Our Homeschool Journal: Nature Study (No Thanks to Mom)

In our homeschool this week…

We spent most of the week camping.  It was our last trip since here in Maine the nights will be getting too chilly for sleeping in a pop-up camper right next to the ocean.  I said we were going to try and cross off everything on Barb’s Last Days of Summer grid, and we got a running start: seven boxes checked off!

Other than the grid I had planned on the week being pretty low-key for education.  I brought along an art project (more on that later) and our current book for reading aloud, but otherwise planned to just relax before we start full-time school next week.  A lucky circumstance turned this trip into an educational treasure!  While beach combing we noticed a lady searching alone.  My six-year-old, who we think may be a politician someday, struck up a conversation with her.  Turns out she used to work in education and was here for the summer as a volunteer to work on interpretive materials.  How lucky for us!  She seemed to enjoy the company of our kids and we left knowing a lot more about nature at our favorite place…no thanks to me and my fabulous homeschool mom planning.

The favorite tidbit my kids picked up was when my daughter asked this kind lady what made the little tiny holes in mussel shells.  Turns out it’s a snail called the dog whelk.  It eats mussels, which are larger than they are, by attaching to their shell, using a chemical to soften the shell, and then using their radula (like a tongue) as a drill to make that little hole.  A squirt of their special saliva drugs the mussel, then a digestive enzyme turns the mussel to soup, then they suck it out through their tiny hole.  Fascinating!

Since schools in our area are back in session it was pretty quiet at the beach.  We were able to witness more activity from the seagulls than usual.  We became intrigued watching them feed.  They would pick things up from the ocean and fly up over the beach to drop them on the rocks and eat what was inside the shell.  I was able to run to catch a closer look when one gull was done, and found his just-emptied sea urchin shell.  We also witnessed the demise of a starfish.  We decided a gull’s life looked pretty hard, but that they appeared pretty clever, too.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

Be friendly!  You never know what you can learn from people you meet just by striking up a conversation.  My husband has encouraged me to be more like this over the years, and I see his personality trait in our son.  Honestly, when I’d seen the woman on the beach I was sitting in the shade in my folding camp chair reading.  I didn’t really want to chat, and I wasn’t even engaged with my kids combing the beach.  Good thing my son followed in his dad’s footsteps!

My favorite thing this week was…

The weather!  We’d had a lot of rain on our camping trips this summer, but the weather this trip couldn’t have been better.  Warm and sunny but not humid or too hot, and perfect nights for campfires.

My favorite resource this week…

The art project I brought along on our camping trip was a chalk pastel tutorial from Hodgepodge.  Their Nana gives them pastel lessons (lucky!) and Tricia kindly posts them for us to enjoy.  We had a great time attempting to capture the beautiful sunsets over the ocean.  If you haven’t tried one of Nana’s pastel tutorials I highly recommend it!  It’s messy and fun and easy for all ages to create something special.

Things I’m working on…

Laundry.  Post-camping laundry sometimes makes me want to run and hide.  I also need to pull things together for the first week of school so I am organized with things printed or copied and ready to go.

I’m reading…

We’re near the end of Little House on the Prairie and enjoying this series so much!

I finished Beyond Survival: A Guide to Abundant-Life Homeschooling by Diana Waring.  I can’t say it’s one I’d read again.   I did enjoy the chapters on different learning and teaching styles and teaching multiple ages.  I gleaned a bit from it, but though I don’t think the author meant it that way some sections made me feel we weren’t good enough.  For example, when we visit with other families we don’t gather around the table and sing together.  We try to get the kids to go play so us adults can talk.  I’m looking for another, possibly more encouraging (and realistic for me) homeschooling book to read.  Any suggestions?

I’m grateful for…

The seasons.  I love the changes and trying to enjoy the best that each season in Maine has to offer.

Thank you to the wonderful hostesses with fun link-ups on Fridays. Be sure to join the fun and see what other homeschoolers are up to!