Free National Park Days

The National Park Service just celebrated 100 years of caring for America's treasures.  We sure had fun visiting Shenandoah National Park for the first time last summer and even bought an annual pass to encourage us to explore even more.

This year, you have several opportunities to get out and explore over 400 National Parks, both natural and historical parks, for free on the following dates:

January 16: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
February 20: Presidents' Day
April 15-16 and 22-23: Weekends of National Park Week
August 25: National Park Service Birthday
September 30: National Public Lands Day
November 11-12: Veterans Day Weekend
If you take kids, don't forget to ask about the Junior Ranger program at the visitor center so they can earn a cool badge or patch.

 

 

(Don't forget to thank rangers and staff for their role in providing an excellent experience.)

Urban Nature

I've been thinking about my role as a Park Ranger lately.  I would like a change of pace, but it will take time to make that happen. In the meantime, although I am surrounded by history in a big city, I am drawn to signs of nature.  It is there, I just have to look closely.

Sometimes it is quiet and still...

Above my head in the London Plain tree sits a hawk watching cars go by.

...while other times, nature is noisy and energetic.



This squirrel chitted at nearby birds after burying a supply of acorns.















Sometimes nature offers an unexpected surprise...

yet often provides an expected comfort during change in a rushing world.

No matter where or when, signs of nature help me regain my focus

Catching Snowflakes Revisited

Last winter, I wrote a post about catching snowflakes and when the latest snowstorm came through this morning, I couldn't resist catching them again.  The results were beautiful.

Want to catch snowflakes? Pick a dark fabric, we use navy blue cotton, and a piece of cardboard to set the cloth on so it will stay flat.  Five minutes before you go out, set the cloth outside so it can reach the outdoor temperature, otherwise the flakes will melt when they hit the cloth.

Once you are ready to go out let you little ones hold the cloth on the cardboard letting snow fall on the cloth.  After 30 seconds, go under shelter and look up close.  Among the clumps of flakes, you should see some individual snow crystals

Have fun!



Green Bean Teepee

This year we decided to have a little more fun with the food we grow, so early in the spring I started green bean plants indoors and once the weather warmed, we built a frame for a green bean teepee. At the base of each string line we planted the bean plants and between the bean plants, we planted zucchini. It seemed to grow so slowly, then in August it suddenly filled out and we had a bounty of beans!

The green bean teepee has turned out to be a fine place to look for summer bugs.

We also planted rainbow carrots and orange peppers from Cubits. More on those in another post.

Summer Bugs - Butterflies

 

 



Welcome back to another installment in our Summer Bugs series.  This time around we studied butterflies. 

 

 

We were thrilled to have an indoor butterfly garden.  When our caterpillars arrived in the mail, we began our watching and waiting. About five days later, they formed their chrysalis.  We pinned the cloth holding the chrysalis in the protected netting area and just four days later our beautiful butterflies emerged.  Our neighbor was so kind to let us feed the butterflies from their butterfly bush.  After 3 days of observing our winged friends, we released them and they took flight toward our willow tree.  It was fascinating for everyone in the family to watch this transformation.  Such a wonder!

 

 

 

As in our previous bug studies, we found delightful books to read:

 

 

A delightful way to learn about the butterfly lifecycle with beautiful illustrations! It also includes tips in how to attract butterflies to your children's garden.

 

In this book an incredible variety of butterflies are celebrated in all of their beauty and wonder with lovely detailed illustrations.

For a fun recycle craft, visit my previous post on Paper Butterflies.

Visit the Nation's Treasures - For Free

This weekend we have an opportunity to connect with some of our greatest national treasures as the National Park Services celebrates Founder's Day.  On August 25 all fees are waived, and special programs will be available to the public. (Don't forget to ask for the Jr. Ranger Program.)

The National Park Service (NPS) began in 1872 with the founding of Yellowstone National Park.  With dedicated early leaders, the NPS grew into a highly esteemed organization dedicated to preservation and helping the public connect to its' resources. 

To find the park nearest you visit www.nps.gov.  If you are near Philadelphia, PA, come visit us at Independence National Historical Park as we open the new Benjamin Franklin Museum.  We are having special speakers, walking tours, and activities for families. 

Summer Bugs Series: Ladybugs

Welcome back to another post in our Summer Bugs series.  After dragonflies, we went on to study ladybugs. It just so happens we found one in our house the day we began our lessons, a rare surprise where our insect visitors tend to be moths and spiders.

The Ladybug Lady website had all the coloring pages, pictures, and ladybug facts we could want.

