Week 6 One Year Nature Study Adventure

Due to a very busy weekend we didn't get to take our nature walk on Friday last week, so we went this Monday. I'm glad we waited because the weather was perfect, it was beautiful, and we walked in the rain for awhile. A short walk in the rain is good for the soul. At least I think so and the kids seemd to think so too!



Week 6 Nature Study adventure
The kids in our first photo each week.

I love that we have kept up on this photo each week. I love having a shot of all my kiddos, and I am excited to see all of these pictures lined up side by side after a full year. I can't imagine how much they will change over this next year.

  

My boys, discussing the pond creatures in depth.
Or maybe just talking about the two turtles sun bathing on the log.

 This week we saw three turtles sun bathing on logs out in the pond. The kids always look for the turtles, but until this week we had not had the pleasure of seeing them.



We found these two hiding among the grass along the creek.
I love the bright green of the duck's head and the green grass in the background.

I love that each week we have seen some wildlife, and that each week it's been a different animal or little creature that we see.



To walk along a gravel path with the swish of the leaves beneath my feet is one of my favorite sounds.

This new path we found a week ago, is quickly becoming my favorite. The overhead covering of trees, the stream along one side, the gravel path and leaves covering the ground, and the way the sun peeks through the trees in just the right places, makes it absolutely beautiful, and perfect. I could walk this path all day.


What is fall with out some falling leaves.
You must take time to toss up an arm full of leaves.

I love this picture. It's not very clear, but the idea comes across and it reminds me how easy it can be to find the joy in each day the way children do. A handful of leaves tossed in the air, and everyone is smiling. The older couple that came up behind us couldn't help but smile and laugh as they watched the kids. 


My little explorers!
They too are really enjoying our weekly nature walks.



Lady Bug and her awesome shadow.



Looking at the changing trees with such a bright blue sky in the background reminded me of how much life changes.
Yet, that no matter what we are facing or struggling with, there is always a big and bright God just above us to help us through. Just like these trees, even though  they are losing their bright and colorful leaves now, they will be renewed and made bright and green and full of life again in the spring.

 

Lady Bug and her baby brother.
Well, 5 year old baby brother that is.

 This picture of Lady Bug and Little Man makes me smile for so many reasons; for the joy it gives me to be so blessed as to watch my children grow, the memories my children make with each other each day, and for many memories like this I wish I could have had with my baby brother. Time is so precious, cherish each moment.

The Grandfather tree.
This is the 100 and some year old tree.

 We love this tree. The kids climb up on Gramps (tree nickname) each week. The picture truly does not do it justice. I could not get the whole tree, which it very large, in the picture no matter where I stood without stepping into the pond. It really reminded me of a grandfather too. The strong center trunk with so many steady and giving branches, many reaching out and covering the smaller trees and walkway as a protective grandfather would do. Even the way the kids are drawn to this great tree and how they are not happy unless they have had their turn sitting in just the right spot...by themself.
Reminds me of my Granddaddy and Grandpa.

We all love the changing of the trees, but I love to see the changes in so many of the different shrubs and plants each week. To me, even in their dull browns, they are just as beautiful as the trees with the golds and reds.

The snow capped mountains through the changing cattails.

As much as I have the itch to move right now, I don't think I could live without waking up each morning and seeing my mountains. Being able to step outside and see them off in the distance, reminds me this is home.

Gramps, has a tattoo of sorts.

 After we found this heart carved into the tree, I found myself wondering how long it had been there and if  J &C were still together, and what their story was. If trees could talk...


Our tree.



We end our nature walks with a stop at "our" tree. Though I think Gramps is more our tree than this one. Yet, I still make sure we all stop and notice the changes from week to week.

Another wonderful nature walk.

Six weeks and still enjoying each trip.

This may be the one project in our homeschool that will benefit us the most.

Weekly Update

*Note:
As I am now left to write many of these posts on my Ipad due to my computer being headed to it's final resting place, please ignore all the odd writing, extra words in random places, and horrible grammar. This device is not kind to blog posting, and often has a mind of it's own and "corrects" my writing...without my permission!

Outdoors: 
We have enjoyed yet another trip to our nature center for week 5 of our one year nature study adventure. There are no pictures today, since I have not had time to download them off my camera. But I will make sure to share soon.

This nature study, or nature afternoon, is turning out to be more fun and interesting that I had thought it would be. I originally thought it would just be fun and educational and a great way to get us outdoors, but it's proving to be much more. We all are seeing so many new things we have never noticed before. This nature center is one we have been to many times, yet, I am finding that we didn't really "see" very much of it at all. We would wonder through and look around, but rarely did we stop and really look for or notice the incredible beauty and detail this place has to offer.

