Nature Study~ Chicks!

Our first hens at 8 wks

Nature Study- Chicks & Chickens~  We are blessed to have two small "flocks" of our own lovely chicks to use for this nature study.  I'll mention several books we're using as we learn about and raise our chickens but having a YOUNG chick for the students to touch and observe is ideal, as with any nature study topic via the Charlotte Mason method.  If you have the opportunity, try to visit a farm, local farm animal sale/swap, friend's flock, or something similar.  Ask around, you might be surprised at who has some fine feathered producers in thier backyard!  Backyard Chickens are becoming more of the "norm" as many of us move towards a more sustainable, chemical-free, home-grown lifestyle!
 

I'm also posting some photos (albeit grainy because I only used my camera phone) and videos we managed to snag while doing our Nature Study.  Feel free to use them to discuss with your kids!  You can also visit my new blog, The Egg Basket where I will soon have many more posts, photos, videos, and ideas for chickens and their owners!

If you are new to nature study, whether a homeschooler or school mom who wants to spend some time this summer studying and appreciating nature with your children, check out the Outdoor Hour Challenge's from Barb here.

Katie knows all smart chicks do nature study!

First things first... Mom's Prep! 

 I read, "The Handbook of Nature Study" by Anna Botsford Comstock pgs. 47-50.  If you don't have a copy of this book you can find it here online for free.  As you can see from my photo with Katie (above) mine is nice and worn with TONS of highlighting, garden soil, dew, and bookmarks.  This is one of those books I have never regretted purchasing.  I use it over and over and over.  We use it with each nature study and sometimes just because we find something outdoors or someone (dear hubby or kiddos) brings something home we need to know more about! :)

Our 2nd flock at 4-5 wks

 Now- out with the kiddos to study, observe, and sketch together!

Our 1st "flock" at 8 wks

We gathered up our first "flock" of chicks and let them out to free range.   This group of four lovely ladies is about 16 weeks old.  We were graciously given these four gals by a dear, homeschooling friend who's children had incubated and hatched thier eggs.  It was a win-win and now HER girls don't have to totally give up thier wonderful babies because local families took them in and now they can visit them :).

Curious hens peeking at C's sketch!

The girls at 16 wks

I had planned on doing a chicken nature study as soon as we recieved them but much of what Ms. Comstock wrote about in the Chicken Ways lesson is for younger chicks.  However, they made great comparisons to the younger chicks we just picked up last weekend from the amazing Farm Mama. 

* Sidenote* If you're ever looking for more chicks or chickens, I whole heartedly recommend this breeder, she is "Like No Udder!" Ha ha, sorry, that's her slogan but it's so cute.  She honestly is amazing, great with my kids at teaching them about each and every chicken, good husbandry, made herself available on a holiday to help us with sick chickens, and she specializes in rare, exotic, and heritage breeds.  I mention this during a nature study because she IS the reason we added our first pairs I'm going to mention and talked to the children about conservation and their pairs that are endangered.

Since we are not housing the two flocks together yet, the kids went inside to grab the brooder (Rubbermaid tub style) and bring the 4-5 week old chicks outdoors to enjoy some of the amazing weather and make it easier to interact with both sets of chicks and sketch them all at the same time.

Of course, the kids had to make over each of thier chicks for a few moments before we got down to sketching. :)  They each have 3 chicks now and each child has different breeds than the others so they have been quite focused on learning more about their specific breeds.  One of their new favorite websites is My Pet Chicken.  If you're doing a Chicken Nature Study as well, it's a great site with tons of information and photographs.  My 3 kids LOVE to browse this one. 

There's a great page on this site all about Chicken breeds and we printed off pages for each of my children with basic information about their particular breed.   Since the HNS is mostly about very young chicks and I wanted the kids to observe and learn about all of thier chickens, I thought this basic information would help us with our nature study.  Even if you do not have chickens and don't plan on it, it's a great way to give them some basic information about the various breeds.

