Some of you requested that I post updates about the growth of the seeds we planted in our root viewer. Here’s what we saw on day eight! Interested in making your own root viewer? Check out the directions here… Kid Science: Make a Seed Viewer. *** Weekly Photo Challenge: Change Continue reading »
What cool insect, arachnid (spider), or mollusk (snail) activity can you find around your yard? Has your child watched a spider spin a web? How about ants marching along on a mission? What about a snail eating a plant? Give your child the time and space to observe these small creatures in their natural environment… … Continue reading »
Seeds… how incredible that plants of all sizes can grow from such a tiny thing. If you’ve gardened with a young child, you’ve witnessed their fascination and wonder at the mystery of plants. To give your child the opportunity to actually witness the growth of a plant from the first roots shooting out of the … Continue reading »
Owls are fascinating creatures. They have a special organ (gizzard) that stores the undigestible parts of their prey, preventing these parts (bones, teeth, fur, feathers) from proceeding through the digestive tract. The gizzard compresses these parts into a pellet which is later regurgitated. This is a pretty simplistic explanation. If you’d like to learn more, … Continue reading »
As I sit here at my computer with the backdoor open to allow some fresh air into our home, I’m listening to the lovely sound of frogsong. The chorus is coming from the creek on the other side of our backyard fence. Up until today, we’ve only been hearing one frog at a time. Suddenly, … Continue reading »
This past weekend, we attended a fun nature class at Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont. This free class for children aged 5+ and their family, called Family Nature Hour, is held on Saturday afternoons throughout the year. Each week a different concept from the natural world is covered. The one we attended on Saturday … Continue reading »
A fun activity to do a few days after a good rain is head to a nearby creek and look for animal tracks in the mud. We went on this kind of walk yesterday in the nature area near our home. As we walked to the area, I asked my son what animal footprints he … Continue reading »
As I wrote the other day (Let’s Count Stars!), we enjoy participating in citizen science projects. It’s a fun way to contribute to scientific research and learn about science at the same time. I wrote earlier in the week about participating in the Great World Wide Star Count. Perhaps stargazing isn’t your thing, but you’d … Continue reading »
While my husband was warming up for his bike race on Saturday (see post here… Cyclo-Cross, Monterey Style), my son recommended we follow one of the nearby trails and go bug hunting. Excellent idea! We keep exploration tools (bug viewer, magnifying glass) with us at all times, so we’re ready to go whenever inspiration strikes. … Continue reading »
I’m currently reading the book, What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World, by Jon Young, which is about awakening our awareness of the behavior of birds in order to deepen our connection with all the wildlife surrounding us. Ultimately, the author is helping us to reconnect with our own … Continue reading »
We’ve been making progress in planting our butterfly garden, and now we’ve moved onto the next phase… bees! I’ve been researching citizen science programs that might be fun for me and my son to do together. I love the idea of being a citizen scientist, helping in our own way to assist real scientists by … Continue reading »
