If You Find a Rock

 
We're a bit delayed on our science activity this week.  Cranky kids, sick dog, not enough sleep, grumpy momma - did I just type that?  Well, it's true.

We actually did do an activity on rock collecting, which I'll write up soon, but in the meantime wanted to share a wonderful book that has inspired us this week, called "If You Find a Rock".  It is a beautifully written and photographed book about all the wonderful things a rock can be.

My family loves rocks; both girls are little rock hounds.  After an afternoon outside, I have to be careful to check their pockets lest their findings wreak havoc on my washing machine.  They take after my mom, their dear Neeni, who also collects what the author would classify as "memory" rocks from special trips.  What other types of rocks are there?  Here's a small excerpt from the book:

"... Or you might  find a rock
whose water-smoothed surface
catches your eye.
If it feels easy in your hand
when you rub it,
then you found a worry rock.
You rub it between
your fingers
and your troubles
are smoothed away."

I love the connections between poetry, art and science!  Do you have any books like this that make your heart and brain sing?

Seed Hunt

The weather remains balmy for this Thursday's activity so we are heading outdoors for a Seed Hunt!  In the northern part of the US, September and October are ideal times to do a seed hunt and it can be done in a city park, suburban backyard or a large plot of land in the country.  If, however, you don't have access to a natural space or the weather or time of year is prohibitive. you could use your kitchen as the hunt location - spices, fruits and vegetables and even house plants could provide you with the seeds.  Remember to emphasize (and re-emphasize!) that the seeds should not be eaten as some may be poisonous.

Materials Needed:

To get into the spirit of this activity, the more thoroughly you can "outfit" your little naturalist, the better.  If they think they look like a "real" naturalist, they are more likely to take the activity seriously.  (It's kind of like dressing up, but better.)  Below is what we packed in the girls' nature bags,  

including:

• binoculars
• magnifying glass
• pencil
• sample bags (small and large) with paper id slips in them
• ID books
• camera

This is by no means an all-inclusive list and you could certainly add or subtract items.  At a minimum, you should have a pencil, sample bags and some way to ID the plants.  I happen to have several different tree, plant and shrub guides, including a couple of the Peterson series.  The standard ones are a little too dense for smaller children, but the First Guides one seems a bit more accessible to me.  I recently saw the Fandesk Family Guide to Trees and I'm intrigued by it - maybe a stocking stuffer for the Holidays?  If you are a technology fan, or just don't want to shell out the money on paper guides, there is a great (free!) on-line tree ID guide by the Arbor Day Foundation.  They also have an iPhone app.  The Audubon Society has a series of apps (including tree, wildflower, bird and mammals) that are wonderful, but more expensive; I think you can get all 4 for $20 and I've seen coupons out there.  (If you are curious, the nature bags are sewn from the "Naturalist's Scavenger Hunt Bag" pattern in the book, Growing Up Sew Liberated by the talented Meg McElwee, of the Sew Liberated blog.)

Dr. Seuss and Oobleck

I have to admit that I didn't understand the connection between Oobleck and Dr. Seuss until recently.  The oobleck namesake is a delightful Seuss book named, Bartholomew and the Oobleck. (Although, as my friend suggested, with a whimsical name like "oobleck", I probably should have guessed.)  I don't know that my high school students would have been that impressed with the connection - although they were at a school for the arts, so they may have actually enjoyed it.  But I digress.

Bartholomew and the Oobleck is about the arrogant King of Didd who was tired of only having four options fall from the sky: rain, sunshine, fog and snow.  Against the advice of Bartholomew, his page boy, he asks his royal magicians to concoct something different.  After thinking for a bit, the magicians suggest oobleck, which delights the king.  "Why, I'll be the mightiest man that ever lived!  Just think of it!  Tomorrow I'm going to have OOBLECK!"  The next morning when the oobleck starts falling from the sky, Bartholomew quickly realizes what a problem it is going to be. He attempts to enlist help to warn the people of the kingdom, from the Royal Bell Ringer to the Royal Trumpeter, but the oobleck gums up the bell and stops up the trumpet.  Eventually as the oobleck grows from tiny drops to blobs the size of footballs, the king becomes stuck to his throne and realizes that maybe oobleck wasn't such a great idea after all.  Once Bartholomew forces the king to accept responsibility and apologize for his mistakes, the oobleck magically disappears.

We were able to find the book on the shelf at our local library to enjoy.  We read it after we had made the oobleck and of course the first comment was, "But, Momma, the oobleck is supposed to be pink!".  I explained that we could have made it any color we wanted.  The book is a little on the long side for my younger one, but I think they both enjoyed the reference to oobleck and anything from Dr. Seuss, with a decent message to boot, is a good thing in my book!