Outdoor Hour Challenge: Yes, You Can Compare Pears!

Our weekly nature study with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Autumn Series 2011 was to compare a pear! Or several! And against apples! Well this was a tasty idea, and worked out fine with the upside-down weather we've been experiencing. No need for a sunny day. We can just pull up to the kitchen counter for this one.

Storm damaged Bradford Pear. The dog loves the fruits.

Truth-be-told, I spent every walk over a couple of weeks looking for SOMEONE who just might have a pear tree in their yard. The closest things were Bradford Pears --those over-planted hybridized freaks that, like so many vain celebrities, are all show but no substance. Bradfords were developed in the lab to be the "perfect" shade tree: compact to be plantable along sidewalks, showy to enhance suburban streets, and fast-growing. What they WEREN'T supposed to do is snap in two after 20 years! Their bio-engineered bodies are top-heavy and one simple storm can send them to the ground. We now know first-hand as we added one of a pair (no pun intended this time) to the mulch pile just last spring.

Anyway, though there were no true pear trees, there were plenty of the edible fruits coming into season at our local grocer. We also picked up several varieties of apples to com-PEAR.  

Following the Autumn Challenge guidelines, we first went to the internet and found some great educational pages on pears. (California is very proud of their pears; a-pear-antly, they make it part of their school curriculum!) We read about their surprisingly interesting history (really? pears?). Here's what the Fact Sheet had to tell us:

• The Bartlett pear was developed in England in the seventeenth
  century by a schoolmaster named John Stair. He
  sold some cuttings to a horticulturist named Williams, who
  further developed the variety and renamed it after himself.
  Early Americans brought pear seedlings across the Atlantic
  to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1812, nurseryman
  Enoch Bartlett discovered the pear variety and, unaware of
  the pear’s true name, distributed it as a “Bartlett.” However, it
  is still known as the “Williams” pear around the world. Bartlett
  cuttings eventually came west when the forty-niners headed
  for the great California Gold Rush and continue to grow in
  California today.

Then we found this site that got our mouths watering as we viewed and read the delicious descriptions of about a dozen varieties, some of which I've never seen in stores.

Our sacrificial apple revealed its star-shaped seed cavities.

Now it was time for the scientific part of our study: observation and DISSECTION! Mei went through the less exciting part of describing the outside of both pear and apple. "Firm," "bruised," "spherical," and "mottled" were some of the better adjectives she came up with. Splitting the pear open she was intrigued with the cavities that held the little "white, tear-dropped" seeds. She also pointed out the flower-shaped arrangement of the cavities and delightedly perceived the same order in the apple.

Inhaling the scent of the "gift of the gods."

Finally the time had come for the tasting party. Like any wine fancier would tell you, you must first inhale the bouquet. She found the pear's fragrance to be "sweet and sower (sic)" compared with the apple's overall sweetness. She did not detect a great difference in flavor, but maybe she just wanted to get on with EATING!
Below is a notebook page Barb included in the Autumn Series Challenge for pears. Now to get some new pear recipes to use on all those varieties I saw in the store this week!

I see some words to add to the spelling list, but she gets an A for effort.

Outdoor Hour Challenge: Milkweed!

I love milkweed. I love what milkweed represents: monarch butterflies, the warmest days of summer, weeks at the lake, time spent at the Conservancy Cabin. So I couldn't wait for us to study milkweed with the More Nature Study with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Autumn 2011 .

Go here for more info on Monarch Caterpillars

We are fortunate to live on the edge of the countryside and had no trouble finding specimens for study. Sometimes we find them sprouting right in our flower beds and then I have to wrestle with my conscience  about treating them as "unwanted weeds" because I know they are the ONLY food for hungry Monarch caterpillars.  The highway department works hard enough at eradicating them along the roadsides; should I  jump on the bandwagon? Especially when Monarchs have taken such a hit in the last few years with some record cold in Mexico that killed off so many during their hibernation? But for our study time they were going to seed along a section of horse fencing owned by our neighbors.

Following the questions in the study guide we looked for insects on them and were rewarded (if finding bugs is your idea of a reward; it was ours) by locating Milkweed Bugs (Oncopeltus fasciatus)   all over. They were not sure about being photographed. It took several "sneak attacks" to catch them before they scooted to the other side of a pod or simply dropped off into the weeds. BugGuide.net had these interesting remarks about the bugs:

" Eggs are laid in milkweed seed pods or in crevices between pods. About 30 eggs are laid a day, and about 2,000 over a female's lifespan. In the course of feeding, these bugs accumulate toxins from the milkweed, which can potentially sicken any predators foolish enough to ignore the bright colors which warn of their toxicity."

