What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than to search for hearts in the wild!
Go here for a post about the hearts I discovered last year coupled with a literature connection. Searching for hearts will keep your family members engaged on your next walk.
Keep close to nature’s heart. (John Muir)
I will continue to add hearts I discover through the month of February. If you find any, please share them in the comments. Happy hunting!
While I was in France last fall, I saw chestnut trees growing throughout the grounds of the chateaus, as well as in parks. These large deciduous trees are easily identifiable by the brown shelled nut that is enclosed in spiky burs. I was especially interested because you rarely see chestnut trees in the United States. Why? Go here for a previous post with the answer.
“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” are lyrics in The Christmas Song, a familiar holiday carol, but I’ve never roasted chestnuts. Go here to view full screen.
I was hoping to find chestnuts roasting at the Christmas Market in Washington D.C., but no luck. I did taste some chestnuts my daughter purchased at Whole Foods.
Christmas activities and videos with a science twist for your students, children, or grandchildren:
Click here for some fun and simple science experiments to try at home.
Click here to learn how science can explain some of the mysteries of Santa.
Click here for the Twelve Days of Christmas with a science theme.
Grab Pipe Cleaners and Bells with a Magnet through the Bottle
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Go here and here to construct Santa or elf ziplines.
Go here to construct holiday lava lamps.
Go here to teach empathy with a holiday theme.
Go here to learn about holiday plants.
Go here to learn how to decorate for the season using nature.
Go here for a post about mistletoe.
See also recent post about pine trees and other evergreens.
What do you notice about these needles?
Pine needles grow in clusters of two, three, five, or occasionally seven needles on twigs. Pine trees are identified by the number of needles in each bundle (farcical). The length of pine needles varies.
Pine trees are common across North America. There are over 100 species. They are related to other conifers like firs, cedars and spruces. Loblolly pines, which grow to 90 feet tall, are common in the Southeastern United States. Dark green needles, about eight inches long, grow in bundles of three.
Go here to learn more about Loblolly pines and view the following video full screen.
Because pine trees grow tall and straight, their wood is used for a variety of purposes such as furniture, flooring, and construction. Paper is also made from pine wood pulp. In the South, gardens are covered with pine straw mulch. Pine seeds are a food source for squirrels, woodpeckers, and raccoons. Go here to view full screen.
How do you tell the difference between a pine, fir, or spruce? Go here to view full screen. When you hike with your family, identify the types of evergreens along your path.
Go here to watch Mrs. Willowby’s Christmas Tree full screen. Sequence the events.
Christmas Farm: “This lovely tale celebrates intergenerational friendship and determination, growth and nature, and the joy of the holiday season.” —School Library Journal
The Christmas Cobwebs: On Christmas morning, the poor shoemaker and his wife awaken to a shimmering surprise hanging from their tree.
A story of Gratitude: The Littlest Christmas Tree. Go here to view full screen.
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The Night Tree (A holiday tradition)
I originally wrote this post about the history and science of fireworks last year, but I’m reposting with a few updates. Happy Fourth of July!
I watched fireworks at my sister’s home in Kirkwood, MO. As I watched this impressive display, I wondered about the history of fireworks and how the colors and shapes are created. Check out the links below to find out more.
Click here to learn more about fireworks from Steve Spangler.
Click here to watch the following video in full screen. Click here for the Safeshare link.
Go here to watch full screen.
It’s all about love in February! Let’s celebrate by searching for hearts in nature. Having an intention when you walk always sharpens observation skills. If you find one, please place it in the comments. I’ll be adding more as I discover them too.
Also check out Run Wild My Child’s blog post here about collecting hearts in nature and the great cause it supports.
deer track
Someone found this heart before me!
Click here for a favorite classroom activity to build community using hearts. Little Hearts, Finding Hearts in Nature looks like a fun story to read prior to or after your search. Click here to read a summary.
![Little Hearts: Finding Hearts in Nature by [Charles Ghigna, Jacqueline East]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51aKCOqbYnL.jpg)
I wanted to post something fun for you to do on April Fool’s Day! Can you make the photo of George Washington smile on a dollar bill?
Click here to learn how to turn his frown upside down! Now try to make other historical figures smile on different denominations of paper bills.
Groundhog Day is the ideal time to investigate light and shadows! Below is a compilation of shadow investigations I previously completed with my students.
A shadow is formed when a natural or man-made light source blocks an opaque object. Shadows can move and change. Bringing a light source closer to an object will make its shadow grow larger while moving the light source away will make it smaller. Try changing the angle of the light source. Move the light from left to right (imitating the rising and setting of the sun) and note how the shadow changes. What does the shadow look like when the flashlight (sun) is directly overhead? What would you see if two light sources were directed toward an object?
Bring a basket of items outside on a sunny day and place them on a white sheet of paper. Check back during the day and note how the shadow changes.
Hide objects from a child’s view and then project them onto the wall. Can your students identify what is creating the shadow? Turn the object on its side or stand it on its end. Does the shape of the shadow change? I used an old overhead projector to do this investigation, but you can also take the lampshade off a lamp.
Make a guessing game with cards. Place a picture on one side of the paper and its shadow on the back of the card. I made a collection of these in my early teaching days before we had copiers! I cut out pictures from coloring books.
Ask students to draw, color, and cut out an animal of their choosing while out of sight from classmates. Use clipboards to scatter your children around the room. While children are looking forward, place a light behind the animal and ask students to identify the animal from its shadow.
Form animals using hand shadows. Click here for the Safeshare link for the video below.
Did you notice the children’s silhouettes in the photos above? To capture children’s silhouettes, simply ask them to stand so that you can see their profiles on the wall. Take a photo of the silhouette, print it, or project it from your laptop and trace it. I remember trying to trace children’s silhouettes while they attempted to sit still! Another option is to trace around children, while they are lying down on bulletin board paper, with a white crayon. Display the opposite side, so lines aren’t visible.
Trace children’s shadows with chalk outside on sidewalks or a driveway periodically throughout the day. Measure the length of the shadows with measuring tape. Compare the differences.
Play the classic game of shadow tag when you are outside. Another fun shadow game is the mirror game. Find a partner. One person is the shadow. The shadow copies his/her partner’s movements.
Children will discover that light can pass through some objects which will lead to an exploration of transparent, translucent, and opaque objects. Children tested to see how much light traveled through a collection of materials in the investigation below.
For videos about shadows, click here and here. Click here for a fun Sesame Street shadow song.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5
It’s Almost Groundhog Day! Will the groundhog see its shadow?
To make this little puppet, attach a construction paper or fun foam groundhog to a stick and push the stick through the bottom of the cup, so that the groundhog (aka woodchuck) can move in and out of its burrow. Use a flashlight to demonstrate how the groundhog might see its shadow and respond according to the legend. A legend is a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but unauthenticated. (Merriam Webster)
Tune- I’m a Little Teapot (Poet Unknown)
Here’s a little groundhog, furry and brown,
He’s popping up to look around.
If he sees his shadow, down he’ll go,
Then six more weeks of winter- Oh, no!
When I was a teenager in Maryland, I often saw groundhogs. I’ve never seen one in the Atlanta area. Maybe digging in the red Georgia clay is just too hard!
As you listen to the videos below, listen for these vocabulary words: mammal, burrow, kit, incisors, rodent, herbivore, and hibernate.
Click here for the Safeshare link to learn about groundhogs.
Click here for another non-fiction video. For older students, click here.
Click here to hear a humorous story about a groundhog. What are the differences between fiction and non-fiction books?
Click here for the story, The Night Before Groundhog Day.
