Nature Walk
                            ~~~~~~~~~~~
Topic:  Science -- Nature Walk and Collecting, Seasonal Observation
    
AIMS:
~~~~
     To begin walks in the fall, pointing out the changes taking place, in
the weather, the trees and small plant life.  Choose a route that the trees
and plant life depict the seasons, where in the fall the trees are losing
their leaves, bare in winter and in full blossom in the spring.
     To collect rocks, leaves, branches, pine cones, etc.
Materials:
~~~~~~~~~                                              Assorted Nature
Nature Hanging           Leaf Gathering                   Collecting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leaves                   An assortment of leaves       Nature Collection
Branches                 Wax Paper                     Wooden, plastic or
Pine Cones               Crayon Chips                  cardboard box, with
Two large branches       Newspaper                     divided sections
Yarn                     Toothbrush                    
Masking Tape             Popsicle sticks               
Procedure:
~~~~~~~~~
Nature Hanging:  
     Hold two large branches as far apart as you want your nature weave to
be in length.  Have a child begin winding the yarn from top branch and around
and down to the bottom.
     Once you have the yarn wrapped from one branch to the other, tape
branches to a table with masking tape and you are ready to weave your nature
collection through the strands of yarn.
Leaf Collecting:
     Have child place leaves between a large piece of folded wax paper.  For
color, sprinkle chips of crayon, using colors of the season; browns, yellow,
and oranges for fall, blues, white and gray for winter, etc.  Fold, press,
and seal with a hot iron.
Splatter Painting:
     Have child place leaf on a piece of construction paper.  Dip toothbrush
into tempera color (you do not want your paint too thick).  Take a popsicle
stick and while holding the dipped brush over the leaf, run the stick across
the toothbrush in a forward motion.
     Once the child has the desired amount of paint splattered on the leaf
and paper, remove leaf.  Do this with a variety of leaves.
Finding the Veins:
     Have the child place a fresh leaf on a piece of carpet (which has been
mounted on a plank) and pound with an animal bristle brush.  After a short
while, only the beautiful network of veins will remain.
Assorted Nature Collecting:
     When you return from your walk, have children lay out their treasures
and decide what they would like to take home and what they would like to
leave for the Nature-Science table.  Once they have made their decision,
discuss the items: pine cones, pine needles, snails, seeds, etc.
New Words:
~~~~~~~~~
     Nature, collecting, bits, pound, pine, needles, weave, network.
Behavioral Objectives:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     Following directions
     Hand and eye coordination
     Social and physical development
     To enjoy and appreciate the outdoors and nature
     To be able to identify
     To compare
     Recall and memory
Teachers Information:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     Nature walk -- point out the importance of respecting other people's
possessions.  We do not walk on lawns, pick flowers, break off branches,
unless we have first asked and have been granted permission.
Display:
~~~~~~~
1.  Nature Hanging -- hung on the wall for all to see and enjoy.
2.  Leaf Collecting --
    A.  Waxed paper, leaves and crayon bits -- hung in sunlit window.
    B.  Splatter painting -- have a variety of splattered leaf pictures along
        with a variety of the same type of leaves used for the paintings. 
        Have children match the fresh leaf to the splattered leaf painting.
    C.  Pounded leaf -- 
        (1) hung from stems and made into a leaf mobile.
        (2) mount on dark colored pieces of construction paper and display.
        (3) hang from stem and hang in sunlit window.
3.  Assorted Nature Collecting -- place in collection box, label, and
    display. 
From:
Los Medanos College / Pittsburg, CA / ECE Program / Instructor: E. Flynn
... Blessed the slumberer who is awakened by My Breeze.      --Baha'u'llah
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