Green Hour #2
Our challenge this time was to spend 10-15 minutes outside, which once again turned into about an hour……..LOL! We were supposed to observe any aspect of nature and describe it thus:
- Use one word to describe something you HEARD - GB decided to use chirping.
- Use two words to describe something you SAW - GB chose swimming creatures ( he saw them in a puddle down in the ditch out by the road)
If you look really closely at the water, you can see the tiny little creatures.
After looking through zillions of pictures online, we guess that they must be some kind of water mite, like this one:
*****Update: Theresa suggested that these guys could be called copepods, so I searched online for a video, and found this this one It’s quite possible, and knowing my source, probable, that she is right and that they are not mites. It’s so cool how this homeschooling community can help each other. Honestly, I would have never come across either mites or copepods if we hadn’t been homeschooling. - Use three words to describe something you FELT or could TOUCH - GB’s choice was rough, fuzzy moss
We don’t know too much about moss, so we came in and looked it up in our Handbook of Nature Study. And then to further enlighten ourselves we found these cool little 3-D videos to teach you about the life cycle of moss.
This is what GB wrote in his journal about moss:
Moss Life cycle:
- starts with a moss plant that already has tiny leaves
- tips of plant have either male or female parts
- male fertilizes female egg
- the baby moss forms a spore plant that rips open the egg case
- the casing on the spore plant has tiny little spores that spill out all over the place
- the spore germinates to make a new moss plant, starting the whole thing from the beginning
Kinda funny how I snuck in a little education on a day that was supposed to be Spring Break, huh? Funny thing is, he doesn’t consider this educational at all. 
My kids think we’re getting time off from school when we do these green challenges also
They don’t even know how much they’re actually learning!
Comment by Dawn — March 25, 2008 @ 7:13 pm
Eww! (How often do I say that???) Mites?!? Anyway, actually they’re neat - what a great find.
And, thanks for the info about moss! That’s on our list for next week’s challenge. So, you gave me a head start.
And, I can definitely see you “squeezing” something educational in on Spring Break… AND I can see GB not minding.
Comment by Dana — March 25, 2008 @ 9:42 pm
Great videos! Sounds like a fun day of nature study. I think your little critters are probably tiny crustaceans called copepods. They are pretty common in puddles. Here is a link and see what you think:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copepod
Comment by
lapazfarm — March 26, 2008 @ 8:39 am
Thanks, Theresa! I updated and found a video to go with your new info!
Comment by
Robin — March 26, 2008 @ 9:35 am
What a great entry! I loved all the extra research you did on your pond creatures, truly fascinating.
Nature study brings so many aspects of all the good things we are trying to teach our children together. How to ask a good question? Where to go to find the answers? How to build on what you already know and connect it to what you are seeing in front of you.
It can’t get much better than that except to know that our children are learning and enjoying it.
Thank you so much for sharing everything with us.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
PS Could you submit this entry to the Learning in the Great Outdoors carnival that I am hosting next week? Here is the link:
http://blogcarnival.com/bc/cprof_1274.html
Comment by Barb-Harmony Art Mom — March 26, 2008 @ 11:10 am
That is so cool! Fun, fun, fun!!! Awesome videos, such great nature study! Love that you are sneaking in education, oops, I mean fun during spring break!
Blessings, Melissa
In the Sparrow’s Nest
www.homeschoolblogger.com/melissal89
Comment by Melissa — March 27, 2008 @ 7:09 pm