When you do homeschooling, nature studies can pop up all of the time. You are constantly observing natural processes of Creation surrounding you, because the classroom is wherever you are. The cute kitty cat is observed doing silly things, like climbing inside our shopping bag or helping play the piano.
And then, while sitting at the homeschool desk, in the basement, reading about "heat conduction" from our science book, we hear a rustling sound and look up to see a raccoon, looking at us through the window well. Then another appears, and another. Finally there are five masked bandits with shiny eyes peeking out at us. We are able to observe things like their little hands and the funny chirping sound they make.
Penny is mesmerized and is sure that she wants one as a pet. We talk about what kinds of food they need to eat, that they are nocturnal animals, and then look up some information on the computer about raccoons. So much for the heat conduction information, our lesson just switched to learning biology, instead. We also learn a lot about birds, since getting a bird feeder this summer. Penny loves filling it up with bird food. She has observed finches, sparrows, starlings, woodpeckers, mourning doves, and an occasional blue jay so far.
Then there was our trip to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. We went with the hopes of spotting bison on the prairie just northeast of downtown Denver and west of the airport.
We weren't lucky to see the bison out near the road on that day. But, we did get to observe lots of wildflowers,
prairie dogs,
birds
and deer. We were hoping we'd spot a bald eagle, but didn't manage to this time. But, our favorite part was seeing the deer. We saw thirteen, altogether. We were able to see females, bucks, and (our favorite) twin fawns.
So, now Penny is convinced that she wants both raccoons and fawns as her pets. So, we talked about habitat and how we'd need an awfully tall fence if we were to keep deer and how they probably wouldn't be very happy with our small lawn in the city. So, now she thinks that we need to move to the countryside. Sounds great to me, but it seems that the Lord has planted us here in Denver for a reason. So, we'll keep learning how to be content as city dwellers and take retreats out to nature, whenever we can. It's also fun when it comes to our backyard. In fact, almost a month ago, we heard on the news that there was a black bear roaming in a neighborhood just a few blocks from our house. It was in my boss's back yard. I love being that close to nature. Just have to make sure our kitty stays indoors.
And then, while sitting at the homeschool desk, in the basement, reading about "heat conduction" from our science book, we hear a rustling sound and look up to see a raccoon, looking at us through the window well. Then another appears, and another. Finally there are five masked bandits with shiny eyes peeking out at us. We are able to observe things like their little hands and the funny chirping sound they make. 
Penny is mesmerized and is sure that she wants one as a pet. We talk about what kinds of food they need to eat, that they are nocturnal animals, and then look up some information on the computer about raccoons. So much for the heat conduction information, our lesson just switched to learning biology, instead. We also learn a lot about birds, since getting a bird feeder this summer. Penny loves filling it up with bird food. She has observed finches, sparrows, starlings, woodpeckers, mourning doves, and an occasional blue jay so far. 
Then there was our trip to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. We went with the hopes of spotting bison on the prairie just northeast of downtown Denver and west of the airport. 
We weren't lucky to see the bison out near the road on that day. But, we did get to observe lots of wildflowers,
prairie dogs,
birds 
and deer. We were hoping we'd spot a bald eagle, but didn't manage to this time. But, our favorite part was seeing the deer. We saw thirteen, altogether. We were able to see females, bucks, and (our favorite) twin fawns. 
So, now Penny is convinced that she wants both raccoons and fawns as her pets. So, we talked about habitat and how we'd need an awfully tall fence if we were to keep deer and how they probably wouldn't be very happy with our small lawn in the city. So, now she thinks that we need to move to the countryside. Sounds great to me, but it seems that the Lord has planted us here in Denver for a reason. So, we'll keep learning how to be content as city dwellers and take retreats out to nature, whenever we can. It's also fun when it comes to our backyard. In fact, almost a month ago, we heard on the news that there was a black bear roaming in a neighborhood just a few blocks from our house. It was in my boss's back yard. I love being that close to nature. Just have to make sure our kitty stays indoors.
1 comment:
Your racoons are hilarious! What a fun lesson! We love watching nature, too, and miss what we would have in our backyard at our old home. But...as you said...the Lord has a plan for us here and we're loving it, too!
Post a Comment