Nature Study:Deer Rubs and Evergreens

Nature Study has become a big part of our learning. For years I didn't quite know how to incorporate it into our day to day, walking outside and becoming overwhelmed in the vastness of all there was, not sure exactly how to narrow our selection to one lesson for the day.

Even reading others blogs, trying to follow what they did, usually ended in a misfire.  Looking for or studying an object that a homeschool family found in Kansas, we sometimes couldn't find in our neck of the woods in NWA.

These setbacks plus my lack of knowledge on things of nature just kept me from doing it.  Fill it in with unpreparedness which brought on frustration from my kids and by me.

This time, I  decided that it would be kid led with structure and learning  brought on by me.
So that is basically what we did.  We set out without a plan, scouting out the area, looking at the changes winter has brought and then picked two things to learn about.  
If a discovery or sighting was made that didn't follow the direction we were going, a drawing or note could be made and further research done at home was great.

One of John's sightings.

Jacob and one of the many deer rubs on our land.   So much can be told about the rub which is made when the deer is traveling from his feeding and bedding area, marking his area, letting other deer know that he is there.

This was definitely Jacob led, he has been spotting them since last fall, watching the trees for new sightings and tracking what deer he sees.  He is very protective over the rubs, not allowing anyone touch them.

With the Evergreens, we talked about the difference in male and female trees.  The importance of having both and what they produce. We also learned the difference in deciduous vs. coniferous.