Poetry - FREE schedule, copywork, etc -Christina Rossetti

I started this blog in order to complete Barb's wonderful "Outdoor Hour Challenges". I fell in love with blogging and all of the other wonderful homeschooling families who enjoy Nature Study as much as we do! I have also found an AMAZING bond with other families who use the Charlotte Mason style of education in their homes.

With that - I have decided to combine my website and 2 blogs into one. I wanted to share more of our homeschool, Charlotte Mason "ish" ideas and plans, my faith in the Lord, and in general, the lifestyle that comes along with all of it. I also wanted to make things easier on myself ;) so I'm going to have it all here on one blog. I didn't want to change the name of the blog entirely and get lost by those families we enjoy so much so I'm just adding, "...and more..." to the title and off we go with it. :)

The first new things I'm adding/transferring over are forms, schedules, ideas, and curriculum/literature we are using in our homeschool. I wanted to start with poetry since this is a piece I was working on last week. I hope you find the poetry schedule and forms helpful! :)

Here please find a guideline idea sheet/ 5 day plan for poetry that we use.

Here I have placed our schedule for poets and poems - Term 1 & 2 are complete.

"It is good to store a child’s memory with a good deal of poetry
learnt without labour." Charlotte Mason

During our first term we are going to study Christina Rossetti. My children love her poetry about nature and I love how her faith in the Lord is apparent. Please feel to use my free Christina Rossetti notebook page -find it here.

Here is a photographic version of Rossetti's, "The Rose"

Copywork for, "The Caterpillar" is found here. I tried to leave enough room in between each line/stanza for the student to copy the line above. I hope you enjoy it.

For younger students- you may want to try this copywork form of, "The Caterpillar". It has the hollow style font which allows them to trace within the words rather than copying on their own. I am breaking this down for my kiddos by a few lines a day. Simply give them a few lines or delete the rest of the poem or copy and paste into different word documents to provide the appropriate amount of work for that day.

Biographical Information on Rosetti is here.

Here is a portrait of Rossetti by her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

I will add more Rossetti copywork and links as we come to them in our studies. I hope these help you in your own homeschool! :)

Outdoor Hour Challenge #23- Moth

Outdoor Hour Challenge #23 - Moths

Handbook of Nature Study - pp

We took this challenge thinking it would be so easy :). Most nights - as I'm always late watering my few plants/flowers that need water twice a day this time of year- I'm outside with the lights on and swatting the insects away! Normally my children have completed their bedtime routine and are in bed by this time but I thought this challenge would be a lot of fun SO when you see them in the pajamas -lol - that's why! :)

As I watered my flowers, they were trying to see the moths at our outside light. The problem being that the light is near the top of the house and they couldn't get a great look at the insects. My DH gave the kids a large flashlight to use and we turned off the spotlight on the house. At first they weren't seeing anything but my youngest was also dancing around with the light rather than setting it down :). I decided to turn on the smaller light on the back porch by the door to see what we were able to see. Almost immediately a moth came to the brick. The kids spotted it and as I tried to nudge it onto my fingers - it flew right onto my son's pajama shirt! :)


Chance & Alyssa having a look at the moth that landed on his shirt. They were really excited to be able to look at him so closely.

The moth didn't seem to mind resting on Chance's clothing at all so we all took turns getting a good look at the moth.












I am not very good at identifying moths - I went to Enature but it appears that the moths are SO similar in appearance. I have not identified him. We, instead, turned the conversation onto the differences of moths and butterflies that we could SEE that night. The kids did not do a nature journal entry this night because it was so late. My main objective was for us to have a good time finding a moth and taking a CLOSE look at one which we succeeded at! :)

We had already ordered some Painted Lady Butterfly caterpillars a few weeks before. They had arrived, eaten and more than tripled in size and were forming their chrysalides during this time. In the morning all of them had formed chrysalides so we were able to move them into their "butterfly habitat". This gave us a great opportunity for a nature sketch to follow up our outdoor hour challenge.

Here the children are observing the chrysalides and sketching them for their nature journals.

This was a wonderful time to distinguish the difference between a cocoon and a chrysalis.

