Spring!

Crocuses in the Snow!

Have you noticed some buds coming out?  Maybe you saw some crocus leaves shooting out of the ground?  I have been seeing signs of spring all over the place!  I know its still cold but if we have a couple of warm days in a row some of the bushes might start to bloom!  I am excited about spring and I bet you are too.  There are so many cool new things that you can discover.  To help you discover all the wonderful things about spring you can make a list in your nature journal with the date that you saw the first crocuses, first buds on trees, first flowers, etc.  You can come up with other firsts too.  Make a list of the first smells or tastes.  Come up with a bunch of ideas and you can share them at our next gathering.  Have Fun!!

Nature Collection

If you want to see this picture up close just click on it.  It will get bigger.

Lisa M. shared her collection with us.  Isn't it cool!  You can make one just like it a home. Just get a bowl or container and start filing it with natural specimens.  You can put rocks, nests (uninhabited), feathers, leaves, seed pods, and anything else you find!

A Poem on the Goldenrod

One of our nature club members, Zofi, sent in a poem about the Goldenrod. For those of you who read about how the Goldenrod is like a city, this poem is perfect!

The Golden Rod by Frank Dempster Sherman

Spring is the morning of the year
And summer is the noontide bright;
The autumn is the evening clear,
That comes before the winter's night.

And in the evening, everywhere
Along the roadside, up and down,
I see the golden torches flare
Like lighted street-lamps in the town.

I think the butterfly and the bee,
From distant meadows coming back,
Are quite contented when they see
These lamps along the homeward track.

But those who stay too late get lost;
For when the darkness falls about,
Down every lighted street the Frost
Will go and put the torches out!

Nature Journal Inspiration

The Charlotte Mason blog, Sage Parnassus, has a great post on the Nature Journals of Edith Holden. She links to a 12 part tv series based on Holden's nature writings. Here is the installment for September!

Insect Shield Bandanas

While I was visiting a friend this summer I discovered Insect Shield Bandanas that can be worn to ward off insects.  I have just placed an order for some for our family that we will be wearing to Nature Club.  I thought I'd send along the link in case others are interested.  I just don't like to wear hats and my husband (rightly so) insists that we all cover our heads while we are out in the woods.  I think this will be a great option!

ExOfficio Insect Shield Bandana

Sloggers Insect Shield Bandana

Haverford College Arboretum

 

 Hi Guys,

How are you doing? We had a lot of fun at the Haverford Arboretum!!  We walked along the path in our groups studying different things from Nature.  We had a scavenger hunt check list so that if you found something like an acorn, a helicopter leaf, or a squirrel bearing a nut.  Many of you found the first two and others but we were a little too noisy to spot the squirrel!  Did you see the HUGE fallen tree at one of the curves in the path?!  As you can see it is larger then most 

                                         of the adults in the picture to the right.  I hope you had fun!!!

Nature Club fun!

Are you excited to start school?  Are you excited to start Nature Club again?  Well, I am and I hope you are too.  We have a big group this year so it will be twice the fun!!  We will be splashing in the creek again, building our forts, gathering around the campfire, making fairy houses, drawing in our Nature Journals, and just having fun!

One of the new things we will be doing is writing in our Nature Journals more.  We will have set times to study things you see and write them down.

Another fun thing we will be doing is building small houses for fairys and elfs to stay in.  You can use any natural material you want as long as it is not alive or artifical.  Here are a few houses I made with my cousins on Macworth Island in Maine.  There they have a whole city of houses!

 

 

Have fun!!