Posted in Curriculum or Lack Thereof..., nature study on Apr 29th, 2006 3 Comments »
Yesterday morning we found a wasp in the kitchen. Not an unusual occurance at this time of year around the Lapaz Farm household, in fact we spot them (and swat them!) nearly daily lately. But this wasp was different-not the usual paper wasp or mud dauber, but smaller and quite decidedly different. So, rather than [...]
Posted in Curriculum or Lack Thereof..., nature study on Apr 28th, 2006 No Comments »
I now have three different nature activities linked on my sidebar. Check out Litter Critters, where you find out what dwells in the leaf litter, Trapping the Night Stalkers, where you observe night-active creatures by making a pitfall trap, and Nature Scavenger Hunt, which has been up for awhile now. All are linked in my [...]
Posted in garden on Apr 28th, 2006 No Comments »
I’ve decided that I needed a separate blog for the garden, rather than just a page off of this blog. For two reasons. First, I would like to keep this blog more school-related. Second, through the comments on the new blog, I can hopefully get some help from others who are wiser than I when [...]
Posted in Curriculum or Lack Thereof..., nature study on Apr 26th, 2006 5 Comments »
I’ve been posting alot about what Superboy and I do for nature study, so I thought it was time to write a little about JBug. I don’t post about her as much since she is 4 and not “technically” doing “school,” but I thought it might be nice to share what she is doing. Especially [...]
Posted in Curriculum or Lack Thereof..., nature study on Apr 25th, 2006 3 Comments »
I put a link on my sidebar to an activity I did with my kiddos awhile back. It is a nature scavenger hunt. Lots of fun and simple to do anytime, adaptable to many ages. All you need is the great outdoors and a sense of adventure. Give it a try and then let me [...]
Posted in nature study, Random Ramblings on Apr 25th, 2006 3 Comments »
“There is a season for everything, and we do not notice a given phenomenon at any other season, if, indeed, it can be called the same phenomenon at any other season. There is a time to watch the ripples on Ripple Lake, to look for arrowheads, to study the rocks and lichens, a time to [...]
Posted in nature study, Superboy's projects on Apr 24th, 2006 13 Comments »
I have a new link on my sidebar in which I share photos of pages from my and Superboy’s nature journals. Take a peek and see what it is we do on our “sanity days” here at Lapaz Farm. Here is a sample: To see more, click on the link in the sidebar labeled Pages [...]
Posted in nature study, Random Ramblings on Apr 23rd, 2006 5 Comments »
Trillium are some of my very favorite wild flowers, and I’ve seen several species here in the mountains, including Trillium grandiflora (showy white blooms), Trillium undulatum (painted trillium), Trillium erectum (deep red, aka “Wakerobin”) but this was a new one for me. This beauty is Trillium luteum. It’s lovely yellow petals stay erect upon sessile [...]
Posted in Random Ramblings on Apr 22nd, 2006 2 Comments »
On days like today, when I look out my window and see the mist rolling over the mountaintops, a voice echoes unbidden through my mind. It is the voice of my mother, reading to me as a child and reaching me through the many years. I hear her rhythmic, soothing voice as she reads this [...]
Posted in nature study on Apr 21st, 2006 1 Comment »
I find it very distressing that so many Catholics view environmentalism as a dirty word. Somehow caring for God’s Creation has gotten associated with being a liberal (apparently an even dirtier word) or “new age” and therefore must be something Catholics should avoid. I say HOGWASH! The Catholic Church has a long history of promoting [...]
