A Week In The Woods

"Your goal in nature study, though, is much more than just to 'inform' your children about the details of creation. Your greater task is to 'form in' them eyes that can see the Creator in his creation (Romans1:20), an abiding sense of wonder and appreciation of what God has made (Psalm 8 and 19) and a passion to care for, subdue, and rule over this earth as God's highest expression of created being (Genesis 1:28)." Educating the WholeHearted Child, by Clay and Sally Clarkson







This week we enjoyed perfect fall weather. We got our desk work done early in the morning and headed out into the woods for the rest of the day and we did this every day. Day 1 we went to our familiar library nature trail. There is a part of the trail that the kids call the "broken pine forest" which is a very dense part of the trail with lots of fallen pine trees and it is a great place for the imagination. Another fun part about this trail is at the entrance there is a big sign with all the native trees on it and it assigns each tree a symbol like a red triangle or blue circle and as you walk through the woods several of the trees along the trail have these symbols placed upon them so that they are easy for children to identify. At the end of our walk Elijah caught a frog and toad...we named them "Frog and Toad"! I know...very original. The kids met some knew friends and pretended they were Jamestown settlers in a big mulch pile under a big oak tree while Ezra crawled around in the grass trying to eat acorns!
Day 2 we went on a nature trail at Triad Park. This trail was very long for little feet. They stopped many times to sit on stumps and logs to rest and watch passing clouds and the leaves swaying in the treetops. There was a creek on the trail and Elijah caught two salamanders! He sure does love to catch critters!
Day 3 we explored a new place with my friend Allison and her 5 children. We found hidden treasures behind Guilford College. Trails upon trails..big trails with little trails leading to all kinds of amazing natural play areas for children....big trees to climb, creeks to poke around in with big sticks, tunnels made of branches and leaves...they had the best time exploring in the woods with friends.
Day 4 we just went into our yard and collected beautiful leaves and pictures of fall to use as centerpiece for our table. Caleb gave me a heart shaped leaf and I had Elijah pick out a tree in our yard for a project we are going to do called "A Tree Grows in..." You can do this project wherever you live. Just pick a tree that you love in your yard and take pictures of it during each season, collect its leaves and flowers, draw it during different times of the year. Research it, study it, watch it and put all the information in a nature journal or scrapbook.
Just a glimpse of our week in the woods...