Mycology - Mushrooms!

The magic of mushrooms has touched us at Syrendell this year. Mycology is utterly fascinating...are they plants, animals, neither? So many varieties, colors, shapes....fabulous fungi.

Our own backyard is filled with different mushrooms throughout the year. This week, we noticed that with the warmer, drier weather, the mushrooms are beginning to curl up and disappear.

We dissected a mushroom, observed a curled-up-dried mushroom, made a mushroom spore print, did a mushroom form drawing, read books on mycology, and did block crayon drawings. Two of our cousins came over and joined us in creating beautiful, crayoned fungi! We also read an adorable book that features a sprite who lives under a mushroom is Naming Renick by Mamaroots (which you can purchase in her Etsy shop).

Block Crayons

We love our wax, block crayons! Following the book Coloring with Block Crayons (and a DVD of the author), we have been exploring how to use the different parts of the crayons, and how to blend the three primary colors to make other colors.

This week, we made a circle, starting with a cloud of yellow, blue and red, and then creating the other colors of the rainbow when the colors met and blended. Wilson kept his drawing in a circle. Joey decided to bring her colors inward and create a brown center. Ricky moved his colors inward and outward to form a rounded triangle.

We keep our crayons in a beautiful case that Joey and Mommy made from naturally dyed alpaca felt. We created an e-pattern with instructions and pictures so that others can make their own! Joey embroidered a pretty leaf on the front, and added silk ribbons that we dyed with blueberries and onion skins as ties. We are also selling them as custom orders to people who request one through our Etsy shop.

Here is a poem that Mommy read while we made our rainbow circles (from A Child's Seasonal Treasury, by Betty Jones):

Rainbow Fairies

Two little clouds one spring day,

Went flying through the sky;

They went so fast they bumped their heads,

And both began to cry.

Old Father Sun came out and said:

"Oh, never mind my dears,

I'll send my little fairy folk

To dry your falling tears."

One fairy came in violet, and one in indigo;

In blue, green, yellow; orange and red,

They made a pretty row.

They wiped the cloud tears all away

And then from out the sky,

Upon a line a sunbeam made,

They hung their gowns to dry.