Cocoon- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pupa#Cocoon

Chrysalis-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pupa

Other links that explain the differences:

http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~don/larvae/faqs/cocoon.html

"Cocoon/Chrysalis
Cocoons and chrysalides are protective coverings for the pupa. The pupa is the intermediate stage between the larva and adult. A moth makes a cocoon, which is wrapped in a silk covering. A butterfly makes a chrysalis, which is hard, smooth and has no silk covering."

Another good website for coloring pages, printouts, and information:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterfly/index.shtml

Butterfly copywork: http://members.enchantedlearning.com/grammar/paragraph/rewrite/butterfly/index.shtml?p

If they left the morning with nothing else, my DC now know that butterflies do not (as they told thier daddy firmly later :)) form cocoons as most people say - moths do and butterflies form chrysalides.

It was quite a bit of fun for us as always with the Outdoor Hour Challenges! I encourage anyone who's not taking AT LEAST this amount of time out doors with their children weekly to really do so! There - for me- is something so incredibly bonding and important about experiencing God's wonders and Creation together with your children. Anyone homeschooling with the Charlotte Mason method should know from her writing the importance of Nature Study and time spent out of doors.

Let them once get in touch with nature and a habit is formed which
will be a source of delight and habit through life.~~Charlotte Mason,
Original Homeschooling Series

Outdoor Hour Challenge #10 Picnics, squirrels, caterpillars, beetles OH MY!

Outdoor Hour Challenge #10---Picnics - ongoing throughout our studies :)
We joined the Outdoor Hour Challenges late so as we go through our family's nature studies - I try to use the Outdoor Hour Challenges as much as possible and "catch up" on the ones we missed as they fit into our focuses and studies. These challenges that Barb so graciously posted for all of us to enjoy and share with our loved ones are TOO good to pass up any of them!! This particular challenge is one that I know we will use frequently and I plan to do at least several times each term (other than winter lol - we'll see ) It will be great to really EXPERIENCE the season by having a relaxed meal outdoors as a family in God's beautiful creation!!!

“The whole earth is full of his glory”.~ Isaiah 6:3

As with many of our homeschooling friends, we will be starting "school" on onday so I wanted to spend some relaxed time this week with the kids. Having breakfast outside was a nice surprise for them. :) It's great when they awaken and I tell them we are having breakfast outside and they all start screaming,"Yes! Yeah! Cool!" Mom's not always that cool :). I was pleased with their excitement. :)

As you can see they are still sleepy but it was so nice to enjoy a meal outside together. Once they were finished, we decided it would be nice to follow up with some outdoor observation and painting- but our poms had to be spoiled first... Here Chance is feeding the leftover eggs to Kilroy and Brittany - our 10 and 11 year old pomeranians. Kilroy was shaved recently by the vet for an allergic reaction which is why you see a bald pomeranian!

Kilroy is still begging Chance for more eggs - I didn't realize until I was looking at the pictures last night that he was feeding him from one of our FORKS! With an apple in one hand feeding the dog eggs from a fork in the other! It was too funny for me to say anything!

We took a walk through our flower beds and garden bed to see how things were progressing. They were so happy with thier plants. In hindsight - I will handle garden plants and flowers much differently next year! I just let the children run wild with seeds and we were so excited that we didn't really label anything on thier end of the garden so we're "waiting to see" what plants develop into on several of them. We will be more organized next year. This year was our first summer here so I was so busy planting in the beds my DS and DH were building and the kids and I reading about so many different plants and flowers that the labels seemed to get left out somehow.

This is the kids' end of the garden bed - we essentially built up beds this year and this one was already here. Initially the dirt was hard and unmanagemable with small, "rooty" vines that were killing what was left in it but it wasn't our main "focus" so I worked with the kids to till the dirt by hand and gradually add compost and rich topsoil throughout the summer. We have weeded to our heart's content to rid it of the choking vines and it worked out much better than expected. It's actually produced for us which is more than we thought it would do! :)


cherry tomato - not yet ripe

Cucumber

Basil Chance's 1st green/string bean

Chance standing beside Alyssa's bean plant to show how TALL it has gotten!!
Alyssa was still sleepy and being camera shy :)

We looked over my garden flowers (see all of them under the "plants in our backyard" slideshow on the right side of my blog) and then I brought out books, watercolors, and insect nets and jars for the children to work on some nature study.

