Recorded here is my own personal collection of articles, resources, favorite links, teaching ideas, and lesson plans. It encompasses many years, from the very beginning of my experience studying and learning about Waldorf to the present time. People from all around the world visit my site and recommend it to others. Welcome!
This site records my journey. I hope my honesty is encouraging and helps break down some barriers that may prevent people from trying Waldorf methods. Because this is an ongoing site documenting my curriculum planning and ideas, some materials are more Waldorf-y than others. Please feel free to take what you like and leave the rest.
This is a continuation of my Nature Study page, with specific notes for
April.
As a Bridge curriculum or for Nature study in grades 1 & 2, I recommend the Charlotte Mason-inspired
Exploring Nature with Children curriculum.
It is a downloadable PDF which you can choose to print or not, and the cost is just $18.00.
An optional companion book is Anna Botsford Comstock's
Handbook of Nature Study, which is also useful
for multiple years.
our buckeye won't bloom until the beginning of May which is when we will begin Botany; however, this is the week when the buds swell and
the leaves first unfurl their feathery tips, so it's still a nice one for nature sketching
Don't forget about Poem in Your Pocket Day! It moves around in April (which is National Poetry Month), so check the date. Write or find a poem
about plants to share with everyone you meet. In 2021, Poem in Your Pocket Day
is April 29th. Since it falls in the final week, perhaps consider "To make a prairie" by Emily Dickinson (PDF).
consider three of Darwin's experiments (will fish eat seeds, will snails attach to duck feet, and will seeds
which have been soaking in salt water still be able to
germinate)
set up Seeds in Salt Water Experiment!
our ocean water recipe was 3 T salt to 6 cups of water
we decided to soak some for one week and some for two weeks and then plant them
we learned to soak each kind of seed separately, in case one rots, and NOT to do mango (because it rotted)
I am really loving Asia Citro's book The Curious Kid's Science Book: 100+ Creative Hands-On Activities for Ages 4-8.
I think it is awesome that she gives a challenge but they have to design their experiment.
Two nice options are "Make a Plant Grow Down Instead of Up" (p.49) and "Design a Plant Maze" (p.33).
For both you will need plenty of baby bean plants so start lots of seedlings (two dried pinto beans in a folded over damp paper towel placed in a closed Ziploc bag and left on a warm sunny table for several days).
look at a grain of rice. can you tell if it is a monocot or dicot? (it's a monocot)
taste popcorn microgreens (you can clearly see this is a monocot when comparing it to other microgreens...
basil, beet, broccoli, cabbage, nasturtium, pea, radish, sunflower)
Illinois Prairie Wildflowers Poster
Prairie Primer - Activity Book and Poster
Illinois Prairies Coloring Poster
Illinois Department of Natural Resources also has traveling trunks (or they did before the coronavirus; I'll have to check now)
and there's one for the Prairie. These are available at state parks and public libraries across the state
they have quite a bit in this bin about the history of the animals and people who have been on this land (ancient mammals, Native Americans,
pioneers), so I guess you have to decide if you want to put a little of that in or just keep it purely
on the Botany track
if you do incorporate discussion of Native Americans of the prairie lands, I strongly recommend
this
AMAZING interactive map (for helping you figure out "whose land are you on?") at https://native-land.ca
they have a fantastic FREE 7 poster set called "Jewels of the Prairie"
Mesic Prairie
Dry Prairie
Wet Prairie
Oak Savanna
Blooming Dates
Blooming Heights
Prairie Roots
they also have a "Pollinator Poster Series"
Bees
Beneficial Insects
Butterflies & Moths
Monarchs & Milkweed
this is from an old book series that is extremely hard to find now... but the books were great!
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