this pair of Hooded Mergansers...

After our walk we spent a little time inside the Nature Center Building playing and learning.

We had a great time and saw some very cool things in nature today. Part of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Assignment #1 was to choose something from our walk that we want to learn more about. Tyler thought we should learn more about those friendly Red-Winged Blackbirds. So that is our mission for the next week or so. We will begin by reading about them in our Handbook of Nature Study and The Sibley Field Guide to Birds. I told Tyler that I think there are some songs about Blackbirds, so we will look some of those up online and have fun with that as well. We'll also take some time to sketch a picture of one in our Nature Journal. I think he chose a good animal to study!

We used this scavenger hunt sheet during our walk. It really helped us to use all of our senses out there! Some of the other things we saw and experienced...

Things we saw:

A tree with blossoms on it

A bird

A bird's nest

Something moving in the breeze

A Squirrel

A Chipmunk

A Downy Woodpecker

Things we heard:

The wind rustling the leaves

A bird chirping

Things we felt:

Something cool in the shade

Something smooth

Something rough

Something wet

A goose feather

Things we smelled:

The grass

Smoke (they were burning off some grass near the building)