A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Animals

8 Options for Spring Nature Study

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The other day my summer nature post randomly popped up on me.  It got me thinking about the things I look for in the spring and how they could be turned into nature studies quite easily.   So today I would like to give you 8 options for Spring Nature Study. 

8 Options for Spring Nature Study

The first five ideas

Spring bulbs.

Once the snow starts disappearing I start looking for spring bulbs.  It would be an interesting study to sacrifice one of those growing bulbs in order to cut it in half and examine the parts. You can find a diagram of a tulip bulb. Or you can choose to cut up an onion like in this study.

Birds. 

Don’t we all like to look for that first particular bird of spring?  My hubby likes to look for robins. I watch for the flock of blue jays that hangs out in our hedge for a while.   If it were summer I’d be on the hunt for my smallest birds of the summer, the hummingbird.  

It would be most excellent to take an early morning walk and see what birds you can simply see flitting about, or going out later in the afternoon to see what nests you might see.

bird-nest-eggs-blue-158734.jpeg
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

You could consider looking up high and watching for birds flying high and study wing patterns to determine what sort of bird you see. And if you are feeling adventurous, make some fun bird wings.   You might find some helpful books along the way (aff. link). 

Observe a plot of land

This is an easy one for any age.  Find a section of land and observe the changes that happen as the weather warms ups.  The grass growing, leaves budding, insects arriving, and such like.  Pick up a lovely journal and draw or document what you see. In fact, you’ll find some fantastic nature study pages over at notebookingpages which will help you round out your observations. 

Clouds

Watch the clouds roll in and learn what they mean.  Does that light fluffy one mean nice weather or does it mean that it will rain later?   

After watching a youtube video or two you can print out this Cloudviewer or if you have littles, make a sensory bin with cloud dough.  Older children can make a lapbook, and middle through high school can learn the dynamics about cloud formation. 

This of course can lead to a study of how the wind moves. 

Studying the wind is easy… you can watch debris blowing around, see trees bend, and the deeper you get into the study you can discuss vortexes, wind streams, and more.   Of course, you can just have the fun of sitting back and watching the wind move the clouds far above.  🙂 

orange tulip field
Photo by Barbara Webb on Pexels.com

The last 3 options for spring nature study

Frogs and Toads

I don’t know about where you live here, but early in the spring, we’ll hear the toads and frogs singing in our backyard pond.  When we go for walks in the bush at the dam the spring peepers will also be out in full force.   There is so much to learn about frogs. Around the world, you will find frogs in almost any environment.  You’ll find them up in trees, in lakes, in little streams, and in backyard ponds.   

Did you know that they are an indicator species?  They will tell you if there is something wrong in the environment, this makes them so important to learn about.  We need to keep them safe!   Pinterest has a number of frog and toad nature studies. 

nature summer garden animal
Photo by Caio on Pexels.com

Seasonal Change

Watching the snow melt, dealing with the season of mud (at least here in SW Ontario), and plants start to emerge.  It’s a natural thing to discuss the different seasons.  You’ll find books like Hedgehog’s home for Winter and The Leaf Thief very helpful with youngsters.  With these books, you can easily create lap books, or fill out notebooking pages about what you see in each season. 

With older students, you can have them create polls and study the why of seasonal change.  Perhaps even have them track seasonal change around the world, or the differences over the equator. 

Bees and Dandelions

Friends of ours keep bees.  Did you know that dandelions are one of the first flowers that bees visit in the spring?   They come out early and help bees recover from their winter hibernation.   Wouldn’t it be great to add these to your spring nature study?   You can build a bee hotel, learn how a beehive is put together, and the importance of a gentle queen.    Add in the life cycle of a dandelion, dandelion necklaces, and dandelion recipes.

 

close up photo of bee on a yellow flower
Photo by Ralph on Pexels.com

What would you study?

So these are the 8 Options for Spring Nature Study that I came up with.  What would you like to study this spring?   I know that every area has their own signs of spring, it would be great to know what yours are. 

Hedgehog’s Home for Winter

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (Hedgehog’s Home for Winter) through Ascot Media Group.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so.

Oh my…. I like this book!  🙂   Hedgehog’s Home for Winter is a look into seasonal change and how animals live through the winter. So if you are looking for a way to help your littles (or even introduce some olders) understand how animals survive the winter… this book will help.  Hedgehog has much to learn, and so we can learn with him! 

hedgehog's home for winter

Learning about Hedgehog’s Home for Winter

Clever Publishing has put together this lovely book entitled Hedgehog’s Home for Winter.  This hardcover book was written by Elena Ulyeva.   And boy, it’s a cute book, while being educational!   You’ll find the animals are rather anthropomorphized but it suits the style of the book.  It provides talking points, at least it would for me, asking children if they really thought wild mice slept in bed like people.  🙂 

The Illustrations are provided by Daria Parkhaeva, she has illustrated both of the Hedgehog books.  You’ll find lots of colours, with about 1/2 the 32 pages done in full colour.  The other half make good use of white space, showing action as Hedgehog moves from friend to friend. Children up to grade two will enjoy the excellent depiction of the various animals and the natural use of colour. 

