More Earth Day activities!

http://www.meetthegreens.org/

Online games and quizzes:

http://www.epa.gov/students/games.html

http://science.k12flash.com/garbage.html

Learn all about garbage (older):

http://www.learner.org/interactives/garbage/intro.html

Lesson Plans:

http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/Byrnes-celebrations/earthday.html

Online virtual field trips/lessons:

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/kids/index.cfm

Have fun!

Regena

Happy Earth Day!

I HOPE it's finally spring time around these parts!  Hope it is where you live, too.  Toward that end, here are some fun spring activities that include environmentally related activities.

Free Shepherd Software for kids with environmental games:

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/usa_game/holiday_paint/earthday_home.htm

Earth Day coloring page:

http://www.epa.gov/superfund/kids/coloring/earthday.htm

Make your own "green" cleaners for around the house:

http://spoonful.com/crafts/green-cleaners

Earth Day coloring pages with riddles:

http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/earth/riddles/index.htm

25 Outdoor Activities:

http://spoonful.com/family-fun/outdoor-activities

Spring Scavenger Hunt:

http://spoonful.com/family-fun/spring-scavenger-hunt

Regena

Pictures from Week 7!

We did get some school work done this past week (more on that in another post), but we took a trip up the Keweenaw Peninsula, in the UP of Michigan, and here are some of our pictures from that pretty fall trip:

Cliffs containing some of the first copper mined in the peninsula.

Eagle River Falls (we're not sure why they have the middle section of this dammed....)  Oh, figured it out:  http://keweenawfreeguide.com/eagle-river-falls-dam/

Eagle Harbor Lighthouse in the rain.

Superior with a big fall storm moving in....

Laurium Manor Inn (B&B) - 13,000 square feet of unique and interesting history with wonderful art neuvo interiors....

Rock climbing!

The beginning of color in the inland valleys.

Mountain climbing to get four bars....

Tumultuous waves coming in the day after the storm, which had 60 mph winds.

Dapple Gray Inn (B&B), where we stayed in Copper Harbor (fabulous antiques!)

Copper Harbor Lighthouse - sorta blurred because the swells were still pretty significant trying to get out there on Saturday, after Thursday's storm....

We had fun, even though the guys didn't get to do a Friday fishing trip they had hoped for.  I hope we can go back in summer some time so that we can go out to Isle Royale.

Regena

Birds of Winter....

Now that we've had a few rounds of earlier than expected snow, our feathered friends are visiting our backyard feeders on a regular basis.

Who have you had in your backyard this season?

Windows make a perfect blind and we have a large one at the back of our kitchen with an ornamental cherry tree right outside.  We've filled it with feeders (birds do like them spaced out several feet), as well as adding more in surrounding trees.  We try to also keep out corn for the squirrels who are beginning to inhabit our neighborhood now that our trees are more mature. 

When there's a lot of snow on the ground, we take the top of one of our large plastic tubs (any type tray will do) and fill it with seed, too, for those birds who like to eat from the ground, such as the Mourning Doves.

With more mature trees, we've begun to attract Blue Jays to the neighborhood and we actually had a group of 6 in our yard just days ago.  They may be rather raucous, but I love them.  They are super intelligent!  And they're not nearly so raucous and messy as Starlings....

...which never seem to come alone....

Today, we've had an ever-present Cardinal and some Cedar Waxwings, but we've had such a large gang of Robins that most of the other birds are staying away.  I'm not sure why the Robins got caught too far north this year, but there are certainly more around than usual at this time of year.  I don't worry about the cherry tree supporting the couple that usually come 'round with snow, but with this group the food won't last long.  Robins don't eat bird seed, so they need all the berries they can get. 

While I have several varieties of fruits around my yard, they seem to far and away prefer the cherries at this time of year.  Perhaps it's because they are heavily fermented now and the alcohol keeps them warmer in the cold, LOL.  It certainly makes them tipsy and we've laughed over drunken Robins falling from tree limbs, crashing into the window, etc. for years now (no harm has ever resulted - I guess the alcohol makes them more limber, too, LOL)....

While the Goldfinches are long gone, the House Finches are still here, along with the Juncos.

These are the dark-eyed variety.

If you have a large window, you can create a feeding area for birds even if you don't have trees.  You can use the outdoor poles that are meant for hanging plants to hang birdfeeders.  You should vary heights and provide spacing.  Putting some food in a tray on the ground will appeal to a larger variety of birds, too.  And don't forget peanut butter or fruit.  Many birds like these items, too!

Regena

Fall Fun Reading!

When my boys were younger, there were certain books we always read at this time of year.  I have them tucked away now for another time and someday-to-be grandchildren.  Here are some of the books we've loved over the years:

Time to Sleep, Denise Fleming.




Possum's Harvest Moon, Anne Hunter.




In the Small, Small Pond, Denise Fleming



We always visit area apple orchards at this time of year and enjoy their harvest of apples.  Here are some other books about the harvest season that you might enjoy:

An Apple Festival: Orchards in Autumn, Lisa Gabbert.

Autumn, Liz Gogerly.

The Autumn Equinox: Celebrating the Harvest, Ellen Jackson.

Harvest Festivals Around the World, Judith Corwin.

We Gather Together: Celebrating the Harvest Season, Wendy Pfeffer.

As we move into the time of Thanksgiving, we are going to be using a book about various Thanksgiving symbols entitled: Turkeys, Pilgrims, and Indian Corn, Edna Barth.

This is also the time of year when we like to do a tree walk somewhere.  We have a wonderful, old cemetary in our town that's actually a national arboretum.  They have a listing of all the neat trees growing there, many of which are not indigenous to this area of the country.  We like to gather seeds, leaves, cones, etc. and make a collection, labeling the types of trees each item comes from.

Here are some links regarding trees (others are already listed under biology on my online resources page):

http://www.arborday.org/kids/teachingYouth.cfm

http://thingsyourgrandmotherknew.blogspot.com/2009/01/pine-cone-identification.html

(click on the cone poster pictures to enlarge them)

Here's a fun, take-along guide:

http://www.acornnaturalists.com/TAKE-ALONG-GUIDE-TO-BERRIES-NUTS-AND-SEEDS-P683C112.aspx

Fall games, online:  http://www.akidsheart.com/holidays/fall/fall.htm

Autumn activities:  http://www.first-school.ws/theme/h_thanksgiving.htm

And as we move toward the end of November and the beginning of Advent, we will begin a study for this special time of the year.  Here's a link to a terrific Advent study online, done by a homeschool mom:

http://www.teachingmom.com/features/advent.html

Have fun with your families at this busy, wonderful time of the year!

Regena

Fall is finally here!

I'm so happy that our long drought here has finally been broken, even though we still need much more rain.  Fall is one of my favorite times of year and I love breaking out sweaters and fall decor, working outside insect free, and enjoying outdoor field trips like our visit to Equus Run Vineyards yesterday.

http://www.equusrunvineyards.com/

I've decided that I'm finally going to try to get my act together and learn how to blog.  I'm looking for a camera that will allow me to link photos, and working on getting some of my homeschooling information online. 

Please bear with me as I'm old and somewhat of a Luddite!

Regena