Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Honest. Quirky. Real. Practical tips, candid reviews, and stereotype-smashing humor for homeschooling families.

Honest. Quirky. Real. Practical tips, candid reviews, and stereotype-smashing humor for homeschooling families.

How to Preserve Fall Leaves

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Written by Alicia Hutchinson of Investing Love.

The fall leaves in Minnesota are beautiful right now! My afternoon walks are full of ooh’s and ahh’s, and I don’t want to see it end. To preserve some of that fall beauty, the kids and I completed a fun project to do just that. We used a glycerine solution to preserve some of our favorite fall leaves.

The process was simple, but it took patience. Preserving your fall leaves will take several days. Here’s what we did.

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How to preserve fall leaves

Since your pretty fall leaves have fallen from the tree, their stem shaft has already closed, and it’s starting to shrivel up and get brittle. You could always just press your leaves between some book pages and preserve them that way. However, a glycerine solution will preserve the leaves in a way that will keep them pliable and their colors vibrant for years to come.

Step 1: The first thing you want to do is open the stem shaft up again. We just gave the stems a couple of taps with a hammer to open them up.

Note: This process was done with freshly fallen leaves that had not started to turn brittle yet.

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Step 2: Make the preservation solution using two parts boiling water to one part glycerine. You can find glycerine in the health and beauty section of your drugstore or on Amazon.

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Measure out your glycerine while the water heats up. When it’s ready and boiling, gently add the glycerine to it and stir it together.

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Step 3: Now all you need to do is submerge your leaves into the mixture. We used a shallow baking dish, and that worked great. Make sure your leaves are fully covered. We put all of our leaves into one dish. Now you have to be patient because the solution has to work its magic for 5-7 days.

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Our leaves soaked for five days, and they turned out great. They all had a shiny look to them after their week at the glycerine spa. :)

We let them dry on a newspaper for a few hours, but the shininess stayed. Now we can bend them, and they will not crack and break into a million pieces. They color is preserved, and we can use them for decoration.

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Things to do with your preserved fall leaves

Once you’ve preserved a collection of fall leaves, try some of these ideas for what you can do with them:

  • label them and display on your nature table for the season
  • write on them with pretty calligraphy and use as place cards at Thanksgiving
  • sprinkle them down the middle of your table with candles for a seasonal centerpiece
  • tie or tape some to a string for a simple garland to hang on the fireplace
  • take them outside and try to find the trees they fell from
  • tie them to packages to give a festive gift
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Enjoy the rest of this beautiful season before the weather gets too cold! Your beautiful leaves will remind you of the lovely fall you’ve just had.

Do you have any creative ideas for what to do with preserved leaves?

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5 Fun Nature Journal Entries for Autumn

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Written by Susan Williams of Education Possible.

Cooler temperatures and leaves changing colors are signs that autumn is on the way. This is the perfect time to get outdoors with your family to explore and observe. Adding new entries to a nature journal is a creative way for kids to document their discoveries.

5 Fun Nature Journal Entries for Autumn

There are several easy ways for students to start a nature journal. Anything from a simple sketch pad to a fancy leather bound book can serve as a nature journal. What will make the journal special are the unique entries your student includes throughout the years.

Here are five fun ideas for nature journal entries to capture the beauty of the autumn season:

1. Word Finds. On a page in the journal write words related to the season. Then, take a nature walk and look for items to write down for each letter in the word. For example:

F__________  A__________  L__________  L__________

Fern _______  Acorn_______  Liriope______   Lizard______

More words suggestions are: apple, autumn, chilly, deciduous, foliage, leaves, pine cone, season, squirrel, etc.

2. Falling Leaves.  Gather a variety of leaves that have fallen to the ground. Trace the leaves onto a page in your nature journal. When you get home, do research to learn more about the leaf and make notes of interesting characteristics of the tree the leave came from.

3. Seasonal Landscapes. Find a comfortable spot to sit and rest.  Draw what you see around you such as flowers, trees, water, grass, birds, etc. and label it “Autumn.” On the next three pages of your journal draw what you think the same landscape will look like in the other seasons, labeling the drawings for “Winter,” “Spring,” and “Summer.”

Autumn Nature Journal

4. Animal Tales. Look for birds, insects, squirrels, and other creatures on your nature walks. Observe their actions and characteristics. In your journal write a poem or fictional story about an unusual animal you see. I still remember writing about “Sneaky Snake,” the crime-fighting garden snake I found when I was in middle school!

