When a northern hawk owl moved into our neck of the woods, my birding boys caught a glimpse via photo in the newspaper.
Max cut it out and posted it on the boys' inspiration board, and almost daily, we went out looking for the elusive creature (there had been no owls of its kind in the area for 40+ years). We googled its call and listened to it again and again, practicing our own versions. We snowshoed at night searching the treetops for its stately form. We drove to places it had been spotted, to no avail. And then my mom called one day to tell us she saw it sitting at the top of a very high tree just blocks from our house. Loading everyone up with shoes untied and hats half on, we rushed to the site. And there he was. Darn that macro lens being on!
The excitement of the owl caused all sorts of peaked curiosities in my house. Noah, who is studying anatomy in science right now, had a thousand questions about about owls which led to questions about birds and flight, which led to how our bones are not hallow, which led to more questions....and also, a lightbulb teacher moment for me.
Time to do an in-depth unit on Wildlife Biology. Taking cues from Noah's interests, I dug out our books on animal tracks (and a younger version for Max), as well as some basic fact books. In a Waldorf school, fourth or fifth grade students often study the relationship between animals and humans, and I leaned on that a bit too-- pulling animal/human interaction books for him to read like Grayson and Wesley the Owl (Wesley is great if you edit chapters 11-13 basically out-- it talks a lot about owl mating, and I'm not ready to explain what it means for Wesley to have a owl "orgasm" on his human love's arm). We also ordered the Waldorf books The Human Being and Animal World and Muscles and Bones (anatomy is technically taught in the seventh grade in Waldorf, but Noah's been doing bits and pieces of this subject for some time now anyway...the Kingfisher Body Book and the Human Body Book are good resources).
More than just the science, more than reports or facts, I want this unit to be about stories. And art. Armed with some oil crayons and a sketch book to document everything Noah learns (and a main lesson book from Paper Scissors Stone and block crayons for Max), we dive into our added subject. I love the way we can intersect the concrete word of information with the world of beauty and connection. It brings the heart into learning. It creates pages full of information, but also, full of personality that I do so believe Noah will come back to again and again.
Main lesson books-- places where art and facts meet-- are found throughout all the ages of Waldorf schooling, but we haven't been using this idea since Noah grew into a more classical curriculum. Watching both boys sit at the table, drawing and exchanging ideas, pulling out important information to serve as decoration to a page, however, makes me understand we'll do this so much more often. It can be as simple as a handmade book (paper, three hole punches, a recycled cardboard cover and some string work fine) or as fancy as this bruised but still lovely sketch book, and the subject matter is endless. Especially for mamas with little ones who may not love to write, this seems like a perfect way to explore and document without complaint....and even better-- with joy (of course, the "habitat" page is yet to have any actual writing between those pictures. funny how that works).
When I'm getting ready for a new unit of learning, I write down some activities/ideas I'd like to accomplish with the boys. Sometimes we stick right to my list, and sometimes, as their interests shift, we shift too. Here's a sample from what we've just started working on::
::Both Noah and Max::
taking hikes with guide books, recording animals in our backyard
listing animals, guessing what else may reside there, hunting for specific tracks, scat and signs
drawing our area's animals, habitats, food sources
::Noah::
reading animal stories-- Wesley, Grayson, Kipling's Just So Stories, local Native American tribal stories-- drawings for all
reading animal information books, specifically on animals that live in our area- drawings and record information
read, discuss, investigate why a bird like the northern hawk owl would be so far from "home." Look at habitat reductions, low food sources, resourcefulness of animals, etc.
reading from Human Beings and the Animal World and drawing/writing summaries in sketch book; continue to explore the differences between animals, humans through anatomy study-- specifically studying systems and dna.
get to play around on interactive sites like frogguts.com (seriously) and anatomyarcade.com
::Max::
draw pictures of each animal that we think lives near or visits our yard. look at animals that would definitely not live in our yard, explore why--
read animal stories like Rabbit Hill and The Long Winter, revisit the Beatrix Potter books and draw a favorite scene
write a recipe for wildlife food, make recipe, take hike in woods to spread the seeds.
document birds that are still here.
make up an animals in the winter (to hibernate or not hibernate) puppet show with mama and perform for the family.
go outside and role play our favorite animals-- how they move, eat, etc. Spend time noticing how we are different (we can't run in the sun as fast as deer or rabbits, we can't hear food scurrying about several feet under fresh powder like owls...)
and make the occasional salt dough porcupine...what? porcupines can't be blue?
This is going to be so. much. fun!
...and if you haven't already, leave a comment here or here to be eligible for the giveaway ending Wednesday!