I love hedgehog’s heart desire.  He wants to help his friends!   Birds, fish, bear, squirrel and more.   He takes the time to check in on all them.  Itsn’t that thoughtfulness a wonderful thing to see? 

You’ll find the font a great size to read sitting down in a comfy couch with child at your side, or reading with a large group of children gathered round.  There are authomatic stopping points as you walk with hedgehog checking on his friends.  Who might he go to next, what might he find?   Do you think he’ll check on a toad or a bird next?   Why don’t we find out together? 

Should it be yours?

Learning about how animals make it through the winter is an important part of nature studies.  Hedgehog’s home for winter is a good introductory book into learning about their survival skills.   Since Hedgehog is the main character it makes me think this is European based (no wild hedgehogs in Canada at least!)  🙂  So it might also be a good introduction to learning a bit about European wildlife.   I never knew that hedgehogs hiberate! 

This is a wonderfully illustrated book with tons of talking points, and a hedgehog showing compassion to others. Well worth reading whether looking at animal survival skills or character development.  It’s must have been hard for a hibernating hedgehog to stay awake and then run all over the forest checking in on his friends.   But because he cared… we got to learn about how his friends manage the cold.  A good premise for a book yes? 

All I Want for Christmas is Ewe

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (All I Want For Christmas is Ewe) through Raincoast Books.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so.

What do fox, sheep, bears and cats have in common?  They all have Christmas greetings for you!  Sometimes clever, sometimes silly, but always suitable for little ones.  I thought it was adorable…and a bit little clever… and laughingly read it to a friend of mine. 

All I want for Christmas is Ewe

The Fun of a good Christmas book

Based on the ARC I received from Raincoast books I never would have thought this was a board book!  I can totally understand it though when I read the lyrics.  They are short, sweet and rhyming.  The words fit well with the thinking ability of toddlers.  What do wolves do?  Howl.

So when we meet the wolves the verse we read is “Howl be home for Christmas, this you know is true, To hooold you close, I just adore you!”  Isn’t that a clever way of using a well known song and fitting to the right animal?  

You’ll find that cleverness to hold true for each animal on the 20 pages of this toddler focused book.  Each page hosting a rhyming couplet.  All I want for Christmas is Ewe is a very easy book to read, the words rolling off the tongue smoothly. 

Published by sourcebook kids, and written by Rose Rossner.  Illustrator Gail Yerrill does a fantastic job of bringing each set of parent/child animals to life.  Vivid, realistic colours help teach young children what each of these animals looks like.  The Christmas highlights on the prose page just add to the fun. 

Should All I want for Christmas is Ewe be yours?

If you know a toddler, or have a toddler, particularly one that likes animals… get this short read.  Have fun with it!  Laugh about the animals with their Christmas greetings.  Marvel at the love shown.  Enjoy the Christmas illustrations and simply…love on that little one.  Enjoy spending time with them.  This book is a fun, silly read… perfect for reading with a young one in your lap! 🙂 

Find other Christmas reads here. Having good books to read at Christmas is just one of the joys of the season!

Now as I’m thinking about it as I sit here I think… it might be fun to have older children see if they can figure out some of the clever twists in the lyrics. Can they figure out if the line came from a Christmas song, or how a line was changed from a popular Christmas greeting?  Might be a fun Christmasy challenge eh? 

Diary of the Cat Named Carrot

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (Diary of the Cat Named Carrot) through HCI Books.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog. It costs you nothing to do so, and encourages me.  🙂

You know how cats, bunnies, and dogs can have their own accounts on Instagram or Facebook?  Well, there’s a cat named Carrot who has his own place on Social Media.  This cat even has a book!  Diary of the Cat Named Carrot!  Carrot can be found on Facebook and Facebook.  Pictures and the thoughts of Carrot the cat abound. 

Diary of the cat named carrot

Diary of the Cat Named Carrot, details

When you get Diary of the Cat Named Carrot, you will receive a lovely hardcover tome featuring Carrot on the front cover.  Carrot is an adorable orange tabby.   This book features his life from shelter kitten to settled 1st year owned cat as part of a family of four.  I am reviewing this 158 picto-biography for HCI Books.   You will find a photo to go with every diary entry.   Erin Merryn is author and photographer.