Today on our nature study, we ended up with some much cooler temps and some rain, but it still turned out to be a great time. We even discovered and enjoyed walking on a new trail we never noticed before. Along this new trail were a few other trails we plan to explore in the up coming weeks. This makes me think of how many trails we will find and how well we will know this place before the year is up. So much fun!

The kids are enjoying it just as much as I am, in fact I believe that Wild Thing is enjoying it the most. He absolutely loves going and is so excited each time he finds something new or recognizes some change in something he already learned about. Homeschooling at its best.

In Our Homeschool: 
The last two weeks have been a bit challenging. Hubby's work schedule has changed drastically, and he has been putting in a great deal of hours. Everyone is ready to pull each others hair out trying to adjust and figure out this odd new schedule. So, school has been a little different. Seem days are "normal" and others are, not! I was really frustrated at first, but I have reminded myself over and over  that this is the beauty of homeschooling, we simply work our life and school together.

I am again trying to get back to our more relaxed homeschool style, trying to let God guide our days instead of a us being ruled by a schedule or fancy chart someone else wrote for their kids or curriculum. And no, this doesn't translate into being lazy and not wanting to teach my kids. It's just our way of making homeschool and family living an all in one package deal, and trust me there is still plenty of learning going on!


New This Week:
The kids, Lady Bug and Wild Thing, began to take fencing lessons once a week through their homeschool enrichment program they go to each week. I knew they'd have fun, but oh my goodness, Wild Thing is over the top excited about this fencing class. He has decided, for now, that he wants to be a professional fencer (not sure the actual title) when he grows up. He is also convinced that he NEEDS all this fancy fencing equipment, which is not cheep at all!  He has even been looking up prices on Ebay for kids fencing gear.

Changes Needed: 
Our sleep schedule. Our sleeping schedule and meals are so crazy at the moment. With hubby's work hours and all of our activities we are getting up late, going to bed late, and running all over, sometimes all day, and I don't like it! As much as I like routine and schedules, you'd think I'd be able to keep us on a normal routine, but it seems as though all I keep up is the craziness that is our life. But I am still thankful for all this craziness, it means we are still alive and together as a family.

On The Healthy Side Of Life:
It has now been over two months since I gave up caffeine! No soda and no coffee for two months. I am now a recovering caffeine drinker. (smile) I have pushed though the first few weeks of headaches and wondering if giving up my morning coffee was worth it, but I am happy to say that it is very worth it.

I am now looking to try some herbal teas, since they have no caffeine, and taste less tea-like. I've never really liked tea but I really miss having a hot cup of something in the morning. If I don't work to fix this craving before winter gets here, I know I will find myself slowly creeping back into the coffee routine on those cold winter mornings. Which is something I don't care to start up again.

So this is where you come in.
I'd love to know what types of tea you enjoy (no caffeine) and what you add to them if anything. And which teas are the best for your health? Let me know your thoughts.

Thought For This Week:
Stop working so hard for tomorrow that you miss the gifts of today! Take a step back from planning, schedules, work, school, chores, shopping, cooking, and anything else, and just look at all the gifts in your life. I bet we would all find more than we would expect, if we took time to really look around.

God gives us one life down here. Don't waist it!

One Year Nature Study Adventure - Week 4



Week 2 Nature Adventure



Week 4 Nature Adventure



Each week we visit the same place first on our nature walk. We have a few spots that we make sure to photograph each time so that we can come home and compare the photos and see just how much everything has changed. The kids are noticing quite a bit of difference each week. I love that they are enjoying this nature adventure as much as I am. 

 The trees and bushes had an amazing rainbow of colors to show off. How many colors do you see?

We did find that our tree had changed but not a great deal. There are some leaves that are beginning to change color and the grass around the tree has begun to change to a dull brown.

Of course, the kids believe that our weekly trips to the nature center is for our nature study, but other moms will understand that it's only a cover for my true reason to get the kids out somewhere beautiful each week. It's the perfect photo op location for busy kids who are tired of mom snapping pictures all the time. 

With large trees and things to climb on the kids are constantly saying, "Mom, take my picture" "Mom, look at me." So it works perfect! And of course as a photographer, I am in heaven with such beautiful surroundings, and kiddos, to photograph each week. 

The wind was quite strong and had blown all the pond moss across to one side. If we had not been aware of where the pond waters began from previous trips, we could have easily mistaken the moss for swampy grass land and walked right into the pond. In fact Lady Bug's friend she brought along just about walked right into the pond not noticing that she was about to step into water and not on land.

The kids all decided to pose as explorers. Again, mom knows that in the right setting, kids want their picture taken. Especially if it shows them doing something cool or dangerous!

After learning about the monarch butterfly and the milk weed that the monarch caterpillar eats on previous trips, Wild Thing has been very interested in the milk weed plant each time we go on our nature walk.
With the wind blowing so much it was fun to watch the cotton like plant blowing around.

