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.
My husband and I traveled to Guatemala for a family wedding. As we approached Antigua, about an hour drive from Guatemala City, the volcanoes provided a striking backdrop to the former capital. Agua (water), Fuego (fire), and Acatenango (two headed) are the three volcanoes that tower around the colonial city, but Guatemala is home to 37 volcanoes in all.
Fuego, one of Central America’s most active volcanoes, explodes several times an hour (strombolian activity). The last major eruption was in June 2018.
Contrary to what you might think, an active volcano benefits the land around it. Guatemala is one of the largest producers of fruits and vegetables in Central America because the mineral deposits from volcanic eruptions enrich the soil. Click here to watch the following Study Jam about volcanoes.
I periodically share phenomenon (observable natural occurrences). I passed by this tree during one of my recent neighborhood walks. I wondered how and why the bark was red? What do you think? The diversity we see in nature is such a gift!
A red twig dogwood adds color to a winter landscape. Cuttings are ideal for placing in your winter outdoor pots or indoor in jars. They can be easily propagated too. Branches will be more vivid in winter months when the leaves drop. Why? Also, younger branches have brighter color, so pruning is necessary for the best color.
Click here to view full screen. Make a Valentine planter!
Use phenomenon with your children or students to develop critical thinking skills including observation, questioning, analysis and problem solving. Some past examples follow:
Why is lichen on one side of the tree? Click here.
Why did leaves fall off one side of the tree before the other? Click here.
Why did leaves fall off of the top of the tree first? Click here.
Why are the mushrooms growing in a circle? Click here.
While I was visiting the Chattahoochee Nature Center, I happened upon their story stroll, a collaborative effort with the Georgia Public Library System. What an engaging idea!
At the first marker, hikers are invited to scan the QR code which takes them to the story below, allowing them to listen to the story as they follow the woodland path. The author encourages readers to use their senses to learn about the plants and animals that inhabit these ecosystems. Click here for the author’s site.
If you choose not to listen, copies of the pages are on the markers.
Viewing areas are available for hikers to pause and reflect. Be sure to gaze into the sky, among the branches of the trees, and across the forest floor.
Because the forest is everchanging with the weather and seasons, new discoveries will await you each time you venture down the story path. On this chilly day in January, I was surprised to see a turtle sunning itself on a log. Turtles don’t hibernate but do brumate. Click here to learn how my lab turtle brumated.
Beavers, the largest rodent in North America, are a keystone animal in a woodland ecosystem and amazing natural engineers! They were once hunted to near extinction for their pelts, meat, and castoreum, but are no longer considered endangered.
When I visit the Chattahoochee Nature Center, I never miss the beaver habitat. When possible, rescued animals that are brought to the on-site CNC clinic are rehabilitated and released. “On average, the Wildlife Department receives an average of 500 injured raptors, reptiles, and amphibians annually.” Animals that cannot be set free are used for educational purposes. Although primarily nocturnal, this beaver was active during my recent visit.
What a perfect shape for swimming! Beavers are semi-aquatic, meaning they spend their lives in and out of the water. They can hold their breath for up to 15 minutes while under water.
Did you know that beavers’ larger hind feet are webbed and used for swimming, but their front feet are hand-like and used to manipulate objects? Beavers are herbivores and weigh up to 70 pounds.
The beaver’s thick fur repels water. Transparent eyelids allow them to see underwater and their nostrils and ears are closeable. Beavers remain active even on cold days and do not hibernate.
A beaver’s flat tail acts as a rudder when they swim. They will also slap their tail to warn of danger.
Like other rodents, beavers’ front incisors never stop growing, so they must chew to control their growth. Teeth are orange because of the iron in them. “Beaver chew” are sticks left behind after the beaver has eaten the bark and leaves. The sticks are used to make rustic furniture.
Click here to view full screen. I found this film fascinating! Before you build your dam below, listen to the plan the beavers use in this film. I have a new appreciation for the simile, busy as a beaver.
Gail Gibbons has written many non-fiction books for children.
Five Busy Beavers is a fun rhyme with predictable language that introduces the concept of subtraction.
Go outside and task your child with designing and building a dam. Use a shallow plastic tub. Then collect mud, leaves, rocks, moss, twigs and any other natural materials to construct a dam across the tub. Pour water on one side of the dam. Does your dam prevent the water from moving to the other side? Add some plastic pond animals to your ecosystem. Remember that beavers don’t live in their dams. They are social animals and build homes called lodges.
Do you have a dam near your home? This dam created a pond in my neighborhood. Use your discussion of beavers to kickstart a study of dams. Discuss how they are constructed and their purposes. Locate famous dams.
