So I know what you’re askin’. “Isn’t it called the Outdoor Hour Challenge?” . Yes. But mama has a cold. And it’s cold outside. And Windy. So – we took a front row spot with a hot cup of tea to watch the weather for 15 minutes. :) We did open the door so that we could Feel, Smell and Touch the weather.
Weather? Climate? What is it? We read the opening pages in the Handbook of Nature Study on difference between Climate and Weather. It boiled down to – We can watch the weather, see it change – report on it. But Climate. That happens over time. You might need to observe several springs before you could accurately describe the climate during March in a given place.
The opening paragraph regarding Weather really caught my attention. So much so – that it became our copy work for the day.
She likened the weather to being a moving mass – like an ocean. 200 miles deep – into the atmosphere – that moves, pools, stops, has eddies. The picture created in my mind went wild with the thought. We have been studying wind, currents, movement on the earth. Barametric Pressure. I hd not thought of this “air” as part of “weather”. Everything from the earth to the outer atmosphere. The weight of it all. Moving over the waters – watching the water on the lake move jig – jag – switch course. Have you seen it over grass in a prairie? Through the tops of trees in a forest? Everything that happens from dirt to outer atmosphere is called – Weather. Sometimes you know something academically – can explain it – but it is hard to explain . . . . I didn’t really Understand this one til now. Big Picture. With Feeling. Understanding. Weird. . . . .
The boys filled out a Weather Report sheet. They asked how we would know the direction or speed of the wind. Nate put out the flag so we could see the wind more clearly. Then they used terms like – blows our hair, moves a branch, takes a leaf. They said the smell is different. Is it from the leaves? The water flooding the summer’s worth of debris in the forest? The change of algae in the lake? The air is cold. It brought a foot of snow to the cascades to the east.
My favorite parts of homeschooling is when we are following after new thoughts from our studies
Reading, Writing, Sharing, Pondering, and Recording. The conversations that spark over cocoa and bread. I can’t imagine a better way to learn!
Think we could win a science fair with our props?
This is. Um. The earth. With a 200 mile “weather blanket” that circles a tiny sun.
Sometimes I do wish for girls.
I asked the boys to draw something abstract – of the picture created when we talked about the Weather Ocean. Jon went with the literal ocean in the sky – with the clouds being a boat. He wants to make sure you see that his boat has a prop – that is connected to the steering – so that the clouds can move. Nate – went with the depth of the sky – and – um – a Plane that will nuke the cities below. I’d like to think that it reflects the effects of weather on civilization – but I think I’d be more accurate thinking he was too long at the journal and started adding fun things. . . . ? Nuke? Fun things? I wanted to go abstract but ended up more concrete. 🙂
Join me over at the Handbook of Nature Study this Autumn!!
+Angie Wright