Who is Erin Merryn

Now that you caught a glimpse of this sweet book let me tell you a bit about Erin Merryn.  She is an author, speaker, activist, wife and mom.   Named Woman of the Year in 2012 by Glamour Magazine, she works tirelessly to keep children safe by educating them about body safety.  She has also written Bailey, no Ordinary cat.  Stolen innocence, Living for Today, and An Unimaginable act. 

Additional Information

Carrot came from a shelter that their previous cat Bailey had come from.  In his diary Carrot talks about how he and his siblings were brought to the shelter to find new homes.   The author attempts to describe his story from Carrot’s point of view.  It makes for a cute story, but anthropomorphising animals is something that I struggle with.  🙂  We honestly can’t know how an animal is thinking or feeling.  But all that said, Diary of the Cat named Carrot is a cute and fun story that I’d happily have sit on a shelf.  Such a delight it would be to adult and child alike don’t you think? 

Diary of the cat named carrot

Aren’t the photos clear?  Every photo is well taken with clarity to help tell the story of Carrot’s life.

I don’t know if it her children or Erin who enjoys dressing Carrot up, but he has a number of different articles to wear.  Which makes him quite the fashionable cat. 

Carrot is involved in every aspect of his family’s life, from holidays to birthdays and days inbetween.  A tolerant well-behaved tabby cat.  🙂 

Add Diary of the Cat Named Carrot to your shelves?

The perfect gift for any cat lover, Diary of the Cat Named Carrot would be welcome I think is most homes.  It tells a a heartwarming story of a rescue cat.  Encourages people to spay their cats, and shows how a cat can be a complete part of family life. 

From a homeschooling perspective, study cats, research the work of shelters, understanding cat lives etc. 

The Book of Tiny Creatures

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (The Book of Tiny Creatures) through Raincoast Books.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so.  🙂 

When I saw this book in my pile of book to review from Raincoast I was so delighted.  My lad would have loved The Book of Tiny Creatures as a child.  I hope that I can find just the right child to gift this to as I know it will bring delight to any child fascinated by the tiny creatures around us.   

There are SO many tiny creatures around us, worms, beetles, snails, flying, crawling, slithering, everywhere living teeny tiny critters invading our world.  Let’s welcome them shall we?  🙂   Seriously!

The book of tiny creatures

Learning about Tiny Creatures

The Book of Tiny Creatures was produced by Princeton Architectural Press.  Instructively written by Nathalie Tordjman and realistically illustrated by Julien Norwood and Emmanuelle Tchoukriel.  72 pages encased in a hardcover binding, written for youth 5-9 years old. Reviewed for Raincoast Books. 

Digging Deeper

You will find five overall sections, each with five subsections.

  • Who are the Tiny Creatures? 
  • Life in the sky 
  • Close to the Ground 
  • In the Water
  • Incredible Creatures

You’ll find oodles of pictures that are so intricately drawn it’s delightful to see.  Good descriptions of select creatures as well.  Plus information pages to round out ideas and get children thinking. 

Quiz pages in each section.   Not all the answers are given (at least not that I saw quickly), which allows you to do some research, and find more questions to ask (and answer) about these amazing critters of the world.  Finding books that encourage excellent questions are always a boon to me.  Feeding curiousity in others makes my heart smile, does it do the same to yours? 

Plus things to do!  Build a terrarium, explore at the seashore, or create shelters in your backyard.  STEM activities at their best!  Learn, create, and grow!   Don’t you just love STEM activities?  Such an excellent way to put all the knowledge you are gathering to good purpose. 

I LOVe how the information is laid out and the variety of creature life featured.  I would have spent more than one night pouring over the pages with my lad and so many questions would be raised.

Should The Book of Tiny Creatures be yours?

FOR SURE!   If you have any interest in these little creatures of the world, get this book. If you have a child like mine who is fascinated by them and comes up with good questions, get this book so they can come up with MORE good questions.  Feed interests!  Help them learn and to love doing so! 

The book of tiny creatures with it’s excellent illustrations and good information is a winner!  Add it to your bookshelves as soon as you can!  🙂  It will be a good start to a study on insects, ocean creatures, Pollinators, pesky bugs, and more. 

Chickenology

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (Chickenology) through Raincoast Books.

Did you know that I love chickens?  I think chickens are such neat birds and they come in so many colours, sizes, feather styles, and temperaments.  You’ll get egg layers, meat birds, and dual purpose.  Chickens that lay eggs of many colours, and chickens known for their parenting abilities.  Chickenology introduces us to those birds and so much more.  Come!  Let’s delve into the ultimate encyclopedia of chickens!

Chickenology

What do you get and who produced Chickenology?

