Natuurstudie - 'n Wandeling in ons woonbuurt

Vanoggend terwyl ek terug kyk na al die posts wat ek al gedoen het, vind ek 'n paar wat nog nie klaar was nie.  Hierdie natuur uitstappie voel soos 'n ander lewe en tyd, in Pretoria meer as twee jaar gelede.  Ek kan nie meer die foto's opspoor om 'n datum hieraan te koppel nie.

Ons het sommer net om die blok gestap, nogal 'n groot blok.  Ek het eers gaan stap vroegoggend en die miernes gevind, en sommer besluit dit sal 'n goeie natuur uitstappie wees.  Ons het al voorheen 'n miernes teen 'n lamppaal bekyk en kon ook die twee met mekaar vergelyk.

Joshua kyk na die luggat van die miernes

Die aansporing vir die wandeling was 'n suigstokkie by die kafee op die hoek, wat natuurlik toe nou 'n baie blou gesig, hande en vingers tot gevolg gehad het. Maar ons aanvaar dit so, "hoe anders sal ons ooit sien dat dit ons seuntjie is".

Die nes van bo gesien

Die apie binne 'n erf moes eers gegroet word en ook 'n vryfie kry.  Ons kon ook oor veiligheid praat.

• Moenie sommer jou hand deur 'n heining steek nie.
• Kyk uit vir honde.
• Moenie honde net benader en vryf sonder dat die eienaar by is en toestemming gee nie.
• En, nee, hierdie apie is vriendelik.

Ons natuur / kuns tafel.

'n Veer, mooi klip en nessie om bestudeer te word

Outing to Kommetjie and the Cape Peninsula

This week we had an outing to the Cape peninsula.  We first visited the The Bean People factory in Kommetjie with the homeschool group.  This gave us also the chance to meet an longstanding internet/facebook friend and her family.

The children enjoyed being part of the manufacturing process of these bath products for children.

For their birthdays they received a similar product and here they had the chance to make them the same sponge figures.

The sponge figures are made from white foam in a press, then all the different figures are sorted, coloured and inserted into capsules.

Joshua making a sprudel - bath salts with a sponge figure inside

These ladies pack 40 trays per day, that's about 1200 sprudels per day. 

Tumble drying the foam forms

Packaging and shrink-wrapping 

Afterwards each child received a goody bag with a sprudel and magical beans.

We then headed to the beach.  The surprise of the day was finding the Slangkop Lighthouse but were disappointed because we could not visit as it was closed for maintenance.  We plan to study South African Lighthouses later this year.

Play time on the beach is always a must and mom gets to pick up more shells and rocks.

We found bluebottles on the beach and discussed all sorts of stingers - box jellyfish and "those pink ones in Nemo".

Finding this piece of "jelly". So tomorrow we will be reading and searching for answers

The view from the mountains above Muizenberg from where we could see the whole False Bay up to Pringle Bay.  The interesting patterns in the sea are the waves coming in.  

Outing to Pretoria National Botanical Gardens

On Friday morning we had a lovely outing to the Pretoria National Botanical Gardens with the Pretoria North Homeschool group.  For the age group up to Grade 4 the theme was "Life in a Pond".  The older kids from gr 5 up did a more indepth study on the ecosystem surrounding the pond.  Maria was our guide and "teacher" for the younger group.

 Maria, explaining all the rules of the Garden.

Each child received a set of worksheets and at their own time could search for the animals in the ponds and streams in the Botanical Gardens.

 Crossing and studying a water stream.

A sheet with all possible animals / insects at the pond.

Simeon added tadpoles, bees and crabs on his sheet.

Joshua had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the ducks and other birds.

Simeon hard at work:  drawing a pond and plants

I love the way a child tries to overcome the different dimensions.

Sharing a rock

Individual attention of mom-teacher making a list of all things in and around the pond.

We also visited the waterfall and the wishing well but my hands were full, and I did not take any pictures.  This photo of Joshua was at a previous visit.

The weather was overcast and cool and we were very glad that the rain only started when we finished our picnic. 

The Pretoria National Botanical Gardens: (website)

This beautiful 76 hectare property is situated on the eastern side of Pretoria.  For directions visit the website here.   The website offers a good opportunity to plan an outing and to decide on what to do.  See this Virtual Tour that describes different areas.

There are many opportunities for studying different ecosystems in the Botanical Gardens.  There are short and longer hiking trails, a mountainous area, waterfall, grasslands, wetlands, and a Ndebele Traditional-use Garden and displays.  You could also visit the book shop, one of the two restaurants, and the Herbarium.

Thank you Joy for organising such a lovely outing.

. . . and snails and puppy dogs tails

Working in the garden today, gave me a chance to casually introduce the boys to some of the inhabitants of our garden.

 Garden snail

Turning right side up, after we turned it upside down

Deterring any predators, especially humans

Later, we found more information about snails here. We learned that:

* there are many types of snails

* snails have shells

* they can live up to 15 years or some even 25 years

* they hatch from eggs and eat their own egg for calcium to grow the shell

* they take two years to mature

* they love plants and fruits

* they are predated by frogs, snakes and birds (and humans)

* And they look like this on the inside:

(from www.snail-world.com)

When Simeon saw his he asked:  "How could people eat such a thing with all of this inside?" - (Hoe kry mense dit reg om slakke te eet met al hierdie goed aan die binnekant?)

My answer: "That's a good question, and seeing all this, I won't ever eat a snail again."

Other 'nasties' we found on a branch I pruned

 When I told them the caterpillars could sting, Simeon shied away but Joshua came near to have a closer look.

We tried to Google this but it it's a bit more difficult that I thought to identify, should someone know please let me know what kind this is. And most important, should we 'keep' them or kill them.

