Nature Explorers: Life Cycle of a Tree

I am picking back up the Nature for the Very Young study that I began with my youngest two last Fall. Their Spring nature studies will focus on life cycles and sequencing. This week, we talked about life and death and did a sequencing activity on the life and death of a tree.

1. Acorn
2. Sprout
3. Sapling
4. Mature Oak
5. Dead Tree
6. Rotting Log with Plants
7. Rotting Log with Insects

On our nature walk we found evergreen saplings, mature trees, dead trees and lots of rotting logs.

Mali picked me a flower (a weed). =)

(He loves those boots!)

Then I got sidetracked by all the thistle growing in the creek bed and sent the boys back to camp for gloves and a hatchet to chop them down. We made good size pile along the road and I decided we needed the trailer.

Can you see why? They are over 6 feet tall!

While I was getting the truck and trailer, I asked Malachi to haul some thistles up to the road from the creek. But, he dragged them all the way back to camp (yikes)! I explained to him why we do not want to do that (because it spreads the seeds around). Luke came to help and this is on our way back:

There is so much work that needs done on our land that it is hard to stay focused on nature study. Perhaps teaching him how to care for the land will be a part of our study.