Outdoor Hour #6 - Collections

Okay, so we did this nature walk a few weeks ago. It turns out I'm even slacker about blogging them than I am about doing them!

I've decided to relax about our 'chosen subject' of rocks and minerals, and just keep it to being a simple walk while keeping our eyes and ears open to the world around us. I was starting to 'over-plan' and then not go out for even a simple walk, because I didn't have time or energy to execute 'the plan'.

Typical perfectionism. Which I am learning to recognise and roll my eyes at.

We are still using the Outdoor Hour framework as a guideline, so I'll give you the short and sweet summary for week #6

Read with your child something about your chosen area of study
Take your walk
Note in your notebook anything you saw that is related to the study topic
Give an opportunity to draw or make some other notebook entry
Start a collection, if appropriate

Well, we really just needed an outing in the fresh air. We had had endless days of rain and grey skies and suddenly were blessed with a fine, clear, breezy, crisp winter's day. I suggested a stroll around the neighbourhood to keep an eye out for interesting rocks, and Miss5 asked if she could bring her kite.

So, after a very brief internal struggle ("if we fly kites, we won't be looking at rocks... oh who cares? So long as they are outside and enjoying it!"), we popped the kite into the pushchair, wrapped up warmly and ventured up to the playground.

Let's go fly a kite...

It was wonderful!

We didn't open the nature journal at all once we got home - just snuggled in the warm indoors with chamomile tea and bikkies. (Since reading that Madeline had chamomile tea after falling in the water, Miss5 has taken a liking to it. And whatever Miss5 does, Miss2 will copy, so I've got two little herbal tea drinkers!). And that was the end of our 6th Outdoor Hour.

However, since this is the 'collections' post for the Outdoor Hour, it is a good time to show you our rock collection

Miss5's rock collection

We use an egg tray to keep each rock separate and cushioned a little from its neighbour. Under each rock is a slip of paper giving the date and location we found it, and its identity, if we know it.

The rock on the far right is there because Miss5 likes the white circles on it. They are paint or glue or something like that, but since collecting is as much an aesthetic exercise as a scientific one, the painted rock has its place here.