The Magnifying Glass

On the Shelf: Dinothesaurus.

We are having a spell of pretty hot (and more importantly, humid) weather here in Vermont, and spending a little bit of time indoors with a book in the afternoon is turning out to be a pretty pleasant choice as far as activities go.  In preparation for the coming days of hot, we decided to make a library stop this morning. Among the books we picked up is Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings by Douglas Florian, and I am so glad that we did.  

For reasons that I cannot quite explain, I totally associate dinosaurs with summer.  Maybe because we often make museum trips during summer vacation?  It's hard to say, but somehow, a dinosaur book seemed to be a perfect seasonal choice today.  Plus, Dinothesaurus is a unique book about dinosaurs which makes it feel like kind of a special find.  A collection of poetry, paintings and dinosaur facts, Dinothesaurus has a little something for everyone.  Some of the poems are funny, others are factual, but all of them are sure to sound catchy to miniature dinosaur enthusiasts.  I particularly like the somewhat abstract artwork; it makes each page interesting to browse as well as to read.  

Upon further investigation, I realize that Douglas Florian has written and illustrated a number of thematic poetry books for children. We'll definitely be looking for them at the library on our next trip.  

What about you?  What sorts of books is your family reading on days when you need to spend a little quiet time indoors? 

Texture walk

Today my son came to me with a sunflower leaf (from his sisters butterfly garden... shhhh) and told me that it was rough like sandpaper. We started talking about texture and all the different textures we find in nature. That sparked a texture walk. Since this one started with a leaf our walk had a leaf theme but it just as well could have been dirt, rocks, tree bark or all of the above. 

We found rough, smooth, bummpy, fuzzy and so much more...

His favorite... the soft and fuzzy mint leaves. 

But I think that is because he likes to nip a little taste while he is out to play, as evidence by the state of the mint leaves. There are advantages to ending your texture walk in the herb garden.

Other ideas:

~ Talk with your kids about texture and make a list of different textures before you head outside to find the textures on your list. 

~ Choose a theme, like our leaf theme, and see how many different textures you can find within the theme.

~ Place some nature items in a bag then have the kids reach in to feel them and give a guess based on what they feel. Talk about how the texture helped them figure it out.

~ You could also do a color walk or a shape walk.

Do you have any other ideas for themed nature walks? We would love to hear about your walk. 

Have fun in nature!

~Dawn

Summer Nature

Summer is finally in full swing in these parts... way up here in Nova Scotia we get a bit of a late start.

We found this nest today and think this is the nest of a red eyed vireo... a bird experts feed back is welcome.

These eggs found yesterday on eel grass out in the bay are a mystery... anyone know?

No mystery here... a green snake.

One of the five native snake species living in Nova Scotia. Thank goodness none are venomous.

The blue jays and crows love our big cottonwood trees in the front yard. We have been finding their feathers standing straight up in the grass lately. A fun treat from the birds.

Frogs in all stages of froghood are in the pond... from eggs to the big bull frogs. After their very short captivity we think these three will be much wiser when predators are in the midst of the pond.

We would love to see and hear about the nature you have been observing this summer. Please do tell!

~Dawn