Nature Studies Indoors

So, it is raining, or cold, or just plain nasty outside today and you had planned the most wonderful nature walk ever! What can you do now, Mom? Well, listen closely! I have a word for you, oh forlorn one! You can dress according to the weather and go outside anyway. There are many things that can be learned by going outside when the weather turns nasty. Have you ever wondered where the birds go when it rains? What about the ants? If the wind picks up, is it blowing in the tree tops or only along the ground? In what areas are the puddles forming first? Which way is the run-off headed and why?

If it is cold outside how are the animals protecting themselves from the cold? What are the birds doing to survive? Why is it their delicate little feet don't freeze? What about the plants? How are they reacting to the cold? Are their plants that are still green? How is that possible?

If the weather or your health absolutely prohibits the outdoors you CAN do Nature Studies Indoors! Isn't that a wonderful revelation? All your plans don't have to come to naught. You can do a quick trip outside and bring your finds indoor to explore. Just change your focus a little and you can still have that wonderful time of discovery. But, if you choose to explore indoors, be ready for what this can reveal!

Ever since Jessica, my eleven year old, was just a baby, we have had Cook's Pest Control come and spray our homes on a monthly basis. This was to rid us of the pestilence that likes to make their abode within our homes. All of my life, I have been very frightened by just the sight of a bug. Anything that could crawl, slither, or jump was not going to get close to me, if I could somehow get away from it! Many times in our early marriage, Jessie, my husband, would come home from work and there would be a jar upside down in the middle of the floor, with a bug trapped underneath. He always found that very funny, too! Well, I was not amused! Every spring and fall there would be an invasion of crawling critters, and the Cook's man would be making more than the usual monthly trip to the Woodis home.

Once we had built our home at Crooked Pines, and took up residence here, the pest invasion was much worse. You see, we cleared the land of the young woods that had taken over our choice building spot. Because I was raised in San Diego, California where trees are at a premium, I was very careful that the only trees that were cut, were the "have-to's". The place where our home now sits was previously forested, so the bugs needed convincing that they could no longer live here. You guessed it! Jessie came home to a lot more jars and the Cook's man was using a lot more gas.

Emily, my now 8 year old, was born shortly before we began building our home at Crooked Pines, and she was just learning to crawl when we moved into our new home. She was spending most of her time on the floor where the bugs were. This increased my stress level, and my fear! Well, God convicted me of this fear. I probably don't even need to quote you the verse, but I will anyway, just to let you see it. There is power in seeing God's Word written.

Genesis 1:26 "And God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.'"

The first part of that verse says that we are to have dominion over all of these things. I certainly didn't feel like I had dominion. They had domination over me, causing me to scream and scare my children. I latched onto this promise from God's word. Just as everything else in life is accomplished, I had to overcome this one step at a time. Or should I say one bug at a time?

I went on the attack with these creepy crawlies, and gained a significant victory in my fight to dominate my fear and this pestilence. I utilized the fly swatter, a shoe, a hammer on the hard shelled ones, and whatever I could get my hands on quickly, so I wouldn't loose sight of the enemy.

Now that we are a homeschooling family, each and every one of these bug episodes offers an opportunity to learn. Instead of getting the fly swatter or a shoe or a hammer, we now get a jar. Capturing that bug in a jar has afforded me many opportunities to test my resolve of overcoming and conquering this fear. You have to lift the jar to get the lid underneath and that gave the creepy crawly thing a chance to get out! But, God be praised! I have done it! Glory Hallelujah! I no longer quake with fear when a bug is spotted and my children are getting better about it too! I remind them, just as I remind myself, we are bigger than the bug is and we have dominion over these creatures. You know I was probably pretty fun to watch catching those first few bugs! But we sure have learned a lot. Now I hear, "Ooh Mama, come and look at this neat bug!" instead of screams of fear and scrambling to get away. That is a much more pleasing sound to this Mama's ears.

Let's take a look at this indoor learning arena. First off ladies don't be offended, but your home is literally crawling with bugs. If you have houseplants, you have bugs; if you have corners, you have bugs; if you have seldom used drains, you have bugs; if you have dark, damp places, you have bugs.

So, now that you have a desire to do nature studies today and the weather has forced you to remain indoors. Go ahead and give your children the freedom to look in all of these out of the way places and find those bugs. Go before them and make a list of what you find and make it like a treasure hunt. Give them tweezers or some other bug catching picker-uppers, a plastic bug catching jar to put them in, and let them go.

