In our homeschool we started a series called “Among The People” by Clara Dillingham Pierson’s. This book is a series of short stories all about animals and where they live. The book refers to the animals as people instead of aninals. The sections are split by where the animals live: Forest, farmyard, meadow, pond and night. We love this stories so much! I read one short story each week. In prep, I gather items for a nature study. I usually work 1-2 weeks in advance just glancing at the story to see what animal I need to look up. I use Pinterest, the library, and lots of nature books.
Chapter 1 The Red Squirrel
These short stories give you some information about each animal but I like to break it down into categories to help us learn more. You will have to do some prep work but that’s why I’m here. You can copy my ideas or add to them. Comment below about things you can add. I’ll be adding other blog post as we go along so make sure and read all the ideas if you purchase the book. Here is the Amazon link for the book: https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B00CBDC8RM&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_lkuHCb6J6DNH0 Pssssstttt….It’s on sale for $1.99 Kindle book.
First I start with
Books:
If you wanted to add another read aloud : Thornton Burgess Chatterer the Red Squirrel
Life-Sized Animal Tracks
Fun with Nature
Fun Stuff:
My profession is a baker. More specific decorated sugar cookies. You can look me up on Instagram @maytilliebakingco. So I decided to make squirrel cookies. I forgot to get pictures of them, our friends and family gobbled them up so fast! You can look on Pinterest for more ideas for recipes and how to decorated the cookies with icing. . I always have to remind myself about letting my kid make a mess in the kitchen. IT CAN be cleaned!!
Audiovisuals:
We mostly use YouTube in our homeschool. Here is a video with more facts about the Red Squirrel: https://youtu.be/dYVqAj9s_Zw
I also have learned about Curiosity Stream lately. We plan to purchase this in the near future, but until I can give you a better review, check it out.
Art:
Art for Kids Hub YouTube channel. This is one of our favorite outlets for drawing! Its a must to check out. Here is the link for the squirrel art: https://youtu.be/_UDoNdtDArE Amazing!!
The stamped squirrel tracks are from a little ink ‘n’ stamp kit that I picked up from Amazon.
I also did a search on Pinterest of a step by step drawing of the red squirrel and it only popped up with a few. This one was really good. I didn’t click on it so I can’t give credit to anyone.
Math:
First we looked up the population number and compared them to the gray squirrel.
Second, we know that squirrels like to stuff as many acorns in their mouth as possible, so we counted how many mini marshmallows my son could stuff in his mouth at one time. The answer was 70!! Of course, if you’re worried about choking, don’t do this exercise. But, for us it was so much fun. Many giggles were had.
Geography:
Where does the Red Squirrel mostly live?
*I post all these pictures on our Instagram page @lifewithgah. I asked the question: Has anyone seen the red squirrel. One of my fellow homeschool mommas commented that she lives NY and sees them all the time. She thinks they may be more aggressive! Yikes!
*Do you have a nature center near you?
*Can you go hike to look for squirrels?
Lastly, let’s talk about young living oils! I hate spraying on the dreaded stinky bug spray sh here is what I do instead: a. my family and I wear Purification on our wrist, behind our ears and on ankles. b. you can make a mixture:DIY Bug Spray
– 8oz water
– 8oz witch hazel
– 10 drops citronella essential oil
– 10 drops lemongrass essential oil
– 8 drops tea tree essential oil
– 5 drops lavender essential oil
– 6 drops peppermint essential oil
Next up is chapter 2. The great horned owl. One of our favorites!
1 Room Schoolhouse 