Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Nature walk around our home

 What a glorious autumn day it was today!
We were supposed to meet some friends at the park today, but Joey was recovering from a virus and we thought it best to stay close to home.  So, with him feeling a bit better, we thought it would be perfect to do a nature walk around our property.  What is wonderful is we don't have to travel far to encounter nature as we live on 5 acres of woods, but sometimes we forget how great we have it!

We first had a visit with our chickens.  Since going gluten free, we have so many extra bulk grains sitting around.  We've been giving it to the chickens as treats here and there.



Matthew climbing a fallen cedar tree.



For collecting nature's treasures.


All bundled up in the stroller.
She had a great time exploring with us.


We have been seeing these little guys everywhere.  We figured they were some sort of caterpillar.  He was so cute we were all playing with him and decided to use him in our nature study.  Well, we learned they are called Hickory Tussock caterpillars. Some people are very allergic to them and their *fur* can cause some people to break out in rashes...thank goodness that didn't happen to us!  They love Hickory trees, although we found ours on a cedar and can be found as far north as Canada.


Walking down our driveway...the leaves are so beautiful.


We had a lovely time doing nature study.  We collected lots of treasures in our basket and the boys got their colored pencils out and went to work.  Even Joey joined in the fun.
Matthew worked way into lunch time as he was enjoying writing poems to go with his illustrations.


I've been reading a wonderful book by Elizabeth Foss called, Real Learning.  It has really prompted me to go back to our original` homeschooling methods.  As the boys get older, I would fear I wasn't doing *school* how it should be done.  Even though state mandated tests have proven that our method has been very successful thus far, I still doubted myself.  Well, this book has sparked a renewed desire for me to return to our original home school.   Less test taking, fill in the bubble, and comprehension question-type curriculum's that are *safe*.  More living books, lots of art, nature study, classical music, discussions, and narrations. 

1 comment:

  1. Your driveway is beautiful! I am jealous! I miss my New York autums. We only have a few trees in our yard because we live in a new subdivision. :(

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