 

 





 

The UK Woodland Trust NatureDetectives site has many, many fun ways to help children interact with nature including ladybug (ladybird in the UK) games, information, and id sheets.  Well worth a visit.

Join Project Noah.  A wonderful resource where people submit photos and information on everything from aphids to zebras.  The submissions are wonderful!

 

Find ladybug lesson plans from the Lost Ladybug Project.

 

Learn a bit from National Geographic. 

 

 

Fill in  a ladybug lifecycle worksheet or make a ladybug minibook.

 

We also found some fun books at our library about ladybugs:

 

Ladybug encounters many predators while hunting for food and searching for a winter home. Ladybug's bright red coloring helps to keep her safe, while she looks for food for the long winter ahead.

 

 

 

 

This is a great educational spiral-bound book that explores the life cycle of the ladybug and the world of insects, and includes transparent pages that reveal the ladybug life cycle.

 

 

 

 

 

Another great book to learn about the ladybug life cycle.

 

 

I had intended to have the boys paint black rocks to look like ladybugs and use them as paperweights, but it we never managed to do it. *sigh*

 

 

 

Next, we are moving on to butterflies...

 

 

Dragonfly nymphs and waterscopes

 During our Summer Bug studies, we learned that dragonflies begin life as tiny water nymphs, so we made our own waterscopes and went exploring.

Summer is a great time to search for dragonfly nymphs. (When they are big enough, they crawl out of the water, latch on to a twig or stem to dry out.  Then they crawl out of their skin to emerge as beautiful dragonflies.)

 

We are off to the woods... 

 

 

with nets and waterscopes in hand.

Looking for dragonfly nymphs here...



and there.



 

We found one!

 

Evening has come. Time for the hike back

talking of our adventure all the way home. 

 

Summer Bugs Series: Dragonflies (twig dragonfly tutorial)

 

During these warmer days, a sure way to get my sons outside is to grab a water bottle and magnifying glass and invite them on a bug hunt.  This summer I am extending the activity by incorporating it into some summer learning and providing links to learning websites, crafts, and stories about bugs.

 

This week we are studying dragonflies.  They seem so mysterious, with their bright colors and the way they hover over water.  When we see one, my boys throw out many questions and observations.

Below are some links for learning about dragonflies:

Download a dragonfly lapbook from Homeschool Share. 

 

Dragonfly coloring pages and here.

Beautiful photos of East Coast dragonflies - great to use in a matching game

Download a colorful sheet to learn the difference between a dragonfly and damselfly.

See lovely photos and learn more dragonfly facts from the San Diego Zoo.

The Dragonfly Story - this is a lovely story about a dragonfly who, born in the water, leaves the stream to fly away. As a side note, this story is a good way to help children deal with the loss of a loved one.

Feeling artsy? How to draw a dragonfly and a video of how to draw

Here is an interesting Video about dragonflies.

We read some wonderful books about dragonflies including:

The most colorful wings on the pond belong to the nimble dragonfly, but this delicate flying insect didn't begin life in the air. The secrets of metamorphosis are unfurled in this story of the life of a familiar backyard creature.

A dragonfly lays her clutch of eggs and the life cycle of dragonflies has begun. Watch as the little nymphs change over time into beautiful adults who can move through the air like an acrobat.

This was one of our favorites!  Eliza and her friends learn all about dragonflies when they join Aun Doris on trips to a nearby pond. The science about dragonflies is perfectly integrated into a story in which the remarkable metamorphosis of a dragonfly from a mucky nymph (Eeeewww, says Eliza) to a beautiful winged creature (Magnificent! says Aunt Doris) is a metaphor for the magic of how Eliza, too, grows up.



We also had fun making twig dragonflies:

When they were all dry, we added them to our summer nature table:

Next, we are studying ladybugs...

The Great Backyard Bird Count is coming

Have you ever participated in The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC)?  It is a great way to look forward to spring as we observe our feathered friends.  They are here, all around us.  We just need to slow down and look for them. 


Like our cat...

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual event (February 15-18) that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are.  Anyone can participate by creating a free account at The Great Backyard Bird Count website, observing birds in your neighborhood, and logging them on the GBBC data sheet or the tally sheets from the Notebooking Fairy.  Your observation can last from 15 minutes to several hours, depending on the time you want to take.  At the end of the day, record your results at the GBBC website where you will find many resources including prizes, games and coloring pages for kids,  a photo contest, and more.

One of the best ways to see many birds is to have a bird feeder.  If you do not have time to build one, don't forget the tried and true pine cone covered in peanut butter and rolled in bird seed.