We then investigated the "milk" of the milkweed. By breaking the weed at any place on its stem, we observed a stream of white juice. The Handbook of Nature Study explains that this milk aids in the healing of the plant wounds.













We experimented with spreading the stuff on our fingers and, sure enough, it dried into a rubbery film that would NOT wash off. A little research on the origins of rubber would be a logical next step. And when tasted, there's no wondering why caterpillars full of it would be noxious to birds!

Mei added drawings of the pod and seed balloon to her notebook page.

 It took a few weeks to find the pods beginning to open. Thankfully the milkweed that we had chosen is along our usual dog-walking route so we could easily keep tabs on it. Here it is a month later. Aren't the silky threads beautiful in the sun?

Inside the pods, we could see the neatly arranged rows of the hundreds of seeds. Hopefully, many of them will find friendly homes to repopulate our roadsides next summer and beckon the Monarchs that love them!

Outdoor Hour Challenge: Dragonflies!

It's been a really great summer in Eagles Mere, Pa where we spend so much time in God's Great Outdoors. One of the best things about homeschooling is being able to stay as long as we want (well, almost, as there are school-year related activities starting back home, like it or not).  Last year we chose to begin school while still at the lake to give ourselves a slower immersion into the school routine. This also encourages us to take greater advantage of all the nature studies we can do while here. The town has a very active Conservancy which provides all kinds of outdoor learning for every age. This year we enjoyed some of our old favorites, like building Gnome Homes in the woods,  and new ones like a presentation on eagles with a real live rehab-ed guest.  Gave us a new appreciation for our national symbol when she was in flapping distance!


Wanting a bit of help in doing some nature study on our own, I turned--once again--to Barb McCoy's Outdoor Hour Challenge. I'm so excited to discover the new Newsletters! I immediately downloaded the August 2011 issue and was elated to find the focus on Pond Study. Our lake has an adjoining pond right next to the Conservancy Cabin where we were able to borrow dip nets, containers, and field guides as well as get assistance and insight from our resident naturalist, Irene. We packed our bags with the Newsletter and the notebooking pages, some colored pencils, a magnifying glass, and snacks, and biked on over. (Yes, biked: it's that close!)

Mei chose to focus on dragonflies which are abundant there in summer. There are so many around  the lake that all the kids treat them as friends and probably get their first lessons in the "birds and bees" from the damselflies mating acrobatics. (The" birds and the bugs?")


This day we noticed a new courtship "dance" by some small red dragonflies. The male's tail end held the female at her head, while she would dip her tail end into the water. It seems the female is being fertilized and laying her eggs all at once. This was different from the numerous damsels whose males grab the TAIL end of the female and loop their hind-ends around in a circle for the mating stance. The red ones turned out to be


Golden-winged Skimmers.


Miss Irene has taught a class on dragonflies to the children for years, so every returning child knows how to tell a Damsel from a Dragon. Damsels rest with their wings laid along their backs, dragons with their wings out-stretched! And that a dragonfly consumes hundreds of mosquitoes a day. But not only as an adult, but even as a voracious larvae-eating nymph! Here's a fun site to learn more about dragonflies! 
And of course there is Barb's own Outdoor Challenge page on Dragons and Damsels .
This was perhaps the first time Mei really got into here notebook page, using the How-to-Draw-a-Dragonfly lesson that Barb's newsletter linked us to. On her own she also sketched an Eastern Hemlock on the far shore of the pond, which was a huge step for my reluctant artist.

I'm really grateful for the opportunity we had to sit and soak in an especially gorgeous afternoon at one of our favorite places in the world. For us, this is "The Place of Returning," a feature article in the newsletter. Our prayer is that the vigilance of the Conservancy will continue to protect and preserve this small but important place.


Join me at the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival to meet more dragonfly enthusiasts!


"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered." --Nelson Mandela

Bird's-Eye View of the Week: There's Smart , and then There's Smartphone Smart

In my life this week…

There is a strange, round, yellow thing in the sky. We have heard of other parts of the world that see it daily, but it's been hidden behind dark, thick clouds for so long we forget what they call it. 

In some ways I didn't miss it because the rain excused me from weeding. But it's okay. I still have my plantar fasciitis to keep me sitting. (Won't help the way I look in a bathing suit though.) It IS nice to see Father R chasing Mei around the yard in the lawn tractor!

