Making an Autumn Wreath - Transformation

Taking children on a nature hunt as the seasons change is a wonderful way to honor the plants and the new season.  During Autumn, we enjoy collecting acorn caps, oak balls, dried flowers and rose hips, while marveling at the changing colors of leaves and wild grasses in the preserved pond area near our home.  The landscape has truly transformed!

Once we collected a variety of dried flowers, we decided to create a beautiful wreath for our front door, welcoming autumn into our home.  A bit of Feng Shui included -- wreaths are a way to bring positive energy to your family life.

Supplies:

1.  Two gauges of wire
2.  Wire cutters
3.  Variety of dried flowers, herbs, rose hips
4.  Optional: ribbons and other embellishments (we chose to keep this wreather all natural with no ribbons)

We started off making a circle out of a thicker wire, and then cut pieces of thinner wire for wrapping.

 















Long pieces of sage were placed around the circle and tied on with bits of wire. 

Then, we added dried flowers, berries and rose hips. 

Eventually, there was enough wire wrapped so that all we had to do was stick the plants into the wreath and they would stay. 

We'll add and change out some of the plant material as ithe wreath dries over time, and as we continue on our nature hunt adventures!  

It was exciting to see the rose bushes so transformed from flowers to hips...we wonder what we will find on our next trip! 

May Crowns

1.  Twist strands of wild vetch.

2.  Coil floral wire around the vetch.

3.  Measure the child's head and twist the wire together where the ends meet.

4.  Trim off dry pieces or roots hanging down the back.

5.  Add sprigs of rosemary, lavender, oak leaves, dandelion flowers, roses and more by gently pushing the stems under bits of wire or twisted vetch.

6.  Mist with water and keep in a cool place to enjoy for days!  Take off wilting flowers and add new ones to refresh the crowns.

Voici le Mois de Mai

This is the Month of May (French Folk Song -- thank you to Kristie Burns from Earthschooling for this one!)

Voici le mois de Mai
Ou les fleurs volent au vent.

Voici le mois de Mai

Ou les fleurs volent au vent.

Ou les fleurs volent au vent

Si jolie mignonne.

Ou les fleurs volent au vent

Si mignonnement!

Here is the month of May

When the flowers sway in the breeze.

Here is the month of May

When the flowers sway in the breeze.

When the flowers sway in the breeze.

They are so pretty and cute.

When the flowers sway in the breeze. 

They are very precious.

Spring Flowers and Geometry

We've been inspired by the beautiful daffodils blooming in our yard!  To celebrate this sign of early Spring, we sketched the daffodils for a while when the sun was out....

Daffodils have 6 petals, so we drew 6-pointed stars and hexagons to help us with the symmetry.

Our wonderful neighbor loaned us an amazing Waldorf book that is no longer in print and is all in German.  It features forms and shapes of plants, animals, minerals. 

Next, we drew triangles, squares, 5-pointed stars and 6-pointed stars.  Based on the drawings in the book, we sketched out flowers that follow these 3, 4, 5, and 6-petal/leaf patterns. 

 

Then, it was time to color the flowers.  If the flowers were blooming outside, we observed them (mostly pansies and daffodils right now!).  

Joey

We discussed the color variations of each flower as we drew. 

Ricky

We wrote the numbers in Arabic and Roman numerals and the names of the flowers in English.  Next week, we will add the names in Spanish and German. 

Wilson

Homemade Botany Books

Separate from our science main lesson books this past school year, Ricky, Joey and Wilson each made their own Botany Books.

We tore pieces of watercolor paper and used Stockmar watercolors to design our covers. Mommy cut some white paper to fit the books and punched two holes at the top of them.

We each made a "twizzler" out of yarn and tied the tops of the books.

The botany books contain a table of contents, sketches of plants from our yard and the UC Davis arboretum, names of plants, and poems/quotes about plants.

We observed the apple tree in our backyard all year. Once per month we sketched the same branch. Finally, there are little apples this month!

The bulbs we planted at a homeschooling bulb planting clinic in October bloomed throughout the spring. We sketched some of our bulbs as they grew.

We will continue to add sketches, information and poems to our botany books as we explore our new yard.

Botany - Bulbs

We love watching plants grow! We attended a wonderful bulb-planting workshop for homeschoolers at the Loomis Flower Farm back in October. Each child planted daffodils, tulips and hyacinths in a pot. On top of the layers of bulbs, pansies were added for color. We learned about bulbs and how to plant them successfully.




Our bulbs starting peeking out their little leaves in January!


We watercolored two sheets of paper, made twizzlers out of yarn, and created our own botany books. We selected one of the bulbs to watch and sketch over the weeks to come.

Now, the daffodils are done blooming, the tulips are beginning to fade, and the hyacinths are showing the last of their vibrant lavender color.

Our bulb learning culminated with a trip to Daffodil Hill in Volcano, CA. Over 300,000 daffodils and 300 varieties! We met our uncle and cousins there who live near the hill. We had fun trying to count the varieties of daffodils.

Here is a song that we are singing during circle time right now:

Little Bulbs (sing to the tune of Frere Jacques)

Are you sleeping

Are you sleeping

Little bulbs

Little bulbs

Springtime is a-coming

Springtime is a-coming

Time to wake

Time to wake

Vernal Equinox

vernal: of or pertaining to spring, from the Latin vernalis (www.dictionary.com)


vernal pools: Vernal pools are seasonally flooded depressions found on ancient soils with an impermeable layer such as a hardpan, claypan, or volcanic basalt. The impermeable layer allows the pools to retain water much longer then the surrounding uplands; nonetheless, the pools are shallow enough to dry up each season. Vernal pools often fill and empty several times during the rainy season. Only plants and animals that are adapted to this cycle of wetting and drying can survive in vernal pools over time. (www.vernalpools.org).

vernal equinox: The word “equinox” derives from the Latin words meaning “equal night” and refers to the time when the sun crosses the equator. At such times, day and night are everywhere of nearly equal length everywhere in the world. It is important to note that while the March equinox marks the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere, it is the start of autumn in many parts of the southern hemisphere. (www.timeanddate.com)

To celebrate the coming of spring, we took a vernal equinox hike at some beautiful, vernal pools at Phoenix Park in Fair Oaks, CA. We saw geese flying, insects hopping on top of the pools, and beautiful flowers. We couldn't get close enough to the edge of the pools to see any fairy shrimp or frogs. We started sketching flowers in our botany books, but then it started to rain. We'll have to return and sketch some more!

We've been to vernal pools in Yolo County (near Davis, CA) and at the Santa Rosa Plateau (near Murrieta, CA) in the past. Each one has interesting flowers and wildlife. Here is a great website with lessons and information about vernal pools: http://www.sacsplash.org/mather.htm.

Short Video of our Vernal Equinox Hike