As the kids began sketching thier chicks, I began going through the questions for observation in
Lesson 8 of the HNS. 
1.We talked about the egg tooth and what it was for.  We had reviewed this when we hatched some eggs years ago.  Obviously, our 16 week old hens no longer have their egg tooth.  I wasn't certain about the 4 & 5 week old chicks so we picked each of them up to look for it. :)  Great observations! Unfortunately, no egg tooths on these babies either.  We did a review discussion as a reminder of what the egg tooth is for.

2. We looked at and felt the difference of the down on our baby chicks compared to the feathers our 4 month olds have acquired.  All of the 4-5 week olds have feathers as well as the down so there was great comparison there.  We talked about the difference in the babies also, how A's La Fleche chicks have most all of their feathers alrady while C's Cochin Frizzle and Silkie have hardly any.  In the middle were B's Salmon Favorolles who had a nice amount of new feathers and baby chick down.  It was also easy to see how A's La Fleche are able to fly so well and the others are not.   After looking at the older girls' feathers it was even more evident. 

3. I loved the discussion on distinguishing the difference between ground birds and perching birds (pg. 47-48 HNS)!  We pulled up from our experience and knowledge from past nature studies and bird watching (especially robins) to compare the two.  I honestly had not thought of the differences myself before so it was a fun "discovery" for us.

4. Since we do not have laying hens yet we didn't have the opportunity to observe the chicks with their mothers, however, by merely paying close attention to the chicks own habits, we were able to deduce that baby chickens feed themself from the beginning, different from the robin chicks.  We've also consistently observed Abbey (our flock "leader), B's Buff Orpington play the brave chick when we present them with new produce to try.  She rushes over and pecks at the new treat before any of the others will dare.  It's normally followed by A's Rhode Island Red, Katniss, my Barred Plymouth Rock, Flossie, and lastly by C's sweet Barnevelder, who seems to always miss out on much of the treat sadly.  She's a quiet, docile girl and the others are fully aware of this and tend to take advantage. 

5. The children were aware of grit because we had to discuss its importance and they went with me to the feed store to purchase it.  They also told me during our nature study time yesterday they had observed the different chickens eating rocks and gravel since they've been old enough to live outside and free range a bit.  We had not discussed the term gizzard :) and they found it to be a funny name.  I don't know why but it is a bit funny sounding!

Selana, C's Silkie

6. We talked about how the chicks have a "funny way" of drinking their water.  Once we discussed the reason behind it, it seemed to all make sense.  I took a short video of Abbey taking a drink in case you don't have chickens to observe.  I hope I caught it enough to view.  Once I read the information from the HNS after they all gave me an, "I have no idea why they drink like that." answer, they all did the, "OH!! THAT'S why they do that!" at the same time.  Isn't homeschooling amazing?  They could all describe to me HOW they chickens and chicks took in their water but not why.  Thanks to this nature study and their wonderful observations in the field, they now understand WHY they drink this way and it's not something they will likely forget!  I guess dipping low and filling your bottom beak like a cup and then throwing your head back so the water is forced down your throat is a memorable thing!  Now they understand the lack of muscles is the reason for their funny behavior and it makes perfect sense!

C's Cochin Frizzle, Sarah

7. Interestingly enough, none of my kids had noticed the 4 older hens sleeping with their heads tucked between their own wings yet.  They had giggled and mentioned time and time again how Stella, C's Barnevelder, especially tried to crawl UNDER the other hens when they were roosting in the coop and how odd it was.  We talked about point #7 and as we did, A said to me, "Look mom! Katie is doing it now!" speaking of Katie, A's La Fleche hen, sleeping in the brooder with her tiny beak placed under her little wing.  Suddenly, Stella trying to get under the other hens also made sense to us.  Similar to sleeping under a mother hen's wing (which being incubated she hadn't ever done) she was trying to tuck in under her flock mates in the evening.  It wasn't surprising to us since she's the sweetheart of the group.

A's La Fleche hen & roo and C's silkie peeking

8. My kids told me this morning that when they checked the brooder and found the chicks sleeping that Sarah, C's Cochin Frizzle, was also sleeping with her beak tucked in her own wing and little Juliet, B's Salmon Favorolle, was sleeping with her head under KYLE's ,A's La Fleche Rooster, wing!  I love when my children continue learning, observing, discussing, and exploring days/weeks/months/years after we enjoy a nature study together!  It encourages me and reminds me that the ideas/process of Charlotte Mason's teachings work!

