Bird Treats

If you have bread that is going stale, why not make some bird treats with it! A fun activity for the kids, and the birds love it. We cut the bread into different shapes using cookie cutters, make a hole for string using a straw, smear with peanutbutter and coat with seeds. This way the birds can eat the seeds, peanutbutter, bread, and use the string for nest building. Just don't put the peanutbutter next to Olivia!

Another bread treat idea we had was to do the same with a whole piece of bread and put it in a suet feeder for the warmer months instead of serving rancid suet.

Our past bird treat projects:

Pinecone covered in peanutbutter and dipped in seeds
Apple rings
popcorn cranberry garland
No-Suet Suet

Woodland Survival Camp (updated)

This week Georgia is attending the Woodland Survival camp at our local nature center. She is loving it! They have built shelters, fires, collected water, cooked with a fire, demonstrated first aid, practiced using compasses, and had a blast! On Friday they will have a special demonstation for the parents and we will be able to tour their woodland survival camp. I'll be sure to bring the camera and take some photos to share.

UPDATE: Georgia ate a roasted mealworm! And then they ground the rest up to bake in cookies!! She said the mealworm tasted like peanutbutter. Hmmm, mealworm and jelly sandwich anyone?

Georgia also practiced using a bow and arrow, shooting it at targets.

The camp staff made a disk of pictures they took througout the week to give to the parents, but we were near the end of the line and they ended up running out of disks. Some folks at the front were taking more than one. So we will recieve pictures taken throughout camp in a couple weeks, when we go back to pick up some tincture she made. They used jewelweed to make an herbal tincture for topical application which can be used to relieve mosquito bites, bee and wasp stings, warts, bruises, fungal skin infections, nettle stings, minor burns, cuts, eczema, acne, sores, and poison ivy rash.

So, if you are ever to be stranded in a remote and deserted area...take Georgia with you!!

Here are some pictures of Georgia showing us the shelters on Friday...

Georgia's Team's Shelter

The other team's shelter

The girls with the Long Hunter at his camp

May Nature Classes

Woodland Survival: Spring Feast



Georgia's class was joined by the 1790's era Long Hunter who showed the kids how our ancestors lived off the land in springtime. After they learned about local foraging and hunting they did some gathering of tasty edibles. The kids all helped make a meal, giving new meaning to the term "spring mix salad". I even got to try a Spring Beauty "potato". I would never have guessed that the flower's root bulb was edible. It reminded me of beets, very earthy tasting. They also gathered dandelion leaves and flowers, violet flowers, wild onion, garlic mustard leaves, and red buds to add to the salad. The Long Hunter provided venison in three different ways: with maple syrup and ginger, plain, and as bacon, which Georgia said was really salty.

Frogs, Frogs, Frogs!


Olivia's class learned all about frogs! After reading a story on their life cycle, the kids headed out in search of the little guys. The preserve was abundant with vernal pools! The kids each had a net, and what they found they put in a large bucket so that everyone had a chance to see what was found. They didn't find any tadpoles, but they found lots of other interesting critters, including side swimmers, snails, and various water bugs!

Fun Fun! They also had their last homeschool nature club meeting of the year at a neighboring nature center. It was about Insects! They talked about the body parts, classes of insects, identification, and then went out to the creek in search of local bugs. They found mayfly larva that "looked like worms with three tails that looked like sticks with pointy ends," says Georgia. "There were lots of them under rocks in the creek." They also found water striders that she said looked like spiders. "They have bubbles under their feet and when the water pushed them down the creek, they used their feet like oars with the bubbles. They went real fast so it was hard to catch them." They also found a crayfish and everyone got a chance to touch it's shell.

Creek Exploration

Yesterday we walked down to the creek to do some exploring. The girls searched the creek bed for shells, rocks, fish, and other creek life. They even found an old animal bone in there. They followed a set of tracks along the creek as far as they could. Checking the track finder book, it appears that they were that of the mink. The temperature reached 86*F and they had a nice time splashing and cooling off. Eventually the mosquitoes found us and sent us away.

Today, the girls spent some time cleaning the shells they found and sorting them into piles. We found a site called Freshwater Mussels of the Midwest and have had fun looking around on there. It also helped us come up with an idea...we want to make a booklet about the creek. It will be like a field guide or a brochure of the things that can be found in and around the creek.

Our New Moves

Me and the girls have been working on some new dance moves. What do you think....

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More Photos to Share

Last month the girls picked out some flowers to plant in the pots they decorated last year. Georgia, of course, picked pansies. They are one of her favorites. Olivia chose violas. They also planted some ivy on the sides. With all the rain we've been getting, as well as sunny days, and the girls' diligent care, the flowers have grown beautifully lush.

They have also been studying the soil and finding all kinds of interesting organisms.

And it is always a "treat" to find their bug jars full...you never know what you'll find. Even scarier is that the covers are magnifying glasses so the little buggers always look much larger than they are!

They've had more bubble blowing days. It's especially nice on breezy days because the bubbles practically blow themselves. This just leaves the chasing and popping!

Georgia made jewelry out of dandelions. Here she shows her dandelion ring.

And our seasonal job of cleaning the fans becomes a fun project. Taking the fans apart, figuring out how they work, and putting them back together again. We tested them when they were through and they all worked!