5 Fun Nature Journal Entries for Autumn

5. Weather Watcher. Create a weather log in your nature journal by tracking daily temperatures, winds, and precipitation. To make this project more fun you can even make your own weather station instruments like a wind vane and rain gauge.

We hope your family enjoys exploring nature this season. Encourage your children to get creative as they observe and document the world around them using their nature journals.

What are some of your favorite ways to learn outdoors in the fall?

10 Rules for Taking Young Children on a Nature Hike

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Written by Sara Dennis of Classically Homeschooling.

Heading out on a nature hike with my youngest children is always an adventure. There’s so much to do and see. Over the years I’ve discovered that there are 10 rules we must follow when taking young children on a nature hike.

10 Rules for Taking Young Children on a Nature Hike

1. Investigate the slugs.

The first rule of taking young children out on a nature walk is you must always stop to investigate the slugs. Grab a small stick and poke at them, watch the mollusks extend and withdraw their antennae, and show fascinated disgust at the goo left in a slug’s wake.

Of course, you can’t then walk away leaving the slug to continue on its solitary slide across the trail. It must be rescued and left safely in the bushes, so no one accidentally steps on it.

2. Pick flowers.

One lovely aspect of nature hikes is the plethora of flowers lining the path. There are yellow, orange, purple, and red flowers beckoning little boys and girls to pick them.

Little boys will carefully choose the perfect flower to give to the love of their life – their mother. Little girls randomly pick every flower they see to create the perfect bouquet.

3. Collect dandelion fluff.

Once children learn that the dandelion fluff they love to blow is actually dandelion seeds, they’ll want to collect as many seeds as they can. The goal is to fill pockets and hats full of dandelion fluff and spread it all over the front yard just for Daddy.

After all, what could make Daddy happier than to walk outside and see his carefully cultivated lawn turned into a large dandelion garden!

4. Chase the birds.

A few of my favorite spots to go for nature walks have resident flocks of birds. Ducks and geese swim lazily around the lake or come ashore to forage for insects. Seagulls squawk down by the bay and land near the picnic tables to gulp down any leftovers they find.

What could be better for a small child than to rush these flocks of birds and watch them fly away? Or even better, fly up in the air and land a few feet away allowing you to chase them again and again and again.

10 Rules for Taking Young Children on a Nature Hike

5. Feed the birds.

Even better than chasing the birds is to feed the birds. Bring bread, fruit, or birdseed along on the nature walk and toss the food towards the birds. Little children can spend hours watching the birds eating and slowly edging ever closer.

Then there’s an even better chance of catching a bird to take home!

6. Throw rocks.

Confident that rocks belong in the water, not on the ground, kids will happily spend hours picking up every one they can find to toss in the lake. Small rocks, large rocks, even rocks so large they can barely lift them get thrown back where they belong – into the water.

Then a child will run out of rocks, so they’ll take off their boots and throw them into the water, and wonder why mom is so upset at watching the boots floating away.

7. Ambush Mom.

Trees which grow just off the trail are perfect for hiding behind. The kids run ahead, dart behind a tree, and assume you can’t see their jacket waving in the breeze.

As you walk by, they’ll jump out trying to scare you. It’s rather fun actually and keeps the kids moving. However, it does grow old as the kids continue to ambush you every few feet for miles.

8. Jump into mud and water.

It is an unwritten rule of childhood that the moment you see mud and water, you must jump in. You must smear mud all over your clothing and go home dripping wet. There is no other option.

After all, there are mud pies to make, slimy dirt to squeeze through fingers, and more rocks waiting to be thrown in the water. Just remember if your kids go home covered with mud from head to toe, you know they’ve had a great time.

9. Use only two speeds.

Young children have two speeds. The first speed is slower than a snail. Kids stop to investigate the leaf falling to the ground. The rocks in the trail have a shimmer of gold and must be dug up. After all, the children have discovered a gold nougat. It takes hours to cover 100 yards.

Then the children switch gears and rush forward. You’re no longer tapping your foot with impatience as the children discover yet another unique blade of grass. Instead, you’re gasping and panting trying to keep up with your little cheetahs rushing forward to discover what’s beyond the next hill.

10. Plan plenty of time.

The most important part of going on a nature hike with young kids is to relax and plan plenty of time to enjoy the hike. Don’t try to rush. Rushing will just frustrate you and your children.

Instead give yourselves plenty of time to pick the flowers, throw rocks, and chase the birds. They’ll grow up all too soon and begin to rush through nature hikes to get back to their computers.

