I'm very excited about this direction of study -- I think it will be simple, fun, practical and highly productive ... plus, we get to eat the end results! :) The plan is really very simple: Learn how to garden -- real food that will really help feed our family, and real flowers that will help beautify our yard and our home. It may look more complicated here than I expect it will turn out to be in real life -- and most of this study will naturally spill over into Q4 with very few additional resources.
Junie B.:
Real Science 4 Kids Biology Level I, Ch 3-5
- Photosynthesis
- Parts of a Plant
- How a Plant Grows
Green Thumbs: Radishes (Tops Learning Systems)
Taz:
Will participate in Radishes activity, but instead of keeping a log on the experiments, will complete a (free! What a great resource!) lapbook from Homeschool Share:
Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! --and/or-- The Carrot Seed
Together:
My First Green Video -- a library sale find, it's a collection of experiments and activities designed to introduce children to ecology. We'll be using our experiment time on Friday Fun Days to try out their explorations of:
- Acid Rain and Plants
- Dirty Water Test and making a Water Filter
- Decomposition Experiment (which will go well with our more slow-going composting activities)
- Soil Test
- Wildlife Garden and Planting a Tree (in concert with some of the activities below)
Homeschool Share's Earthworm study and lapbook
Laurie Carlson's Green Thumbs: An Activity Guide to Indoor and Outdoor Living
- Begin an indoor, and once the ground is no longer frozen, outdoor compost
- Make variety of tools for use in the garden from recycled objects and commonly available household items
- Develop simple kid-safe organic pest control methods
- Plan for attracting helpful insects and animals
- Plan out a kitchen garden for planting in the Spring, and make a schedule for starting seeds
- Begin, and use, a small indoor herb garden
Nature Mondays: In addition to seasonal activities (frequently inspired by the Handbook of Nature Study blog's Outdoor Hour Challenge), we'll focus our attention on learning about and caring for a vegetable/flower garden, identifying helpful and harmful insects, etc., wildflowers vs. weeds, etc. We'll use our nature crafting time to make such things as stepping stones for the garden, as well as flower/bud/seedling pressing and recording what we're observing and learning in the garden in our nature notebooks. As time permits, we'll also continue to pursue anything of interest as we continue our nature walks and activities at the pond.
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