My DH had found Chance a HUGE beetle that he had been observing. We tried looking him up in several books and websites and since his color was metallic green and copper - we continuously found "Japanese Beetle". He looked quite a bit like a Japanese Beetle but was SO large. We ended up labeling him from the book - "Peterson First Guides - Insects" We identified him as a Shining Leaf Chafer but nothing further than that. I'm not certain if he is just a really LARGE japanese beetle or another chafer that we didn't have information on.
Either way, this beetle, like the Japanese Beetles that I pluck from my roses constantly is an agricultural or garden pest. According to the guide,

"Shining Leaf Chafers are often extraordinarily beautiful,
but are also often very destructive both as larvae and adults. Few of us can appreciate the color pattern of the Japanese Beetle as it munches through a rose bush or an orchard. Its larvae, like others in this group, eat roots and are especially destructive to lawns."

I'm not terribly mortified about my lawn but I can tell you - its frustrating as a rose gardener at the FAST and FURIOUS destruction on my rose bushes. This is my first year as gardening roses and they have been a constant "thorn in my side" - no pun intended.

Here's an example from one of my own roses -

Chance did an excellent journal page using watercolors to paint the chafer.

Briana wanted to read about and identify two caterpillars that we found at the park. Using "Princeton Field Guides - Caterpillars of Eastern North America" we were able to identify them both. The black caterpillar with white hairs covering his body is a Walnut Caterpillar.

My photos of these caterpillars are not very good - I couldn't seem to focus well on them. I found a better picture online here.

We identified the second caterpillar as a Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar.
He has

"conspicuous black and white lashes extending from anterior end of his body."
Caterpillars of Easter N. America page 471
Again- my photo is not that good. I found a better picture of the Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar here.

Here is Briana with the walnut caterpillar.

This caterpillar fell out of one of the tall trees at the park last week and right down my back! It frightened me until I realized it was a caterpillar. The girls couldn't wait to get him home and put him in their butterfly pavillion. Shortly before that I looked up and saw a very hairy yellow caterpillar crawling on my camera. We left the park with two caterpillars for our nature studies! All of the children (even their playmates we'd met there) were so excited to see these beautiful caterpillars.

We read about the both of them and realized that we hadn't been providing them with the proper nourishment as they both consume woody shrubs and trees-

The walnut caterpillar feeding on: butternut, hickory, pecan, and walnut.

The banded tussock moth caterpillar feeding on: alder, ash, birch, blueberry, chestnut, elm, grape, hackberry, hazel, hickory, oak, walnut, willow, and many other woody shrubs and trees. After studying and sketching them, we decided this morning to let them go so they could obtain better nourishment - they'll need it for their metamorphasis. Here is Briana's amazing watercolor and journal page:

Alyssa caught her favorite insect - the ladybug. She has been in love with these little beetles for some time now. :) She's fascinated with them in a way only a young child full of heart and imagination can be :). As you can tell - it's dear to me. Here you will find a great ladybug picture.
I did not get a picture of the ladybug Alyssa caught because she flew off as soon as she was free from the butterfly pavillion. I have a link to the right side of my blog that is a slideshow of "backyard discoveries" where I thought I had a picture of Alyssa with a ladybug but I couldn't find it. We used the same Peterson First Field Guide - Insects to read about Alyssa's ladybug as we used for Chance's chafer. The ladybug is actually a lady or ladybird beetle. We've seen this before but its so easy to slip back into calling them ladybugs.
According to the guide,

" they... are familiar to everyone as "ladybugs." Their popularity is well deserved as they are among the most helpful insects. Of the 400 North American species only 3 feed on plants. Most of the rest devour vast quantities of agricultural pests such as aphids and scale insects. "

We also looked the ladybug up in a book, National Audubon Society - First Field Guide of Insects

This is actually a nice book - much clearer and easier for young children such as mine - Praise God for the library so that I can review all of these before making purchases. This book had a nice page on the ladybug. Pages 94 & 95 are devoted to the ladybug beetle and its look-alikes. Alyssa was SO pleased that her favorite insects were a help to gardeners! This book give similar information as the Peterson Guide but it was a bit clearer for her.
"One of the best places to find ladybug beetles is on a plant
that is infested with aphids. By devouring these sap-sucking pests, the adult beetle and its black larvae help to protect the host plant. The number of spots a ladybug has depends on the species, not the insects age. Some ladybugs have no spots at all - still others are striped."
This was good information for us both since we've seen so many that have either few spots or no spots and we were curious as to the differences.