When you visit Yellowstone, be sure to see the beavers. Click here to learn more.
After reading the classic books, The Borrowers or The Littles, create a home for the characters with your children. Use as many natural objects as possible or repurpose items. Add plants or walkways. Construct a swing or a bridge. You are only limited by your imagination! If you are working with more than one child, create a community. Then compose your own story.
The Enchanted Trail is open at the Chattahoochee Nature Center. These structures and many more were built by families and placed along the woodland trail. Use them for inspiration.
I share travel posts, so when you venture to new places with your families, you will linger, learn, and appreciate these natural treasures.
Watch a movie about the South, and you are sure to see the hurricane resistant live oaks. When my husband and I stayed in Beaufort, South Carolina, stately live oak trees lined the streets. They were often draped with Spanish moss which I blogged about previously. Live oaks are prized trees in the Southeastern United States and grow to massive proportions. Like all oaks, they produce acorns, but unlike other oaks, their leaves are evergreen. Live oak is the state tree of Georgia.
Click here to view full screen. Learn how live oaks were used in ship building.
Our tour guide explained that permission must be granted to trim the large limbs off of a live oak. In the photo below, the street was cut around the live oak tree.
Having something intentional to find on my hikes or in nature always improves my observational skills. Ask your students or children to look for concentric circles. What are concentric circles? Many students in the United States are familiar with the Target Store logo, so use it as an introduction. Click here to view the following video full screen.
I have surmised over the years that most children don’t know how to use a compass, so teach your students how to make concentric circles with a compass and increase their understanding of geometry and measurement skills.
I found these concentric circles inside the carrot I ate for lunch.
Some people have concentric circles (whorls) on their fingerprints. Click here to go to a fingerprint lab. Are there any concentric circles in outer space?
Let’s focus on the concentric circles (capillary waves) created when an object drops in water. Take a walk in the rain and notice how circles are formed as drops hit the water. “Some people walk in the rain and others just get wet.” (Roger Miller)
Let’s watch in slow motion. Click here to view full screen.
Investigate dropping objects of various sizes, weights, and shapes into different depths of water, and compare how the concentric circles change. What happens when one set of ripples hit another? Do this outside by dropping natural objects in a pond, a child’s pool, or a puddle. Inside, fill a shallow tub of water and collect small objects to drop, such as a penny. Use bath time to investigate this phenomenon. Do objects that float still create ripples?
Take and print a photo of the concentric circles that form when an object drops in water and then measure the space between each circle. That space is called the annulus. What did you learn?
Inspire your children to create artwork using Kandinsky’s concentric circles. Click here to view full screen.
Another option would be to have each child fill one square with circles and then put the individual circles together to complete a cooperative piece of artwork. Go outside and fill the squares that divide a sidewalk with chalk concentric circles. These circle activities would be perfect for International Dot Day.
Share on Valentine’s Day or anytime! Click here to view full screen.
Last fall, I visited the Chicago Botanic Garden with my daughter. Although there were many lovely gardens to peruse, we spent more of our time there strolling through the Japanese Garden. A bonsai display greeted us, and we were intrigued by the skill and artistry demonstrated by these gardeners. The bonsai are so valuable that there is an alarm around each, just like any priceless work of art.
How are bonsai created? What do you wonder? Tie your study of bonsai with geography and history standards.
Another feature in the garden are the trees whose branches are carefully pruned to appear as clouds. Japanese Cloud Trees (Niwaki) are at their finest when snow sits atop the evergreen branches.
One of my favorite stories to read aloud is The Empty Pot. Set in China, this tale is about demonstrating character even when it costs you! For full screen viewing, click here.
The Atlanta area recently received nearly six inches of rain over one night. Several days later, when I was hiking on the greenway, my gaze lingered on these designs created by the water. How is the soil moved to form ridges and valleys? Is there a mathematical pattern? What do you wonder?
This photo was taken at the beach last year.
According to the Geology Page, “Ripple marks are sedimentary structures and indicate agitation by water (current or waves) or wind. They form perpendicular to the wind direction and each ridge is roughly equidistant from the ripple mark on either side. The symmetry of water-current ripple marks indicates whether they were formed by gentle waves or faster water currents.” Click here to read the entire article.
What do you notice about how the water is moving in this photo?
Do you see the ripple marks in the Bermuda grass?
Take and print a photo of ripple marks. Then trace over the ridges with a marker and notice patterns and symmetry.
![Little Hearts: Finding Hearts in Nature by [Charles Ghigna, Jacqueline East]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51aKCOqbYnL.jpg)