In our homeschool this week…

We are really pushing to complete the Marco Polo and Ancient China lapbooks in time for our homeschool group's Closing Program.  Which is in just 10 days. And we will be spending five of them away celebrating Memorial Weekend. Looks like more School-on-Wheels!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

Several roadtrips to the lake house to prepare for the summer season.  Therefore, LOTS of School-on-Wheels.  

This Tuesday, we are bidding farewell to Tai as she departs on a four-month domestic deployment to Miami to work with their local law enforcement.  Wasn't too sorry to hear that the Defense Department is nixing the remaining deploys--which could include less scenic places like Afghanistan--due to budget cuts. The government does get SOME things right.

My favorite thing this week was…

Mei finding a nest of robins (how apropos for me!) in her tree house/swingset! They had just hatched! Now to keep her and the cats away. 

My other fav thing was discovering a homeschool group right in my backyard that provides more coops, field trips, enrichment, and support than I thought I would ever find. Can't wait to get involved!

What's working/not working for us...

My new smartphone (the Droid X by Motorola) is definitely working and I'm still mining its applications for productivity in the home and school. It is cutting WAAAAYY down on the amount of books we stuff into the backseat for School on Wheels. Thanks to the many books on the Ambleside Online curriculum list that are free online, I can use my phone to read our daily selections right from the screen while we tool down the highway. Even Father R enjoys listening to something else than radio.
This is a subject I plan to get into deeper in another post. Stay tuned.

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have…

Foreign language next year?  Latin, Spanish, or French? Anything?

And whether declining teaching in our Pioneer Girls Club next year is selfishness or protectiveness. (So much time and energy being taken away from schooling. Wah.)

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

Cutest ugliness you ever saw. 

Got any smartphone ideas to share? Share them! Thanks for stopping by and thanks to The Homeschool Chick for hosting the Homeschool Mother's Journal!
 

Bird's-Eye View of the Week: School on Wheels

  Time for the Weekly-Wrap-up!   Now that Spring has sprung in the frozen tundra of North Central PA, we are spending more weekends going to our lake house and getting it ready for another fun-filled summer of swimming, sailing, and sunning. (In order of preferences by Mei Wei, Father R, and Mother R.) With a four-hour drive required, we usually leave on a Thursday and return on a Sunday, so to keep up with school, we take it on the road!

History
The early 1700's. Do you know how the Union Jack got its name and look. ? A combo of the English and Scottish flags made up its design and gave the United Kingdom its ensign by an edict of Queen Anne in 1703. The name comes partly from the "union" of these countries under the new British Parliament (Ireland being added later) and the spelling of Anne's Francophile father, James II, who preferred to be called Jacques. Get it? 
   There are other times in reading An Island Story when you really  just have to skip bits that may mean something to little British students but leave Yankee kids clueless. The following, from the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie's battle against Sir John Cope, is an example:
                      

"Now Johnnie, troth ye were na blate,

To come wi' the news o' your ain defeat,

And leave your men in sic a strait

So early in the morning."

Huh?
Justification for skipping made.

Geography

On we march with Marco Polo and all things Ancient China. This week: the Terra Cotta Soldiers of the first emperor, Qin Shihuang. We happened upon a PBS.org viewing that really helped flesh out our understanding and greatly enhance our awe of this monumental task. It was part of a series, called "Secrets of the Dead."  Mei added this subject to her lapbook about Ancient China 
Here is the whole episode! (Don't mind the commercial: it's benign.:-)  )

Watch the full episode. See more Secrets of the Dead.

Math
Math-U-See Delta now has Mei learning formulas! For a fourth-grader it sounds so High School, doesn't it? Here's one:                                                                     
                                               lh = area of a triangle
                                    2


I'm sure I didn't remember that!

Science
The Story of Inventions covered Alexander Graham Bell. Mei's narration of the Centennial Exposition of 1876 in Philadelphia went like this:
"The judges were going to quit judging early and start the next day but Alexander Graham Bell could only stay that day. :-( Then the Emperor Dom Pedro of Brazil, who was a judge and knew him from Boston, saw his exhibit and said "We need to judge this one right now!" His exhibit was saved! :-D"
    While reading Bell's prior invention of the "phonautograph", which recorded soundwaves of speech in visual form to help the mute learn to talk, Mother R realized we had an example of one right in her smartphone: the text-to-speech feature. Mei dictated a message into the speaker and watched as her words turned into waves. "Imagine," said Mother, "doing it the other way around and having to imitate those waves to re-create sounds!" Talk about determination.


So we're back in the mountains on a Saturday finishing our week as I type while Father R plays golf in the rain and fog. I think I'd rather be doing anything, including school on Saturday, than that.

All homeschoolers educate in vehicles sometimes. What about you? Got tips?