When they come back with their finds, get out the sketchbooks and let them draw that bug's portrait! Let them use a magnifying glass to really look closely at these critters. God has created these, "creeping things that creepeth upon the earth," in such infinite detail it would be a shame to not use this opportunity to marvel at His creation. It was the sixth day of creation when God created these things and now we need to take the proper time to praise Him for His provision on this rainy day. Teaching your children to look more closely, and including the little details in their sketches, will train them in the habit of observation and open a whole new world to them. This also helps to teach them the power of attention to detail. Habits that will serve them well their whole life.

We have found a wide variety of creeping things in our home. Where you live you might have a wider or different variety, but I believe some of these bugs can be found worldwide. Let's start out with the ever-present Arachnid family. Arachnids vary from true insects because they have eight legs instead of six. By Arachnids, I mean ticks, spiders, mites and scorpions. Some of these critters are so small you won't be able to see them with the naked eye. Dust mites, for example, are too small to detect with the human eye. Try taking a piece of your bedding or fabric from your furniture and putting it under a microscope; you will not be happy with what you find. Dust Mites are the cause of a variety of major human allergies!

The southern devil scorpions (Vejovis carolinianus) are the plague of all of us who live in or around pine forests. They like dark places, such as crawl spaces, wood piles, leaf clutter, log piles, rocky hillsides, between your sheets or behind your furniture. If one of these devils gets into your bed you will know it!

The southern devil scorpion feeds on crickets, spiders, caterpillars and centipedes. They have very poor vision so their large pinchers are used to grab anything that wanders too close. Their major defense mechanism is their tail. It whips forward and delivers a sting that will last 15 to 20 minutes. The pain is intense such as that of a bee. Most southern devil scorpions hibernate during the winter. If you get stung by one just emerging in March or April the sting may last for several hours because of the concentration of the poison. They have been known to be active in the fall also.

Scorpions should be brushed off, not swatted if one happens to crawl on you. They are a hard-shelled critter that is difficult to smash; I have had to use a hammer to kill this type of bug. Sticky traps are the cleanest way to catch scorpions. Throw one in a dark place in spring and early summer and you are sure to be rewarded with a find. To learn more about the southern devil scorpion visit: Scorpions in Kentucky.

Spiders are not so elusive, they like corners in particular, but I have found them in my bookshelf, across doorways and webs built overnight on top of my TV. When I was expecting our daughter Emily, I awoke one night with a spider building a web stretched from my rather large tummy to my toes! You should have seen the dance I did that night trying to rid myself of that spider!

Ticks are another plague to those of us in the pine regions. They come in on pants legs and anything that they can cling to. Watch out for these critters! They really like navels (belly buttons) and cause some pretty wretched diseases. When you do find one, don't break it or smash it. Anything that could get a tick's body fluids on you can be dangerous to your health. Always wash your hands good with anti-bacterial soap after you have handled one of these critters, or anything they might have been on. My children call anti-bacterial soap, "germy" soap; makes it sound a little friendlier, doesn't it?

Next, let's move on to your houseplants. Unless you are more gifted with spare time than I am, you have a whole community residing in your houseplants. This is where that magnifying glass comes in handy again. Houseplants are home to tiny flies, mites, spiders, earwigs, aphids, and ants. Occasionally you might get lucky and find a ladybug feasting on some of these pests. A few years back the North Alabama cotton farmers received the gift of ladybugs. Millions of these critters where imported to our local area cotton fields to eat the tiny insects that were destroying the cotton crop. Consequently, when the weather turns cold in the fall and early winter, these little bugs invade our homes. Unfortunately for all of us, they leave yellow sticky spots where they rest. This could be your drapes, ceiling, windowsills, whatever they find to take a breather on. Housewives all over the area have learned, when you suck these little creatures up in your vacuum cleaner, you had better change the bag, they stink after a few days. But, I digress, back to the nature study!

Many times, insects will come indoors for the water supply. Whenever we have a particularly dry spell, we have a fresh influx of insects. These would include spiders, camel back crickets (these do not jump away from you, they jump at you! I have tried to step on these critters, and had them just hop up on top of my foot!), Daddylonglegs, and those little black crickets that love to sing you to sleep at night.

There is a wonderful story in, "Parables from Nature" by Mrs. Gatty, about house crickets and their own test of faith at the beginning of time. You see every other creature seemed to have its own particular place in creation, with a home and a purpose. The house cricket could not seem to find its home or its purpose. Man had not begun to build homes or fires to warm themselves by. House crickets just love to sit in the corners, next to a warm fire, and sing their praises to God. How long they wandered from place to place, keeping the faith that God, in His infinite wisdom, would provide them their hearts desire, in His perfect time. This is such a lovely story!

