The air has a crisp feeling in it this morning, and tomorrow I will be using a new printer to print my Trumpet of the Swan guide. So you could say I'm set for pretty much a perfect weekend.
In just two weeks we will be diving into The Trumpet of the Swan, exploring pond ecosystems, Trumpeter Swans, and trumpets. It feels like a glorious fit for cooler weather, birds migrating over our heads, and delighting in my favorite author of all time.
Will you be joining us?
Here is a rundown of what you can expect in my new guide. Under each activity I have written out what your child is actually doing, in the words a teacher or an evaluator would use. I do this because so many of us worry that the days our children love the most are the days that do not count, and that is simply not true. A morning at a pond with a jar and a good question is rigorous work. It just does not feel like it while you are doing it.
Pond Ecosystems
If you love the idea of nature study, but have a hard time fitting it in with your other family studies, you are not alone! This first activity will help get you started by sending you on an outing to a local pond. You will create a mini pond ecosystem in a jar to observe some of the hidden creatures we can't see from the surface of the water. Then you will head home and play a food web game to see what happens when one part of the web disappears.
Skills your child will grow in:
- Field observation and data collection in a natural habitat
- Constructing explanations from evidence to determine feeding relationships
- Modeling an ecosystem and analyzing interdependence within a system
- Cause and effect reasoning through a controlled variable and tracing energy transfer through a food chain
Trumpeter Swans
I believe in utilizing both modern and traditional educational resources. For this activity, your child will navigate the Audubon website to learn all about Trumpeter Swans. They will use the research they gathered to create a traditional Charlotte Mason nature study entry along with either oral or written narration. The whole activity is fully scripted for parents who are new to the Charlotte Mason method of observe, draw, and narrate.
Skills your child will grow in:
- Information literacy: navigating a digital reference source using headings, search tools, and embedded links
- Interpreting visual and spatial data, including range maps and photographs
- Observational drawing and scientific labeling
- Oral and written narration: synthesizing and restating research in the student's own words
Meet the Trumpet
Have you tried your hand at notebooking? Not really sure what it is or how to start? I will walk you and your children through how to get started! Draw a trumpet, label its part, do some research and record interesting facts, including a “famous player corner" where your child will spotlight a famous trumpet player. I have included a sample notebooking page to guide you and a child who is just starting to build the skill of notebooking or would benefit from having a guide.
Skills your child will grow in:
- Research and note-taking across print and digital sources
- Evaluating source material and selecting relevant details
- Paraphrasing and informational writing
- Notebooking: organizing research into a visual layout with observational drawing
Join us on our journey alongside Louis!