We decided to make our way down to the creek this time. We had not been able to get down to the creek or anywhere near it due to the recent flooding. It was simply too full and fast moving to risk getting close at all. So this time the kids had a great time investigating the river bank. Since the flooding is done and the river is back to normal, we will probably add this spot into our nature walks each week.

One the last bit of our nature walk we were please to see four deer off in the woods. The deer were only about maybe 25-30 feet out. They didn't run off but were very watchful of us and each move we made.
The deer were kind enough to stick around for almost 15 minutes before they decided to leave.

My kiddos! We have the explorer (Wild Thing) the curious one (Little Man) and a pre-teen (My Lady Bug).
Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!
 

 

We had a nice nature walk, even though the temperature dropped into the low *50's that day. Just last weekend we were camping in *80 degree weather, this weekend it dropped *30 degrees and there was even snow in Denver! This is Colorado and snow is a normal here, but not at the beginning of October! The first snow is usually saved for the end of October.

Another weekly adventure in our year long nature study is complete. I am hoping to get some kind of binder and start printing out pictures from our nature walks and putting together a nature adenture log of sorts. I think it will be a great way to see the changes side by side but to also have a great photo journal for us all of our year in nature.

Weekend camping trip also known as our three day nature study!





Sunset at camp over the lake.

We did not get to our nature center this weekend for our nature study adventure, instead we had a three day nature adventure while camping at the lake.



We did not get to observe our tree or see the changes in our favorite spots but we enjoyed discovering plants and cactus that do not grow near our home or at our nature center. 


I loved this cactus plant, I'm not sure of the name, but it was so interesting.  

The kids were not quite as excited about the different plants and cactus as they were about the lake and time with their cousins. But I was impressed with them, so I made sure to take pictures and we will look them up this week and learn a bit more about these cactus and plants. 

One of my favorites was the sunsets over the lake, they really were beautiful. I enjoy the sunsets over the mountains each night and the sunrises on the plains behind our home each morning, but I have to say that watching the sunset/sunrise over the water is absolutely beautiful.

Much of the plant life and flowers had already begun to wilt and turn, but I did find a few that were still bright and colorful. They were a welcome sight as camping in a very desert like area is very brown and colorless, with the exception of the lake and the few trees that manage to survive the summer heat.

Being out on the water is what I look forward to the most. And as every year, I love the sight of all the boats lined up along the docks. I did not have a chance to walk along the docks to the end and photograph the sail boats but the view from the water was still impressive.



We enjoyed our camping trip, the last one until next spring and summer.  Of course the kids are already asking when we can go back and to be honest, I too am ready for another trip. But since the nights are getting colder, I think I'd want to find a nice little log cabin to rent for a weekend. Actually, one of the things I hope to do within the next few years, is to rent a cozy log cabin up in the mountains and have an old fashioned Christmas with my family.

Do you enjoy camping? What are your favorite camping activities?

Me? Obviously we do enjoy camping, and my favorite part is simply being outdoors for a few days! And watching the kids be free and happy away from the city and the walls of our home.

Week 2 One Year Nature Study Adventure and Weekly Wrap Up Combo Post!

As we planned, we once again took a trip out to our nature center for week 2 of our one year nature study adventure. This week we went to the nature center with our little homeschool play group. While there the kids discovered these little monarch caterpillars. After seeing the beautiful monarch butterfly last week and learning about them the kids were thrilled to see the caterpillars before changing into a butterfly.

Even with only a week, to the day, between visits the changes happening were already noticeable. The grass was already changing colors and the trees had even begun to drop their leaves.

Our tree was still standing tall and quite beautiful. Here we did not see much change just yet. Though we are curious and excited to see how much it changes throughout the course of this coming year.

This week the kids were able to see a few turtles basking in the sun on a rock out in the pond, and a few hawks flying nearby, and plenty of little bugs. We were also able to observe the evidence of the recent flooding of the creek. Of course this opened some good conversations on the effects of flooding to even the littlest creatures.

Week 2 of our nature study adventure was a success. The kids enjoyed the trip as did I, and we are all anticipating our trip this coming week. I wonder what changes we will see this time.

Praying For:
Continued progress for health issues with one of my kiddos. We have seen improvement in the last few weeks and I am praying that we will continue to see progress!

Thankful For:
My family. I am thankful I have a wonderful husband who works so hard to care for us, and so that I can  stay home with my kiddos. And I'm thankful for my little kiddos. Even when they drive me crazy!

New This Week:
The kids have begun Kung Fu lessons two days a week and are really enjoying them. The classes are free though the homeschool enrichment program Lady Bug and Wild Thing go to each week. The free part is mama's favorite! I have been very happy with how much the kids have learned and able to do so far. I really like that they are learning not just the moves but how to use them in a self-defense situation. Even my little one is learning how to defend himself. Luckily, the instructor has made it very clear none of the moves are to be used on siblings or friends. Trust me, with these boys, that was an important rule he gave!

