A Mixture of Learning Experiences

Over the last couple of days, we have engaged in a variety of educational experiences including book learning, hands-on learning, and a field trip.   I have been spending some time teaching my 10 yr. old son some new techniques in spelling and listening to my 8yr. old begin a biography about Rachel Carson, an environmenalist.  In addition, the girls were ecstatic about cutting and coloring the paper dolls that went along with the chapter about the Byzantine Empire.

Justinian and Theodora Paper Dolls

Masha Allah,  the older three children and I participated in a watershed class at Pocahontas State Park where they learned about current environmental problems and solutions.    The instructor used a model of a town(enviroscape)  with a lake to demonstrate how the daily activities of people, businesses, and farms affect the health of its lake in addition to the health and economy of the town itself.

Enviroscape

After the indoor portion of the watershed class, we all hiked down to Beaver Lake from the nature center,  followed the path that the water would take downhill, and noticed what it might pick up along the way.

Tracking the water

After a marsh/wetlands game, we finally make it down to the lake.  Here, we found that the water had taken much soil and debris with it along the way. Therefore,  succession or eutrophication due to erosion has been filling up the lake.

Lake Succession

So far, I have enjoyed the beginning of this week with the children, alhamdulillah.  It has had a nice balance between at home activities and out of the house activities.  Also, I feel that the blend in presentations has been beneficial by meeting a wide range of learning styles.