Nature study can be as simple as a short walk in the neighborhood or as elaborate as a week in a National Park. Don’t make it complicated. This month, we are going to look for spiders. You’ll be able to find pictures of these items and many others online to explore with your children. Remember: you don’t have to know all the answers to your kids’ questions because you can look them up together.
Here are some questions to consider with your kids while you explore:
Earthworm
HANDBOOK OF NATURE STUDY pages 462-465
- How does the earthworm crawl? Turn over? How does it move differently from other legless creatures?
- Is an earthworm always the same length?
- How many segments are in the worm? Do all worms have the same number?
- How do earthworms see or hear? Do they smell?
- Where do earthworms live?
- Is it easier to find earthworms during the day or at night?
- What do earthworms eat?
- What creatures are enemies of the earthworm?
- Are earthworms useful?
Snail
Handbook of Nature Study pages 458-461
- Where do you find snails? Why do they like to live there?
- How does a snail move?
- What is left behind when a snail has left? What does that substance do?
- How does the snail see?
- How does a snail use its shell?
Slugs
- What do slugs eat?
- Where do slugs live?
- How do slugs see, hear, or smell?.
- What is left behind when a slug has left? What is that substance useful for?
- Compare slugs to snails
Crayfish
HANDBOOK OF NATURE STUDY PAGES 466-471
- What makes the crayfish hard to pick up?
- How do the pinchers work?
- How are the legs put together? How do they work? How many legs does the crayfish have?
- How does the crayfish eat?
- What are the crayfish’s eyes like?
Resources
Websites:
Books:
- Life Cycle of a Crayfish
- Crayfish (Pond Animals
- Why the Crawfish Live in the Mud
- Garden Wigglers: Earthworms in Your Backyard
- An Earthworm’s Life
- Wiggling Worms at Work
- Slugs, Bugs, and Salamanders: Discovering Animals in Your Garden
- Are you a Snail?
- Snail Trail
- Snails are Just My Speed!
Handbook of Nature Study:
Have you heard of Anna Botsford Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study? It’s a fantastic book that covers all kinds of creatures, plants, and habitats. Since it has all sorts of resources in it, you should download it for free at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Handbook_of_Nature_study_for_Teachers_an/CjPbAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0.
Anna Botsford Comstock talks about Snails and Earthworms on pages 458-465 of the linked edition of the Handbook of Nature Study. Take a few minutes to read those pages, and then keep those ideas in mind as you and your kids watch the weather this month. That way, you may remember the answers for some of their questions, and you have another handy resource to check when you can’t.
