I am so excited. A few weeks ago I realized that our ocean unit was winding down so I decided to take the plunge and develop an entire unit study for all subjects and go with it. We have had several birds visiting our backyard lately so I decided this would be the perfect study. I started researching online and making a book list. I started searching the used book stores and talked my husband into going with me to our local Wild Birds Unlimited store. We ended up coming home with lots of wonderful stuff! Our wonderful Daddy put it all together and we were all trying to figure out where everything should go. This was a wonderful family event. Right Daddy?!?
So today was to be our first "bird" day. It started out wonderful. Our painters came to fix our damage from Hurricane Ike and Daddy took the baby to run errands. We grabbed what we could out of the learning room before they covered it all with tarps. We gathered around the kitchen table and began to discuss all that we knew about birds and all that we wanted to learn. The whole time watching our new feeding center in hopes that someone would come and dine. There were at least 20 different species that we saw, but no one stopped to eat. We sketched some birds while we all talked and the girls came up with some amazing art work. Then daddy came home with the boy and he wanted to help the painters. So we called Grandma and off we went. We gathered what we could and took off to Grandma's house. I began to feel like this may not have been the perfect day to begin, but I prayerfully offered it up and tried to just go with it. Once we went to my parents, it was lunch so off the kids went upstairs to play some computer games while we fixed lunch and got settled in. After lunch I decided it would be the perfect time to go for a nature walk around their trails. So we started off and as we turned the corner we were greeted by a beautiful sight and sound. A cardinal was on a low branch singing and communicating with another cardinal far away.
What a treat for us. Part of our studies will be learning the different bird songs. We learned this one from a real life experience. This is the connection that I want for my children to experience. I don't want them to read about these things from a textbook. I want them to learn them from real experiences so that they develop a relationship and it will stay with them their whole life. We walked a little further along and I was amazed at all we saw. From spider webs to turtles to beetles to a very unusual flowering tree that we still have to look up to identify.
Once Daddy called with the all clear that the painters were gone and it was safe to return, we went home and began a poetry study outside while waiting for visitors to our feeding center. We learned a wonderful poem by Victor Hugo.
Be like the bird
That, pausing in her flight
Awhile on boughs too slight,
Feels them give way
Beneath her and yet sings,
Knowing that she hath wings.
This is the first time that Hope has not complained about having to copy something this long. She is loving this so much!!! After we studied the poem for a few minutes, we were visited by a mockingbird on our roof. We watched her for awhile and saw her catching bugs, then we were amazed as she flew to a small, bare tree in our neighbors yard. She went to her nest and fed her babies the insects. Immediately Daddy mockingbird showed up as well. The girls ran upstairs as fast as they could to grab the binoculars to look out their bedroom window, but they couldn't see inside the nest. They were disappointed, but we will be watching to see when the babies leave the nest.
This morning we woke up and finally had visitors. We watched as a male cardinal came over ever so slowly and checked out the feeders, then finally flew up and started to eat. He then delivered a meal to a female who waited patiently in the tree. Once he did this several times, she became brave enough to fly over and fill herself up. We then had some mourning doves who made themselves very comfortable and rested their for several minutes. Not eating, just resting. I am anxious to see where we go and what we learn on this amazing new study. So far in the last two days I have learned more than I ever realized I would learn. I am seeing things and hearing things that I never have heard before. What an amazing world God has created for us and how blessed are we to be able to connect to it on such a deep level.