9. -13. These lesson questions were all concerning the hen's noises and conversations.  This was another fun discussion.  My children became very animated and involved in telling me all about the indiviual hen's personalities and "voices."

Abby, B's Buff Orpington

They were so excited to tell me which chickens made which noises for what reasons!  This was clearly an area they felt some expertise in before the study.  We went through the different reasons fore their noises and they agreed with them and felt they'd experienced most of them.  Other than the hens wonderous cackle when she lays an egg because our girls aren't old enough to lay yet.  We are all excitedly waiting for that time and loving that our hens will clue us in when it's happened!

Although each hen has similar noises as Ms. Comstock states, they all seem to have their own "voices" as well.  Abbey and Katniss can be louder (especially for hens!) but we're not surprised as they are the agressors of the bunch. 

Those of you who are familiar with chickens might not be surprised by Katniss since she is a Rhode Island Red, however, Abbey is a Buff Orpington!  Many of our friends who have chickens and other "chicken people" at the local farm animal swap/sale are surprised by this since Orpingtons are known to be docile. 

I think our Abbey is just a bit spunky like her human mama, my B!  :) We often tease each other that the hens behave like their owners.  While Abbey can be vocal and somtimes pushy with the other hens she seems to be completely enamoured with my daughter, B.  B can go out and pick her up and just walk around talking and going about her outside business with Abbey under her arm.  It cracks us up to watch the "bullyish" Abbey be such a docile pet chicken when she's with B.  We just laugh and tell B she's a natural chicken mama and Abbey recognizes she is hers even though we all take part in their care!

Katniss, A's Rhode Island Red

Katniss, A's Rhode Island Red, has a good voice on her, much like Abbey.  Although Katniss is not quite the bully Abbey is, she seems to always be rushing in the mix right behind Abbey.  Since my A & B are twins, it's similar to their own behavior.  B is the more outspoken and A supports her.

Flossie, my barred plymouth rock

 Flossie, my Barred Plymouth Rock, seems to be the mama of the group, clucking away at the other hens as if directing, consoling or scolding them about this or that. :)  She's like me.

Stella, C's Barnevelder is a complete sweetie, her sounds are so soft and sweet it makes us all want to scoop her up and shower her with so much love! 

Stella, C's Barnevelder

14.-15. concerns roosters.  Our little roos are only 4 & 5 weeks old so we don't have firsthand experience with them as adults yet.  I did go over the information in the HNS and we discussed it along with the other information we have gleaned from other "chicken people" and books over the past 8 weeks of owning chickens.  It all meshed together.

Romeo, B's Salmon Favorolle Roo

16.  The last question in this lesson is about the chickens' natural enemies.  Any responsible chicken owner needs to be familiar with thier local enemies to protect their flock and make decisions on how to protect them appropriately.  My children were fairly familiar with most of the listed enemies from simply being a part of a chicken raising family and helping design and construct our coop and pen.  It's amazing the information they absorb on these types of family projects.  As anyone using Nature Study, especially a la Charlotte Mason knows, organic education is often more easily absorbed and remembered than the strictly classroom textbook style.  I was proud to hear my kids tell me all about their chickens' enemies and what we've done to protect them from them BEFORE I mentioned anything Ms. Comstock had written.

Here are two of the books about starting with chickens I mentioned in the beginning, don't laugh, they may be simple but if you're just starting out , I found them to be solid albeit basic information specifically related to chickens. 

If you are also interested in sustainability and backyard homesteading, here's another book I recommend and found quite useful with good information.
Finally, here are the nature study sketches and notebook pages my kids created from our nature study time. I hope you enjoy them and have an opportunity to soon discover the wonderful world of chickens with your family!

To learn more about our chicken adventures and information on sustainable living and homemaking in general, please visit my other blog at My Imperfectly Perfect Life!

C's Nature Study Page about his chicks, Stella, Sarah, and Selana:

B's Nature Sketch & Journal about Abbey, Romeo, & Juliet

Alyssa's sketches and information about Katniss, Kyle, and Katie.