Don't forget to look under those sinks and in those dark damp places and see what's there. Here you will find silverfish, the bane of many households, but really a very interesting bug. I will let you dig for those details! Also, some varieties of spiders like drains. The Brown Recluse is one. Be very cautious with this bad boy, he can really hurt you. Another bug that is particular to the dark is the millipede. Different from the centipede, this one is smaller. It has a sting similar to that of a bee. They are a multi-segmented crawling critter with a hard shell. I have had to use a hammer to kill this one too! The next dark loving bug is the termite. If you find this one, you have probably got serious damage. These bugs are well known for their destructive taste for wood. Every few years we have a swarm of termites here at Crooked Pines. They hatch in the woods and then swarm out looking for new places to establish colonies. Fortunately for us, they have never done serious damage to our home. There was one year when they came in through the roof, and were crawling down the interior walls of our home. I am pleased to report that these swarmers do not live long and they did minimal damage.

Are your little artists done with their sketches yet? Here are some cute little poems about spiders I thought you might like to use as Copywork on the page opposite their pictures. That is, if they drew a spider! I received these on the Charlotte Mason e-mail study loop. They are truly wonderful! Thanks Donna Godfrey!

Another great idea for bringing nature indoors is to do a seasonal table. If you have ever tried this or have been privileged to see one, you know how much fun this can be. They are a refreshing treat for your eyes, especially in the wintertime. In the book "Victorian Family Traditions!? by Sarah Ban Breathnach, we find this quote: "We have been into rooms which, by the simple disposition of articles of this kind," (articles collected from nature's bounty) Catherine Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe observed in ?The American Woman's Home? (1869), ?made the air so poetical and attractive that they seemed more like a nymph's cave than anything in the real world.?

I guess the real place to begin is to designate a table, shelf or general area to be the ?nature or seasonal? area. We have used the ledge of the living room windows, the top of the TV and sometimes, it has been the biggest shelf on the china hutch. Wherever is the most convenient for you. If you have the room, you could especially place a table for this purpose. The scarf or tablecloth should reflect your theme or the current season. Anything can go on this table. That is, perhaps, the best part. Your children will really enjoy this simple creation once they catch on to the idea. My children have brought me interesting shaped stones, birds feathers, nuts, pinecones, branches, leaves, an abandoned turtle shell, discarded bird's eggs in the Spring, miniature pumpkins in the Fall, and a bouquet of flowers that could be dried. You can also use these dried flowers to make gift cards for the appropriate holidays during the season. Artwork that your children have created, nicely framed, can also be displayed on this table. You get the idea!

Sometimes these tables are graced with a seasonal tree for the centerpiece. These can be really fun! At Christmas time we have an artificial tabletop tree that we really enjoy. We have used this tree to place our Advent ornaments on, or nature finds. You can also use bare twigs artfully arranged and wound with brightly colored lights. Decorate either of these with cranberries, pinecones, mistletoe, holly, an abandoned nest, lost feathers, you get the picture. Spring is another time that you would use a bird's nest. Added to that, budding branches of the Pussy Willow tree are pretty.

Another pretty thing to enjoy, is blooming fruit tree or Forsythia branches or branches of the Dogwood tree. Have you ever tried decorating with a pot of forced flower bulbs that are blooming? In the fall, you might decorate with brightly colored leaves, nuts, Indian corn, dried Golden Yarrow, or wheat stalks. On all of these tree branches, or even on your table, entwine appropriately colored ribbons or try grapevines around your tree or among your objects on the table. I guess you have a pretty good idea of where my mind I running with this, how about yours? Are you inspired yet?

How about preserving leaves or flowers for later projects? There are so many neat ideas and uses for these things. So far, in our home, I haven't delved into this delightful craft, but there are wonderful instructions in "Victorian Family Celebrations" by Sarah Ban Breathnach. Select large branches from trees that the leaves have turned, but have not started to fall. Split the stems from your branches about three inches from the bottom; stand them in a bucket of warm water for several hours. Any of the leaves that curl must be removed! From your pharmacy or discount store obtain glycerin. Mix one part glycerin and two parts water, bring this to a boil and simmer gently for about ten minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool completely. Now, cut the ends of your branches at a sharp angle and stand them in your glycerin solution. Place your soaking branches in a cool, dark place until all the glycerin solution has been absorbed or your being to notice tiny drops of this solution appearing on the leaves. This will probably take from one to one and a half weeks. When the drops of glycerin appear , take the branches out of the solution and wipe the leaves down gently. They are now ready and should last for at least a couple of seasons.

There are so many uses for these leaves that I hardly know where to begin. Decorating with these branches, as you would bouquets of flowers, comes immediately to my mind, but you will also want to use them on your seasonal tables or trees. Use them also on holiday tables at your feasts, or on cards that your children make. How about scattering them on the windowsills in your family or living room. I am sure you can see the direction my mind is running in. Use your imagination and let your children use theirs. They may surprise us both by the variety of things they think of!