Take your time, relax, and enjoy your nature hike. You’ll create beautiful memories with your kids.

What are your unwritten rules for nature walks with kids?

horizontal image courtesy of pixabay; vertical image courtesy of depositphotos

This post is linked to Top Ten Tuesday and the Hip Homeschool Hop.

How to Make a Beach in a Jar

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Written by Susan Williams of Education Possible.

Summer is almost here! That means family trips to the beach are right around the corner. Here is a quick and easy project to help capture special memories of the sun and sand: Make your own beach in a jar.

How to Make a Beach in a Jar

Several years ago we started to create these beach in a jar keepsakes. We were looking for something to help us remember our beach days and these unique and personalized jars were more meaningful than any other souvenir we could find.

Not only do our jars remind us of special family times together, but we have also used these to spark educational lessons and discussions as we’ve noticed differences in the sand and shells we collect.

Supplies for making a beach in a jar

  • Glass jar with a tight fitting lid (Mason jars or decorative jars from a craft store work well.)
  • Paper tags (You can make your own tags with card stock and scissors.)
  • Pen (Sharpie, pen, or color pencils to write on the tag)
  • String, yarn, or ribbon
  • Stamps or stickers (optional)
  • Shells and sand
Beach in a Jar Supplies

How to make a beach in a jar

Step 1: Wash the glass jar and lid and dry completely.

Step 2: Add sand to the bottom of the jar, then arrange shells on top of sand. Place the lid on the jar and tighten securely.

Step 3: Decorate your tag. We usually include the date and location. You can use stamps, pencils, stickers, etc. to add more decoration to the tag.

Step 4: Attach the tag to the jar using string, ribbon, or yarn.

** Be very careful transporting your beach in a jar back home! Make sure the glass does not get damaged and try not to shake the jar too much or the shells will get buried under the sand!**

Beach in a Jar

Beach education ideas

When you get back home you can use your jar to remind you of your fun-filled times at the beach. For a little added education you can:

  • Research the types of shells collected and the creatures that once used these shells for shelter.
  • Create more jars as you visit different beaches and compare the color and consistency of the sand.
  • On a map, mark the beaches your family visits over the years and note interesting landmarks, animals, or shells you find there.

We hope you have a fun and interesting summer filled with special family memories!

Animal Track Investigation

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Written by Marci Goodwin of The Homeschool Scientist.

One of my favorite things to do outside is to walk along the creek near our house. It winds through woods and grassy areas and attracts wildlife of all kinds. We have seen minnow, frogs, crayfish, turtles, the occasional great blue heron, beaver, mink, raccoon, opossum, white tail deer….lots of creatures.

We don’t see animals every time we visit the creek, but we do always find something just as exciting in the soft earth beside the water – animal tracks!

Animal Track Investigation

Animal tracks are sometimes more interesting than seeing the animal itself. They turn us from observers to investigators. Instead of just sitting and watching an often fleeting glimpse of the animal, we can be actively engaged in the study of the animal. How?

3 Steps of Animal Track Investigations

Tracks tell a story. They tell about an animal’s habits and territory. It’s up to those investigating those track to put the story together step by step.

Animal Track Investigation

Identification

First, we have to identify the tracks. We need to know who made them. You may know the tracks of local animals enough to instantly identify them. If you need help with track identification, there are several good books and websites to check out:

Data Collection

Every good investigator collects data. Your data is the track itself, where it is found, and any evidence nearby. Take pictures or make sketches of the tracks. Make notes of where the tracks are found. Did you find them near a creek or pond? Were they in the woods or in a grassy area? Did you find tracks in your backyard or garden?

Animal Track Investigation

Sometimes there is animal scat near the tracks. Many track guides include animal scat, also. This could help you identify the tracks. There, also, might be evidence of what the animal was eating nearby. We often find mussel shells along the shore of our lake with some tracks. Those shells are a telltale sign of raccoons getting their dinner.

Finish The Story

The final step in putting together our story is to determine why the tracks are there? Use the data that you have collected to come up with a hypothesis. You might conclude that the deer whose tracks you found along the lakeshore were there to get a drink. The tracks in the garden where you found nibbled leaves might be from a rabbit getting breakfast. Your investigation is complete.

Animal Track Journal

Do your kids keep a nature journal? Animal track investigations are great to add to journals. They might want to keep a separate Animal Track Investigation Journal. There they can collect their data, write their hypotheses, and create art or a story to go along with their findings.

Next time you are out in nature, look down. Find tracks and start your investigation.

What kinds of animals do you see where you live?