 We loved our chicken Nature Study and continue to love it as we live it each day!  I must admit chicken ownership/farming has been amazing and joyous.  There's something about doing it together as a family and having that responsibility with my children while teaching them about God's great creation and sustainability.  I can't wait until we recieve our first eggs! 

Leave us comments!  Do you have chickens?  What breeds?  What are some treats they like?  Did you do a nature study? 

Love,
Tiff, the kids, the pups, the cats, Digger (the turtle), & the chicks! <3

Juliet, B's Salmon Favorolle Hen

Edgar Degas - Artist Study - Impressionism

Our artist rotation this term will be Degas and Manet.  We are beginning Term 2 on Monday when we return from our Christmas break.  I'm going to break the study up into 6 weeks each- weeks 11-16 will be devoted to Degas and weeks 17-22 to Manet.

To begin our study of Edgar Degas (day-GAH) (French, 1834-1917),
I took two of the Degas paintings I located free online and sent them to walmart to be processed as photographs.  I had them each printed in an 8 x 10 and then I inserted them into these great photo magnet sleeves I found for about $2 and placed them on the fridge.  I love this idea, it's inexpensive but everytime my monkeys go into the fridge they will get another look at the artwork.  :)  Cheap yet effective and you can't beat that!

The two we are starting with (I'm planning to use 3 pieces this way- two weeks each piece) are Ballet Rehearsal On Stage and Racehorses in Front of the Grandstand 1866-68.  I downloaded both pieces from Edgar Degas- The Complete Works.   You'll find more than enough paintings to choose from on this website.  Ambleside Online has their recommendations also if you click here.  You will need to scroll down a bit because Degas and Manet were their selected artists for 2002/2003 Term 2. 

I wanted a painting that included dancers because it was a favorite subject of Degas and delights my daughters but also something a bit more masculine for my son.  I'm not sure he could study ballerinas for the entire six weeks!  I haven't decided on the final piece yet.  I'm considering letting my children choose it as they study his other works in our books and through the stickers I've purchased them. 

 We always begin our new artist study with the first piece of art.  I'll present the painting (this term it will be Ballet Rehearsal On Stage) and have them all look at it.  I'll then tell them a bit about the artist, not the full biography, just some basic facts about him.  I'll tell them where he was born and grew up and what years he lived.  We'll then talk about his style and with Degas I'll mention that although he didn't consider himself an Impressionist, he was always grouped with them. 

Purchase from Dover

The book, "Discovering Great Artists" by MaryAnn F. Kohl & Kim Solga (one of my favorite books that I use again and again) has two very brief introductory paragraphs about Degas on pages 40-41 that I will probably begin with.  I don't purchase all of our homeschool books but this is one I did purchase because we use it again and again- I would have no problem recomending this book as a "purchase book" for anyone using the Charlotte
Mason or even the Classical methods.  You can purchase it through the link from Amazon.  I am an affiliate and I will get credit if you do but that is not why I recommend the book.  I like to add that in when I include these amazon links to be upfront.  :) 

 My next step would be to have the children "narrate" the picture to me.  This was always fun when they were younger but now that they are a little older (2-3rd graders and a 5th grader) and they've been doing this for a couple of years, I enjoy it even more.  They remember so much more and when they begin to compare one artist to another or one painting to another it brings me such true delight.  It's those moments that make me praise God for leading me to homeschooling!   Simply Charlotte Mason has a paragraph explaining how to have children narrate a picture here.

I'll assign them to read a simple biography about Degas during this time.  They will definitely be reading the book, "Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists ~ Degas" by Mike Venezia.  When we first began reading this series a few year's ago, it was difficult to find them in our library but now I've noticed my library has many of them.  You could check your local library prior to purchasing.  It's an easy to read picture book but chock full of good information and great cartoon drawings that my children have really enjoyed.  My 5th grader will still be assigned this book to read (in one sitting of course) for our Degas study.   

