I love teaching all topics in biology, but one of my favorite topics to teach is my unit on classification and taxonomy. This topic is one of my favorites because the diversity of life on Earth is simply amazing. The species that are alive on Earth today are the ones that “made it.” They changed and adapted to meet the pressures that our ever-changing environment placed on them. The species alive today succeeded, and the evidence of their evolution is all around us ... if we just take the time to look!
Take some time this summer to get to know and love nature. If you are a person who already “knows” nature, then you will be shaking your head affirmatively as your read this article. If you never take the time to notice nature, then you are really missing out on a fantastic journey.
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| A picnic along the shores of Lake Huron |
My childhood was spent growing up in hot and humid Mississippi, but spending several weeks each summer in the crisp and cool northern peninsula of Michigan on Lake Huron. My mother was a biology teacher, and she introduced me to the beauty of the natural world at a very early age. Whether it was catching fireflies and putting them in a jar or wading through a bog looking for bladderworts and pitcher plants, we were outside, observing and learning about nature, without even realizing that “schooling” was taking place. When my two daughters came along, I passed along the same nature lessons that my mother had taught me. However, as an adult, I now realize that the lessons go much deeper than just learning about science and nature. The time I spent and spend outside with my daughters has forged a bond between us that cannot be broken. As we tromped through woods, dug in the mud, and snorkeled at the beach, we made incredible memories that will forever make us smile.
Summer is just beginning. Make the most of it. Get outside and experience the beauty that surrounds you. I have put together a list of possibilities that might help you make Mother Nature part of your summer learning plan. Try some of these with your children, or by yourself. I guarantee that the lessons learned with be carried with you all your life!
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| Really big tree!! |
1. Plant seeds and watch them grow. I do quite a few "seed-planting" labs in my biology classes, and I am always amazed at how many of my students have never planted a seed! Have your children make a small flower garden or vegetable garden, but start from seeds. It teaches curiosity and more importantly, patience.
2. Go outside at night. Catch fireflies. Look at the stars. Listen for the hoot of an owl. Watch the moon rise.
3. Watch a caterpillar grow into a butterfly. Find a caterpillar and place it in a large jar containing the same leaves as where you found the caterpillar. (Be sure to punch holes in the lid of the jar!) Keep the inside of the jar moist by sprinkling a few drops of water in as needed. Keep fresh leaves in the jar. It is wonderful to watch the spinning of the cocoon and the emerging of the butterfly or moth.
4. Take a daily nature walk. Give your child a brown paper lunch sack for their "nature bag." Tell them to fill their nature sack with any and all items that interest them. We live in an urban area and still find plenty of leaves, insects, seeds, and flowers.
5. Get a field guide and learn to identify the organisms in it. There are so many possibilities to choose from! You can learn to identify wildflowers, trees, insect, birds, or amphibians. My daughters and I love wildflowers, and we take our wildflower guide with us wherever we go. As we find a new wildflower, we write the date and location in our field guide. All these years later, we see our notations and smile about the adventures we recorded in the book. On one particular page, my daughter recorded, "Mom fell in the pond!"
6. Visit a national park. There is a reason why these particular tracts of land were set aside and preserved. They are amazing!
7. Give your child a magnifying glass. Have them make a list of the living organisms they see, and have them describe how they are adapted to the environment.
8. Set up several bird feeders. Fill them with different types of food and see what comes to the feeder. We have feeders filled with hummingbird nectar, thistle seeds, sunflower seeds, and plain bird seed. All can be purchased from Wal Mart. Have your child keep a log of which birds come to the feeder and what they eat. Also, have them record the time of year the bird is seen. It is fun to discover which are migratory because the "logbook" indicates that you only see them in the spring and again in the fall.
9. Watch the bees around a flower garden. Teach your children that bees are our friends and explain to them that the bee is doing more than just feeding on the nectar.
10. Watch a spider spin a web. It is incredible!
11. Ant farms, ladybug houses, sea monkeys!! As my children grew up, some type of creature was usually present at our kitchen table during meal time. An ant farm is very interesting to watch during meal time!
12. Sit on the side of a lake or pond, and count how many turtles stick their heads above water for air. The quiet time you spend with your kids is simply priceless.
13. Save a turtle. Our car stops for turtles. Help them across the road, please.
14. Children love insects. Have your child look for insects and then identify their habitat and niche. Remember: The habitat is the "address" and the niche is their "job" in the community or ecosystem.
15. Go on a picnic. Drop a piece of food on the ground and see how long it takes the ants (or flies!) to find it. Watch how the ants communicate with one another to send the message back to the ant hill that food is nearby.
As you can see, nature has played a huge role in my life, both in my career as a biology teacher and in my role as a mother. And while teaching my children about science and nature was important, it pales in comparison to this simple thing .... Once your children are grown and living on their own, they will still want to go on 'Mom adventures" with you.
Our children and our students will be responsible for making decisions about our planet in just a short number of years. We have to get them excited about nature. We have to make sure they understand how their actions impact our planet. Our students are the future caretakers of this beautiful planet and there is not an "app" for that. I hope that when they are adults we have taught them enough about science and nature that they can make informed decisions about how to take care of it.
4. Take a daily nature walk. Give your child a brown paper lunch sack for their "nature bag." Tell them to fill their nature sack with any and all items that interest them. We live in an urban area and still find plenty of leaves, insects, seeds, and flowers.
5. Get a field guide and learn to identify the organisms in it. There are so many possibilities to choose from! You can learn to identify wildflowers, trees, insect, birds, or amphibians. My daughters and I love wildflowers, and we take our wildflower guide with us wherever we go. As we find a new wildflower, we write the date and location in our field guide. All these years later, we see our notations and smile about the adventures we recorded in the book. On one particular page, my daughter recorded, "Mom fell in the pond!"
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| Hiking in Yellowstone National Park... the most amazing trip we ever mad |
7. Give your child a magnifying glass. Have them make a list of the living organisms they see, and have them describe how they are adapted to the environment.
8. Set up several bird feeders. Fill them with different types of food and see what comes to the feeder. We have feeders filled with hummingbird nectar, thistle seeds, sunflower seeds, and plain bird seed. All can be purchased from Wal Mart. Have your child keep a log of which birds come to the feeder and what they eat. Also, have them record the time of year the bird is seen. It is fun to discover which are migratory because the "logbook" indicates that you only see them in the spring and again in the fall.
9. Watch the bees around a flower garden. Teach your children that bees are our friends and explain to them that the bee is doing more than just feeding on the nectar.
10. Watch a spider spin a web. It is incredible!
11. Ant farms, ladybug houses, sea monkeys!! As my children grew up, some type of creature was usually present at our kitchen table during meal time. An ant farm is very interesting to watch during meal time!
12. Sit on the side of a lake or pond, and count how many turtles stick their heads above water for air. The quiet time you spend with your kids is simply priceless.
13. Save a turtle. Our car stops for turtles. Help them across the road, please.
15. Go on a picnic. Drop a piece of food on the ground and see how long it takes the ants (or flies!) to find it. Watch how the ants communicate with one another to send the message back to the ant hill that food is nearby.
Our children and our students will be responsible for making decisions about our planet in just a short number of years. We have to get them excited about nature. We have to make sure they understand how their actions impact our planet. Our students are the future caretakers of this beautiful planet and there is not an "app" for that. I hope that when they are adults we have taught them enough about science and nature that they can make informed decisions about how to take care of it.
