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Quick – ideas needed!
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I am doing a nature study club for our co-op. our first meeting is tomorrow and after good weather being forecast all week for Friday they decided its going to rain!
I need ideas of what I can do indoors if it rains. This will most likely be many of these children’s first experience with nature study and I want it to be something they connect with. I did find a katydid who got stuck in my window and died so we put it in a glass jar to take. I thought of maybe taking some leaves in and my tree guide and having them try to identify what kind of tree they came from….help?
Tara
Personally – I’d go for at least a part of the lesson being outside no matter what the weather…. but the parents would have to know that so the kids would be prepared with appropriate rain gear!
You could have them lift a log and see what is under it. They could take a mental note of what they saw. What it did. Put the log back and check back 1 hour later and see if the same things are under it. When they come back in they could draw a picture of what they saw before they went back out for the last time.
They could pick out the prettiest fallen leave they could find and draw it. For a further activity they could paint the leaf and press it on a shirt, pillow case, ect.. or you could have them do one large sheet with different leaves. Make sure you start in the middle though if you want them to paint leaves on the whole sheet. If they are just doing the outside of the sheet then they can go around the boarder with ease. You could probaby at a later time have them put Nature Study in leaves in the middle. Or maybe another sheet stapled or sewn to it. It could be hung like a banner. 🙂
Label different types of leaves, needles, acorns. whatever they find. Look it up in a nature guide.
Good luck in whatever you decide to do!
I’ve taught a backyard wildlife class in our co-op, which isn’t CM-based and during which it’s really not possible to go outside. I used Among the Forest People in conjunction with the Handbook of Nature Study to do a lesson on an animal, along with narration and discussion. For animals not included in the Forest people, I found living books at the library. Smithsonian’s backyard series is nice:
We had lots of discussion about similar things they’d seen in their yards – they loved sharing.
I provided paper that was blank at the top and lined at the bottom (Donna Young printables maybe?) and they did illustrations and some copywork. I’d prepared several levels of copywork on little strips of paper and we helped them choose the level most appropriate for them, and had a variety of books with photographs and illustrations of the animal of the week. I know this isn’t truly nature study but perhaps some part of it might be useful.
Blessings,
Aimee
I am planning a nature study for my co-op in a few weeks and one of the things I will have the kids do after we identify leaves, is use them to make animals by gliding them on paper. Some kids can draw the legs, tail, etc. With a marker or just use leaves for the whole thing! I did this with my kids a couple of years ago and it is easy enough for younger as well as older kids.
Well…rain is nature, and if moms don’t mind their kids playing in the rain, that’s exactly what I’d do! For indoor activities, maybe incorporate the rain by reading a book about rain or letting the kids have watercolors to create their own rainy day on paper. You could discuss thunder and lightening and let the kids talk about how those things make them feel (ie. excited, scared, nervous, curious). You could make a tornado model out of empty soda bottles and talk about tornados. Just a few of my ideas…
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