My plan is to study each picture at least twice a week and narrate each time.  At this stage I'm looking for them to know more about the picture with each study time.  I'll have them all complete a notebooking page about Degas and my 5th grader will also need to complete a page about each picture.  I'm going to have him choose his favorite of the three on the last week of our Degas study and ask him to write a paragraph explaining WHY he chose that picture.  You can find free notebooking pages here from Homeschooling with Index Cards free notebooking forms section.  A HUGE thank you to this mom who's artist biography form I've used for a couple of years!   You can also find artist notebooking page freebies at NotebookingPages.com here.

I will give them the Degas sticker book and split it evenly (very important in my house :)) and let each of them choose thier favorite paintings from the book.  They then put those stickers on a notebooking page and label each of them.  The sticker book I linked does include two photos that are too close to nude for my comfort so I will remove those two from the book before giving the book to my kids.  That leaves 14 pictures so they'll get 4 a piece, still a good deal for $1.50 and it's a great way for them to make the paintings accessible for them to view later (we'll put the notebook page they stick them to and label them on in their art study notebooks.) 

We will complete a coloring page of  one of Degas' paintings.  I normallly let them choose their favorite.  I love the color and paint your own ... paintings!  What an amazing way to get the mental picture in your mind by working on it yourself! 

I have a puzzle that portrays The Dancers I found through Scholastic last year and we'll work on that together throughout the first week or two.  My hopes are that the children will form the mental picture Charlotte Mason speaks about concerning art from the time required of them to look at the painting to complete the puzzle.   I've posted the link to order it through Amazon but it is more expensive.  You'll have to decide it's value to your art study and decide whether or not to purchase it. 

We are going to complete two projects from MaryAnn F. Kohl's "Discovering Great Artists."  One involves showing movement in their art and the other involves working with chalk on a damp fabric piece.  I'm very excited to enjoy these with the kids. 

We will create a final project from the "Usborne Art Treasury."   This book has a short, one page explanation of the picture, Dancers in Blue, drawn by Dega in 1897.  After the informational page there's a project using dark, rough paper and pastels to create their own pastel dancers.  I'm going to use this last fun project during our final week of Degas by then I hope they have a solid feel for his work and will create masterpieces in his style. 

A brief quote from Degas that can be used for copywork or dictation, 
"Painting is easy when you don't know how, but very difficult when you do." ~
Edgar Degas

We'll read other books about Degas from the library.  A few I've planned are:

What Makes a Degas a Degas? by Richard Muhlberger
Marie in fourth position: the story of Degas's "The little dancer" by Amy Littlesugar
Degas and the little dancer: a story about Edgar Degas by Laurence Anholt
Degas and the dance : the painter and the petits rats, perfecting their art by Susan Goldman Rubin

I found all of the above titles at my local library so check your library for books on Degas in the juvenile section.  I do not make these books "difficult reads" in general because I want to introduce them to the artists and their art and teach them to love, enjoy, and remember it. 

For my 5th grader, I've requested the following book from our library:
Meet Edgar Degas / National Gallery of Canada ; [compiled by] Anne Newlands


I have not previewed it yet, I was interested because of the following description:
Presents the life and paintings of Edgar Degas in a first person narrative drawn from letters, notebooks, and people's stories about the artist.
I'm hoping it will be a great opportunity to give my son a taste of using primary resources. 

That is our plan so far for our Edgar Degas artist study.  Have you planned your next artist study?  Is there something fun and engaging you're doing with your children?  I'd love to hear about it!  I'm always looking for new ideas to keep my children interested!

For more information on picture study in general, Higher Up and Further In has an incredibly organized system set up in her homeschool.  You can read more about it here.   Love the idea of having all of her children keep their own copies of each piece in a book of art! 

Here is some basic biographical information about Degas from Wikipedia.com and some additional product links you might find interesting!  Please leave comments and send photos of your own Degas artist studies!  I'll be posting our results as well!

Much love,
Tiff

Edgar Degas (19 July 1834 - 27 September 1917), was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist. A superb draughtsman, he is especially identified with the subject of the dance, and over half his works depict dancers.  ~
Wikipedia.org

5 weeks into our school year and Weekly Schedules

A & Z at the pool

After a FUN summer with friends and family, we're beginning our 5th week of being "back to school."   While I love having time to relax and hang out with my sweet children, starting school back is always a welcome back to a more organized schedule.

