Slimies and Creepy Crawlies

This past week the little ones and I have been focused on slimy animals including snails and slugs. You might think that little girls wouldn’t be interested in this type of things but my little girls are breaking  stereotypes.  This interest stemmed from our recent insect investigations, so I’ve just been feeding their curiosity in these creatures which are so plentiful in our backyard.  I’ve instructed them to remove these critters from our experimental garden as they are the “bad” bugs which will eat up all the leaves.  Now they have become intrigued by the “good” ladybugs and know to place this species in the garden anytime they find one.

Another slimy creature they have honed in on is the earthworm.  We dug up some from the old compost pile and placed them in a glass jar for observation, but since they weren’t able to observe them easily, they lost interest quickly in that project.

As a result of spending time outdoors and in the woods, Jamilah found a tick on her stomach area.  For some reason, the ticks seem to be attracted to her more than the others as she has counted this as the tenth tick she has found on her body in her whole life.  I suggested that she research ticks and the diseases caused by ticks.  Fortunately, she discovered that this tick wasn’t the type that carries Lyme disease.

Several weeks ago, they enjoyed a petting another slimy animal in my father-in-law’s pond.  This was my first experience petting a fish.  His koi were absolutely beautiful and I was shocked how friendly they were.  They were certainly slimy though and Hawwa especially loved every moment of that experience. 

The Discoveries That Keep Me Going

Homeschooling is hard.  There is no doubt about it, but it is the little precious moments that make it all worthwhile and keeps me motivated day after day to continue this journey with them.  For us a perfect example of these memorable moments are finding wildlife in our yard. Today was an excellent day for critter spottings, maashaa Allah.   First Isa and I stood several feet away from a crow which landed right on our railing and then processed to eat the children’s left over lunch droppings.  He was so thrilled and started imitating the crow’s caws.  Later in the day, Jennah came running inside excitedly to tell me that she had found a lizard (a five lined skink) in the back.  Finally, the girls discovered a male black widow spider hanging around the woodpile. 

This is truly what makes it all worthwhile.  Just to see the excitement on their faces and yearning to learn more about their seemingly small discoveries.  Today was a good homeschooling day, maashaa Allah.

Weaving It All Together

Hannah spent some time researching ideas and techniques for her nature journal today.   We pulled out the oil pastels that a dear sister sent us all the way from the UK, maashaa Allah.

Jamilah also experimented with using oil pastels as a medium in addition to  spending some time researching her latest creature find, a Eastern newt. She found it in the woods while out on a frisbee golf excursion with her father.  I printed this coloring page and information  and this website about the creature for her and she pasted it into her nature journal. 

 I really get excited when we can weave art, science, nature, and Islamic studies (the story of Prophet Ibrahim(peace be upon him) and the salamander) into our daily curriculum.  We love to relate it all back to what the children have discovered on their own.  Learning seems so much more meaningful this way.

Making Connections

Last week at the gardens we were blessed to witness some adorable Canada geese goslings and their parents.  Hawwa and Jennah were so excited to see these birds in their nest up close.  I really had to hold them back from getting too close as I didn’t want them to disturb the family or get bitten.

Well, today we reminisced about the experience while reading the book, Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey.  I wanted to make it clear to them that the birds we saw were geese and that the mallards in the story were ducks.  The older girls got involved by researching online as well as using an encyclopedia of the birds of North America to find the proper names for male and female mallards.   We also discussed these birds habitat, diet, and predators. 

This type of learning is typical of how we acquire and process information over here.  I am making a conscious effort to record these moments because if I don’t, I most likely won’t remember them and our experiences will be lost in the everyday hustle and bustle.

“It is by studying little things that we attain the great art of having as little misery and as much happiness as possible.”~ From James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson

Learning to Identify

At this point in our homeschooling journey, our nature study is very informal.  My motto is to keep it simple and fun. The girls usually just go outside and explore on their own without any planned lesson from me.  There is always something new to learn and discover.  Today, Hannah initiated a leaf rubbing session with some new tender tree leaves.  She engaged her little sisters and instructed them by example onhow to do the activity. 

Jamilah, on the other hand, found and captured a snake while walking in our cul-de-sac.  She then went online and attempted to identify the snake.  I was really excited that she was able to research this on her own.  So excited that I just had to document her progress and findings.  We determined it was a Northern Brown snake which is very common in these parts.  We have actually seen and captured this type a couple of times now.  She recorded her discovery in her nature journal and that was her nature study for the day. 

Isn’t this really how we learn best anyway?  Trying things on our own.  Not being afraid to do something you have never done before?  I received no complaints about writing during this activity.  It was pleasurable and educational for everyone. 

Sharing Some Beauty

Alhamdulillah, we have really been enjoying our spring break.  My husband has been home helping me out for the last several days which has allowed me to get so much accomplished.  I have actually started planning and scheduling for summer, maashaa Allah.  It hasn’t been all work though.  We have been stopping to smell the flowers too.  I wanted to share some pictures of the beautiful orchids he shot during a recent outing to the gardens. 

Reviving our Nature Study

After finding pine cones on a walk around the neighborhood yesterday, we decided to restart our nature study.  Sometimes I forget that many of things  my older children learned about nature when they were little, Jennah, Hawwa, and Siddiqah would also love to learn.   I assume sometimes that they already know so much just from frequent exposure. 

So, today the girls created title pages and the first page about pine cones in their new nature journal.  Insha Allah, we will focus on the journal for the last part of our official homeschool year which will end at the beginning of June this year. 

Fine Day for a Nature Hike

It certainly was a wonderful day (80+ degrees F) for a free nature class and walk at Three Lakes Nature Center.  They offered a short course for Girl Scouts covering nature journals, dangers in nature (plants, insects, snakes), and what the girls can do to help animals.  The muslim Girl Scouts had the entire class to themselves, maashaa Allah.  After the class we took a brief hike and watched for signs of wildlife waking up from their winter’s sleep.   

Hannah volunteered to wear Isa during the hike, maashaa Allah.  He is quite heavy now and is walking but is not secure enough on his feet to have walked the whole way. 

Fresh Air

Today was just one of those  a gorgeous autumn days.   You know the type of day you just can’t stay inside.  So, we didn’t.  The girls and I ventured out to enjoy the beautiful day with some of our dear Muslim homeschooling friends at the botanical gardens.  While we were there, we not only had some fun socializing, but we also learned a bit along the way. 

One of the my girls favorites was the exhibit based on the book The Old Tree.  The recalled reading the book immediately and were thrilled to see the garden’s interpretation of it in the conservatory.

The children also benefitted from the current Kids Quest which was based on palm trees.  They got to see a date palm tree and learned that not only it is used for its fruits but also for building and making ropes. 

 

The final highlight of today’s trip was feeding the fish in the pond at the Japanese garden.  While we were in the Japanese garden, I also brainstormed on ways that I could implement this part of the botanical garden into a study of Japan and its culture in the spring.  I feel like I am always on the lookout for new ways to get the most out of our local surroundings. 

More Magnificient Mushrooms

We have been inspired to continue our mushroom study with more mushrooms hunts and attempting mushroom spore prints.  Please understand that we did not eat any of the mushrooms we picked as we are far from experts and obviously not knowledgable enough to discern the edible ones from the poisonous ones. 

There is park very close to our house where my husband routinely plays frisbee golf.  We have been accompanying him there in order to hunt mushrooms as well as photograph them.  They are some of the most beautiful creatures being neither a plant nor an animal but with characteristics closer to those of an animal’s, subhannallah.  I truly have been drawn into their world.