With our homeschool lessons each day, the enrichment program one day a week, Wild Thing's cub scouts, and our homeschool fun club, we are pretty busy. And people think homeschool families are unsocialized!
 Ha!

In Our Homeschool This Week:


(not my picture)


We also had a nice time with our homeschool fun club. We are meeting twice a week and so far the kids have met some fun new homeschool kids. We are planning some great tours for our fun club in the coming months. At the moment I am in the process of setting up tours at a local news station, the newspaper, humane society, and even a local trash company.

We are trying something new in our homeschool for the next few weeks.
Homeschooling has many challenges. Homeschooling three kids has triple the challenges. Most of which are easily dealt with or figured out, but lately trying to get all of our school done each day has been a bit challenging. So we tried something new this week. The kids all did their math and reading then we spent the rest of the day on history. We read from Story of the World, by Susan Bauer, and did some activities to go along with what we read. I think/hope that spending our day on less subjects but more time with each subject we do, will prove to work well for us all.

What were looking forward to:
One last camping trip before the cooler weather hits. Camping may be the one most enjoyed summer activity in our family. The kids have an absolute blast each time we go camping and are always begging to go back! I'm looking forward to sitting on the lake beach and playing in the water with the kiddos, and of course enjoying the late night camp fires and marshmallows.

We have yet another busy week ahead so I am praying for a smooth and enjoyable week ahead.

Year Long Nature Adventure- Week 1

We have begun our year long nature adventure. Yesterday, we made a trip to the little nature center nearby to enjoy the afternoon as well as get some ideas of where we want our main focus to be for this nature adventure.   

We have decided will try to see as much of the trails as we can on each visit but we will make sure to always spend some time along one of the main trails.

We also took a few pictures in places that we intend of photographing on each trip, so that we can see the changes year round.

Kids think it's just so we can see changes in nature, I suggested it so I can show the changes in my kiddos.

Shh, don't tell!

 Along the trail, we were greeted by a few of the nature center's residents. We saw a few bunnies, a snake, beetles, grasshoppers, and lots of birds, but we were all mesmerized by this beautiful monarch butterfly.
 In fact, the kids thought it was impressive how the plant they (monarch butterfly) eat is what protected them from being eaten themselves. As caterpillars they eat the milkweed plant, which is poisonous. That toxin stays in their system so when they become butterflies they taste terrible to those that would eat them.

Wild Thing was thrilled to find a few milkweed plants on the ground to open up and look at.

We have enjoyed seeing these plants at different times of the year. But we are excited to spend the next year watching this plant closely and seeing all the tiny little changes it makes in a years time.

This is it!

This is "our" tree!

This is the tree the kids choose to focus on this year.

We will make sure to get a picture of this tree each time and watch the changes very close. The kids are also  going to bring a sketch book a few times throughout the year and draw the tree and the surrounding area.

This tree has been one of my favorite trees for years.

It's a huge and beautiful grandfather cotton wood tree, that is over 150 years old.

I did not get a shot of the whole tree, but it is absolutely gorgeous and massive. And according to the kids it's the best tree to climb! They all love spending time in the tree each time we visit!

The pond. (or one of them)

This is the one we will be observing the most throughout the year. This pond often has many turtles sunbathing on the rocks as well quite a few other active creatures that call this their home.

Wild Thing was really hoping to find some frogs or toads and maybe even catch one.

He was very disappointed that he did not find any.

This toad/frog obsession comes after finding baby toads on our porch night after night for the last few weeks.  

This little dock, at one time looked out over a fairly full little pond. Now it looks out over some low marshy ground. But it's still quite a busy place for many animals.

The kids spent time looking over the edge, and begging walk through the marsh, to find any little animals or creatures they could. They didn't see any animals here, but the kids were discovered by some pesky mosquito's.

Fall is on its way!

I found proof!

We had a nice time on our first year long nature adventure walk. We all enjoy being outdoors and are very excited knowing that we are going to make a trip each week to the nature center. Depending on days and times we go we will make sure to take advantage of the little nature center there and talk with some park rangers and learn even more than what we will on our own.

As important as it is to spend time reading, writing, and learning math, I do think this nature study adventure may be just as important if not more in some ways. Not only for the learning and love of nature but for the kids, and myself, to spend time outdoors away from the hustle and bustle of daily life and the house. And probably the most important is for the kids to just be outside where kids are the most free and creative.

Our weekly nature adventure posts will  (hopefully) be weekly. So join us on our year long nature adventure.

Oh, and I almost forgot. We decided to stop for an ice cream cone at Dairy Queen after our trip to the nature center. A nice cool way to end the trip.