I hope to do this on a regular basis to broaden their knowledge in an informal way.

The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady

There I was, doing my little "I found a treasure" jig.  Luckily, this time I was alone in a second-hand book shop.  A little shop in a garage not far from my home.  I like looking at these out of the way and out of sight shops and at book tables for treasures and especially out-of-print Afrikaans children's books.

But on this day I was dancing my jig because I found "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" by Edith Holden.

To me it feels as a must-have for a home-school mom that likes the Charlotte Mason method of Nature Study.  Edith Holden wrote and illustrated the diary in 1906.  It was only discovered 70 years later and published in 1977.  

Each month starts with some facts about the name of the month, important days and some mottos or ditties about that month.

She added a lot of poems, personal thoughts and observations.

And her beautiful paintings and drawings shows her observation of and love for nature and the changes that seasons bring.

Below is a photograph of the page dated Sept 22, 25 and 30, with a poem of Jean Ingelow and a painting of Fruit of Wild Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus)  

Full page paintings

I love dried leaves and always pick them up to sketch later.  So I like looking at this page to see how Edith Holden captured them.

Poems and paintings complement each other.

Karen Andreola wrote in her book "A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Refelctions on the Gentle Art of Learning" about this book and also about Mother Culture.  Since that time I wanted to own my own copy.  And now I treat myself to some time alone reading and admiring this book.

Natuurstudie

Idees wat om met die kinders te doen, kan op die snaakste tye kom.  Soos een oggend toe ek kon ontspan in die kar omdat ek nie hoef te bestuur nie,  sien ek langs die pad ‘n miernes.  Dit is teen ‘n lamppaal opgebou.  Onmiddelik het ek gedink aan die moontlikheid om dit saam met die kinders te gaan bekyk, en sommer ‘n Natuurstudie-les daarvan te maak.

Dit het die week egter gereën en ander dinge het voor geval, maar elke keer wanneer ons daar verby ry, dink ek daaraan.

Meer as ‘n week later, op ‘n bewolkte dag, was ‘n wandeling na daardie miernes net die ding om die twee kinders uit die huis te kry.  Ek het twee skoon tekenboeke vir ons ingepak, waterbottels en ‘n verversinkie.

Tot my aanvanklike ontsteltenis was die nes erg beskadig deur ‘n grassnyers van die stadsraad.  Eers later het ek besef dat dit tot ons voordeel was, ons kon die nes beter waarneem en ook oor ‘n tydperk daarna waarneem hoe die miere die nes kan herstel.

Ek het ook ‘n stukkie afgebreek en ons kon die termiete (met wit lywe en rooi koppe) binne sien beweeg.  Indien die nes heel was sou dit vir my baie moeiliker gewees het om die nes te verniel.

Inkopielys:  ‘n Insekte-gids vir Suid Afrika / Gauteng

Daarna het ons na die spruit geloop om te kyk of daar iets te sien is.  Op die brug het Simeon vir my die neste in die riete gewys en ons het sommer net daar gaan sit, tot die verbasing seker van die verbygaande motoriste.  “Dis hoe regte tuisonderrig lyk!” wou ek vir hulle sê.

Ons het neste geteken en gekyk na die voëls wat hulle maak.  Daar was drie verskillende vinke besig in die verskillende neste.  EK het nie 'n verkyker en voëlgids saam geneem nie, dus kon ons nie almal positief identifiseer nie.

Simeon het met groot konsentrasie die nes geteken wat aan riete was op ‘n ‘eilandjie’ reg voor hom.  Die volgende dag was daar ‘n groot  wolkbreuk en het die water blykbaar so 15 sentimeter onder die brug deur gespoel.  Die “spruit” het 25 meter breed geloop en die nes en riete het weggespoel.

Simeon het ook vrae gevra oor die beton pyp (stormwater) en ek het verduidelik hoe dit werk.  Ons het ook gepraat oor:

• besoedeling in spruite en mense wat sommer net afval daar stort
• die geroeste blikkies en eiendomsagentplakaat wat veroorsaak dat die water suur word
• die doel van riete in ‘n rivier – om water se vloei stadiger te maak en dit dien as watersuiweraars
• vleilande – daar is een net stroomop van ons.

Later is ons na die anderkant van die brug, waar ons twee Witkeelswaels (white-throated swallow) gesien het. Die jongetjie het op ‘n takkie gesit in ‘n struik, terwyl die ouer onder die brug deur gevlieg het en soms kom sit het. Dan is ons bekyk om te sien of ons nie slegte intensies het met die kleintjie nie.

Ons kon dit maklik herken aangesien die swaeltjies ‘n wit onderkant het met ‘n swart borsbandjie.

By die huis het ons in die voëlgidse na verskillende vinkneste gekyk en besluit die een wat ons geteken het was die Kaapse Wewer se nes.  Volgende keer neem ek die voëlboek en ‘n verkyker saam.  Ek het ook besluit om Simeon aan te moedig om voëls te kyk en om vir hom ‘n lys te kry om alles wat hy gesien het aan te teken.  So kry ek twee maats om mee saam voëls te kyk – een van my baie afgeskeepte stokperdjies.

Na ‘n paar dae het ons weer na die miershoop gaan kyk.  Die nes was amper herstel.  Daar is ook ‘n ander mier nes aan die “voet” van die termiete se nes, ‘n simbiotiese verhouding?

Die nes word herstel.

Die nes het 'n breë gang aan die suide kant.

Dit lyk of mens jou hand daarin kan druk.

Twee mierneste by mekaar, die een van van die rysmiere

 links bo en die swart miere se nes regs in die middel.