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Homeschooling Grade 5, Botany
For the last 2 and a half weeks Erin has been enjoying her Botany block. It has been amazing and we have both learnt so much! I think we have enjoyed it so, because we are using a wonderful book by a writer called Charles Kovacs, his book is titled ‘Botany’ and is really worth having. We will be basing both of our botany blocks on this book. He is so descriptive in his words and explanations and as you read, it is like he is speaking directly to you. We are also using The Tree of Life a beautifully illustrated book about the different plant kingdoms etc…
We all went on a nature walk to see how many mushrooms, moss and lichens we could find. We did spot quite a few and we have been having so much rain lately, so our garden and surrounding areas are rich with beautiful mushrooms at the moment…
Aren’t these stunning, Erin spotted them the other day from our car window as we were driving down our street. Such a lovely specimen of fungus.
These are some specimens of different kinds of mosses and lichens, they are sprayed with water everyday and we will return them to the garden in the next few days. The moss is amazing, we have found so many different types, some are flat, others seem like tall forests, some even look as if they have flowers, but they are simply the green stalks, they are all so beautiful…
We have also learned about penicillin, who discovered it and what it is used for. We let mould grow on a piece of bread and studied it with a magnifying glass. We have gone in this order so far, the study of the plant and its parts, fungi, lichens, mosses, ferns and horsetails, and today we learned about conifers… We have also included form drawings incorporating leaf shapes and stems, I will post these sometime next week. For the last two weeks we have been memorising a poem about trees and also learning how to draw leaves and flowers with light and shade.
We are so enjoying this block, it is wonderful! If anyone is homeschooling with grades 2, 5 and 7 and blogs about it, please could you email me your blog address, we would so like to see your progress and ideas:)
Happy Thursday to all:)
9 Responses to Homeschooling Grade 5, Botany
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I loved the fluted ones. And I think I have never seen lovelier growth than on some church yard trees in the midlands of England –
We bought a microscope, in our day. But I think a magnifying glass is a lovely thing (if you get a good one). I wish we could encourage mosses to grow here, but the harsh winters render them a little delicate.
What you’re doing sounds solid to me. it’s not even the information that is so important in what you’re doing – its’ the joy and wonder that you are communicating, leading them to ask questions about the world, and to use their eyes for more than the superficial and conventional looking. Also, combining the celebration of these things in poetry – you might also have a little painting or sketching session. One sees so much more with a pencil,
What you are doing is offering the earth as a rare and complex gift, rather than passing on the usual unawareness and rather arrogant way we humans consider it just the dirt under our feet, given – not significant. And you are building this into their souls. It will color all of their thinking for the rest of their lives.
Ah, but I missed the part about the drawing. See? You had it all covered.
mmm, see this is why I’m interested in homeschooling. I never want my own schooling to end! +Chelsea
Beautiful mosses and mushrooms! I look forward to studying botany with Kayla next year.
I really like all the Charles Kovacs books. We are using Muscles and Bones right now for Physiology.
Sounds like so much fun. Thanks for the book links.
Seriously stunning photos!!! Isn’t Nature amazing!!
Neat! We’ve been studying moss and lichens, too. I love how you crafted the block. Always inspiring! If you still have some of the merino yarn left, let me know.
To Chelsea -
But that’s the point. When I taught my own kids for all those years, I was learning like mad all the time. I re-taught myself Trig and bought a Calculus book. I learned about the miracle of messenger RNA. I NEVER would have done those things if I hadn’t been teaching my kids.