It’s starting to get frosty around here. Even in these temperate climes, by late October or early November the sheen of frost starts to appear on the rooftops, accompanied by frosty breath and slippery walkways. While frost might seem like something that makes us turn on the car earlier in the morning and work hard at scraping the windshield, to children it is magic. Little droplets of water have turned into a coating of ice. Sometimes, it even looks like snow, the first sign of which is highly coveted around here. Explore the cool season with an exploration of frost. … Continue reading →

Pumpkins are good eating and good looking, but are they good science? Of course! Any plant is a science experiment in the making, and pumpkins are no exception. Like any crop, pumpkins have been bred for different attributes. Sugar pumpkins are sweet, and they’re ideal for pies. There are ornamental gourds, and these are long-lasting, with very few squishy parts inside them. In between are pumpkins that grow large and relatively soft so that we can carve them. Go to a pumpkin farm and talk with the farmer, or go to the market and try to identify the different pumpkins … Continue reading →

Fall and spring: the two perfect times of year to look at a leaf. In the spring, you can explore new growth and talk about how leaves power the trees, providing abundant food. In the fall, you can explore the ways in which deciduous trees prepare for the quiet winter season. One of these ways is the glory of fall colors that is sneaking up on us right now. Those colors are the signs of the leaves’ slow winding down for the season. What can you make with all of those glorious leaves? Last year, we created leaf crowns. In … Continue reading →

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m going a little wild on the craft ideas for my daughter’s Sparks group this year, and I wanted to share some of these ideas with you. Since Halloween is coming up and the girls have an outdoor badge to complete, I started to think about bat studies. We’ll do a night walk and hopefully we’ll see some bats: there are many of them that love to eat mosquitoes right behind the school where the children meet. To complement the walk and discussion about bats, here are a few batty crafts. The Bat Pumpkin Combine pumpkin … Continue reading →

Back to school has either begun in our part of the world or it is just around the corner. With back to school time comes the undertones, overtones, and all over feeling over feeling of fall, fall, fall! But wait! Fall doesn’t begin for a few weeks, at least not in ecological time. With some parts of the continent still limping their way through a heat wave, it’s not too late to try a late summer scavenger hunt to celebrate your days outside. Feel free to print out the ideas below for your kids. Late Summer Scavenger Hunt Summer is … Continue reading →

Listening is a lost art in our world. I know it. I love to talk. I can listen to myself talk for hours. I can forget to listen to other people. I can even forget to listen to what’s around me. This is not a good survival habit. To be out in the forest, you need to learn how to listen. When I was doing more long distance running than I am now, I would run for hours on a trail that works its way up into the mountains around my house. It’s a trail popular with runners and with … Continue reading →

It’s almost fall, which means that the season of quiet recycling is upon us. Why do I get so excited about this season? I love the fact that there is a time when plants and animals start to go to sleep and when plants prepare for the winter by sending many of their parts for recycling. When the deciduous trees drop their leaves, that’s a boon for many soil-dwelling animals that rely on leaves for food and homes. You can explore the plants’ recycling process at any time of the year by combing through finished or almost-finished compost. Gross! Yuck! … Continue reading →

After the wet and well, more wet summer we’ve had in these parts, it’s no wonder that the spiders think that it is fall. They’re busily spinning webs in my yard, my house, under the stairs, and across the plants in the garden. Spiders seem to sense the incoming fall and Halloween season and love to do their share of the decorating. Whether spiders give you the creepy crawlies or you’re in love with these useful mini beasts, they are fascinating creatures for children to watch. When you’re outdoors exploring in the late days of summer and early fall, take … Continue reading →

What’s in a leaf? Colors, that’s what! Here the fall colors are already beginning. The summer has been wet and the fall seems to be creeping up upon us with great rapidity. Already the maple trees are changing colors into yellow, red and orange. Leaf colors are caused by pigments in the leaf. The most famous of these pigments in chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is what gives the leaves their green hue for most of the year, and it’s also the color of a growing leaf. With the help of the sun, the chlorophyll helps the plant turn water and carbon dioxide … Continue reading →

It’s just about fall, and that means it’s the season to preserve food. In our house, we’ve already started. Bags of blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries line the freezer, and raspberry jam sits in rows. Soon we’ll have apples, and that means applesauce. Delicious! The fall can be an intriguing science experiment as well. As you’re preserving your fall foods, take a few bits that don’t fit into your jars and bags and let the children do experiments on them. Without food preservation we would have far fewer pre-packaged foods. We’d also have few out-of-season foods. Take away international shipping and … Continue reading →