Chickenology: The ultimate encyclopedia was produced by Princeton Architectural Press.   It has a completely different look and style than the other Chicken book I’ve reviewed called Backyard Chickens.  The aim of Chickenology is to touch on a number of different areas with chickens from all around the world, that live for a variety of purposes.  Wild and domestic chickens are featured.   Written with children 5-9 years old in mind.

Five sections

  • Discovering the World of Chickens (11 subsections)
  • What’s a Chicken made of (11 subsections)
  • The Egg Up Close (5 subsections)
  • Chickens and Humans (8 subsections)
  • A world of Chicken Breeds (5 subsections)

73 pages that are well coloured with a good sized font for reading.   This book one in the farm animals series.  A wonderful hardcover that is oversized but comfortable to hold.   Chickenology is written by Barabara Sandri and Francesco Giubbilini and cheerfully illustrated by Camilla Pintonato.   My review copy comes from Raincoast Books. 

Getting More Specific

Check out the colours and the variety in these chickens!  Small chickens, large chickens, all kinds of chickens!

As you browse through the pages you’ll see the development of a chick into an adult, see how big (or small) chickens are, explore their feathers, discover different comb shapes, poultry diseases, and the many ways to cook eggs up!  

Chickenology provides lots of room on their pages for illustrations, lines, and text.  Nothing feels crowded and lots of colour will draw your attention.  I love the details provided on most pages about different features, such as this one about a chicken feather. 

What do I think of Chickenology?

Would I call Chickenology the ultimate encyclopedia of Chickens?   Not really, I didn’t find all the information accurate.  BUT it is a fun read, an interesting read, and I learned a few things new about chickens!   AND it is a very good start! 

If you are doing a project about chickens, this lovely tome by Sandri, Giubbilini and Pintonato will come in handy.  Or if you just want to have fun and learn some interesting facts about chickens, you’ll enjoy it. 

Did you know that chickens have played an important role throughout history being featured in stories, being used as symbols, and feeding large portions of the world’s population.   I’d be curious to know more, aren’t you? 

Armor & Animals

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (Armor & Animals) through Raincoast Books.

When my lad was but a lad (he’s almost a man now!) he was FASCINATED by armor, weapons, warcraft and the like.  He’s still interested, but less in the armor and weaponry and more on the planning behind the scenes which fascinates him.  Anyways, one of the more interesting aspects of his fascination was learning how where people live influences how their weaponry is built.  For instance, we learned of a people whose primary weapon was a club.  The top of this club was shaped like a pineapple.  Guess what grew around them?  Pineapples.  We saw this in other places of the world as well.   The influence that nature and natural formations had on the design of their weapons. So when Amor & Animals arrived on my door from Raincoast Books, I was immediately intrigued. 

Armor & Animals

All around us animals roam the earth.  Some of these animals have obviously seen protective armour.  These animals include such beasties as turtles, rhinos, snails and porcupines.  Could their armour influence the armour that people make for protection and/or warfare? 

You bet!    Armor & Animals by Liz Yohlin Baill walks youth 5-8 year olds through 9 different animals whose protective gear influenced our own. 

Learning more about Armor & Animals

Armor & Animals is a short, hard-covered book designed to answer the question, how do animals help us protect ourselves with better armor?  Through 9 different animals, spanning the range from insects to mammals, children are introduced to this influence.  

The book design is to lay out the question “A knight can lift the visor to look out of a helmet, just like a turtle peeks out from it’s shell”.   Then it goes on to explain how that animal help to influence the design of the piece of armor. 

More information about the animals and how their armor protects would have been great, as well as showing animals from the regions where the armor was designed.  This is very much an introductory work, having more “meat” in it would make it even better. 

Now, do I know if everything the author says is true, or if Liz Yohlin Baill is just looking for ideas to support her thesis?  I don’t know?  I haven’t done enough research on these specific things, but I do know that animals can influence our designs.  AND I do know that a book like this would have sparked lots of questions from my lad. 

The armor featured comes from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  The pieces featured range from full suits of armor to a shield, staff, helmet and gear for horses, and also some chain link mail.  All the armor was of European origin. 

Font and Colour

The font is a great size for sharing with a group of children, or facilitating children reading on their own.   I would not expect 5 year olds to read it on their own, but 8-9 year olds should be able to.  The language used is quite child-friendly. 

The colour palette is fairly basic using blue, yellow and red predominately (varying shades).  But what they did was feature each animal and the armor in their own colour.  This makes it easy to discern when a new topic begins. 

Should You Get it?

Armor & Animals is definitely worth taking a look it, it’s a great book to get the conversation started.  Can we be influenced by the animals around us?  How might that influence look?  Can we use animals to help us without hurting them?  Could a turtle really provide some answers for us? 

The amazement on my son’s face when doing our research on weapons and learning how where people lived affected their weapons design.  You can’t know where you might get inspiration from, and if animals can help us, why not let them?