Our Nature Study Club met for the first time this (academic) year, yesterday here at our home. We started the meeting in our backyard, but then walked the kids down to a trail behind our home. Our September mission ~ to say goodbye to Summer and look for signs of Fall ...
As usual, we had a wide range of ages attend Nature Club - a few teens, several middle schoolers and plenty of little ones. Twenty-eight children in all, which was a fantastic turn-out! I made up a trail checklist* for the kids to work off of, listing things they might be able to observe on our walk. I also prepared a bunch of clean baby food containers (small plastic tubs with fitted lids) to serve as miniature collection boxes.
Here's one of the tables I had set up in the yard:
In the left corner are the collection boxes and checklists.
And in the right corner is an assortment of autumn books and nature magazines.
*Here's the list of items I had on my handout:
Ferns and/or moss?
Wildflowers ~ how many different kinds/colors?
A nest or sign of nesting activity?
Scat?
Fungii ~ where is it growing? What kind?
Trees ~ how many kinds can you identify?
Any sign of fall foliage?
Insects ~ see, hear, or other evidence?
Seeds ~ in travel, on the ground, on a plant?
Spider webs ~ what kind? Is the spider visible?
A fruiting plant and/or a vine?
An animal ~ see, hear or other evidence?
Migration in action? (Look up!)
Sounds ~ birds, squirrels, human, elemental?
Can you find the temperature by cricket song?
(Count the number of chirps in 15 seconds + 38 = temperature)
Is there a breeze? In what direction is it blowing ?
Any nice or nasty smells?
Other observations?
Above is the "moms resource" table. I put out a variety of nature-related books, field guides, audubon guides etc.
And here are some photos from our walk, as you can see it was an absolutely beautiful day:
Goldenrod, a plant that grows all over New England in September.
Milkweed - the pods have not opened yet, but soon ...
I believe this is pokeweed.
And wild asters (or Michaelmas daisies), another September favorite.
One of the very observant children spotted this incredible caterpillar, munching on some goldenrod (and completely unaware of the tiny spider stalking nearby!).
No idea what kind of butterfly he'll be, but he sure is colorful!
We went off-trail for a bit, meandering into a field to listen and look for insects. There were many, many dragonflies darting overhead, grasshoppers and locusts hopping about and just look what the children found here:
A praying mantis!
I haven't seen one since I was a child! I remembered them as being green so I was surprised this one was pale brown. We wondered if he was camouflaged to blend in with the faded grass?
I couldn't get a close picture of this shy bird, but I think it is a flycatcher of some sort. Only rarely do we see them in our backyard.
The following picture shows the most startling discovery of all ...
Bill had spotted this animal jawbone earlier in the day. I told the kids to look out for it and sure enough, on the walk back home, they were able to find it. Out came the cameras and sketchbooks!
We wondered what it might be - and what might have happened - trying to determine if the teeth were sharp or dull. Guesses included coyote, fox, dog and deer. Bill looked online last night and actually this most closely resembles a deer jaw.
Do any of my readers have any thoughts? (Other than, ew, lol!)
Last photo - this a collection box that got left behind ... just look at all the little treasures that fit in here!
We made lots of neat discoveries, but the nicest part of the day was the friendship and good fun. When we returned home, the children played, the mums chatted and we all enjoyed some cold cider and cornbread. I'm just so thrilled to see another year of Nature Club off and running!
Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope wherever you live, you're enjoying the blessings of this lovely time of year. :)