Here is Alyssa's watercolor and journal entry:

Another wonderful entry!

I decided to take Barb's advice and paint with the children. To let go of the fact that I'm really not good at it and just enjoy the morning with the kids and relax with them. I was amused the entire morning by our backyard buddies (and sometimes pests!) - the squirrels. We've found we have a lot of "frequent visitors" of both the squirrels and birds that we can expect each day now and I LOVE IT! The squirrels, however, amuse me - that is until I'm filling holes back in with compost, top soil, and mulch where they have dug and pulling out "peanut plants" from my flower beds!! LOL

We were looking at all of my DC's ideas when we noticed our little burgular-

He had decided to send the birds away and jump in their platform feeder to have an extra snack. I had already fed him - mind you. I had filled up a feeder with peanuts, sunflower, and corn kernels and also put out an ear of corn for them. I guess he was still hungry! He stayed here for quite some time - then another joined...

keeping in mind - this 2nd little acrobat is EATING out of a SQUIRREL PROOF feeder!!



Our next little visitor was thirsty and decided it would take time to drink and relax in the bird bath.

This squirrel is one of 2 or 3 that we see that are much smaller in size and have a much thinner, less bushy tail. My DC and I wondered if it was because they were younger - possibly born in a huge mass of leaves and sturdy branches in a pine tree out back that we've been watching. I tried searching online but didn't really find anything. I didn't see anything in the HNS concerning this either. Maybe someone knows and would like to share?

In The Handbook of Nature Study I found this great picture~


I just LOVE the quote I found from The Handbook of Nature Study on page 233 when she opens up her study on squirrels:

"We ought to yield admiring tribute to those animals which have been able to flourish in our midst despite man and his gun, this weapon being the most cowardly and unfair invention of the human mind. The only time that man has been a fair fighter in combating his four-footed brethren was when he fought them with a weapon which he weilded in his hand."

SIDE NOTE--

This is NOT to start a debate on guns or hunting or gun control - afterall my brother is a police officer and MANY of our closest homeschooling friends are military - I just found her introduction o squirrels quite bold and passionate. My opinions on weapons are for another spot - not this post but I thought this really lead into the antics and intelligence of the squirrels - especially since for most people - they've went from the dinner table to the hearts and amusement of their outdoor time. :) She goes on to explain her opinion further - much of which I agree to - but again for a different type of post.

How could anyone resist the antics of these creatures? I sometimes think they are God's comedians when I need a smile or a laugh. They really are quite amusing!

As I read through Ms. Comstock's notes on squirrels in the HNS- as I usually do when we come in from a nature "walk" and have something I want to research - I quite enjoyed all of her squirrel chapter. If you enjoy squirrels in your backyard or park or otherwise- I STRONGLY suggest you read pp. 233-236 at a minimum. I won't go into all of it now as I would probably be copying all three pages here in type! I found myself grinning and giggling and nodding my head in agreement as I read these pages despite myself. My DC must have thought mommy had "lost it" until I explained that I was reading about our "backyard, fury friends" :). I could feel Ms. Comstock's passion for these little creatures that was so similar to my own. We will be studying mammals in the winter so I will obtain more books and information at that time. I started this little ramble here to just express my own interest in them and reason for MY watercolor. Keep in mind - this is not for my talent (or lack of :) but to take Barb's advice (which was spot on) and paint for my enjoyment, positive modeling for my DC, and for thier enjoyment. They really took to mommy painting with them.

Again- I MUST thank Barb for a great challenge. I truly believe starting the morning off with a loving, peaceful out door breakfast was the way to get this nature study rolling. I realize this was a long entry and forgive me but once they were outside - everyone took off in their own direction of interest! It was GREAT! So much knowledge and enjoyment in one morning!