C at a Global MMA Kickboxing Exhibition

Fall is my favorite season (unless we are at the beach, of course!)  The weather is perfect and the colors sing in delight with God's glory here in Virginia.  I can't wait for the leaves to begin changing their colors so we can take our annual family vacation to the mountains.

A,B, & C downtown on the 4th of July

It's been exciting starting this year with the kids but as with most years, there are "bugs" to be worked out.  C is in 5th grade so it will be his first year (and mine) in the Logic Stage of the Trivium.

A and her doll downtown

After looking at and praying over the past year using the Classical Christian style of education, I find myself yearning again for a more Charlotte Mason style approach.  I miss the poetry, the nature study, the art and composer studies.  Although all of these CAN be a part of (and some say SHOULD be a part of) the Classical style, it's not the CORE and much more difficult to implement than it was when we were a more strictly CM homeschool. 

C at Tae Kwon Do Practice

My goal this year will be to balance those two styles and combine them to make a fit that is right for OUR family.  One of the blessings of home education is the flexibility of a mother to make that perfect fit. 

A & B at Tea house birthday party.

C at Sheriff's Dept. football camp

I believe it begins with prayer and then meditation on the direction the Lord has for our family.  I'm learning (slowly but surely as I can be hard-headed) to be more patient.  Things don't have to be decided here and now and not every decision is life or death. :)  It's our fourth year home schooling and YES, I just figured this out!  Did I mention I was hard headed?  I only want what's best for my children's future- as we all do or we wouldn't be homeschooling- but the stress and RUSH of trying to squeeze EVERY single topiI and minute out of our day to accomplish that "perfect" classical christian education has caused me to miss the most important things- those splendid moments of learning and bonding with my sweet children!

C & B at the pool with Friends

 I began the year with a schedule that included all that I wanted to cover- not what we NEEDED to cover but everything I WANTED to cover.  We began slowly, and I was able to get a feel for how things would work.  I found, however, that I have been pushing my 3rd grade dd's as much as my 5th grade son.  I had to pray and step back and look again.  The girls were becoming frustrated and stressed and that's never a great way to have school! <3  I've been so accustomed to handling so much of the grammar stage together- memory work, history, and science that I had to change my thinking a bit.  

A, B, & C at KD with friends.

Five weeks in and I took this weekend (with having Monday off because when my dear husband is home from work for a holiday we take a holiday) and sat down to read parts of , "The Well Trained Mind" yet again.  I must have read certain chapters in this book 40+ times each!  Yet I find myself going back to it again and again!  This year, however, I am also pulling back out my "Charlotte Mason Companion" that I read as many times during our first couple of years of homeschooling.  My prayers are that I will glean wisdom from these authors, mothers, homeschooling veterans, and educators those things that will work for our family and create a model which provides solid education, a great love for and desier to better know the Lord, senses of value and kind but strong character, and many joyful memories for my amazing children. 

New Nephew, J born on July 4th!

I'm adding the weekly schedules I created for my 3rd graders and 5th grader.

It's a tweak on the schedules we've been using the past couple of weeks.  I've rearranged things and split certain things up based on how our days and weeks have resulted thus far after 4 weeks into our school year.  I'm certain to continue tweaking and praying over it.  I'm just as certain I will do this throughout the rest of our homeschooling careers!  <3  As homeschool moms we have to be flexible in order to meet the needs of our households and our children.  It is a great joy to be able to spend my life caring for my family!  It is also a difficult and time consuming job- one that I wouldn't change!  Feel free to use these schedules to assist you in your homeschooling journey. 

My goal is to create history schedules and POSSIBLY some literature schedules that will include quality literature from the history time period we are studying.  We're focusing on the Middle Ages this year.  I've been pulling together resources and looking over different curriculum.  I have an eclectic bug that requires I do this!  I'm very happy to find some time to blog once again and I will prayerfully be adding many new posts, resource links, notebook pages, photos, and free materials and/or quality materials I come across in our journey.  I have missed my dear readers and I look forward to more as we continue on our journey!

Love,
Tiff